This study explores student interest in and familiarity with English media as well as student perceptions regarding its difficulty and usefulness. Furthermore, this study explores whether there are significant differences between learners in regards to gender and selfreported English proficiency. In total, 167 students taking English class at a university in South Korea participated in this study. Participants were asked to complete a 5point Likert scale survey regarding their perceptions about English media viewership. Statistical analyses showed that there is strong correlation between student interest and familiarity with English media. Furthermore, the participants find slang, speed of speech, and media viewership without subtitles to be more difficult than the content, grammar and cultural references in media. In terms of learner differences, females were more familiar with online streaming services, and less proficient students were found to have higher perceptions of difficulty of media. Several pedagogical implications are presented based on the findings of the study.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING https://pketa.jams.or.kr Volume 32, Number (September 30, 2020) Print ISSN 1226-6566 http://dx.doi.org/10.17936/pkelt.2020.32.3.2 Online ISSN 2671-9460 Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes Devin Michael Strome (Busan National University of Education) Article Info Key words Received on April 8, 2020 Reviewed on August 26, 2020 Accepted on September 18, 2020 Applicable Levels: tertiary education extensive learning, English education, media extensive viewing, incidental language learning Abstract Strome, Devin Michael (2020) Student perceptions toward the use of media for extensive study purposes English Language Teaching, 32(3), 21-45 This study explores student interest in and familiarity with English media as well as student perceptions regarding its difficulty and usefulness Furthermore, this study explores whether there are significant differences between learners in regards to gender and self-reported English proficiency In total, 167 students taking English class at a university in South Korea participated in this study Participants were asked to complete a 5-point Likert scale survey regarding their perceptions about English media viewership Statistical analyses showed that there is strong correlation between student interest and familiarity with English media Furthermore, the participants find slang, speed of speech, and media viewership without subtitles to be more difficult than the content, grammar and cultural references in media In terms of learner differences, females were more familiar with online streaming services, and less proficient students were found to have higher perceptions of difficulty of media Several pedagogical implications are presented based on the findings of the study (155 words) I INTRODUCTION Learning a language is a monumental task that requires tremendous amounts of time and energy Despite receiving years of language instruction, students feel they fall short when they leave the classroom and need to use the target language in authentic circumstances For this reason, in order for students to attain communicative competence in a foreign language, learning must extend past Busan National University of Education/Visiting professor 22 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes the classroom as most language learning environments, especially EFL contexts, not provide students with sufficient exposure to language input This necessitates the use of extensive learning as an integral part of any language learning program (Krashen, 1982; Nation & Yamamoto, 2012; West, 1955) Researchers and practitioners have recognized the need for extensive learning as a part of a language program and have primarily looked to extensive reading In fact, there has been a wealth of research supporting the role that extensive learning plays in the building of a language learner’s lexicon and grammar Primarily a proponent of reading as an important input source, Krashen (Krashen, 1982; Krashen & Selinger, 1975) and others (Nagy, Herman, & Anderson, 1985; Pigada & Schmitt, 2006) have demonstrated the importance of extensive learning in maximizing learner outcomes Alongside the emergence of corpus-based research and leveled readers, reading has received the most attention over the years as it is relatively easy to create opportunities for extensive learning by producing and adapting books to the level of the learner When compared to the utilization of reading as a source of language input for language learners, however, the use of media viewing as a form of extensive learning has not received as much attention English media is often too difficult for learners It can be difficult to cope with the speed of media (whereas reading can be done at a speed comfortable for the learner), and attempts to adapt or produce media for language learners would be a costly effort Furthermore, the use of movies and television is often seen as a form of entertainment rather than a language learning tool Despite the inherent difficulty of using media for language learning, it is important that students are exposed to authentic language Tomlinson and Masuhara (2018, p 31), for example, argues against “overprotecting” learners from authentic texts since learners need to be prepared for the “reality” of language use Viewing is a useful modality to accomplish this since it is often interesting and provides visuals that are capable of aiding comprehension Authentic language also offers learners opportunities to measure