Multimedia, Subtitles, and Native Language Vocabulary Acquisition

Transcription

1 Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindasvið Enska The Linguistic Repertoires of Young Learners in Iceland Multimedia, Subtitles, and Native Language Vocabulary Acquisition Ritgerð til BA prófs í ensku Birkir Már Viðarsson Kt.: Leiðbeinandi: Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir Maí

2 Abstract Subtitles have been shown to play a key role in foreign and second language vocabulary acquisition but that poses the question as to whether they play a key role in native language vocabulary acquisition. As new forms of media impact Icelandic society and television viewership declines, the presence of Icelandic subtitles in the lives of young learners in Iceland is diminished. Young learners in Iceland are becoming more proficient in the English language as a result of the changed linguistic environment in Iceland, especially due to the arrival of new forms of media. The research question of this study is whether young learners in Iceland incidentally learn Icelandic vocabulary from watching audiovisual material in English with Icelandic subtitles. A group of young learners in their tenth year were asked to answer an Icelandic vocabulary definition task before and after watching an episode of The Simpsons with Icelandic subtitles. Despite the fact that the numerous limitation of the study detract from the significance of the results, the results of the study support the notion that children incidentally learn Icelandic vocabulary from watching audiovisual material in English with Icelandic subtitles. 2

3 Preface I would like to thank my instructor, Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir, Ph.D. for her invaluable support with all aspects of this study. I would also like to thank the local center Frostheimar for allowing me to conduct the study on their premises and aiding me in its administration. Lastly, I would like to thank family and friends for supporting me throughout the whole endeavour. Though the administration of the study did not go as planned, the results are quite interesting and will only encourage me to apply myself more to researching the linguistic repertoire of young learners in Iceland. 3

4 Contents Abstract... 2 Preface... 3 Introduction Literature Review English and Icelandic in Icelandic media The rise of new forms of media The nature of vocabulary acquisition for young learners in Iceland The Linguistic Repertoire of young learners in Iceland Summary of studies on subtitles and vocabulary acquisition The difficulty of researching the Linguistic Repertoire of young learners in Iceland The Study Background and methodology Methodology Participants Data collection Background Survey Vocabulary Test Administering the tests: Procedure Analysis and Results Vocabulary definition task #1 pre-test Vocabulary definition task #2 post-show Correlation with the questionnaire The Results Results of the background questionnaire answers Gender comparison Onset of English Perceived English Proficiency Perceived Icelandic Proficiency Television Viewing and Performance Significant positive relationships... 46

5 2.3.8 Analysis of the definitions Conclusions Works Cited

6 Introduction Iceland has become a multilingual environment where English is becoming an increasingly integral part of the Icelandic linguistic context. The linguistic demands of the international business and academic community and the increasing demand for English proficiency in the international context has led to higher proficiency in the English language among the Icelandic population. As the demand for proficiency in the English language increases, the start of formal instruction in English is now in fourth grade and sometimes even earlier. This has however made very little difference for the young learners in Iceland as some preliminary results from research have shown that they exceed the curriculum goals of formal English instruction in fourth grade before they even begin receiving formal instruction in the language (Arnbjörnsdóttir 3; Jóhannsdóttir 15). The explanation as to why young learners in Iceland have become so proficient in the English language may be because they are exposed to a vast amount of English through multimedia material in English. This amount of exposure does however not fully explain the levels of proficiency among young learners in Iceland. Their acquisition of the English language and English vocabulary has most likely been incidental and that does in itself require great deal of research as incidental vocabulary acquisition is still not fully understood by researchers in the field. If we can trace the English proficiency of young Icelandic learners to multimedia, then we can reach the conclusion that multimedia has undoubtedly become an integral part of the linguistic environment of young learners in Iceland. Multimedia in the contemporary context includes various forms of media, many of which are popular and relatively new. Though there have been numerous new forms of media that have attained a certain degree a popularity in Icelandic society, Netflix, an online streaming service, is perhaps one of the more recent and more prevalent mediums whose impact on the linguistic environment of Iceland has likely been great. The rise of Netflix and other new forms of media in Iceland can be attributed to the availability of material in these mediums and ease of access. The rise of these mediums is also facilitated by the fact that media outlets in Iceland are simply unable to compete with global media outlets. 6

