Intermediate Learner Opinions on Captioned Video Cartoons for Language Acquisition

Intermediate Learner Opinions on Captioned Video Cartoons for Language Acquisition

Stefano Maranzana
Copyright: © 2022 |Pages: 21
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-8981-6.ch012
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Abstract

Second language acquisition researchers seem to agree that compared to traditional textbook-bound instruction, the use of video for pedagogical purposes provides significant enhancements in terms of context, discourse, paralinguistic features, cultural aspects, and student motivation. This study explores the use of the cartoon series Peppa Pig as a resource to enhance listening comprehension skills, vocabulary, and grammar acquisition, and to motivate students. Specifically, it enquires on how intermediate students of Italian perceive the effectiveness of the use of same-language captions while watching Italian (dubbed) children's cartoons in class. The qualitative data that were acquired throughout a 16-week semester show that greater accessibility to the videos was attained with captions on. While helping learners pick up the pronunciation of Italian words, captions also assisted them in isolating and noticing lexical elements, thus clarifying indistinct input and enabling word/phrase recall with more accuracy.
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2. Background

2.1 Rationale for the Study

Second Language acquisition (SLA) researchers have been asking language instructors to recognize the emerging necessities of the younger generations of learners, conceive favorable practices, and identify the usefulness of current technology for L2 instruction in general (Thorne & Reinhardt 2008), or more specifically, of telecollaboration (Antoniadou, 2011; Grazzi & Maranzana, 2016), blogs (Bloch 2007), multiplayer games (Thorne, 2008), social media (Shafie & Singh, 2016), and virtual reality (Berti, Maranzana & Monzingo, 2020). To find viable ways of introducing authentic L2 Italian speech that would familiarize Italian L2 students to vernacular social registers, this research was conducted, reckoning that the educational children’s cartoon in its dubbed form would allow for a streamlined, yet authentic, “everyday life” language exposure, able to engage and motivate learners, while at the same time developing their linguistic skills, specifically their listening comprehension skills. Previous studies, (Maranzana, 2021a & Maranzana, 2021b), prompted to carry on the investigation and focus on the use of captioned animated cartoons in an intermediate-level Italian course.

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