How suitable are captioned-animated cartoons for primary school learners?
by Daniela Avello & Carmen Muñoz (University of Barcelona, Spain)
_______________________________________________________________________
Overall, the literature on L2 learning through captioned-video viewing has consistently shown that L2 learners benefit from this activity since the use of print seems to make the input more accessible (Montero-Perez, 2022; Vanderplank, 2016). Yet, only a handful of studies on captioned-video viewing have been conducted longitudinally and very little attention has been paid to primary school L2 learners in comparison with university and secondary school students (Montero Perez & Rodgers, 2019).
The Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (Mayer, 2014, 2022) claims that multimodal input may foster learning effectively as long as the functioning of human mind is considered. Therefore, the learning resources should facilitate learning and prevent students’ cognitive overload. This may be a critical issue when attempting to use captioned-videos with primary school students at the stage of middle childhood, which ranges between the age of 6 and 11/12 years old (Harris & Westermann, 2015; Myles et al., 2019). This is a stage of big changes in social and cognitive factors, which is characterized by children’s lower L2 proficiency level and still developing L1 reading skills.
Hence, the present investigation attempted to fill the gaps in the literature by studying the extent to which six groups of EFL primary school students (n=120) from Chile could cope with and learn from the simultaneous exposure to dynamic images and bimodal verbal input (11 episodes). The experimental groups differed in terms of year level (year 4 vs. year 5) and viewing distribution (1-4 episodes a week). The results revealed that despite the weak but significant mediating effects of visual processing speed and attention, learners improved significantly as regards vocabulary learning and L2 reading skills development, especially in the case of fifth graders. Concerning viewing distribution, fourth graders seemed to be more sensitive to its effects. Specifically, watching more episodes a week appeared to facilitate the processing of audiovisual input to get slightly higher gains, whereas a greater distance between episodes resulted in a more effortful process that led to greater vocabulary retention.
__________________________________________________________________
References:
Harris, M., & Westermann, G. (2015). A student’s guide to developmental psychology. Psychology Press.
Mayer, R. (2014). Cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In R. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (2nd ed.) (pp. 43-71). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Mayer, R. (2022). Cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In R. Mayer, & L. Fiorella (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (3rd ed.) (pp. 57-72). Cambridge University Press.
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. doi.org/10.1017/S0261444821000501
Montero Perez, M., & Rodgers, M. (2019). Video and language learning. The Language Learning Journal, 47(4), 403-406. doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2019.1629099
Myles, F., Tellier, A., & Holmes, B. (2019). Embedding languages policy in primary schools in England: Summary of the RiPL White Paper proposing solutions. Languages, Society & Policy, 1-9.
Vanderplank, R. (2016). ‘Effects of’ and ‘effects with’ captions: How exactly does watching a TV programme with same-language subtitles make a difference to language learners? Language Teaching, 49(2), 235–50. DOI: 10.1017/s0261444813000207.