7 The rise of multimedia material in English also results in increased exposure to the English language, especially among young learners. Though we have yet to fully map out the amount of time that young learners in Iceland spend on the various mediums available to them, it is safe to assume that they do spend a great deal of time being exposed to English by multimedia in general. That assumption can be made because there is no other explanation as to how they exceed curriculum goals in formal English instruction other than the explanation that they have incidentally learned a great deal of English through the English exposure available to them (Arnbjörnsdóttir 3). The English exposure that is available to these young learners is for the most part just through multimedia material. The question that remains and is relevant to the discussion at hand is whether the multimedia material in English that young learners in Iceland are exposed to does in fact have Icelandic subtitles or not. Icelandic television viewership has dropped steadily over the past few years and has been the primary source of Icelandic subtitles in Icelandic society. The decline of Icelandic television viewership does of course decrease the amount of Icelandic subtitles that young learners are exposed to if we make the assumption that young learners are among the viewers that are moving from Icelandic television and to other mediums usually without subtitles in Icelandic. Subtitles have been proven in countless studies to be an effective tool for both vocabulary and language acquisition. They are most prevalent in countries where English is not a native language and the material is not dubbed into the native language of the country in question. Subtitles provide the viewer with an additional input for learning and thus aid in comprehension of the material. Numerous studies have shown that subtitles can lead to incidental vocabulary gains in both foreign- and second language acquisition but this poses the question of whether the same can apply to native language acquisition (Bianchi and Ciabattoni 87; Broddason 177; D Ydewalle). The research question of the present study is whether young learners in Iceland incidentally learn Icelandic vocabulary from watching audiovisual material in English with Icelandic subtitles. In order to answer this research question, a study was conducted with young learners in their tenth year. The study featured both a vocabulary definition task and a questionnaire so that background information could be correlated with the results of the vocabulary definition task. The participants in the study were 7

8 asked to watch an episode of The Simpsons which had Icelandic subtitles. The participants were asked to answer a vocabulary definition task of words taken from the subtitles of the episode both a week prior and immediately after watching the show. The results of the study strongly support the notion that young learners in Iceland incidentally acquire Icelandic vocabulary from watching audiovisual material in English with Icelandic subtitles. 8

9 1. Literature Review 1.1 English and Icelandic in Icelandic media Icelandic children are now becoming fairly proficient English speakers even prior to starting formal English instruction in school. Children generally begin receiving formal English instruction in fourth grade which is usually at the age of nine. However, some schools opt to commence English instruction earlier in third grade or sooner due to an increased demand for the English language in modern society. Regardless of where they start, some preliminary results from a survey conducted by researchers from the University of Iceland have indicated that some Icelandic children exceed the curriculum goals for English before they even begin their formal English instruction (Arnbjörnsdóttir 3; Jóhannsdóttir 15). This is one of numerous signs that point to a change in the linguistic environment among young learners in Iceland and warrants further study. Numerous studies have shown that young learners, between ages of five and twelve, are especially capable of understanding spoken English even before they start receiving formal English instruction. A study by Samúel Lefever revealed that Icelandic children are quite proficient in comprehension listening tasks (14). Lefever s study found that a large percentage of eight year-old children are capable of understanding basic spoken English despite not having received formal English instruction (14). This would suggest that they are being exposed to English a great deal outside the classroom as they have not received formal instruction. Their proficiency in the English language is likely the result of a great deal of English exposure from multimedia which has resulted in the acquisition of some receptive vocabulary. Additionally, this vocabulary acquisition in English is likely to have been purely incidental though it is difficult to speculate on motivational factors. Some researchers have examined this as presented in the next section. The proficiency in comprehending spoken English that young learners have attained can be traced to their hobbies of watching television material in English and playing computer games. A study found that a vast majority of the English exposure experienced by Icelanders of various ages is receptive (Arnbjörnsdóttir 9). The informants in that particular study by Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir spent 16% of waking hours listening to English (9). Another study by Ásrún Jóhannsdóttir further supported the 9

10 argument that children are learning English incidentally from television and other forms of media as well (14). It has been established through studies that a large percentage of young learners are capable of understanding basic spoken English even before they start formal English instruction and that much of their vocabulary may have been acquired incidentally from watching filmic or television material in English (Lefever 14; Jóhannsdóttir 9). Based on the following studies and other research, it is difficult to dispute the notion that multimedia has had an impact on the proficiency in the English language among the Icelandic population. Furthermore, if we accept that multimedia has had an effect on proficiency in English, it may also be prudent to determine its effects on native languages, and in this case, the acquisition of Icelandic. One such effect could be the effect of Icelandic subtitles and television material in English on the vocabulary development of young Icelandic learners. As we seek to find out whether children acquire native language vocabulary from the subtitles of audiovisual material in English, the assumption has to be made that the young learners are capable of understanding the context of the filmic or television material they are watching. The answer to this question can also help us understand if young learners in Iceland have become so proficient in English that they utilize English to learn Icelandic vocabulary, though in an incidental capacity. The purpose of this paper and the study that follows is not to provide a comprehensive answer to this broad question but rather focus primarily on the effect that Icelandic subtitles have on the Icelandic vocabulary of young learners. The imagery of the filmic and television material might also be the source of some incidental vocabulary acquisition in Icelandic. Those two sources of information, the verbal Icelandic text input and the non-verbal imagery could also be enough for the learner to cognitively categorize the word or simply comprehend it to a point where its purpose is clear. In contrast to predicting the benefit that young learners may reap from watching subtitled material, it is also important to ascertain filmic and television material might actually have a negative effect on a child s learning ability. Television and other forms of electronic media have been blamed for a decline in voluntary reading in a number of countries (Broddason ). A three-year study with over 800 subjects found that television directly reduces the frequency in which children read books during their leisure time (Broddason 176). Despite the fact that voluntary reading of printed materials has been dropping steadily, reading of electronic material is certainly on the 10