their ability, recognize where they fall short, and set the target of what they hope to achieve in their language learning While research has demonstrated the benefits of media viewership (Abrams, 2014; Etamadi, 2012; Webb & Rodgers, 2009), the emergence of online movie and television streaming services has provided easier access to English media for both students and teachers An increase in budgets and competition between these online media services has increased the quality and affordability of a potentially valuable source of input of authentic English content The phenomenon of the growing popularity of online streaming services has entered into the English vernacular as words such as ‘binge’ have ushered in a new type of media viewer While authentic English media may still prove too difficult for many learners, these services often provide tools to combat these difficulties such as subtitling, speed adjustment, ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Volume 32, Number 23 and playback options It is essential that teachers and students take advantage of this input in order to increase language learning motivation as well as to ensure that extensive learning takes place It is clear that students are engaged in media viewing, but little is known about how the increase in online media content has affected their attitudes toward media, and whether individual learner differences affect these attitudes Due to the recent emergence of streaming media platforms that have slowly made their way onto the computers and then televisions in EFL environments, more should be learned about student perceptions toward this new form of viewing This current research aims to provide insight into Korean students’ perceptions toward English media viewing in terms of their interest level, their familiarity with available online streaming services, as well as their views toward the potential benefits of viewing English media and its difficulties Furthermore, this study will explore how students’ perceptions are affected by their gender and proficiency in English The results of this investigation will hopefully provide teachers with insights into the potential role that they can play in facilitating student viewing of media and motivating students to use movies as a form of extensive learning to supplement the lack of exposure to authentic English input in their daily lives II LITERATURE REVIEW Extensive Learning Due to time constraints, Nation (2014) shows us that the language classroom would most likely not support the amount of input necessary for preparing students for the challenges that authentic situations and texts present The EFL context further exacerbates this problem as learners have few opportunities to extend what they learn in the classroom to real-life contexts Renandya (2007) suggests that a lack of suitable input is a major factor that holds back language learners whereas “children learning their mother tongue are constantly flooded with oral as well as written language input” (p 134) Thus, extensive learning has the potential to provide valuable supplementation of input to any language program The limits of the classroom have led researchers to consider extensive learning for students as a supplementation of their regular language learning programs For this reason, in light of Nation’s (1996) four strands of a well-balanced language program, Nation and Yamamoto (2012, p 171) argue that as a part of the meaning focused input strand, extensive learning should make up 7/32s of course time and that a “reasonable proportion” of this time should be spent on reading outside of class It is important for students to be partaking in extensive 24 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes learning outside of class because most classroom environments, due to an already full curriculum, are likely to make extensive learning impossible during class time Reading as a form of extensive learning has received the most attention throughout the years, and several benefits have been demonstrated in research Constantino, Lee, Cho, and Krashen’s (1997) study found that the amount of free reading and number of books read were predictors for TOEFL scores In Renandya, Rajan, and Jacobs’ (1999) study, the amount of free reading students did was found to be a significant predictor of gain scores on a test of reading Furthermore, studies have found that free reading has a positive impact on reading comprehension (De’Ath, 2001; Lituanas, Jacobs, &, Renandya, 2001; Robb & Susser, 1989), and tests of reading and writing ability (Hafiz & Tudor, 1989) Research has also suggested that there is potential for students to be intrinsically motivated to practice extensive learning West (1955, p 7) states, “If we can ensure that every child who begins to study a foreign language shall, at the end of two years, be able to derive pleasure from reading it, we shall have ensured that no child who begins a foreign language will ever, in the future, be able to regret it afterwards as a waste of time.” Similarly, Krashen prioritizes enjoyment in extensive learning by emphasizing the importance of motivation, self-confidence and low-anxiety when reading (Krashen, 1982) Extensive Viewing of Media Another form of extensive learning that has received increased attention over the past decade is extensive viewing of media Several studies have found that extensive viewing is a strong motivational force for learning (Bada & Okan, 2000; Chapple & Curtis, 2000; Williams & Lutes, 2007), and that students have positive attitudes toward the utilization of extensive viewing of media for language