Using Cartoons to Teach English to Young Learners in Italy

This work is part of a larger, ongoing research project on the validity and feasibility to use animated cartoons to teach English to young Italian primary school learners. The current experimental study was carried out on 43 young learners aged 6 (divided into two groups) in a primary school in Rome (Italy). The control group (n. 21) followed a traditional syllabus for half a semester while the experimental group (n. 22) was exposed to authentic material through cartoons. Results show that the experimental group outperformed the control group in learning grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. The aim of this work is to show how the use of authentic animated cartoons can prove a very efficient way to teach and learn English in primary school contexts