11 rise. All forms of electronic media require reading, including social media, computer use, filmic and television material. Filmic and television material require reading if the individual watching the material is unable to fully comprehend the spoken language and thus requires subtitles, which might be subject to preference as well. The effects of filmic and television material on young learners still require further research as the linguistic environment of young learners is subject to change. Television has been described as a medium that has enormous potential for education (Broddason 175). Þorbjörn Broddason argues that The subtitles of foreign television programmes are an important source of reading matter for youths in many small countries (177). A study conducted by Cohen and Salomon revealed that subtitles increase concentration and contributes to greater retention of programmable content (Broddason 177). Programmable content in this case is understood as language and vocabulary acquisition. There is no reason why the programmable content in question could not be the Icelandic vocabulary found in the Icelandic subtitles. If concentration is raised while watching subtitled material, it could allow for an increased capacity for incidental vocabulary acquisition. While subtitles may be a very beneficial learning tool for the population of Iceland, it may also worth considering whether there is a dependence on Icelandic subtitles among the population of Iceland. A study by Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir found that younger individuals were more likely to watch filmic or television material without the aid of Icelandic subtitles and some even only watched material without subtitles (8). Based on this it is safe to assume that there is very little dependence on Icelandic subtitles among young people. Despite the fact that young Icelanders do not require Icelandic subtitles to comprehend the material, it does not mean that they do not incidentally read them while watching the material. A lack of dependence on Icelandic subtitles is however might lead to young Icelanders choosing to watch material without subtitles, as opposed to with subtitles, if presented with the option. A study by Ortega found that 27.4% of the television material broadcasted in a week by RÚV, Skjár Einn and Stöð 2 was of domestic origin and in Icelandic (cited in Arnbjörnsdóttir 3). This is only one of several studies that have shown that Icelanders are exposed to significantly more television material in English than in Icelandic and by extension they are exposed a lot more to material with Icelandic subtitles rather than 11

12 material without them (Arnbjörnsdóttir 4). Despite the fact that children s material is frequently dubbed into Icelandic, foreign material is predominantly in English with the exception of Skandinavian material on RÚV. As foreign material is in English, it means that viewers are exposed to significantly more English when watching foreign material. The linguistic environment among young learners in Iceland is thus changing due to an increase in exposure to the English language and this exposure can be traced to multimedia and to new forms of media in particular. In order to examine the Linguistic Repertoire of young learners in Iceland and how they incidentally acquire vocabulary in English and Icelandic, it is important to further map out the amount of English and Icelandic that young learners are exposed to in children s material. Though it is frequently dubbed into Icelandic, much of the children s material is still in English with Icelandic subtitles in tow. 1.2 The rise of new forms of media Children are now exposed to English more than ever before with the rise of new forms of media, most of which do not have the option of enabling Icelandic subtitles. The new forms of media that children are preoccupied with are the various social media platforms such as Facebook, and other online media such as online streaming services, video-sharing websites and online piracy. These new forms of media have risen to become fairly dominant hobbies in Icelandic society, especially among young people and children. Social media has risen in modern society due its connectivity while streaming services and online piracy have arisen to their convenience and the availability of content that television networks are struggling to compete with. These new forms of media are increasingly responsible for the reduced exposure to Icelandic subtitles among young learners in Iceland that watch television material. Exposure to Icelandic subtitles has decreased over the years primarily due to the rise of other mediums. A report by Capacent in late 2014 showed that television viewership in Iceland decreased by 38% from 2008 to 2014 (Júlíusson). This decrease in viewers can be a result of a combination of factors but it is unquestionable that one of those factors is in fact the arrival and popularity of internet-based streaming platforms such as Netflix. Netflix is a popular streaming service that offers a variety of television and film material for a monthly subscription fee. Netflix officially arrived in Iceland on 12

