Role of Media in Developing English Language Listening and Speaking Skill

Sveuilite u Zagrebu
Filozofski fakultet
Odsjek za anglistiku
Katedra za metodiku
ROLE OF MEDIA IN DEVELOPING ENGLISH LANGUAGE

LISTENING AND SPEAKING SKILL
Diplomski rad
Studentica: Jelena Grbavec
Mentorica: dr. sc. Marta Medved Krajnovi, izv. prof.
Zagreb, lipanj 2013.

dr. sc. Jelena Mihaljevi Djigunovi, red. prof.
Stela Letica Krevelj, asistent
dr. sc. Marta Medved Krajnovi, izv. prof.

University of Zagreb
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of English
TEFL Section
ROLE OF MEDIA IN DEVELOPING ENGLISH LANGUAGE

LISTENING AND SPEAKING SKILL
Graduation Thesis
Student: Jelena Grbavec
Supervisor: Professor Marta Medved Krajnovi, Ph.D.
Zagreb, June 2013

Professor Jelena Mihaljevi Djigunovi
Assistant Stela Letica Krevelj
Associate Professor Marta Medved Krajnovi

Contents
1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 1
2. Theoretical framework......................................................................................................... 2
2.1. How children acquire languages language input perspective.................................... 2
2.1.1. Listening skill..................................................................................................... 4
2.1.2. Speaking skill..................................................................................................... 5
2.2. The media as a source of language input...................................................................... 6
3. Research............................................................................................................................. 11
3.1. Aim..............................................................................................................................11
3.2. Sample......................................................................................................................... 11
3.3. Instruments and procedure.......................................................................................... 12
3.3.1. Questionnaire for the parents............................................................................ 12
3.3.2. Questionnaire for the students.......................................................................... 13
3.3.3. Questionnaire for the teachers.......................................................................... 13
3.4. Results......................................................................................................................... 13
3.5. Discussion................................................................................................................... 24
4. Conclusion......................................................................................................................... 27
References................................................................................................................................ 29
Saetak..................................................................................................................................... 31
Appendices............................................................................................................................... 32
Abstract
The main focus of this paper is on the influence of the audiovisual media on childrens
acquisition of the listening and speaking skill in English as a foreign language (EFL). The
theoretical part talks about childrens language acquisition from the perspective of language
input and about some other factors that influence language acquisition, such as age, linguistic
environment, presence of English in the media and the role of audiovisual media in the lives
of Croatian children. A hypothesis, that audiovisual media are beneficial in language
acquisition, particularly in the area of the listening skill and pronunciation and fluency, while
accuracy stays unaffected, is put forward. The research part mostly confirms the hypothesis,
with one crucial difference. The male students benefit in the area of accuracy, while the
results for the female students are opposite.
Key words: language acquisition, language input, the media
1. Introduction
Children are surrounded by language, primarily spoken language, since birth. They
acquire their mother tongue primarily by listening to parents and others. However, children
also hear and listen to voices that come from different electronic media such as television or
radio. Gradually, since their introduction into households, mass media have become more
available, wielding great influence over our lifestyles and making it easier for children to be
influenced by them linguistically and otherwise.
Many researchers have found that younger children acquire language at a faster rate
than adults; and, if raised in a bilingual or multilingual environment, are capable of acquiring
two or more languages at the same time and in a way that there is no difference in the degree
of acquisition between them. That is, of course, more difficult to achieve by children in a
monolingual environment, where there is almost no practical use for another language. Such
is the environment in Croatia, where children learn English in school and where, in most
cases, there is no immediate contact with the native speaker of that language, i.e. where
English language is a foreign language. The situation is the same for other foreign languages;
however, English has the advantage over the other languages because of its great presence in
the mass media, television and internet especially.
1
So what does this presence mean for the childrens acquisition of EFL listening and
speaking skill? This is the question that the author of this master thesis tried to answer by
conducting research in two primary schools in Zagreb.
2. Theoretical framework
2.1. How children acquire languages - language input perspective

Children acquire their mother tongue without giving it much thought. They dont think
about the rules, they only see its practical use. It comes to them naturally. They acquire their
second language similarly, especially if that second language is used in the family and not
only in the community in which they live. If that is the case, they can learn two languages, or
perhaps even more, simultaneously and more or less to the same degree.
In a situation where children live in monolingual communities where they only use
their first language and have no practical purpose for any other language, all of the other
languages are, then, considered foreign and children do not acquire any of them as they do
their mother tongue or a second language in a bilingual community. They can only learn them
in schools and it is questionable how well they can internalize the information they get there.
Krashen (1984) wrote about the distinction between acquisition and learning as one of
his hypotheses about second language acquisition. He says that the distinction between
acquisition and learning is such that those who acquire language are not consciously aware of
the rules of the language they have acquired, but instead use their intuition to decide whether
some utterance is wrong or not. He also notes that acquisition can be called implicit learning
or informal learning. Reber (1989) explored the notion of implicit learning and tacit
knowledge as its product. He described implicit learning as an unconscious process that
produces knowledge which can be used implicitly to solve problems and make accurate
decisions about novel stimulus circumstances (ibid., p. 219). So, learners do not only gain
ability to successfully apply rules without consciously thinking about them, but also to use
those rules to face new challenges with circumstances they havent encountered yet during
their learning process. Such tacit knowledge then surpasses knowledge that can be explicitly
presented and Reber even argued that it is richer and more sophisticated than what can be
explicated (ibid., p. 229), and when we apply this to the domain of language acquisition and
learning, it can be argued that what children are taught in school will never be as effective as
what they acquire unconsciously.
However, Lightbown and Spada (2006) point out that students learn more than what
they are taught directly. They say that students are able to use their own internal learning
mechanisms to discover many of the complex rules and relationships that underlie the
language they are learning (ibid., p. 192). What it means is that learners, in our case children,
employ these mechanisms inside and outside the classroom. DeKeyser and Larson (2005) say
that children learn implicitly and adults explicitly and go on saying that adults, unlike
children, use shortcuts and, also unlike children, fail in grasping the complexities of a
language they are learning. They state that children eventually reach full native speaker
competence through long-term implicit learning from massive input (ibid., found in Gass &
Selinker, 2008: 412). Prebeg-Vilke (1991) gives an explanation as to why children learn
implicitly. She claims that children look at language as a means of expressing meaning and
not as a system, therefore they are more susceptible to acquiring language and they do it
automatically, without even knowing it. Also, they dont have developed social attitudes
regarding the usage of one language in relation to another language and they are cognitively
more open to other languages. Both DeKeyser and Larson (2005) and Prebeg-Vilke (1991)
state that the most visible accomplishments of implicit learning are in the area of
pronunciation, while DeKeyser and Larson (2005) also state that this is no less true in the area
of grammar.
Considering all that, it is important what kind of language input they get and how
much of it they get, that is, in what way and how much they are exposed to a certain language.
Children in bilingual environments get input from native speakers of two languages, whereas
children in a monolingual environment get input from native speakers of one language and if
they want to learn another one, they need to look for the input elsewhere. This is where the
media play a role in language acquisition; however, this topic will be dealt with later.
Where learning a foreign language is concerned, it is understood that children are
exposed to it only a few hours a week in the foreign language classes. Of course, as I said,
media play a prominent role in exposing children to foreign languages, especially English,
outside the classroom where they spend a lot of time. However, in the classroom, the teacher
plays the main role in providing the language input to children and teaching them foreign
language skills. There are four main language skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing.
In my research I chose to focus on one receptive and one productive skill, i.e. listening and
speaking. Bearing in mind that language is something that a child first comes in contact with
by hearing it, I chose these two skills as the two that are a direct result of being exposed to
oral language input.
2.1.1. Listening skill
Mihaljevi Djigunovi (1999) states that the listening skill, or listening
comprehension, is a skill that requires listeners active participation in construing the message
they receive. They first have to activate their linguistic knowledge, which enables them to
segment the auditory signals in accordance with language rules. Kruhan (1999) makes a
connection between the ability of listening and pronouncing sounds and words correctly. She
states that being able to hear correctly the sounds that are somewhat different or even not
present in the mother tongue and being able to distinguish such sounds are prerequisites for a
correct pronunciation. If listeners cannot hear those sounds, they cannot imitate them and their
pronunciation will not be correct. So, employing this linguistic knowledge while listening to
be able to distinguish the sounds and hear them correctly leads to a good pronunciation. We
may therefore assume that someone with a highly developed listening skill will also have a
very good pronunciation. Other than their linguistic knowledge the listeners also have to
activate their general knowledge about the world, knowledge about the object of discussion,
the situation they are in, and the speaker to find out the meaning of the message and the
intention of the speaker (Mihaljevi Djigunovi, 1999). As it seems, developing the skill of
listening comprehension is not an easy task and therefore requires a lot of practice and, to be
able to do that, students need a lot of oral language input. Saville-Troike (2006: 162) states:
As with reading, development of advanced academic listening proficiency requires extensive
exposure to oral, academic text. Unlike reading, listening proficiency can usually not be
maintained at a high level without continuing L2 oral input. So, a lot of oral language input
is needed both to develop a high level of the listening skill and to keep that skill at a high
level. Basically, anyone who wants to do that has to be in constant contact with the language
they want to learn. Again, this is a place where it seems that mass media would be able to
provide the needed amount of the language input. Also, a research conducted in Osijek
(Prebeg-Vilke, 1991), which compared language skills of 8th grade students who have studied
English language for either 8, 6 or 5 years, shows that the length of language exposure is best
reflected in the students listening comprehension skill, i.e. the longer the exposure to a
language is, the better the skill of listening comprehension.
2.1.2. Speaking skill