learning (Ismaeli, 2013; Kabooha, 2016) Furthermore, studies have found evidence of language learning through the utilization of media for learning vocabulary (Ina, 2014; Rice & Woodsmall, 1988; Rodgers, 2013), improving listening skills and listening comprehension (Qiu, 2017; Sanfranj, 2016), attaining sociopragmatic knowledge (Abrams, 2014), and raising cultural awareness (Kim, 2006) The viewing of media is likely to have a positive impact on a variety of language skills, and the supplementation of extensive viewing to any language program is likely to have a positive impact on language ability Media viewing has the potential to provide several benefits in developing the language learner The primary modality of communication for the majority of authentic language use is through speaking and listening rather than through reading and writing Thus, media viewing has the potential to prepare learners for skills necessary for communication Viewing of English media is also a highly motivating form of input that has the potential to ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Volume 32, Number 25 demonstrate authentic language in use English movies and TV shows can provide several benefits such as listening practice and accent familiarity (Etamadi, 2012), favorable conditions for incidental grammar and vocabulary acquisition (Webb & Rodgers, 2009), and the opportunity to learn sociopragmatic functions of language in use (Abrams, 2014) Furthermore, Ellis (2006, p 102) posits that meaning-focused learning provides opportunities for learners to have an “extensive treatment of grammatical problems.” In other words, language learned explicitly in the classroom can be reinforced when it is encountered outside of the classroom during media viewing Several studies have been conducted that have found that learners are motivated to learn using English media The participants of Chapple and Curtis’s (2000) study reported enhanced enjoyment from the utilization of media during class time Similarly, Bada and Okan’s (2000) study reported that the majority of students (83.8) and teachers (82.6) enjoy using media for language learning This study is particularly impressive considering that students and teachers both have a similar perspective toward the enjoyment of media for learning language Research has also demonstrated that students are capable of learning language incidentally through watching media extensively Participants in Rodgers’ (2013) study were able learn an average of six new vocabulary words after watching seven hours of television Furthermore, Ina (2014) reported that fourth, fifth, and sixth grade Greek students were able to learn vocabulary incidentally from watching subtitled English media, and Kuppens (2010) found that Dutch learners who reported frequently watching subtitled English media scored higher on both Dutch to English and English to Dutch translation tests While research has demonstrated the language benefits of extensive viewing, studies have suggested that individual differences, such as gender and proficiency, may also play a role in learner perceptions toward the utilization of English media for language learning King (2002) claims that gender should be considered in the selection of films to introduce to students in the classroom Furthermore, females may be more intrinsically motivated to practice extensive viewing perhaps because males are more physically active and less likely to engage in extensive viewing of media As for proficiency, studies have demonstrated that lowproficiency learners are less capable of benefiting from language learning opportunities from media (Vidal, 2011; Wolff, 1987 as cited in Rodgers, 2013) Low-proficiency learners may be less likely to engage in extensive viewing of media due to its difficulty West (1955) discusses the potential for learners to utilize extensive reading to “…enjoy, and improve by himself after he leaves school”, and reading ability can be “improved in solitude without the help of a teacher.” (p 7) West’s view of reading can also be applied to extensive viewing of media since media can be interesting to learners and does not require that the teacher be heavily involved In other words, learners can take what is learned in the 26 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes classroom into the real world and attempt to make it their own and to hopefully have fun doing it In order to facilitate and motivate learners to practice extensive viewing, it is essential that more is learned about student perceptions toward media It is hoped that this knowledge will help teachers to have a positive facilitative effect on promoting students’ extensive viewing behavior in order to increase the amount of extensive viewing students engage in There are several areas of perceptions that need to be explored in order to better understand student perceptions toward extensive viewing of media It is important to gauge current interest level of extensive viewing and to learn more about perceptions toward the use of online streaming services, such as Netflix, for extensive viewing Also, it is important that more is known about student perceptions of the difficulty and usefulness of extensive viewing of English media for language learning including which aspects of extensive viewing learners find particularly difficult and useful Students that perceive English media to be difficult are likely to be less motivated to utilize extensive viewing as a language learning tool, whereas learners that perceive media to be useful for language learning are likely to have an extra source of motivation to