13 January 6th, 2016, with Icelandic subtitles ( Netflix aðgengilegt á Íslandi ). Before it officially arrived in Iceland, Icelanders had subscribed to the American Netflix, which naturally did not have Icelandic subtitles. In 2014, media outlets reported on numbers collected by Statistics Iceland that around homes in Iceland were subscribers of the popular streaming service ("Netflix notendur á íslandi yfir talsins"). Furthermore, this number is only projected to increase ever since Netflix has been made more accessible. It is also expected that a significant portion of Icelanders that have subscribed to the American Netflix will not abandon that for the Icelandic Netflix as the American Netflix offers a much wider range of material, but lacks Icelandic subtitles (Albertsdóttir). Online media, which is also categorized as social media, is an internet-based form of media that could also potentially have an effect on the presence of Icelandic subtitles in the lives of young Icelandic learners. Online media such as YouTube and other video-sharing websites provide millions of videos uploaded and can be accessed for free. They are lacking in Icelandic subtitles but occasionally offer closed captions in English and other languages. Like television, online media does have great potential for education through subtitles or closed captions. Despite its potential and much like the other forms of media mentioned here, online media currently exposes young learners to a great deal of English video material without the presence of Icelandic subtitles. Online piracy has been fairly common source for films, television and music in today s world. Despite numerous attempts at stopping online piracy through legislation, online piracy is still on the rise worldwide. Online piracy went up by 44% in North America from 2008 to 2014 (Steele). The number of internet users believed to have taken part in online piracy rose from 297 million in late 2011 to 327 million in early 2013 (Resnikoff). The popularity of online piracy stems from the fact that it is of course free but in addition to that, it is convenient and places all filmic and television material at the user s fingertips. Pirated filmic and television material is of course mostly if not completely void of Icelandic subtitles especially if it was uploaded by an individual or group outside of Iceland. This increased availability of filmic and television material does of course have a negative impact on television viewership as it is free, gives the viewer nearly infinite options, and only requires an internet connection to access. 13

14 Television is the primary and sometimes the only source for Icelandic subtitles that young learners are exposed to and it is rapidly becoming less popular due to the dominance of other forms of media. As mentioned previously, the television viewership in Iceland dropped 38% from 2008 to 2014 according to one study (Júlíusson). It is apparent that the presence of Icelandic subtitles in the lives of young Icelandic learners has been significantly diminished over the past few years. Social media and online media are becoming a more integral part of the lives of Icelandic children. All statistics point to the fact that online piracy is still on the rise, especially in western countries. Netflix is however the largest concern and perhaps one of the biggest contributors to the diminished television viewership in Iceland. The arrival of the Icelandic Netflix could however strengthen the position of Icelandic subtitles in Iceland. None of the mediums mentioned here are expected to suffer any serious decline as they have all proven to be lucrative. Online piracy in particular has revenue streams both from advertisements and subscription fees (Resnikoff). We can hypothesize that the rise of new forms of media will continue and older mediums will become less popular in contrast. While this may not seem prophetic as this has been a recurring event in modern society, it is something that researchers in the field of vocabulary acquisition need to keep up with as it is a factor in the various everchanging linguistic environments. For instance, newspapers are becoming less popular with the arrival of forms of media that allow instant access to news articles that are more current as well. While it is difficult to predict what the next new and popular medium will be, history tells us that this change is inevitable and research is needed in order to determine what the effect of existing and future forms of media will be on the linguistic environments of Iceland. A comprehensive study is definitely needed in order to understand how much time young learners spend with these various forms of media. That is of course a challenging task as it has to do with the personal interests of children and getting permission for such a study may prove to be difficult. It may be especially difficult to ascertain how much young learners participate in online piracy as the distribution of such material is of course illegal and children may be doing this without their parents permission or knowledge. Regardless, the questionnaire in such a study could potentially be directed to the parents, instead of the young learners, as they may be able to provide more reliable and accurate answers. Researchers in this venture should be 14

