The Digital Era and Out-of-school Exposure to English: Young Learners Ten Years Ago and Today

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Digitalno doba i izvanškolska izloženost engleskom jeziku: učenici prije deset godina i danas
• Author: Ena Raonić
• Mentor: Stela Letica Krevelj (mentor)
• Committee member: Renata Geld (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Stela Letica Krevelj (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Jasenka Čengić (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2021-03-11, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

This paper aims to explore differences in out-of-school exposure to English of young Croatian learners ten years ago and today. More precisely, the paper will compare the frequency of exposure of young learners to digital and other types of media ten years ago and today. It will also discuss the types of digital tools most commonly used among young learners, and how the use of these sources and tools has changed over the course of ten years. Moreover, the paper will also discuss the underlying concepts related to this issue, i.e. the differences between implicit and explicit learning, as well as the differences between formal and informal language learning. As the informal aspect of language learning will be a predominant focus in this paper, a special attention will be given to the role of out-of-school exposure in second language acquisition. The results of the study point to the fact that young learners are nowadays more exposed to the English language through digital media, i.e. the Internet which is nowadays mainly used for listening to music and watching films and/or series. However, it was also noticed that they are less exposed to print sources of the English language, and that their out-of-school exposure to English relies mostly on receptive skills, rather than productive skills.

Abstract (croatian)

Ovaj diplomski rad nastoji usporediti izvanškolsko izlaganje hrvatskih učenika engleskom jeziku prije deset godina i danas. Rad proučava u kojoj mjeri su hrvatski učenici bili izloženi izvorima engleskog jezika poput televizije, filmova, serija, časopisa, knjiga i interneta. Osim izvora, ovaj rad nastoji utvrditi i koliko su vremenski hrvatski učenici izloženi pojedinim sadržajima u svrhu usporedbe trendova prije 10 godina i danas. Teorijski, ovaj diplomski rad obuhvaća i koncepte implicitnog i eksplicitnog učenja, kao i formalnog i neformalnog učenja. Budući da je tema rada usko vezana za neformalni aspekt učenja jezika, posebna pažnja pridaje se i ulozi izvanškolskog izlaganja stranom jeziku pri njegovu usvajanju. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na činjenicu da su djeca danas više izložena engleskome jeziku putem digitalnih medija, a da njihova izloženost tiskanim, odnosno tradicionalnim medijima (poput crtanih filmova i televizije) nije doživjela značajnije promijene. Usto, rezultati pokazuju i stagnaciju, odnosno trend pada čitanja, dok su digitalni zabavni sadržaji danas jedan od značajnijih izvora engleskog jezika kod osnovnoškolskih učenika. Nadalje, istraživanje ukazuje i na činjenicu da se izvanškolska izloženost engleskome jeziku u većoj mjeri temelji na receptivnim vještinama, nego na produktivnim.

• Keywords: digital era; out-of-school exposure to English; young learners of English; informal learning; implicit learning
• Keywords (croatian): digitalno doba; izvanškolsko izlaganje engleskom jeziku; osnovnoškolski učenici; neformalno učenje engleskog jezika; implicitno učenje
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:145394
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation, TEFL; Course: TEFL; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2021-03-12 21:25:23