The speaking skill is a productive language skill which can be observed on several
levels. When teaching a foreign language, teachers pay attention to their students
pronunciation, fluency and accuracy.
When it comes to pronunciation, the age factor is especially important. Research
conducted in Croatia and elsewhere confirmed that the younger the learners start to learn a
language, the more chance they have to completely acquire the pronunciation of that
language. Vilke (1999) says that those who start to learn a language after puberty never lose
the foreign accent, which was confirmed by testing 160 beginner learners; 80 8-year-olds and
80 17 to 19-year-olds. The 8-year-olds were far superior in the area of pronunciation. Further
research conducted by Prebeg-Vilke (1991) and others also shows the ability of young
learners to easily adopt the characteristics of the pronunciation of the language they were
learning, in that case English. She says that teachers should insist on reproducing sounds and
intonation based on the model of the native speakers to enable children to successfully acquire
the pronunciation of the foreign language because they are at the age when they can do it with
the most ease and maximum success. Josipovi Smojver (1999) refers to research conducted
in multilingual environments which focused on the language acquisition process in immigrant
population. This research confirmed that neither the length of exposure to a language nor the
level of competence achieved in this language matter when it comes to pronunciation,
particularly pronunciation without the foreign accent. The only factor that matters is the age
limit i.e. acquiring the pronunciation before the age of six or seven. Prebeg-Vilke (1991) also
says that if children start to learn a foreign language before the age of six, they have a good
chance of learning it without the foreign accent. Josipovi Smojver (1999) states that the age
when children first start school is the ideal age for the beginning of the institutionalized
learning of a foreign language and also recommends teachers to pay extra attention to their
own pronunciation, so they could be a good model for the children. Children, in that period of
their lives, have a unique opportunity to acquire the pronunciation of a foreign language in a
natural and easy way, which has been confirmed by numerous neurologic, psycholinguistic
and glottodidactic studies. Kruhan (1999) claims that the teacher has the key role in the
development of the foreign language pronunciation of children and that this wont change,
even with the increasing availability of the media in the homes of children. However, if we
take into account the rapid expansion of technology and its highly increasing availability in
the last few decades, we really have to wonder if this claim is true or not, especially if we
compare the few hours a week children spend in foreign language classes with the vastly
greater amount of free time when they are surrounded by the media. Unlike Kruhan, Prebeg-
Vilke (1991) allows that the media, namely television and radio, be considered as good
models of pronunciation for children next to their teachers.
When it comes to fluency and accuracy, the findings of the research conducted in
Osijek (Prebeg-Vilke, 1991) mentioned earlier show that the length of contact with the
language is best reflected not only in the students skill of listening comprehension, but also
in their use of language. Those students who had longer exposure period used the language
more freely and creatively, although with a lot of mistakes. So, a longer length of exposure to
language affects fluency in a positive way, but it has no such effect on accuracy. The question
remains whether the length of exposure could be successfully replaced by the amount of
exposure, so that it still has the same results.
2.2. The media as a source of language input