15 primarily interested in the correlation between the amount of a time a young learner spends being exposed to the various forms of media available to him and his proficiency in the languages that he is exposed to on a daily basis. The importance of determining what languages a young learner is exposed to through these mediums cannot be understated. While a great deal of children s material is dubbed into Icelandic for comprehension, much of the children s material remains in English. The material in English on Icelandic television channels does however have Icelandic subtitles. It is thus important to study the effect that dubbed material and subtitled material has on the Linguistic Repertoire of Icelandic children. The impact of subtitles on vocabulary acquisition will be discussed in the next few chapters. 1.3 The nature of vocabulary acquisition for young learners in Iceland Vocabulary acquisition is generally not subject to age related influences as studies have shown that there is no maturational point where vocabulary acquisition is diminished (Jóhannsdóttir 17). The critical period hypothesis is however relevant for the present study as the participants are within the critical period that allows for more efficient language acquisition according to the critical theory hypothesis (Snow and Hoefnagel-Höhle 1114). Despite the fact that the participants are in their tenth year which is considered an efficient age for language acquisition, the primary emphasis of this paper will be on vocabulary acquisition and not language acquisition in general. The impact of the critical period hypothesis will not be discussed at length though it is acknowledged that the participants in the present study are within the critical period (Hoefnagel-Höhle 1114). The participants for the present study were chosen as they are at the age where they have most likely just begun their formal English instruction and have at this point primarily been exposed to English through multimedia. It is thus safe to assume that their vocabulary acquisition in English at this point in their lives has primarily been incidental. Vocabulary acquisition is a complicated endeavour that is generally both incidental and intentional but also multi-dimensional. Researchers agree that there are numerous dimensions to vocabulary acquisition but disagree on the exact number of dimensions and their importance (Van Zeeland and Schmitt 609). The process of adding a new word to a learner s vocabulary is believed to start when the learner is first 15

16 exposed to a word as he immediately starts to develop knowledge of the word (Van Zeeland and Schmitt 611). The learner must then learn the appropriate and various uses for the word in order to expand his knowledge of the word. This process can either be incidental or intentional though some aspects of process will always be incidental. The primary focus of this paper and the study that accompanies it will be on meaning and how children incidentally establish a meaning for new words. How children acquire new word meanings in their native language has been the subject of numerous studies and articles. They do without a doubt learn a great deal of vocabulary incidentally, simply by observing and relying on their cognitive functions to establish a meaning for the word. Meara found that children often learn new word meanings based on some intrinsic interest, as in the word intrigues them (2). The English vocabulary size of Icelandic young learners in their tenth year has yet to be adequately measured. What we do know about the vocabulary of young learners in Iceland is that their vocabulary acquisition has been mostly of a receptive nature and primarily through multimedia material in English. We also know that a great deal of a young learner s learning is implicit and mostly incidental (Jóhannsdóttir 5). The comprehension hypothesis claims that input that is comprehensible is a necessary condition for language development (Brown, Waring, and Donkaewbua 137). This condition can be brought upon by numerous activities, such as extensive reading and through forms of media as well. This input is mostly associated with extensive reading of literary works, the various forms of media that have become so popular over the years also require for a great deal of reading and can thus be associated with the comprehensible input mentioned in the comprehension hypothesis (Brown, Waring, and Donkaewbua 137). Though extensive reading is mostly associated with improving and overall language proficiency, vocabulary acquisition is an integral component of language development and should thus be considered a relevant result of extensive reading. Extensive reading can, like many activities that require language-use or comprehension, lead to incidental vocabulary acquisition. As the current state of English in Iceland is compared to a second language environment, it is worth noting that researchers have stated that for young learners, vocabulary acquisition in L1 and L2 is a very similar process (Jóhannsdóttir 16; Meara 7-8). Despite some difficulties with phonological and orthographic forms in L2 16

17 vocabulary acquisition, there are no fundamental variations between the vocabulary acquisition in L1 and L2 (Meara 8). Young learners in a second language environment simply acquire additional vocabulary, whether it is incidentally or intentionally, and the reason for it is simply because they have a linguistic environment that supports their vocabulary acquisition. A large part of the environment that supports their vocabulary acquisition could in this case be their interaction with multimedia such as television. Though the linguistic environment in Iceland is compared to a second language environment, it is important to make the distinction that young learners in Iceland are usually not bilingual. Comprehensible input is vital to ensure that incidental vocabulary acquisition takes place and there are certain conditions need to be fulfilled for it to take place. A certain degree of attention is required for incidental vocabulary acquisition to take place (Huckin and Coady 183). There is some disagreement among researchers whether the learner s attention should be focused on meaning or both form and meaning. Krashen argues in his Input Hypothesis that for incidental vocabulary acquisition to take place, the learner s attention must be focused primarily on communicative meaning rather than form (Huckin and Coady 183; Krashen 30). Other researchers in the field have however determined that attention to both meaning and form is necessary for vocabulary acquisition in general (Huckin and Coady 183). While influencing a learner s attention to aspects of a language may seem more like intentional vocabulary acquisition, incidental vocabulary acquisition also comes down to what the learner is paying attention to in an incidental capacity. Determining which factors motivate learners to pay attention to certain aspects of vocabulary acquisition will undoubtedly prove challenging as those factors may vary greatly and may come down to some intrinsic interest unique to the learner. Numerous studies have shown that there is a link between extensive reading and incidental vocabulary acquisition. Most studies on incidental vocabulary acquisition have focused on reading input (Van Zeeland and Schmitt 609). Studies conducted through multiple choice tests upon the completion of reading a text have shown an increase in vocabulary brought upon by incidental vocabulary acquisition (Brown, Waring, and Donkaewbua 138). It has been established multiple times that there is a positive relationship between the act of reading in a foreign language and incidental vocabulary acquisition in that language. It has however been researched less whether 17