practice extensive viewing for language learning Furthermore, it is essential to explore whether individual differences, such as gender and proficiency, play a role on perceptions toward extensive viewing of media Thus, the research questions are as follows: What are Korean university students’ perceptions toward the use of English media for language learning? How are these categories of perceptions related to each other? What effect learner differences have on perceptions toward the use of English media for language learning? III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Participants The participants of this study were 167 sophomore students majoring in Elementary Education in a university in South Korea The majority of the students’ ages ranged from 19 to 25 years old and 59 students were male and 108 students female All students were Native Korean speakers studying in a mandatory English Conversation course All students were preparing to become elementary school teachers in South Korea Most students enjoy, English, have a high scholastic ability, and were motivated to learn English since English ability is important for licensing to become an elementary teacher in South Korea ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Volume 32, Number 27 Instrumentation A 5-point Likert scale survey ranging from = “Strongly Disagree” to = “Strongly Agree” was designed for the purpose of this study to measure learner perceptions toward media viewership The survey was divided into four factors in order to gauge the participants’ perceptions towards watching English media in terms of their: Interest in English media (items 1-6) For example, one of the statements in this section of the survey that students are asked to rate is: “I like to watch English media (movies, dramas, etc.) in my free time.” Views regarding what is difficult about watching media (grammar content, vocabulary content, cultural content, etc.) (items 7-13) For example, participants are asked to rate the following statement: “I find it difficult to watch English media because of unfamiliar vocabulary.” Perceptions toward how their language ability can benefit from watching English media (grammar, vocabulary, cultural knowledge, etc.) (items 14-20) For example, one of the statements the participants have to evaluate is: “I believe I can improve my listening speed through watching English media.” Familiarity with currently available online streaming services (items 21-25) The purpose of this factor is to gauge whether students are currently engaging in some form of extensive viewing of English programs via online streaming A question that students have to rate in this section is: “I like to watch English media via online streaming platforms (like Netflix).” A section regarding students’ bio information was placed at the end of the survey Participants were assured anonymity and were asked to provide their gender, age, years of study abroad in an English speaking country, minor (all students were majoring in elementary education), and English proficiency To check whether the survey was fit for factor analysis, a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy (KMO) was conducted The KMO statistic was 813 indicating that the survey data is considered appropriate for factor analysis A factor analysis was conducted on the items of the survey in order to evaluate whether the questions for each factor were reliably grouped together Utilizing an eigenvalue of to determine the number of components extracted, the analysis yielded six components explaining a total of 65.86% of the variance for the entire set of variables The results can be found in Table below 28 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes TABLE Varimax-Rotated Factor Matrix for the Items of the Survey Interest Facets Difficulty facets Usefulness Facets Familiarity Facets V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 762 794 V9 738 V10 696 V11 655 V12 565 V13 707 Component 820 745 775 422 344 193 770 333 668 V14 616 V15 630 563 419 V16 523 V17 415 V18 792 V19 789 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 697 516 808 795 800 746 758 As a result of the factor analysis, items were subsequently removed from the analysis for not loading properly Items 4, 5, 6, and 17 were removed for having cross-loadings on more than one factor, and items 14 and 15 were removed for not loading under the latent construct The remaining items were analyzed according to the four factors of the survey: 1) student interest in English media, 2) perceived difficulty of English media, 3) perceived benefits of using media for language learning, and 4) familiarity with online streaming services A reliability analysis was conducted on each of the four factors The Cronbach’s alphas for the interest, difficulty, and familiarity with online streaming factors were 91, 83, and 88 respectively These factors were found to be highly reliable for further analysis The Cronbach’s alpha for the ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Volume 32, Number 29 usefulness factor was 68 which is considered minimally acceptable for further analysis Procedure The participants were given the survey to fill out in order to explore their perceptions toward the utilization of movies for language learning All of the participants were given the survey to fill out during class time The participants were taking part in a mandatory English conversation course in 2019 at a university in South Korea They were briefed regarding the aims of the research and instructed to take their time and to carefully consider their choices for each question The