When we mention the word media we usually refer to the mass media, both printed
and electronic. In this paper the word media will hold the reference to the electronic media.
Specifically, the focus will be on the auditory and audiovisual mass media, that is, radio,
television and the internet. All of these require a listener, and television and the internet also
require a watcher. These are all electronic media and could be considered new in light of
books, newspapers and other printed media. The main difference between them is that
electronic media dont require any previous knowledge in order to be enjoyed by the user,
whereas printed media require the reading ability of the user, that is, they require a reader. Of
course, the internet is a complicated type of media where the user can be a watcher, listener
and a reader at the same time, and requires some reading ability; however, its primary
channels are the visual and the auditory channel. What is crucial to all these three types of
media is that they are a source of oral language in Croatia, primarily the mother tongue, but
also, closely following, the English language.
Willie wrote about the mass media and language development, and already in 1979,
when he wrote his article, he said: Today in our cities, most learning occurs outside the
classroom. The sheer quantity of information conveyed by press-magazines-film-TV-radio far
exceeds the quantity of information conveyed by school instruction and texts (1979: 58).
Today, in the 21st century, we can add internet to the string of media that provide us with this
overwhelming quantity of information. When we look at it from a linguistic level this means a
lot of language input, particularly oral language input. It was said already that a lot of oral
language input helps in developing and maintaining a high level of listening comprehension;
however, it is a question if it also has that beneficial effect on the speaking skill. The reason
for this concern lies in the fact that there is no interaction between the media and the users.
The users are only on the receiving end and they cannot interact verbally with the media.
Willie said that television tends to limit the child's verbal opportunities because it is
essentially a nonverbal experience for the child (1979: 61). Gass & Selinker (2008) claim
that output is important in developing the speaking skill. They say that is so because the
learner moves away from processing the language only at a semantic level and starts to pay
attention to grammar. So, the output would help develop accuracy in the speech of a learner
and it seems that, because the media provide the learners only with input and no opportunity
for output, learners of a foreign language with little opportunity for using that language should
have lower level of accuracy, as it was seen earlier with the findings of the research in Osijek.
As it was said at the beginning of this paper, in a country with prevalent monolingual
surrounding, like Croatia, any other language than the mother tongue is almost always a
foreign language which is only learnt in schools. There is virtually no opportunity for that
language to be used outside the classroom. However, English language is widely present in
the Croatian media and the media is becoming more present, available and accessible in
Croatian households. With a lot of different content that is designed to attract peoples
attention and, of course, childrens, the media are a rich source of language input, especially
oral language input. As it was mentioned earlier, Lightbown and Spada claim that students
learn more than only what they are taught directly by using their own internal learning
mechanisms to discover many of the complex rules and relationships that underlie the
language they are learning (2006: 192). A study by Williams (2004; found in Gass &
Selinker, 2008) found, through testing the participants awareness of one linguistic aspect of a
fabricated microlanguage, that there could be learning without awareness. Another study by
Gass, Svetics and Lemelin (2003; found in Gass & Selinker, 2008) even found that there
could be learning without attention. What this all could mean is that watching or listening to
different content on any of the media could lead to the acquisition of language, that is,
children watching television or listening to the radio might be implicitly learning the language
they are exposed to even if they are not paying special attention to the language itself. That
means that the media could be a powerful tool for language learning, especially because
children themselves are drawn to the contents provided by the media.
Saville-Troike (2006) states that it is possible to acquire a second language without
any interaction with a native speaker, even possibly to a high level if there is enough
motivation or talent, and by using only audio or audiovisual media as a source of language
input. She gives the example of a group of Chinese delegates who learned English mainly by
listening to BBC broadcasts and succeeded in achieving a high level of L2 proficiency. She
says that this might be explained by including learner engagement with text and electronic
media as types of social interaction, as well as intrapersonal communication in the form of
private speech and writing, or of inner speech (2006: 116). Saville-Troike (ibid.) concludes
that acquiring a second language could be achieved by means other than social interaction,
which then means that social interaction is not absolutely necessary in second language
acquisition. These other means could be different kinds of electronic media that provide
language input, such as above mentioned BBC broadcasts and other contents of television
programs.
Of course, not all contents found in the media are attractive to children, mostly
because children dont find them interesting or amusing, e.g. news broadcasts. However,
when they find something they like, they are ready to study it to a detail, e.g. an animated
series they find interesting. This interest could be observed from the perspective of Krashens
affective filter hypothesis as an affective variable. In this hypothesis he states that affective
variables [are] acting to impede or facilitate the delivery of input to the language acquisition
device (1984: 32). Krashen (ibid.) says that these affective variables act as a filter which, if
strong, prevents the input from being utilized in the language acquisition and, conversely, if it
is weak, it enables input to be fully used. Since children listen or watch different contents on
different media of their own accord and without anybody forcing them, we could assume that
they feel comfortable and safe while doing it, that they arent anxious or feel threatened in any
way and that they are very motivated to do it. Drawing from that assumption, it could be said
that, during that activity, their affective filter is very weak, which would then mean that the
language input they get is optimally used for the process of language acquisition, if we
presume they are listening or watching something that is in a foreign language. So, all of the
difficulties of learning a language through social interaction are avoided when the language
input comes from the media. On the negative side, it is impersonal and there can be no
negotiation of meaning as in a social interaction, but, on the positive side, there is no pressure
on the individual and thus the language is easier to acquire. The individual does not only
make better use of the language input, but is also exposed to a different culture without the
danger of a culture or language shock, both of which could lead to rejection of that culture
along with its language, and that can happen when people find themselves faced with
unfamiliar surroundings which pose a possible threat to their self-confidence.
Vrhovac (1999) writes favorably about using television when learning a foreign
language. She claims that that wealth of moving pictures is an inexhaustible and irreplaceable
source of sociocultural information. She then presents the visual and audio channel of which
that media consists. She states that the visual channel is very valuable in the process of
language learning and language acquisition because the students value more the original and
moving pictures than the neutral and still pictures in the textbook, from which it is often not
possible to determine to what period they belong. The audio channel is important in practicing
listening and understanding of the original oral text. By following the video the students are
exposed to colloquial and contemporary language and this everyday speech can be used as a
basis for learning the prosodic elements of a foreign language.
As they spend increasingly more time in front of the TV screens, each new generation
is growing more accustomed to extracting the meaning from what they see and hear when
they are watching the moving pictures and listening to the accompanying sound, and that is
why using video materials as a teaching aid in the language classroom should prove very
useful. dYdewalle (2002) made a number of studies on the subject of incidental acquisition
of a foreign language by watching television programs which are subtitled, which he
presented in an article. These studies were meant to show whether children learn more by
watching films than the adults. They were designed to discover either how much vocabulary
or how much grammar the participants acquired after showing them clips of a certain film or
animation. The findings showed that there was no significant difference in acquisition
between the children and the adults. The children didnt acquire either more vocabulary or
grammar than the adults, and in some cases they acquired even less. The grammar tests
showed the difference between younger children and children over 12 years of age. Each
group was divided into two subgroups and one subgroup of each group was given some
grammar rules and guidelines about what to look out for when they would be watching the
movie. The result was that the children over 12 years of age performed better when they were
given the rules in advance while it had no effect in the group of younger children. What these
studies have shown is that younger children dont profit from explicit learning. This confirms
what was said earlier about the difference in the adults and childrens way of learning, i.e.
that children learn primarily implicitly, unlike the adults. It was also said that the children
need to be exposed to a large amount of input over a long period of time for the learning to be
successful and dYdewalles studies showed only what happened in a short period of time and
therefore couldnt show the effectiveness of implicit learning.
Bahrani and Sim (2012) conducted a research in which they wanted to find out
whether technology or social interaction has a better effect on the acquisition of English
language speaking skill. The research was conducted with two groups in two different
surroundings. One group was in a surrounding where English was a foreign language, in
which the participants were exposed to English through audiovisual mass media and the other
was in a surrounding where English was a second language, in which the participants were
exposed to English through social interaction. All of this took place outside the classroom, in
the participants free time, i.e. in the informal learning setting, where the participants could
only learn implicitly. The results were in favor of those who were exposed to audiovisual
mass media, although the authors allow for circumstances in which these results may be in
favor of social interaction. They also point out that the results of their research are an
important reminder of the possibility of incorporating authentic input from the various
audiovisual technologies such as TV in the lesson planning (ibid., p. 147). Although the
participants in this research were adults, the results of the research, based on what was
previously said, may also be applied to children who live in a surrounding where English is a
foreign language, as it is in Croatia.
Croatian households are almost the only places where children can be exposed to the
speech of the native speakers of foreign languages. With growing presence of the media in
childrens lives and the strength of the influence they wield over children, their educational
potential should not be ignored by language teachers, especially those who teach
preadolescent children. It was said earlier that the media influence the development of
childrens language skills, even without children paying attention to the language itself. This
is because children learn implicitly and benefit from exposure to a lot of input over a longer
period of time. Also, what is important is that they are easily attracted to them. Therefore, the
language teachers should use contents of the audiovisual media in their lessons to attract their
students attention and turn their focus on the language used in those various media contents.
They could use them to introduce new grammar, vocabulary or phrases and idioms, or to point
to pronunciation of particular sounds etc. That way the students might start paying attention to
the language even when they are watching or listening to something outside the classroom,
which could in return bolster up their language acquisition process.
3. The research
3.1. Aim
The purpose of this research is to investigate the correlation between the students
amount of exposure to the contents in English in mass media and their proficiency in English
language listening and speaking skills.
The main hypothesis of this research is that more exposure to the contents in English
in mass media leads to better proficiency in both listening and speaking skill. The other
hypothesis is that those students who have been exposed to media earlier in their lives should
be more proficient in these skills.
3.2. Sample
The research was conducted among 6th grade students of two elementary schools in
Zagreb. There were altogether 66 participants from six classes. 27 of them were male and 39
of them female. Their parents were also included in the research by providing additional
information about their children and their exposure to media before they started the 5th grade,
This means that the parents provided the information which could show the long-term effects
of exposure to media. There were three English teachers included in the research; however,
they only needed to give an estimation of their students level of listening and speaking skill.
Although the main focus was on the students, the parents and the English teachers
were included in the research to provide the crucial information about the students which the
students themselves were not in the position to give.
3.3. Instruments and procedure

There were three questionnaires which were distributed among 66 students, their
parents and their English teachers. All of them can be found in the appendix part of this paper.
The students were given two questionnaires, one intended for their parents and one for
themselves, which they then took home. The parents first had to agree to let their child
participate in the research. If they didnt, the students returned the empty questionnaires to
their English teacher and they were not included in the research. If the parents agreed to let
their child participate they first filled out their questionnaire and then the student filled out his
or hers, which they also returned to their English teacher. Those students were then included
in the research, and their teachers had to fill out their questionnaires accordingly.
3.3.1. Questionnaire for the parents

The questionnaire for the parents was primarily meant for collecting data on the
amount of time that the students spent watching or listening to media contents in English
before they started the 5th grade. This was meant to establish differences in the students
previous exposure to media contents in English, i.e. to determine the starting point and the
frequency of exposure in the past, so as to get a complete background picture of their
exposure. Therefore, the parents were the source of information which the students
themselves were not able to give.
The parents were first asked to write down the name of their child, to confirm the
identity of the student in question. Then they were asked to state when their child was first
given access to either of the media which offered contents in English and, also, which those
media were. For that last question the choices were between radio, television and internet.
This was to establish whether the student in question had access, or was allowed to access,
any of the media in the past.
Next, there were two tables, one for the media themselves and one for the various
contents found on one or more of the media. The parents were asked to choose one of the five
options offered for each item, i.e. they had to choose between amounts of time (from never to
more than 7 hours a week) their children usually spent watching or listening either to one of
the three media (radio, television, internet) or to one of the offered media contents (songs,
films, animated films, series, animated series, etc.). They had to consider their childs
exposure to either the media themselves or the offered media contents only until the student in
question started the 5th grade. These tables were meant to give the picture of the students
exposure in the past, so as to get a complete overview of the students exposure when
combined with the data from his or her questionnaire.
3.3.2. Questionnaire for the students

The questionnaire for the students was primarily meant for collecting data about how
much time the students usually spend in watching or listening to media contents in English.
Firstly, the students were required to write their full names; however, this was only
needed to provide the teachers with the names of the participants, so they could know for
which student they had to give their estimation of the level of listening and speaking skill.
Then the students were asked which gender they were, what their last years final grades in
English language was and, finally, whether they had radio, TV and/or access to the internet at
home.
Next, there were two tables, same as the ones used in the questionnaire for parents,
with a difference being that the students were required to consider their exposure at the
present time. These two tables were meant to collect data on how much or, more precisely,
how many hours per week, they are usually exposed to contents of the media in English.
3.3.3. Questionnaire for the teachers

The questionnaire for the teachers was simple because they only had one task, which
is to write down names of their students and give an estimation of the level of listening and
speaking skill for each of them. This was done by circling one of the numbers on a scale that
ranged from one to six. Names were written down so that each students questionnaire could
be connected to the estimation in the teachers questionnaire.
The purpose of the estimation of the level of listening and speaking skill was so that it
could be correlated with the data on the amount of exposure from the previous two
questionnaires.
3.4. Results
In the parents questionnaire there was a question about the age when their child first
started to be exposed to any of the media in question (radio, television, and the internet).
Table 1 shows the parents answers to that question. The answers ranged from 0 (from the
time of birth) to 10. The arithmetic mean value M = 2.90, along with the standard deviation
value SD = 2.490, shows that most of the students first gained access to the media between
the time they were born and the age of 6, with the average age being the age of 3.
Table 1: The average age when the children first gained access to the media
N Minimum Maximum Mean SD