18 there is a link between the act of reading and incidental vocabulary acquisition in the native language of the reader. That is partly why there is a need to examine whether subtitles do in fact lead to incidental vocabulary acquisition in the viewer s native language as subtitles are in fact the act of reading text. It can be argued that most research in regards to reading and incidental vocabulary acquisition has primarily looked into extensive reading in the form of reading texts such as books or short stories. The reading of subtitles is however an act of reading as well though it provides the viewer with additional non-verbal input in the form of imagery and verbal input in the form of listening. This simply provides the viewer with additional information in order to comprehend the text and in this case that additional information is in the form of subtitles. A study found that reading while simultaneously listening to someone narrate the same text resulted in incidental vocabulary acquisition gains of up to 22% (Brown, Waring, and Donkaewbua 139). This further supports the notion that two forms of verbal input may result in additional incidental vocabulary acquisition as it may allow the reader to realize a higher level of comprehension (Brown, Waring, and Donkaewbua 139). An important question that rose among researchers in second language research was whether learners need to be taught explicit strategies for word guessing that would lead to effective vocabulary acquisition. Naturally, this form of instruction would be more conducive to intentional vocabulary acquisition rather than incidental vocabulary acquisition. While intermediate and advanced learners primarily rely on cognitive functions and guessing strategies for second language acquisition, a study found that less advanced learners of English do not utilize guessing strategies but rely on their ability to translate instead (Huckin and Coady 187). This might better describe the vocabulary acquisition of young learners in Iceland as they are naturally fairly weak learners of English while they have not received formal instruction or had much time to learn the language. There is evidence to support the notion that some young Icelandic English learners proficiency is limited to naming individual items using only English (Þráinsdóttir). At least one speech pathologist claims that numerous Icelandic children are able to name simple objects in English but not in Icelandic (Þráinsdóttir). This suggests that these young learners have acquired a certain amount of English vocabulary 18

19 incidentally and possibly without knowing the Icelandic equivalent of the word in question. Having an understanding of words in the English language without knowing their Icelandic counterparts is however a cornerstone of the notion in which young learners in Iceland are able to incidentally acquire Icelandic vocabulary from subtitled audiovisual material in English. The fact that young learners in Iceland are able to learn English words without knowing the Icelandic counterpart would also indicate that they are able to incidentally learn new words without the aid of their native language. In the current linguistic environment of Iceland, young learners are exposed to a great deal of English which is likely the reason behind their increased proficiency in the English language. This English proficiency is witnessed in instances of young learners exceeding the curriculum standards of formal instruction in English before they commence formal instruction (Arnbjörnsdóttir 3). This proficiency is the result of a great deal of exposure to the English language through multimedia and that has led to incidental vocabulary acquisition. While young learners are rapidly becoming more proficient in English, the question remains as to what impact multimedia has on their proficiency in the Icelandic language. As previously mentioned, at least one speech pathologist has reported instances of children not being able to name simple Icelandic words but being able to name their English counterparts. The effect that this increased exposure to the English language through multimedia has on the Icelandic language thus requires further research. Icelandic subtitles are found in all foreign material on Icelandic channels that is not dubbed and are the subject of the present study. If young learners in Iceland are able to incidentally acquire English vocabulary through verbal auditory input and non-verbal imagery, the questions remains as to whether they can incidentally acquire Icelandic vocabulary with an additional verbal text input channel. 1.4 The Linguistic Repertoire of young learners in Iceland Labelling an environment as either a foreign language environment or a second language environment may simply be an inadequate description of a young learner s linguistic environment in Iceland. It may prove more illuminating to discuss an individual s Linguistic Repertoire when describing an individual s lexicon or the words he or she is able to use in communication. An individual s vocabulary in the languages 19

