Out-of-school language learning from foreign language media

There is an increased interest in language learners' use of foreign language media and its relationship with language learning (e.g., Dressman & Sadler, 2020; Nunan & Richards, 2015; Reinders, Lai, & Sundqvist, 2022). Studies on the benefits of audiovisual input are gaining traction in the field of second language acquisition (e.g., Montero Perez, 2022; Peters & Muñoz, 2020). In addition, a growing number of studies have started to focus on the link between learners' engagement with foreign language media outside of school and foreign language development. Given the limited classroom time for foreign languages, the use of foreign language media outside of school has been advocated as a way to increase learners' language contact (e.g., Webb, 2015). 

In this talk, I will highlight some of the recent research into out-of-school language learning from media that has been carried out with different age groups. I will show how media and especially English language media play a role in language learners' everyday lives. I will provide an overview of the different out-of-school language activities (gaming, watching foreign language tv, using foreign language social media, reading) that language learners typically engage in and how the popularity of these activities may change with age.

I will draw on my own and colleagues' recent work on out-of-school language learning to show the learning potential of media for different aspects of language learning and vocabulary in particular. This talk will also address how language learning outside of school relates to language learning inside of school. Specific attention will be paid to the research conducted in Flanders with young learners who have not received any English lessons yet. Flanders (the Dutch-speaking region in Belgium) makes an interesting case for studying how learners can pick up a foreign language (English) from mere exposure and interaction because Flanders has a late starting age for English in school (grade 7 or 8). However, because of the omnipresence of English in popular media, many Flemish learners are exposed to large amounts of English-language input in different types of media before they start learning English in schools.

My talk will end with a methodological reflection on the research into out-of-school language learning from popular media and with potential avenues for future research.

References

Dressman, M. & Sadler, R.W. (2020). The handbook of informal language learning. Wiley.

Nunan, D. & Richards, J.C. (2015). Language learning beyond the classroom. Routledge.

Montero Perez, M. (2022). Second or foreign language learning through watching audio-visual input and the role of on-screen text. Language Teaching, 1-30. 

Peters, E. & Muñoz, C. (2020). Introduction to the special issue. Language learning from multimodal input. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42(3), 489-497.

Reinders, H., Lai, C., & Sundqvist, P. (2022). The Routledge handbook of language learning and teaching beyond the classroom. Routledge.

Webb, S. (2015). Extensive viewing: Language learning through watching television. In Nunan, D., & Richards, J. C. (Eds.), Language learning beyond the classroom (pp. 159–168). Routledge.