The age the
student first
64 0 10 2,90 2,490
gained access to
the media
Table 2 shows how the age when the students first gained access to media is correlated
with their teachers estimations of the level of their English language listening and speaking
skill, as well as their school grades from the previous academic year. The speaking skill is
divided into two parts: pronunciation together with fluency and accuracy. The results show
that there is a statistically significant negative correlation of the age when the students first
gained access to the media with the students level of listening and speaking skill estimated by
their teachers. This negative correlation was weak for all of them; for listening it was r = -
0.285 (p < 0.05), for pronunciation and fluency it was r = -0.345 (p < 0.01), and for accuracy
it was r = -0.306 (p < 0.05). This signifies that there is a connection between the age when the
students first gained access to the media and the level of their listening and speaking skill as
estimated by their teachers, where the teachers estimated the listening and speaking level to be
higher for those who gained access to the media earlier. There was no statistically significant
correlation between the age when the students first gained access to the media and their
grades from the previous school year (r = -0.228; p > 0.05), which is also shown in table 2,
signifying that there is no real connection between these two variables.
Table 2: Correlation of the age when the students first gained access to the media with the
teachers estimations of their level of listening and speaking skill and their school grades
from the previous year
Pronunciation School
Listening and fluency Accuracy grades
The age the Pearson
students first Correlation -,285* -,345** -,306* -,228
gained access Sig. (2-tailed) ,022 ,005 ,014 ,077
to the media N 64 64 64 61
*p<,05 **p<,01
When the same correlation is viewed from the perspective of the students gender, the
results show that there is no statistically significant correlation between the age when the male
students first gained access to the media and the level of their listening and speaking skill and
their school grades, while for the female students there are three statistically significant
negative correlations, two of them moderate and one weak. The moderate ones are in the areas
of listening (r = -0.492; p < 0.01) and pronunciation and fluency (r = -0.440; p < 0.01), while
the weak one is in the area of accuracy (r = -0.328; p < 0.05). What this means is that the
earlier the parents of the female students estimated their daughters gained access to the media
the higher their teachers estimation of their level of listening, pronunciation and fluency and
accuracy was. The results are shown in table 3.
Table 3: Gender differences in correlations between the age when the students first gained
access to the media and the teachers estimations of their level of listening and speaking skill
and their school grades from the previous year
The age the students first gained Pronunciation School

access to the media Listening and fluency Accuracy grade
Pearson Correlation -,142 -,303 -,349 -,308
Male students Sig. (2-tailed) ,489 ,132 ,081 ,134
N 26 26 26 25
Pearson Correlation -,492** -,440** -,328* -,304
Female
Sig. (2-tailed) ,002 ,006 ,044 ,072
students
N 38 38 38 36
*p<,05 **p<,01
The parents were also asked which of the media their child had access to. The parents
could choose from the three different media. Their answers were grouped into 7 groups: radio,
television, internet, radio/television, radio/internet, television/internet and all of them
together. The results, shown in figure 1, tell us that more than the half of the students had
access to all of the media and almost third of them had access only to television and the
internet. Table 4 shows that almost all of the students had access to television, almost 90% of
them had access to the internet and that a little more than 65% of them had access to radio.
Figure 1: The type of the media the students had access to in the past (by groups)
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
television internet radio/ television/ all
television internet
Table 4: The type of the media the students had access to in the past (by percentage)
Media access in the past Percent
Yes 66,7
Radio access
No 33,3
Yes 98,5
Television access
No 1,5
Yes 89,4
Internet access
No 10,6
The students were also asked whether they had access to any of the three media at the
present time. The results were, for all of the three media, almost 100% in favor of having
access to the media in question, which means that almost all (97%) of the students have
access to all of the media at the present time. The results are shown in table 5.
Table 5: The type of the media the students have access to at the present time
Media access at the present Percent
Yes 97,0
Radio access
No 3,0
Yes 98,5
Television access
No 1,5
Yes 98,5
Internet access
No 1,5
A correlation was made between the availability of the media in the past, as well as at
the present time, and school grades and teachers estimations of the level of the students
listening and speaking skill. The results, which can be seen in table 6, show that only the
negative correlations between the availability of the radio in the past and both the school
grades and the listening and speaking skill were statistically significant, with the correlation
value for the school grades r = -0.332 (p < 0.01), for the listening skill r = -0.384 (p < 0.01),
for pronunciation and fluency r = -0.442 (p < 0.01) and for accuracy r = -0.381(p < 0.01).
While the rest have a weak correlation, pronunciation and fluency has moderate, although
listening and accuracy lean in that direction. What this means is that those who had access to
the radio in the past had higher school grades and their teachers estimated the level of their
listening and speaking skill to be higher, especially in the area of pronunciation and fluency.
Table 6: Correlation of the availability of the media in the past and at the present time with
school grades and the level of students listening and speaking skill
Media access in the past (1) School Pronunciation
and at the present (2) grades Listening and fluency Accuracy
Radio Pearson -,332** -,384** -,442** -,381**
access 1 Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) ,008 ,001 ,000 ,002
N 63 66 66 66
Television Pearson -,177 -,092 -,138 -,214
Sig. (2-tailed) ,166 ,463 ,269 ,085
N 63 66 66 66
Internet Pearson -,029 -,040 -,018 -,011
Sig. (2-tailed) ,824 ,748 ,887 ,933
N 63 66 66 66
Radio Pearson ,117 ,101 ,095 ,184
Sig. (2-tailed) ,360 ,422 ,448 ,139
N 63 66 66 66
Television Pearson ,082 ,125 ,169 ,178
Sig. (2-tailed) ,522 ,318 ,175 ,153
N 63 66 66 66
Internet Pearson -,177 -,200 -,138 -,214
Sig. (2-tailed) ,166 ,107 ,269 ,085
N 63 66 66 66
**p<,01
Another correlation was made to see the difference in correlation between radio access
in the past and students school grades and teachers estimations of the level of their listening
and speaking skill based on the gender of the students. The results for the male students
showed that the only statistically significant negative correlation was with accuracy, which
was moderate (r = -0.417; p < 0.05), while for the female students there were three
statistically significant negative correlations, all of them moderate, in the areas of listening (r
= -0.432; p < 0.01), pronunciation and fluency (r = -0.452; p < 0.01) and school grades (r = -
0.415; p < 0.05). This means that the male students level of accuracy as estimated by their
teachers was higher for those who had access to the radio, while the female students who had
access to the radio in the past had their level of listening and pronunciation and fluency
estimated as higher than those who havent had access, and, also, their school grades were
better. The results are shown in table 7.
Table 7: Gender differences in correlations between the availability of the radio in the past
and school grades and the level of students listening and speaking skill
School Pronunciation
Radio access in the past grade Listening and fluency Accuracy
Pearson Correlation -,271 -,280 -,371 -,417*
N 26 27 27 27
Pearson Correlation -,415* -,432** -,452** -,250
Female students Sig. (2-tailed) ,011 ,006 ,004 ,125
N 37 39 39 39
*p<,05 **p<,01
Both the students and their parents had to fill in two tables. The first one was about
how much time the students spend per week watching or listening to the contents in English
on one of the three media. The results of the correlations between the time spent on each
media, both in the past and at the present time, and the students school grades and the
teachers estimations of the levels of their listening and speaking skill are shown in table 8.
The only statistically significant correlations, although weak, were between the students
estimation of how much time per week they spend on watching television and the teachers
estimations of the level of their listening skill and pronunciation and fluency, where the
correlation for the listening skill is r = 0.249 (p < 0.05) and for pronunciation and fluency r =
0.251(p < 0.05), which means that the more time the students said they spend on watching
television the higher the teachers estimations of their level of listening skill and
pronunciation and fluency were.
Table 8: Correlation of the weekly exposure to the media in the past and at the present time
with students school grades and teachers estimations of the level of their listening and
speaking skill
Weekly exposure to the media in School Pronunciation
the past (1) and at the present (2) grades Listening and fluency Accuracy
Radio 1 Pearson Correlation ,096 ,127 ,151 ,134
Sig. (2-tailed) ,454 ,309 ,227 ,282
N 63 66 66 66
Television 1 Pearson Correlation -,068 ,007 ,073 ,081
Sig. (2-tailed) ,597 ,952 ,561 ,517
N 63 66 66 66
Internet 1 Pearson Correlation ,008 ,068 ,028 ,128
Sig. (2-tailed) ,948 ,588 ,826 ,306
N 63 66 66 66
Radio 2 Pearson Correlation ,117 ,155 ,186 ,148
Sig. (2-tailed) ,362 ,212 ,134 ,236
N 63 66 66 66
Television 2 Pearson Correlation ,229 ,249* ,251* ,199
Sig. (2-tailed) ,071 ,043 ,042 ,110
N 63 66 66 66
Internet 2 Pearson Correlation ,094 ,124 ,060 ,161
Sig. (2-tailed) ,462 ,323 ,631 ,197
N 63 66 66 66
*p<,05
Another correlation was made to see the difference in correlation between the male
and female students weekly exposure to television at the present time and students school
grades and their teachers estimations of the level of their listening and speaking skill. The
results showed that there were two statistically significant correlations for the male students,
both of them moderate. One was with the school grades (r = 0.416; p < 0.05) and the other
with accuracy (r = 0.423; p < 0.05). This means that the higher the male students estimations
of their weekly exposure to television were, the higher their school grades were, as well as
teachers estimations of the level of their accuracy. As for the female students, there was only
one statistically significant correlation, and it was weak. This was with the listening skill (r =
0.325; p < 0.05). That means that the higher the female students estimations of their weekly
exposure to television were, the higher their teachers estimations of the level of their
listening skill was. The results are shown in table 9.
Table 9: Gender differences in correlation between the weekly exposure to television at the
present time with students school grades and teachers estimations of the level of their
listening and speaking skill
Weekly exposure to television at the School Pronunciation
present grade Listening and fluency Accuracy
Pearson Correlation ,416* ,328 ,362 ,423*
N 26 27 27 27
Pearson Correlation ,298 ,325* ,281 ,120
Female students Sig. (2-tailed) ,073 ,044 ,083 ,466
N 37 39 39 39
*p<,05
A comparison in percentages for each of the possible answers for these areas shows
that most of the estimations of the weekly exposure, estimated both by parents and students,
showed that students had either spent in the past or spend now mostly 1-3 hours per week on
each media. The exception is the students estimation about watching television. Most of the
students estimated that they spend 3-5 hours per week on watching television (31.8%), and
almost the same number of them (30.3%) said that they watch television more than 7 hours
per week. The results are shown in table 10.
Table 10: The estimation of the weekly exposure to the media in the past and at the present
time
Hours per week Radio 1 Television 1 Internet 1 Radio 2 Television 2 Internet 2

