Influence Of Media And Digital Content On The English Language Acquisition Of Non-english-speaking Children.

Rodgers (2013) says in his research that learning English as a second language (L2) can be aided greatly by exposure to media and digital content in English, such as English cartoons, soap operas, and movies. Learners are encouraged to select books at an understandable level and read as many as possible at schools, where numerous written sources are available (Rodgers, 2013). Students have limited access to real and intelligible listening input. L2 auditory input may be gained via watching English-language television shows (Rodgers, 2013). According to the study, However, there has been very little prior research to determine whether episodes of television are a good source of listening input in an ESL/EFL (English as a Second/Foreign Language) environment (Rodgers, 2013).

Two sections are included in this proposal for a small-scale research study. As a way to illustrate my awareness of the virtues and limits of various ways to learning English as a second/foreign language through media and digital material, I will first critique two research studies. A discussion of research ethics will be included in the second section, which will include an overview of the study s methodology.

According to Bazeley and Jackson (2014, p.26), it is critical for the researcher to obtain a thorough understanding of the literature in the topic they wish to investigate in order to build breadth and depth of knowledge. This part lays the groundwork for the study proposal by discussing and evaluating two research studies on the effect of media and digital material on EFL/ESL students. The first article titled, Linguistic analysis of selected TV cartoons and its impact on language learning, was written by Lodhi et al. and published in 2018. Huang and Eskey published the second article in 1999 which is titled, The effects of close-captioned television on the listening comprehension of intermediate English as a second language (ESL) students.

Article 1

In the article titled Linguistic analysis of selected TV cartoons and its impact on language learning (Lodhi et al., 2018) the researchers discuss the plethora of media that has captured the attention of the younger generation. The media of today has a significant impact on the mental and emotional development of children. At a very early stage in their cognitive development, infants mimic the language and emotions of their immediate environment. The language of cartoons and their characters has a significant impact on children s cognitive and linguistic development. The goal of this study is to examine the language patterns and ideologies that are employed in Pakistani cartoons, and to make recommendations. The influence of cartoon linguistic features on children s inclinations toward language learning is also ignored by this approach. According to the findings of the research, cartoons educate, entertain, and serve as a source of knowledge for young children. On the other hand, children were observed using Hindi phrases on a daily basis. Many parents cultural worries about cartoon language are at odds with the linguistic benefits of cartoon language. According to the findings of the study, children should be shown cartoons that are both level-appropriate and culturally diverse in order to maximise the efficiency of language learning.

Research Questions:

The following research questions were kept in mind for the research:

1. What kind of linguistic features are used in the language of cartoons?

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of language of cartoon on students writing skills?

3. What is the impact of cartoon language on students speaking skills?

4. To what extent cartoons represent / misrepresent Pakistani culture and society?

Methods and Methodology:

Specifically, the goal of this research is to determine the influence of animated cartoons on the language learning of elementary students. The exploratory element of the research strategy was utilised. The mixed methodology that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative methods was used to collect, evaluate, and interpret the data. The qualitative technique was used to analyse and interpret the information acquired from cartoon programmes, whereas the quantitative methodology was utilised to analyse and understand the information gathered from 100 students and 100 instructors in the field. The animated cartoons that were broadcast on Pakistani television networks were the basis of this study s sample. However, just one cartoon show, Chhotta Bheem, was included in the research as a representative sample of the available population.

The data gathering tool was a questionnaire that was designed manually. Those who participated in this study were drawn from the pupils and instructors of government schools in the Bahawalpur area of Pakistan. The technique of proportionate random sampling was employed to ensure that there were an equal number of male and female participants. Content analysis was performed on selected lines from 50 episodes of the Chota Bheem cartoons, which were chosen through the use of the purposive sampling technique. A total of 45 items were included in the survey, with respondents being asked about their favourite cartoon programmes, how often they watch cartoons, and the impact of cartoons on their academic lives. Following the achievement of an acceptable degree of dependability, questionnaires were delivered to the study s participants who completed them. It was decided to use the technique of content analysis to study the data gathered from cartoon programmes. In contrast, the information gathered from surveys was examined using the descri ptive statistics approach, which was used to determine the frequency, percentage, and mean value of the answers. The scope of the study was confined to government and private schools in the district of Bahawalpur.

The author of this paper has conducted a thorough investigation on the Bahawalpur region of Pakistan. A mixed methods approach has been used, with responses from both students and teachers included, and a sample size of 200 has been chosen, which includes 100 students and 100 teachers, which is a significant number. The content analysis of cartoons is included in the qualitative portion of the study, and for the quantitative portion of the research, a descri ptive statistics approach has been employed to analyse the questionnaire responses. A proportionately large number of male and female participants have been recruited for the study through proportionate random sampling, which increases the research s eligibility and effectiveness.

While there are a few disadvantages to this research, the main one is that it primarily focuses on the negative features of cartoons, as well as inappropriate language usage and negative behaviour changes among students. The positive effects of viewing cartoons might also be examined in this context in order to compare the levels of negative and positive change throughout student populations. Another factor that is lacking is that just one cartoon is used and analysed at length, and the sample consists of elementary school students and instructors, which does not provide a great deal of diversity to the study.

Article 2:

The goal of the study titled: The effects of close-captioned television on the listening comprehension of intermediate English as a second language (ESL) students (Huang and Eskey, 1999) was to see how closed-captioned television affected intermediate ESL students listening comprehension. Thirty ESL students with an intermediate level of competency were engaged in this research. Since vocabulary/acquisition and comprehension are important variables in listening comprehension, this study looked at how CCTV affected these two subscales. The survey also looked at how people felt about CCTV`s impact on ESL learning. According to the study, CCTV improved ESL students general understanding, vocabulary, and listening skills. Other research factors such as the age of the first ESL lesson and the length of the first ESL session had no effect on the listening comprehension exam.

Research Questions:

The study proposed the following research questions:

1. Will the subjects who watch the episode of CCTV outperform those who watch traditional TV on a listening test based on this episode?

2. Will CCTV improve ESL students vocabulary and phrase acquisition?

3. Will CCTV increase ESL students general comprehension of the program?

4. Do factors such as starting age of ESL instruction, length of time in the United States, length of ESL instruction, time in private language schools, time with tutors and time traveling in English speaking countries correlate with the listening comprehension?

Methods and Methodology:

This research included thirty ESL students from the University of Southern California Language s Academy (USC) in 1998. This study made use of an innovative television series created for ESL classroom teaching called Family Album U.S.A. (FAU).

The episode was chosen by three English professors from USC s Language Academy and was graded on the appropriateness and acceptability of the content as well as relevance and language used in the show. Each participant received a test booklet, together with study instructions and a questionnaire which elicited information on the respondent s personal information like age, nationality and experience/background outside of regular ESL classes in order to analyse the relationship between the listening test and these factors.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: standard television (without subtitles) or closed-circuit television (CCTV) (with captions). Both sets of students watched the identical episode of FAU twice consecutively for fourteen minutes each and then took the identical listening exam in which a Likert scale was used to determine the level of appropriateness of the episode.

The strengths of the research are that it emphasises the benefits of listening comprehension, in contrast to the preceding article, which focused only on the detrimental impact cartoons had on EFL or L2 students. The study was experimental in nature and involved two groups for contrast. Three English instructors were chosen to choose the content that students saw, and it was first evaluated for suitability and efficacy for the age and level of the students participating in the research, which was critical.

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