20 he is proficient in is however an integral part of his Linguistic Repertoire regardless of how many languages the repertoire covers. Linguistic Repertoire is a term that has become increasingly more used in Applied Linguistics and Sociolinguistics as it allows researchers to focus on the languages and language varieties of a speech community without the restrictions that labelling languages and varieties inevitably contain ( Linguistic Repertoire and Communicative Competence ). Linguistic Repertoire is a term that can apply to the languages of both groups and individuals. The term can also apply to multiple areas of the language or languages, such as syntax, phonology, lexical choices etc. For the purposes of this paper and the study within, this term will be used to identify the unique linguistic environment that Icelandic children are a part of. Icelandic children are a group that seemingly have their own repertoire that does not coincide with the repertoire of the community. While it is to be expected that younger generations do not have the same exact Linguistic Repertoire as the generations before them, the more recent change in repertoire has caused some concern in regards to children s competence in this native language. Linguists and speech therapists claim in the media that it is now common for children to substitute English for their Icelandic counterparts. An example of this was when a young Icelandic learner was presented with a picture of a pencil and the learner was unable to recall the Icelandic word for it and proceeded to use the English word (Þráinsdóttir). As a result of the emergence of English as a lingua franca, the creation of new Linguistic Repertoires of speakers in ELF countries around that world has become quite apparent. Researchers have determined that these repertoires are the result of the immediate processes of language contact and are induced by communicative need (Hülmbauer, Böhringer, and Seiflhofer 26). Communicative need can be interpreted as simply knowing or recalling the accurate word in either language for a specific purpose. This is generally referred to as code-switching or translanguaging and it is a fairly prominent phenomenon among young learners in Iceland and is becoming increasingly more common among older individuals as well (Park 50). A part of the Linguistic Repertoire of young learners in Iceland thus involves a great deal of translanguaging between English and Icelandic. Transanguaging is the act when multilingual speakers switch between languages frequently and is considered by them to be a completely 20

21 natural speech pattern (Park 50). It is facilitated by a decent vocabulary size in a second or foreign language. Translanguaging generally occurs when an individual can only recall a word in his second or foreign language rather than his native language though it is also used as a type of linguistic flair. The fact that Icelanders are beginning to Translanguage at an increasingly younger age is definitely a sign of a changed linguistic environment and a change in Linguistic Repertoire. The term Linguistic Repertoire encourages us to cease viewing the acquisition of vocabulary in English and Icelandic separately. We need to start examining how children acquire multiple languages through the complex input in the Icelandic linguistic context. The complex input in this case is brought upon children through the various new forms of media available to them and add a layer of exposure to the English language to their lives. This complex input in the form of multimedia exposure is perhaps the source of the current linguistic context in Iceland and should thus be considered the focal point of research into the Linguistic Repertoire of young learners in Iceland. Icelandic subtitles have been an important aspect of television material in Iceland and a contributor to the Linguistic Repertoire of the Icelandic people. Though television viewership has decreased significantly over the past decade, television in Iceland still remains a relatively popular form of media. Icelandic subtitles contribute to the Linguistic Repertoire of the Icelandic people by aiding them in comprehending foreign material and providing them with Icelandic text to read. Comprehension of foreign material through tools such as subtitles can theoretically be beneficial for the viewer as it can lead to vocabulary acquisition as well as aspects of language acquisition. The reading of Icelandic text naturally gives the viewer the chance to read Icelandic text that is likely to be grammatically correct and free of spelling errors. These benefits of Icelandic subtitles are contributors to the overall Linguistic Repertoire of the Icelandic people as they theoretically aid in vocabulary and language acquisition. 1.5 Summary of studies on subtitles and vocabulary acquisition The role of subtitles in second- and foreign language acquisition has been the subject of numerous studies and articles. Researchers have examined the effects that watching subtitled material has on vocabulary acquisition and reading ability in general 21