never 33,3% 1,5% 3,0% 25,8% 3,0% 1,5%
1-3h 40,9% 30,3% 43,9% 48,5% 18,2% 42,4%
3-5h 9,1% 16,7% 19,7% 13,6% 31,8% 18,2%
5-7h 7,6% 22,7% 15,2% 4,5% 16,7% 16,7%
more than 7 hours 9,1% 28,8% 18,2% 7,6% 30,3% 21,2%
A t-test was made to show the differences in the male and female students weekly
exposure to the media both in the past and at the present time. The only statistically
significant difference was in the parents estimation of their childrens weekly exposure to
television in the past (t = 2.134; p < 0.05), which means that in the past the male students (Mm
= 3.85) spent more time at watching television than the female students (Mf = 3.21). The
results are not shown in table form.
The other table that parents and students had to fill in was about different contents that
could be found on any of the three media in question. There were 10 of such contents: songs,
films, series, animated films, animated series, documentaries, music videos, shows, video
clips and videogames. Table 11 shows the correlations of the parents answers about their
childrens weekly exposure to different media contents and students school grades and
teachers estimation of the level of students listening and speaking skill. The results show
that there are two statistically significant, although weak, correlations, the one between the
videogames and the listening skill, which is r = -0.292 (p < 0.05), and the other between
videogames and pronunciation and fluency, which is r = -0.291 (p < 0.05). These correlations
are both weak and negative and they mean that the more time the parents estimated their
children spent playing videogames in the past, the lower the teachers estimations of the level
of students listening skill and pronunciation and fluency was.
Table 11: Correlations of the weekly exposure to different media contents in the past with the
students school grades and the level of their listening and speaking skill
Weekly exposure to media contents Pronunciation School
in the past Listening and fluency Accuracy grades
Songs Pearson Correlation -,125 -,108 -,157 -,143
Sig. (2-tailed) ,316 ,388 ,209 ,263
N 66 66 66 63
Films Pearson Correlation ,113 ,094 ,057 ,130
Sig. (2-tailed) ,368 ,451 ,652 ,310
N 66 66 66 63
Series Pearson Correlation ,198 ,217 ,208 ,209
Sig. (2-tailed) ,112 ,079 ,093 ,101
N 66 66 66 63
Animated films Pearson Correlation ,143 ,049 ,002 ,137
Sig. (2-tailed) ,251 ,696 ,985 ,285
N 66 66 66 63
Animated Pearson Correlation
,114 ,059 -,025 ,114
series
Sig. (2-tailed) ,362 ,636 ,841 ,373
N 66 66 66 63
Documentaries Pearson Correlation ,087 ,034 -,014 -,037
Sig. (2-tailed) ,487 ,788 ,911 ,773
N 66 66 66 63
Music videos Pearson Correlation -,084 -,128 -,156 -,161
Sig. (2-tailed) ,502 ,306 ,212 ,208
N 66 66 66 63
Shows Pearson Correlation ,133 ,067 ,131 ,162
Sig. (2-tailed) ,288 ,593 ,295 ,206
N 66 66 66 63
Video clips Pearson Correlation ,031 ,000 ,009 -,021
Sig. (2-tailed) ,806 ,999 ,942 ,872
N 66 66 66 63
Videogames Pearson Correlation -,292* -,291* -,181 -,244
Sig. (2-tailed) ,018 ,018 ,146 ,054
N 66 66 66 63
*p<,05
Table 12 shows the correlations between students answers about the weekly exposure
to different media contents at the present time and their school grades and teachers
estimations of the level of their listening and speaking skill. The results show that there are
two statistically significant weak correlations, one positive and the other negative. The
positive one is between watching series and pronunciation and fluency and it is r = 0.256 (p <
0.05). The negative one is between playing videogames and pronunciation and fluency and it
is r = -0.248 (p < 0.05). The first one means that the more time the students estimated they
spend on watching series, the higher teachers estimation of their pronunciation and fluency
was, and the second one means that the more time the students estimated they spend on
playing videogames, the lower teachers estimation of their pronunciation and fluency was.
Table 12: Correlations of the weekly exposure to different media contents at the present time
with the students school grades and the level of their listening and speaking skill
Weekly exposure to media contents at the Pronunciation School
present Listening and fluency Accuracy grades
Songs Pearson Correlation ,069 ,054 ,062 ,063
Sig. (2-tailed) ,583 ,667 ,620 ,624
N 66 66 66 63
Films Pearson Correlation ,122 ,085 ,052 ,119
Sig. (2-tailed) ,329 ,497 ,676 ,354
N 66 66 66 63
Series Pearson Correlation ,233 ,256* ,184 ,213
Sig. (2-tailed) ,060 ,038 ,140 ,093
N 66 66 66 63
Animated films Pearson Correlation ,195 ,184 ,138 ,199
Sig. (2-tailed) ,116 ,138 ,268 ,118
N 66 66 66 63
Animated series Pearson Correlation ,105 ,092 -,020 ,128
Sig. (2-tailed) ,399 ,462 ,876 ,317
N 66 66 66 63
Documentaries Pearson Correlation ,022 -,027 -,058 -,003
Sig. (2-tailed) ,858 ,831 ,641 ,981
N 66 66 66 63
Music videos Pearson Correlation -,083 -,153 -,166 -,109
Sig. (2-tailed) ,506 ,220 ,183 ,397
N 66 66 66 63
Shows Pearson Correlation ,161 ,093 ,176 ,114

Sig. (2-tailed) ,197 ,460 ,158 ,373
N 66 66 66 63
Video clips Pearson Correlation ,111 ,048 ,124 ,072
Sig. (2-tailed) ,373 ,702 ,322 ,575
N 66 66 66 63
Videogames Pearson Correlation -,191 -,248* -,182 -,213
Sig. (2-tailed) ,125 ,045 ,143 ,094
N 66 66 66 63
*p<,05
A t-test was made to show the differences in the male and female students weekly
exposure to the different media contents both in the past and at the present time. The only
statistically significant difference was in the students estimation of their weekly exposure to
videogames at the present time (t = 2.989; p < 0.01), which showed that at the present time
the male students (Mm = 3.37) spend more time at playing videogames than the female
students (Mf = 2.51). The results are not shown in table form.
Correlations were also made, based on the sex of the students, between students
school grades, teachers estimations of the level of students listening and speaking skill and
both weekly exposure to different media contents in the past and at the present time. As for
the male students there were 6 statistically significant correlations, five moderate and one
weak. The area of pronunciation and fluency was positively correlated with both parents
estimation of their sons weekly exposure to series in the past (r = 0.421; p < 0.05) and their
estimation of their own weekly exposure to series at the present time (r = 0.454; p < 0.05).
This means that the higher parents estimations of their sons weekly exposure to series in the
past were, as well as the male students estimations of their own weekly exposure to series at
the present time, the higher teachers estimations of the level of the male students
pronunciation and fluency were. The area of accuracy was also positively correlated with
parents estimations of their sons weekly exposure to series in the past (r = 0.427; p < 0.05)
and with male students estimations of their own weekly exposure to series (r = 0.466; p <
0.05), documentaries (r = 0.390; p < 0.05) and video clips (r = 0.424; p < 0.05) at the present
time. This means that the higher parents estimations of their sons weekly exposure to series
in the past were, as well as the male students estimations of their own weekly exposure to
series, documentaries and video clips at the present time, the higher teachers estimations of
the level of the male students accuracy were. The results are shown in table 13.
Table 13: Correlations of the male students weekly exposure to different media contents in
the past and at the present time with their school grades and the level of their listening and
speaking skill
Male students' weekly exposure to

