Learning English vocabulary from film audio description: A case of Polish sighted students

• Authors: Anna Sadowska

Title variants

PL

Nauka słownictwa z audiodeskrypcji do filmu na przykładzie studentów widzących

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Film audio description recounts the visual content of the film and it is primarily intended for the visually impaired audience. However, when used by sighted viewers, it provides an extra channel of communication which is reinforced by the simultaneous picture. Consequently, this combination of the visual input and language may facilitate the process of learning vocabulary in the second language (Paivio’s theory of dual-coding, Kress’ theory of multimodal teaching and learning). This paper presents the results of a pilot study investigating the effects of film audio description on incidental learning of English in sighted speakers of Polish. The aim of this pilot study was twofold: firstly, to verify if learning vocabulary in English can be enhanced by the use of film audio description and secondly, to test the research method. The study was carried out on a group of 120 learners of English. The participants were divided into four groups (two control groups and two experimental groups). The research instruments included: pre-tests, watching an excerpt of a film with audio description (experimental groups) and without audio description (control groups), repeated post-tests and oral performance (only in Control 2 and Experimental 2). Preliminary observations suggest that audio description may stimulate vocabulary learning in the second language, but there are still certain issues to be considered: the frequency of exposure to the audio described material, the type of the audio described material, the vocabulary type and size, and the number of participants.

PL

Audiodeskrypcja opisuje treści wizualne filmu i jest przeznaczona dla widowni niewidomej i słabowidzącej. Jednak, gdy jest używana przez osoby widzące, staje się dodatkowym kanałem komunikacyjnym, dzięki czemu może korzystnie wpływać na uczenie się języka obcego. Audiodeskrypcja zostaje wzmocniona przez towarzyszący jej obraz. W konsekwencji, ta kombinacja werbalnych i wizualnych danych może wspomagać proces uczenia się słownictwa (koncepcja podwójnego kodowania Paivio, teoria multimodalnego uczenia się i nauczania Kressa). Ten artykuł prezentuje zastosowanie audiodeskrypcji w incydentalnym uczeniu się języka angielskiego przez uczniów widzących. Cel tego badania pilotażowego był dwojaki: po pierwsze, sprawdzenie czy uczenie się słownictwa w języku angielskim może być wspomagane przez audiodeskrypcję i po drugie, wypróbowanie metody badawczej. Badanie przeprowadzono na grupie 120 osób uczących się języka angielskiego na uczelni wyższej. Uczestnicy badania byli podzieleni na cztery grupy (dwie kontrolne i dwie eksperymentalne). Narzędzia wykorzystane w badaniu pilotażowym to: pre-testy, oglądanie filmu z audiodeskrypcją (w grupach eksperymentalnych) i bez audiodeskrypcji (w grupach kontrolnych), powtórzone post-testy oraz nagranie ustnej wypowiedzi (tylko w grupie Kontrolnej 2 i w grupie Eksperymentalnej 2). Wstępne obserwacje wskazują, że audio deskrypcja może wspierać uczenie się drugiego języka, jednakże jeszcze wiele zagadnień należałoby dokładniej przeanalizować, np. częstotliwość ekspozycji na audiodeskrypcję, rodzaj audiodeskrypcji, rodzaj i zakres badanego słownictwa oraz liczba uczestników badania.

Keywords

EN

audio description; film; the visually impaired; second language learning; incidental learning; vocabulary

PL

deskrypcja; film; niewidomi i słabo widzący; uczenie się języka obcego; incydentalne uczenie się; słownictwo

• Publisher: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II. Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL
• Journal: Roczniki Humanistyczne
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 63
• Issue: 11: Anglica
• Pages: 101-123

Contributors

author

Anna Sadowska

• Institute of English Studies, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

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Identifiers

DOI

10.18290/rh.2015.63.11-7