22 and how that affects a learner s Linguistic Repertoire. Despite numerous studies and research articles where subtitles are the main focus, information regarding their effect on native language vocabulary acquisition is scarce. However speculative that may be, the fact remains that Icelandic children live in a new linguistic environment with their own emerging Linguistic Repertoire and that requires new studies in order to understand the current process of their native language vocabulary acquisition. In order to understand this process, this chapter has presented an overview of the various studies that have been conducted on the effects that subtitles have, both in terms of incidental and intentional vocabulary acquisition. The studies show that subtitles as well as closed captions have a positive effect on vocabulary acquisition in a second language. The results of a study conducted in Belgium supported the notion that subtitled material aids in the acquisition of foreign language vocabulary (D'Ydewalle). The fact that subtitled material aids in foreign language vocabulary acquisition further supports the notion that subtitles in general are an effective learning tool for vocabulary acquisition. The study also supported the notion that vocabulary acquisition, at least in terms of foreign language learning, is not affected by age. This is however not surprising as many researchers agree that vocabulary acquisition is not deeply affected by the critical period hypothesis like language acquisition is. Researchers in another study argued that when individuals are exposed to subtitled audiovisual material, there are three aspects of the material that compete for the individual s attention (Bianchi and Ciabattoni 86). One of them is just sound, the auditory channel, and the other two are both visual channels, one being the actual video and the other being the subtitles. The study found that this combination of three channels of receptive information aid in both short term and long term vocabulary tasks, as well as comprehension tasks (Bianchi and Ciabattoni 87). This further supports the notion that subtitles and closed captions are an efficient learning tool that aids vocabulary acquisition. As mentioned previously, television itself has been described as a medium that has enormous potential for education (Broddason 175). Studies by Icelandic researchers have demonstrated a positive relationship between subtitled television material and reading ability (Broddason 177). While some studies in countries where English is the native language have identified that a large amount of television viewing can be 22

23 detrimental to a learners reading ability, this does not appear to be this case in countries where television material is subtitled (Broddason 176). Reading ability is of course crucial for viewers to be able to adequately read subtitles as the subtitles are only present on the screen for a short amount of time. Studies have shown an increase in vocabulary acquisition when students have been exposed to captioned television (Broddason 177). A study conducted by Neuman and Koskinen revealed that students of an unspecified age were able to incidentally learn new words with the aid of closed captions (Broddason 177). Closed captions essentially serve the same purpose as subtitles, which is to aid the viewer in comprehending the material he is viewing. Research that demonstrates a positive relationship between closed captions and vocabulary acquisition also supports the notion that there exists a positive relationship between vocabulary acquisition and subtitles. 1.6 The difficulty of researching the Linguistic Repertoire of young learners in Iceland Young learners in Iceland are predominantly exposed to English through listening according to various studies previously mentioned and thus their vocabulary is mostly receptive. Vocabulary is divided between receptive and productive. Receptive vocabulary is what the individual understands and productive vocabulary is what he can use. It is difficult to determine the vocabulary size of Icelandic young learners, especially before they begin formal English instruction, and that is because they lack the productive vocabulary to define a word. This is actually extends to Icelandic as well as the young participants in my own study were unable to define Icelandic words using their Icelandic vocabulary but on numerous occasions expressed that they understood the word that they were asked to define. The children were asked to define the word in Icelandic and that is likely the reason there were no recorded instances of translanguageing during the study. The difficulty with word definition tasks appears to be that young learners are not able to define words using their productive vocabulary or do not feel comfortable enough with their definition in order to express their idea of the word. 23

24 One of the difficulties researchers may be presented with when researching aspects of the Linguistic Repertoire of young Icelandic learners is determining their vocabulary size in Icelandic and English. Young Icelandic learners are relatively speaking, becoming very proficient in English without the aid of formal instruction. This has been shown through numerous studies as they exceed the curriculum goals before even commencing formal English instruction (Arnbjörnsdóttir 3). Due to the fact that they exceed the curriculum goals, their performance in formal instruction is perhaps a poor indicator of their overall proficiency in the English language and by extension, the size of their English vocabulary. Evaluating the vocabulary size of these young learners is important in order to determine the appropriate lexical items to be used in various studies that involve them. Young learners in general are a difficult group to conduct studies with as they are of a young age and thus lack a certain degree of a maturity which can be a hindrance in studies. There are several ways that young learners and children as a whole can be participants in a study. Young learners can have ownership of the research, they can be collaborators in the research, be consulted about the research, or be sources of research data (Shaw, Brady, and Davey 8). The young learners in the study were sources of research data and were not consulted or informed as to the nature of the study out of concern that it would drastically alter the results. Having children participate in a study as sources of research data can create some difficulties as there are numerous factors that have be considered. There is a natural power discrepancy between the child and the adult and this can affect the responses of the child as the child may not feel comfortable communicating with an unknown adult like they normally would (Shaw, Brady, and Davey 15). The presence of gatekeepers can actually have a negative effect on the study as their presence may affect the responses that the young learner feels comfortable giving (Shaw, Brady, and Davey 14). A child in a study may request that a gatekeeper be present as the child may not feel comfortable with some aspect of the study. A gatekeeper is a custodian, a day care employee, a teacher, or some other third party in the research that the child feels more comfortable to be around (Shaw, Brady, and Davey 14). The very presence of gatekeepers during the various processes of a study may influence the responses that a child or young person may feel giving and alter the outcome of the study. This affected the present study somewhat as at gatekeepers were 24