media contents in the past (1) and at Listening Accuracy
grade and fluency
the present (2)
Series 1 Pearson Correlation ,313 ,281 ,421* ,427*
Sig. (2-tailed) ,120 ,156 ,029 ,026
N 26 27 27 27
Series 2 Pearson Correlation ,329 ,326 ,454* ,466*
Sig. (2-tailed) ,101 ,097 ,017 ,014
N 26 27 27 27
Documentaries 2 Pearson Correlation ,283 ,377 ,307 ,390*
Sig. (2-tailed) ,162 ,052 ,119 ,044
N 26 27 27 27
Video clips 2 Pearson Correlation ,288 ,294 ,307 ,424*
Sig. (2-tailed) ,154 ,136 ,120 ,027
N 26 27 27 27
*p<,05
There were 9 statistically significant correlations for the female students, two of them
moderate and the rest weak, and they were all negative. The area of listening was negatively
correlated with parents estimations of their daughters weekly exposure to videogames in the
past (r = -0.328; p < 0.05). This means that the higher parents estimations of their daughters
weekly exposure to videogames in the past were, the lower teachers estimations of the level
of the female students listening skill were. The area of pronunciation and fluency was
negatively correlated both with parents estimations of their daughters weekly exposure to
videogames in the past (r = -0.394; p < 0.05) and female students estimations of their own
weekly exposure to videogames at the present time (r = -0.382; p < 0.05). This means that the
higher parents estimations of their daughters weekly exposure to videogames in the past
were, as well as the female students estimations of their own weekly exposure to videogames
at the present time, the lower teachers estimations of the level of the female students
pronunciation and fluency were. The area of accuracy was negatively correlated with parents
estimations of their daughters weekly exposure to songs (r = -0.411; p < 0.01) and
documentaries (r = -0.338; p < 0.05) in the past, and with female students estimations of their
own weekly exposure to animated series (r = -0.326; p < 0.05), documentaries (r = -0.453; p <
0.01) and music videos (r = -0.351; p < 0.05) at the present time. This means that the higher
parents estimations of their daughters weekly exposure to songs and documentaries in the
past were, as well as the female students estimations of their weekly exposure to animated
series, documentaries and music videos at the present time, the lower teachers estimations of
the level of the female students accuracy were. School grades were negatively correlated
with parents estimations of their daughters weekly exposure to videogames in the past (r = -
0.358; p < 0.05). This means that the higher parents estimations of their daughters weekly
exposure to videogames in the past were, the lower their school grades were. The results are
shown in table 14.
Table 14: Correlations of the female students weekly exposure to different media contents in
the past and at the present time with their school grades and the level of their listening and
speaking skill
Female students' weekly exposure to
media contents in the past (1) and at the Listening Accuracy
grade and fluency
present (2)
Songs 1 Pearson Correlation -,246 -,210 -,272 -,411**
Sig. (2-tailed) ,141 ,199 ,093 ,009
N 37 39 39 39
Documentaries 1 Pearson Correlation -,200 -,119 -,203 -,338*
Sig. (2-tailed) ,236 ,472 ,216 ,035
N 37 39 39 39
Videogames 1 Pearson Correlation -,358* -,328* -,394* -,250
Sig. (2-tailed) ,030 ,041 ,013 ,125
N 37 39 39 39
Animated series 2 Pearson Correlation -,116 -,102 -,034 -,326*
Sig. (2-tailed) ,495 ,535 ,836 ,043
N 37 39 39 39
Documentaries 2 Pearson Correlation -,214 -,303 -,300 -,453**
Sig. (2-tailed) ,204 ,061 ,064 ,004
N 37 39 39 39
MusicVideos2 Pearson Correlation -,322 -,163 -,310 -,351*
Sig. (2-tailed) ,052 ,320 ,054 ,029
N 37 39 39 39
Videogames2 Pearson Correlation -,293 -,305 -,382* -,312
Sig. (2-tailed) ,078 ,059 ,016 ,053
N 37 39 39 39
*p<,05 **p<,01
3.5. Discussion
The results have shown that the earlier the students gained access to the media, the
higher teachers estimations of the level of their listening and speaking skill was, and this
could mostly be seen in the area of pronunciation and fluency, which had the highest
correlation among the four areas that were correlated with the age the students first gained
access to the media. It was expected that there would be significant correlation with the
listening skill and pronunciation and fluency, but the significant correlation with accuracy was
unexpected. However, all of these correlations were weak because the sample wasnt very
big, so the correlation might be stronger if there were more participants, which stands for all
of the correlations made in this research. School grades werent significantly correlated to the
age the students first gained access to the media, which was expected because of the
complexity of the grading itself, which relies not only on the abilities of the students, but also
on other traits which influence their academic success, such as motivation, effort, behavior in
the classroom etc. When those correlations were looked at from the perspective of the gender
of the students, only the female students retained all of the significant correlations, and those
for the listening skill and pronunciation and fluency were even higher and they were no longer
weak, but moderate.
Parents were asked to state which of the three media in question their children had
access to in the past and the students had to answer the same, only for the present time. Both
in the past and in the present almost all of the students had access to television and the
internet, while only little over 65% of the students had access to the radio in the past, while
almost all of them have access to it at the present time. When those variables were correlated
with the listening and speaking skill and school grades, only significant correlations were
between radio access in the past and these areas. This is probably so because only the sample
groups for the radio access in the past were of the relatively same size, so they could be
compared to one another successfully. In the sample groups for the other media, a comparison
between those who did have access and those who didnt was impossible due to the
insufficient size of the sample of those who didnt have access. Again, the area of
pronunciation and fluency had the highest correlation value, which was moderate, while the
others were weak. When that correlation was looked at from the perspective of the gender of
the students, the results for the male students showed significant moderate correlation which
was in favor of those who had radio access in the past in the area of accuracy, while the
results for the female students showed significant moderate correlations in the other three
areas, also in favor of those who had radio access in the past.
There were two tables that both the students and the parents had to fill out. The first
one was about the weekly exposure to the three media in question, where parents again
answered for the past and students for the present time. The results showed that there was
only a weak correlation of the weekly exposure to television at the present with the areas of
listening and pronunciation and fluency, which meant that more exposure was connected to
higher teachers estimations of the proficiency level in those two areas. When that correlation
was looked from the perspective of the sex of the students, the results for the male students
showed significant moderate correlations in the area of accuracy and school grades, while the
results for the female students showed only one significant weak correlation, which was in the
area of listening.
A frequency analysis showed that students spend (and had spent in the past) most of
the time watching television, which was followed by the use of internet and then listening to
the radio. The only difference that was found between the male and the female students was in
the amount of time spent in watching television in the past, where the male students spent
more time at watching television than the female students.
The second table was about the weekly exposure to different media contents, where
parents again answered for the past and students for the present time. Parents answers
showed that there were significant weak correlations between playing videogames and
teachers estimations of the level of students listening skill and pronunciation and fluency,
which showed the tendency that those who played videogames more have lower levels of
their listening skill and pronunciation and fluency. Students answers also showed that
tendency, but only in the area of pronunciation and fluency. However, that tendency only
remained with the female students, where it showed that more exposure to videogames in the
past was related to lower estimations of their level of listening and pronunciation and fluency
as well as their school grades, and their pronunciation and fluency was also negatively
correlated with the exposure at the present. All of the students answers also showed positive
correlation with watching series, but it was also weak. This correlation only remained with the
male students, who showed that more exposure to series, both in the past and at the present,
was generally followed by higher estimations of their levels of pronunciation and fluency and
accuracy, and all of those correlations were no longer weak, but moderate. Their level of
accuracy had been also estimated higher when there was more exposure to documentaries and
video clips, with the latter correlation also being moderate. The correlations for the female
students were all negative. Beside the videogames, the results also showed that more exposure
to songs and documentaries in the past, and to animated series, documentaries and music
videos at the present was followed with lower estimations of their level of accuracy.
In general, what the results showed was that higher level of the listening and speaking
skill had a weak connection with the earlier age of gaining access to the media, exposure to
television at the present and exposure to series at the present, and that the lower level of the
listening and speaking skill had a weak connection with playing videogames in the past. The
results for the female students showed that in general more exposure to certain media contents
is connected to lower levels of accuracy, and more exposure to videogames in the past to
lower level of listening and, both in the past and at the present, to lower level of pronunciation
and fluency. The results for the male students showed that more exposure to series in the past
and at the present is connected to higher levels of pronunciation and fluency and accuracy,
and the latter is also connected to more exposure to documentaries and video clips. It is
interesting to observe how more exposure to documentaries had an opposite effect to male
and female students in the area of accuracy, where with the former it was connected to higher
level of accuracy and with the latter to the lower level, which is indicative of how different
effect exposure to the media has on the male and the female students.
4. Conclusion
The results have shown that the earlier the children gain access to the media, the higher
their level of listening and speaking skill are. As expected there is a connection between a
higher amount of exposure to media and a higher level of the listening and speaking skill;
however, the connection was only related to the exposure to television. As to the different
media contents, there was only one positive correlation, which was with series that the
students are exposed to at the present time. This could mean that children might be more
attentive to language the more they learn it in school and therefore the input they get is used
better in language acquisition. As it was seen, television is the media on which the students
spend the most time, and therefore has more connection with listening and pronunciation and
fluency, especially where the series are concerned, and perhaps it would be wise for English
teachers to use that as an advantage when teaching language. If they used clips or whole
episodes of a series in the classroom, the students language acquisition could be even more
enhanced during time when students enjoy their favorite series and some other television
contents.
The only concern, although only for the female students, is playing videogames which
shows negative correlation with their listening skill and pronunciation and fluency.
Surprisingly, other media contents show the same tendency, particularly in the area of
accuracy, which is opposite to male students, whose results have shown connection between
more exposure to some media contents and high levels of accuracy. So, teachers would be
wise to advise students to pay attention to grammar when watching something on television.
To sum up, the hypothesis that more exposure to the media leads to higher levels of
listening and pronunciation and fluency, while accuracy stays unaffected, proved mostly true.
The only difference was that accuracy was not unaffected. Moreover, the results for the male
and the female students were opposite in that particular area. While teachers estimated higher
levels of accuracy for the male students when there was more exposure to the media, they
conversely estimated lower levels of accuracy for the female students. Perhaps the reason for
this lies in the difference of input processing in different genders, and this is something that
future research on this subject could explore.
References
Bahrani, T. & Sim, T. S. (2012). Informal language learning setting: Technology or social
interaction. TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 11, 142-149.
Retrieved August 29, 2012, from http://www.tojet.net/
dYdewalle, G. (2002). Foreign-language acquisition by watching subtitled television
programs. Journal of Foreign Language Education and Research, 12, 59-77. Retrieved
August 29, 2012, from http://www.kansai-u.ac.jp/fl/publication/pdf_education/04/4geryd'
yde walle.pdf
dYdewalle, G. & Van de Poel, M. (1999). Incidental foreignlanguage acquisition by
children watching subtitled television programs. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 28,
227244. . Retrieved August 29, 2012, from the OVID database.
Gass, S.M. & Selinker, L. (2008). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. 3rd
ed. New York and London: Routledge.
Josipovi, V. (1999). Usvajanje izgovora stranog jezika u ranoj kolskoj dobi. In Yvonne
Vrhovac et al. (Eds.), Strani jezik u osnovnoj koli (pp. 93-99). Zagreb: Naprijed.
Josipovi Smojver, V. (2007). Listening comprehension and Croatian learners of English as a
foreign language. Metodika: asopis za teoriju i praksu metodika u predkolskom odgoju,
kolskoj i visokokolskoj izobrazbi, 8, 137-147. Retrieved August 29, 2012, from the
Hrak database.
Krashen, S. D. (1984). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford:
Pergamon Press.
Krashen, S. D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford:
Pergamon Press.
Kruhan, M. (1999). Izgovor. In Yvonne Vrhovac et al. (Eds.), Strani jezik u osnovnoj koli
(pp. 99-108). Zagreb: Naprijed.

