Exposure to the English language on the internet: comparing Croatian and French university students

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Izloženost engleskom jeziku na internetu: usporedba francuskih i hrvatskih sveučilišnih studenata
• Author: Laura Volarić Horvat
• Mentor: Stela Letica Krevelj (mentor)
• Committee member: Renata Geld (predsjednik 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: 2023-07-04, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

The widespread usage of the internet has resulted in an increasing number of individuals engaging in various online activities. This surge in internet usage has also provided language learners with numerous opportunities to immerse themselves in their target language, leading to exposure and potential language acquisition. Previous research has demonstrated positive effects of such exposure on language learning. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the English language proficiency, level of exposure, and reasons behind exposure among 120 university students from France and Croatia. Additionally, the study sought to determine whether exposure levels were correlated with self-assessed proficiency. The findings revealed contrasting self-assessment results, with Croatian participants rating their English proficiency at the C1 level, whereas French participants assessed themselves at the B1 level. Moreover, the Croatian participants reported higher levels of online exposure across seven out of eight exposure factors. The French students displayed a preference for dubbed internet TV content, primarily due to a lack of focus on the content otherwise or to an inadequate comprehension of English. Conversely, the Croatian students did not exhibit a preference for dubbing, except when it came to animated movies, as they aimed to preserve the content's authenticity. Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between exposure and self-assessed English proficiency across all exposure factors, except for listening to the radio and playing video games.

Abstract (croatian)

Sve veći broj ljudi diljem svijeta koristi internet u razne svrhe. Raste i broj prilika za učenike jezika dolaskom u kontakt sa svojim ciljnim jezikom, tj. za izloženost ciljnom jeziku. Prijašnja istraživanja ukazala su na pozitivan utjecaj takve izloženosti na učenje jezika. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrditi kako 120 francuskih i hrvatskih studenata procjenjuje svoju razinu engleskog jezika, u kojoj su mu mjeri izloženi, zašto te je li njihova izloženost u korelaciji s njihovom samoprocjenom znanja engleskog jezika. Hrvatski su sudionici puno bolje procijenili svoje znanje engleskog jezika od Francuza, jer smatraju da je njihov engleski dostojan razine C1, za razliku od Francuza koji svoju razinu engleskog ocjenjuju razinom B2. Hrvati su također prijavili veću izloženost engleskom jeziku na internetu u svim čimbenicima izloženosti osim u jednom. Francuzi preferiraju sinkronizirane internet TV sadržaje, uglavnom zbog nedostatka volje da se koncentriraju na čitanje podnapisa ili zbog slabog razumijevanja engleskog jezika, dok Hrvati ne preferiraju sinkronizaciju, izuzev animiranih filmova, uglavnom radi očuvanja autentičnosti sadržaja. Izloženost je pozitivno korelirala sa samoprocjenom razine engleskog u svim faktorima izloženosti osim slušanja radija i igranja videoigara.

• Keywords: exposure; L2; the internet; proficiency; self-assessment; out-of-classroom learning
• Keywords (croatian): izloženost; drugi jezik; internet; razina znanja jezika; samoprocjena; učenje izvan učionice
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:038143
• 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: 2023-07-12 11:05:58