participants were assured the anonymity of their information, told that the survey would not affect their grade for the class, and asked to fill out a section regarding their bio information The participants took between 10 to 15 minutes to complete the survey The surveys were then collected and the data was analyzed for the purpose of this study The responses from the survey were entered into SPSS (version 24) All of the items were 5-point Likert scale questions (items 1-25) The responses were coded ranging as ‘Strongly Disagree’ = 1, ‘Disagree’ = 2, ‘Neither Agree Nor Disagree’ = 3, ‘Agree’ = 4, and ‘Strongly Agree’ = In regards to the bio-data section, males were coded as ‘1’ and females coded as ‘2’ For learners’ self-reported proficiency, low proficiency was coded as ‘1’, average proficiency as ‘2’, and high proficiency as ‘3’ The coding for learners’ age, grade, and length of stay in an English speaking country represented the learners’ responses To answer the first research question, a descriptive statistical analysis was conducted on the four factors of the survey A descriptive statistical analysis was further conducted on the individual items of the perceived difficulty factor in order to explore which aspects of media learners find particularly difficult 95% confidence intervals were utilized to explore whether the mean differences were significant A correlational analysis was then conducted for the four factors in order to find out how categories of perceptions of media are related to one another For the purpose of the second research question, the data was analyzed in order to explore learner differences between the participants in terms of both self-reported language proficiency, and gender Descriptive statistical analyses for proficiency and gender were explored using SPSS (version 24) For the participants’ self-reported proficiency, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and a post hoc Scheffe multiple comparisons analysis was utilized to explore whether there were significant differences in perceptions for the three proficiency groups Independent samples t-tests were used to explore the mean differences for the two gender groups 30 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Perceptions toward the Use of English Media for Language Learning The first research question aims to explore the views of Korean university students toward the use of English media for extensive learning purposes: 1) interest in English media, 2) beliefs concerning its difficulty, 3) views regarding the usefulness of English media, and 4) familiarity with online streaming services TABLE Descriptive Statistics of Perceptions toward English Media (N = 167) Interest Difficulty Usefulness Familiarity M SD 3.60 3.24 4.34 3.64 1.01 70 47 1.09 95% Confidence Interval for Mean Lower Bound Upper Bound 3.45 3.13 4.27 3.47 3.76 3.35 4.41 3.80 As Table shows, the participants are interested in English media (M = 3.60, SD = 1.01), but, they perceive English media to be a little difficult (M = 3.24, SD = 70) Also, the participants perceive English media viewing to be a very useful tool for language learning (M = 4.34, SD = 47), and report being familiar with online streaming services (M = 3.64, SD = 1.09) 95% confidence intervals of the factor means were calculated for the four factors The results are displayed in Figure below FIGURE 95% Confidence Intervals of Means for Perceptions toward English Media ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Volume 32, Number 31 It was found that perceived usefulness of English media for language learning purposes (M = 4.34, 95% CI [4.27, 4.41]) was significantly higher than perceived interest (M = 3.60, 95% CI [3.45, 3.76]), perceived difficulty of English media (M = 3.24, 95% CI [3.13, 3.35]), and familiarity with online streaming services (M = 3.64, 95% CI [3.47, 3.80]) While there were no significant differences in mean between interest and familiarity with online streaming services, they were both found to be significantly higher than perceived difficulty of media The participants’ views regarding the usefulness of English media for language learning seem to echo what the literature suggests (Etamadi, 2012; Mardani & Najmabadi, 2016; Rodgers, 2013) regarding the efficacy of media for language learning It came as a surprise that students consider English media to be a very useful tool for language learning since the viewing of media does not commonly find its way into Korean classrooms It can be expected that the use of other methods and materials for learning may relay to students that traditional methods are more effective for language learning, and that media viewing is less effective This was not the case, and learners consider media to be a potent avenue for language learning It was also surprising that the participants considered English media viewing to be significantly more useful than it is interesting This perhaps points out that the perceived usefulness of English media may have the potential to play a motivational role for extensive viewing This provides an opportunity for teachers to introduce and recommend media in the classroom since students are already aware of the efficacy of media as a language learning tool Thus, teachers not have to be overly concerned that utilizing small portions of class time to discuss English media will be perceived by students as time wasting Perceived difficulty (M = 3.24, 95% CI [3.13, 3.35]) was found to be significantly lower than the other three factors (Interest, M = 3.60, 95% CI [3.45, 3.76]; Usefulness, M = 4.34, 95% CI [4.27, 4.41]; Familiarity with online