Lightbown, P.M. & Spada, N. (2006). How languages are learned. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Mihaljevi Djigunovi, J. (1999). Sluanje. In Yvonne Vrhovac et al. (Eds.), Strani jezik u
osnovnoj koli (pp. 83-93). Zagreb: Naprijed.
Medved Krajnovi, M. (2007). How well do Croatian learners speak English. Metodika:
asopis za teoriju i praksu metodika u predkolskom odgoju, kolskoj i visokokolskoj
izobrazbi, 8, 182-189. Retrieved August 29, 2012, from the Hrak database.
Prebeg-Vilke, M. (1991). Vae dijete i jezik: materinski, drugi i strani jezik. Zagreb: kolska
knjiga.
Reber, A. S. (1989). Implicit learning and tacit knowledge. Journal of Experimental
Psychology: General, 118, 219-235. Retrieved August 29, 2012, from
http://bigfatgenius.com/532%20Summer%202008/Reber-Implicit_Learning_and_Tacit_
Knowledge.pdf.
Saville-Troike, M. (2006). Introducing second language acquisition. Cambridge, New York,
Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, So Paulo: Cambridge University Press.
Retrieved August 29, 2012, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/63944142/Introducing-
Second-Language-Acquisition
Vilke, M. (1999). Djeca i uenje stranih jezika u kolama. In Yvonne Vrhovac et al. (Eds.),
Strani jezik u osnovnoj koli (pp. 17-31). Zagreb: Naprijed.
Vrhovac, Y. (1999). Televizija u nastavi stranih jezika. In Yvonne Vrhovac et al. (Eds.),
Strani jezik u osnovnoj koli (pp. 333-338). Zagreb: Naprijed.
Willie, M. (1979). The mass media and language development. Australian Journal of Teacher
Education, 4, 58-64. Retrieved August 29, 2012, from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol4/
iss2/5/
Saetak
Tema ovog rada bila je promotriti koliko audiovizualni mediji utjeu na usvajanje vjetine
sluanja i govorenja engleskoga jezika kod djece. U teoretskom se dijelu govorilo o usvajanju
jezika kod djece s obzirom na jezini unos, te o nekim drugim faktorima koji utjeu na
usvajanje jezika, poput dobi, jezinog okruenja, prisutnosti engleskoga jezika u medijima te
ulozi audiovizualnih medija u ivotima hrvatske djece. Iznijeta je hipoteza da audiovizualni
mediji pridonose boljem usvajanju jezika, pogotovo u podruju sluanja s razumijevanjem te
izgovora i tenosti, dok nemaju takva utjecaja u podruju gramatike tonosti. U
istraivakom se dijelu uglavnom potvrdila hipoteza, s jednom kljunom razlikom.
Ispostavilo se da su uenici profitirali u podruju gramatike tonosti, dok su rezultati za
uenice bili opreni.
Kljune rijei: usvajanje jezika, jezini unos, mediji

Appendices
Questionnaire for the parents:

ULOGA MEDIJA U RAZVIJANJU VJETINA SLUANJA I GOVORENJA
ENGLESKOG JEZIKA UPITNIK ZA RODITELJE
Dragi roditelji,
ovaj je upitnik dio diplomskoga rada koji piem na Odsjeku za anglistiku Filozofskoga
fakulteta Sveuilita u Zagrebu. Svrha je tog diplomskoga rada ustanoviti u kojoj je mjeri
izloenost djece sadrajima na engleskom jeziku izvan kole povezana s njihovim vjetinama
sluanja i govorenja engleskoga jezika, odnosno koliki utjecaj na te jezine vjetine imaju
mediji s kojima se djeca susreu svakodnevno i s kojima su se susretala odmalena.
Ovaj upitnik ispituje od koje dobi je Vae dijete dobilo pristup medijima sa sadrajima na
engleskom jeziku te koliko je vremena provodilo u gledanju ili sluanju istih do polaska u 5.
razred osnovne kole.
Podaci iz upitnika koristit e se iskljuivo u svrhu izrade diplomskog rada te bih Vam bila
zahvalna kad biste mi pomogli u izradi rada i ispunili ovaj upitnik.
Za bilo koja dodatna pitanja moete me kontaktirati na jgrbavec@gmail.com.
1) Ime i prezime Vaeg djeteta: __________________________________________

2)
a) U kojoj je dobi Vae dijete dobilo pristup barem jednom od medija (u pitanju su radio,
televizija i internet) sa sadrajima na engleskom jeziku?
________________________________________________________________________.
b) Kojim je medijima (u pitanju su radio, televizija i internet) sa sadrajima na
engleskom jeziku bilo izloeno ili imalo pristup do polaska u 5. razred?
________________________________________________________________________.
3) U sljedee tablice molim upiite koliko je sati tjedno Vae dijete bilo izloeno medijima
sa sadrajima na engleskom jeziku.
a) Ova se tablica odnosi openito na medije. Pripazite da uraunate samo one sadraje na
njima koji su na engleskom jeziku.
MEDIJ VRIJEME (SATI U TJEDNU)
a) nikada b) 1-3 sata c) 3-5 sati d) 5-7 sati
RADIO
e) vie od 7 sati
TELEVIZIJA
e) vie od 7 sati
INTERNET
e) vie od 7 sati
b) Ova se tablica odnosi na pojedine sadraje na engleskom jeziku koje se moe sluati ili
gledati na jednom od medija ili na vie njih.
SADRAJ VRIJEME (SATI U TJEDNU)
PJESME
e) vie od 7 sati
IGRANI FILMOVI
e) vie od 7 sati
IGRANE SERIJE
e) vie od 7 sati
CRTANI FILMOVI
e) vie od 7 sati
CRTANE SERIJE
e) vie od 7 sati
DOKUMENTARNI FILMOVI
e) vie od 7 sati
VIDEOSPOTOVI
e) vie od 7 sati
RAZNE EMISIJE a) nikada b) 1-3 sata c) 3-5 sati d) 5-7 sati
(talk show, reality show itd.) e) vie od 7 sati
RAZNI VIDEOISJECI a) nikada b) 1-3 sata c) 3-5 sati d) 5-7 sati
(YouTube itd.) e) vie od 7 sati
VIDEOIGRE a) nikada b) 1-3 sata c) 3-5 sati d) 5-7 sati
(raunalo, PlayStation itd.) e) vie od 7 sati
Questionnaire for the students:
ULOGA MEDIJA U RAZVIJANJU VJETINA SLUANJA I GOVORENJA
ENGLESKOG JEZIKA UPITNIK ZA UENIKE
Dragi uenici,
ovaj je upitnik dio istraivanja za diplomski rad kojim elim otkriti koliko su vae vjetine
sluanja i govorenja engleskoga jezika povezane sa svime to sluate ili gledate na engleskom
jeziku.
Ovaj upitnik ispituje koliko ste okrueni medijima (radio, televizija, internet) i koliko
vremena provodite na njima u gledanju ili sluanju sadraja na engleskom jeziku. Svi podaci
iz upitnika koristit e se samo za izradu diplomskog rada i zato bih vas zamolila da mi
pomognete u izradi mog rada i ispunite upitnik.
Takoer bih vas zamolila da proitate upute na poetku svakog zadatka prije nego to
ponete odgovarati na pitanja.
1) Upii traene informacije o sebi.

1. Ime i prezime: ________________________________________
2. Spol: M
3. Ocjena iz engleskog jezika na kraju prole kolske godine: 1 2 3 4 5
2) Odgovori na pitanja tako da zaokrui DA ili NE.

1. Ima li kod kue radio? DA NE
2. Ima li kod kue televiziju? DA NE
3. Ima li kod kue pristup internetu? DA NE
3) U tablice koje slijede treba upisati koliko sati u tjednu provodi u sluanju ili gledanju
razliitih sadraja na engleskom jeziku. Na pitanja odgovara tako da zaokrui slovo ispred
odgovora koji ti najvie odgovara.
a) Ova se tablica odnosi openito na medije (radio, televiziju i internet). Kod odgovaranja
pripazi da urauna samo ono to gleda ili slua na engleskom jeziku.
MEDIJ VRIJEME (SATI U TJEDNU)
RADIO
e) vie od 7 sati
TELEVIZIJA
e) vie od 7 sati
INTERNET
e) vie od 7 sati
b) Ova se tablica odnosi na pojedine sadraje na engleskom jeziku koje moe sluati ili
gledati na jednom od medija ili na vie njih.
SADRAJ VRIJEME (SATI U TJEDNU)
a) nikada b) 1-3 sata c) 3-5 sati d) 5-7
PJESME
sati e) vie od 7 sati
IGRANI FILMOVI
IGRANE SERIJE
CRTANI FILMOVI
CRTANE SERIJE
DOKUMENTARNI FILMOVI
VIDEOSPOTOVI
RAZNE EMISIJE a) nikada b) 1-3 sata c) 3-5 sati d) 5-7
(talk show, reality show itd.) sati e) vie od 7 sati
RAZNI VIDEOISJECI a) nikada b) 1-3 sata c) 3-5 sati d) 5-7
(YouTube itd.) sati e) vie od 7 sati
VIDEOIGRE a) nikada b) 1-3 sata c) 3-5 sati d) 5-7
(raunalo, PlayStation itd.) sati e) vie od 7 sati
Questionnaire for the teachers:
ROLE OF MEDIA IN DEVELOPING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LISTENING AND
SPEAKING SKILL TEACHERS QUESTIONNAIRE
This questionnaire is part of a master thesis research conducted at the English language
and literature department of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of
Zagreb. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate the correlation between the students
amount of exposure to the contents in English in mass media and their proficiency in English
language listening and speaking skills.
On the table that follows, you are kindly asked to estimate the level of your students
listening and speaking skills by circling a number on a scale from 1 to 6, where 1 represents
the lowest skill level and 6 the highest. Regarding the speaking, please consider pronunciation
and fluency, and accuracy separately.
The data from this questionnaire will be kept confidential and used only for the purposes
of this research.
Thank you.
Name and surname of the student Listening Speaking
pronunciation & fluency

1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1 2 3 4 5 6 accuracy
1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6
2 1 2 3 4 5 6 accuracy
1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6
3 1 2 3 4 5 6 accuracy
1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6
4 1 2 3 4 5 6 accuracy
1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6
5 1 2 3 4 5 6 accuracy
1 2 3 4 5 6
Etc.

Role of Media in Developing English Language Listening and Speaking Skill

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Role of Media in Developing English Language Listening and Speaking Skill

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Sveuilite u Zagrebu

ROLE OF MEDIA IN DEVELOPING ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Studentica: Jelena Grbavec

Mentorica: dr. sc. Marta Medved Krajnovi, izv. prof.

Zagreb, lipanj 2013.

Stela Letica Krevelj, asistent

dr. sc. Marta Medved Krajnovi, izv. prof.

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

ROLE OF MEDIA IN DEVELOPING ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Student: Jelena Grbavec

Supervisor: Professor Marta Medved Krajnovi, Ph.D.

Zagreb, June 2013

Assistant Stela Letica Krevelj

Associate Professor Marta Medved Krajnovi

Key words: language acquisition, language input, the media

2.1. How children acquire languages - language input perspective

2.1.2. Speaking skill

2.2. The media as a source of language input

3.3. Instruments and procedure

3.3.1. Questionnaire for the parents

3.3.2. Questionnaire for the students

3.3.3. Questionnaire for the teachers

N Minimum Maximum Mean SD

The age the students first gained Pronunciation School

Hours per week Radio 1 Television 1 Internet 1 Radio 2 Television 2 Internet 2

Shows Pearson Correlation ,161 ,093 ,176 ,114

Male students' weekly exposure to

Retrieved August 29, 2012, from http://www.tojet.net/

dYdewalle, G. (2002). Foreign-language acquisition by watching subtitled television

August 29, 2012, from http://www.kansai-u.ac.jp/fl/publication/pdf_education/04/4geryd'

dYdewalle, G. & Van de Poel, M. (1999). Incidental foreignlanguage acquisition by

children watching subtitled television programs. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 28,

227244. . Retrieved August 29, 2012, from the OVID database.

ed. New York and London: Routledge.

Josipovi Smojver, V. (2007). Listening comprehension and Croatian learners of English as a

foreign language. Metodika: asopis za teoriju i praksu metodika u predkolskom odgoju,

Krashen, S. D. (1984). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford:

(pp. 99-108). Zagreb: Naprijed.

osnovnoj koli (pp. 83-93). Zagreb: Naprijed.

asopis za teoriju i praksu metodika u predkolskom odgoju, kolskoj i visokokolskoj

Reber, A. S. (1989). Implicit learning and tacit knowledge. Journal of Experimental

Psychology: General, 118, 219-235. Retrieved August 29, 2012, from

Saville-Troike, M. (2006). Introducing second language acquisition. Cambridge, New York,

Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, So Paulo: Cambridge University Press.

Retrieved August 29, 2012, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/63944142/Introducing-

Strani jezik u osnovnoj koli (pp. 17-31). Zagreb: Naprijed.

Strani jezik u osnovnoj koli (pp. 333-338). Zagreb: Naprijed.

Education, 4, 58-64. Retrieved August 29, 2012, from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol4/

Kljune rijei: usvajanje jezika, jezini unos, mediji

Questionnaire for the parents:

1) Ime i prezime Vaeg djeteta: __________________________________________

1) Upii traene informacije o sebi.

2) Odgovori na pitanja tako da zaokrui DA ili NE.

pronunciation & fluency

pronunciation & fluency

pronunciation & fluency

pronunciation & fluency

pronunciation & fluency

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