streaming services, M = 3.64, 95% CI [3.47, 3.80]) It was encouraging that the participants of this study found English media not too difficult to deal with This indicates that perceived difficulty may not play a major role in dissuading learners from extensive viewing of English media Despite this, teachers need to pay extra attention to the motivation of less proficient learners since they are less likely to engage in extensive viewing The results show that the participants of this study were familiar but not very familiar (M = 3.64, SD = 1.09) with English online streaming services This does not come as a surprise as popularity of English online streaming, such as Netflix, has been growing over the past few years This score may indicate that online streaming is in the process of being adopted by Korean viewers as an alternative to more traditional forms of media, such as television This also indicates that online streaming is becoming more accessible to learners since many of their friends and family members are likely to have streaming accounts It is also now probable that online English streaming is available on many of the students’ televisions It is important that teachers find out which of their students not have access to an account, and to instruct them on the available avenues for gaining access The individual items of the perceived difficulty factor of the survey were further explored to 32 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes determine which aspects of English media the participants found particularly difficult The descriptive statistics for difficulty and 95% confidence intervals are shown in Table below TABLE Descriptive Statistics of Perceived Sources of Difficulty in Media (N = 167) Vocabulary Unfamiliar Content Grammar Speed of Speech Cultural References Slang Lack of Subtitles Mean SD 3.31 2.93 2.70 3.81 2.59 3.52 3.84 1.06 97 92 1.10 96 94 94 95% Confidence Interval for Mean Lower Bound Upper Bound 3.14 2.79 2.55 3.64 2.44 3.37 3.69 3.47 3.08 2.83 3.98 2.73 3.66 3.98 While the overall results from the perceived difficulty factor from Table suggest that participants consider media viewing to be difficult but not very difficult (M = 3.24, SD = 70), Table suggests that students consider certain aspects of viewing more difficult than others: vocabulary (M = 3.31, SD = 1.06), unfamiliar content (M = 2.93, SD = 97), grammar (M = 2.70, SD = 92), speed of speech (M = 3.81, SD = 1.10), cultural references (M = 2.59, SD = 96), slang (M = 3.52, SD = 94), and lack of subtitles (M = 3.84, SD = 94) 95% confidence intervals of the item means were calculated for the seven items The results are displayed in Figure below FIGURE 95% Confidence Intervals of Means for Perceived Sources of Difficulty in Media ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Volume 32, Number 33 Legend Voc – Vocabulary SS – Speed of Speech LS – Lack of Subtitles UC – Unfamiliar Content CR – Cultural References Gram – Grammar Slang – Slang The 95% confidence intervals of mean indicate that the participants consider certain aspects of viewing to be more difficult than others The participants consider vocabulary (M = 3.31, 95% CI [3.14, 3.47]), speed of speech (M = 3.81, 95% CI [3.64, 3.98]), slang (M = 3.52, 95% CI [3.37, 3.66]) and lack of subtitles (M = 3.84, 95% CI [3.69, 3.98]) to be significantly more difficult than unfamiliar content (M = 2.93, 95% CI [2.79, 3.08]), grammar (M = 2.70, 95% CI [2.55, 2.83]) and cultural references (M = 2.59, 95% CI [2.44, 2.73]) The Korean participants of this study considering vocabulary, speed of speech, slang, and a lack of subtitling to be more difficult than unfamiliar content, grammar, and cultural references is not surprising considering that: 1) the Korean education system often utilizes the grammar translation method while preparing its students for high stakes examinations, thus making students more confident in their ability to discern grammar in media, and 2) due to South Korean interest in America, learners are often exposed to American culture both inside and outside of the classroom Thus, the items that represent skills often not taught in Korean schools and academies, such as authentic listening speed, authentic viewing of media without the use of subtitles, and non-sterilized speech, such as slang, would be deemed more difficult Furthermore, the high perceived difficulty of vocabulary is likely due to Korean schools not instituting extensive viewing programs that would prepare students for the lexical challenges of authentic language input Authentic forms of input, such as English media, has the potential to play a role in providing learners with experience in skills that are not addressed enough in the classroom and to remind learners and teachers of the various demands of language It is expected, however, that perceived difficulty of certain aspects of media will prevent many learners from utilizing extensive media as a language learning tool Increased awareness and familiarity with media may be able to cause some of these perceived difficulties to dissipate To find out how categories of perceptions are related to one another, a correlational analysis of the four factors of the survey was conducted The results are shown in Table below TABLE Correlational Analysis between the Four Survey Factors (N = 167) Interest Difficulty -.187* Usefulness 126 Familiarity 588** *Significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) Difficulty Usefulness -.020 -.151 **Significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) .071 34 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes The results show that there was a slight negative correlation between student perceptions of interest and difficulty of English media (r = -0.187*), and a statistically significant correlation between familiarity and interest (r = 0.588**) This data suggests that the perceived difficulty of English media may have a negative impact on learner interest with English media It is feared that this lack of interest by those that perceive media to be difficult may lead to a cycle of non-learning This, of course, would lead to an increased gap of linguistic competence between those that find media difficult and their peers In order to avoid the risk of an increased gap in language competence between their students, it is important that teachers take specific care to motivate students that are less proficient These results also support the role of the teacher in facilitating media interest by introducing media that is relatively easy and by introducing students to tools, such as subtitling and playback options, that are available on most media streaming platforms As was expected, interest had a strong relationship with familiarity with online streaming services It is likely that this relationship is due to students having interest in English media, thus they seek out online streaming services The relationship between familiarity and interest may also indicate that their experience/familiarity with online streaming services may have had an effect of increasing their interest in media Once again, if true, the teacher has the potential in playing a role in increasing student interest in extensive viewing by introducing students to entertaining English media It should also be noted that there was a low correlation between perceived usefulness of English media with interest (0.126), difficulty (-0.020), and familiarity (0.071) This suggests that despite student views regarding interest, difficulty, and familiarity with English media, learners still consider it to be a worthwhile endeavor for language learning purposes The Effect of Learner Differences on Perceptions toward the Use of English Media for Language Learning The second research question in this study explores the role that learner differences plays on perceptions toward English media Utilizing the biographical data that the students were asked to fill out, this section explores whether there were notable differences between learners in terms of both their self-reported language ability, and their gender TABLE Descriptive Statistics of Attitudes toward English Media by Students’ Self-Reported Proficiency Factor Proficiency Interest Low (n=33) Average (n=112) High (n=22) M SD 3.29 3.64 3.88 1.07 1.01 88 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Volume 32, Number Difficulty Low (n=33) Average (n=112) High (n=22) 3.71 3.25 2.50 64 53 89 Usefulness Low (n=33) Average (n=112) High (n=22) 4.26 4.34 4.47 45 47 48 Familiarity Low (n=33) Average (n=112) High (n=22) 3.27 3.74 3.64 1.17 1.04 1.17 35 Participants were asked to report their English proficiency relative to their peers as low, average, or high Of the 167 participants 33 reported being low proficiency, 112 average, and 22 high proficiency The descriptive statistics of the proficiency groups can be found in Table below The results show that there was an increased linear progression from low to high proficiency learners for interest (low, M = 3.29, SD = 1.07; average, M = 3.64, SD = 1.01; high, M = 3.88, SD = 88) and perceived usefulness (low, M = 4.26, SD = 45; average, M = 4.34, SD = 47; high, M = 4.47, SD = 48), and a decrease in perceived difficulty from low to high proficiency (low, M = 3.71, SD = 64; average, M = 3.25, SD = 53; high, M = 2.50, SD = 89) There was not a linear progression for the three proficiency groups in terms of familiarity with online streaming services (low, M = 3.27, SD = 1.17; average, M = 3.74, SD = 1.04; high, M = 3.64, SD = 1.17) An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to explore whether these differences were significant The results are shown in Table below TABLE One-Way ANOVA Table for Comparisons of Mean for Self-Reported Proficiency Interest Difficulty Usefulness Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig Between Groups 2.50 2.47 087 Within Groups 165.65 164 1.01 Total 170.65 166 Between Groups 19.34 9.67 25.80 000 Within Groups 61.48 164 38 Total 80.82 166 Between Groups 57 29 1.32 271 Within Groups 35.72 164 22 Total 36.30 166 36 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes Familiarity Between Groups 5.63 2.82 Within Groups 191.27 164 1.17 Total 196.90 166 2.42 093 In terms of the participants’ self-reported language proficiency, there was a significant effect of proficiency on perceived difficulty of English media (p = 000) There was no significant effect of proficiency on interest (p = 087), usefulness (p = 271), and familiarity with streaming media (p = 093) A Scheffe post hoc test was utilized to observe differences in mean among the three proficiency groups (see Table 7) TABLE Scheffe Multiple Comparisons of Mean for Self-Reported Proficiency Factor Interest (I) Group Low Average High Difficulty Low Average High Usefulness Low Average High Familiarity Low Average High (J) Group Average High Low High Low Average Average High Low High Low Average Average High Low High Low Average Average High Low High Low Average *Significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) Mean Difference (I-J) -.35 -.59 35 -.24 59 24 46 1.21 -.46 75 -1.21 -.75 -.08 -.21 08 -.12 21 12 -.47 -.36 47 11 36 -.11 SE 20 28 20 23 28 23 12 17 12 14 17 14 09 13 09 11 13 11 21 30 21 25 30 25 **Significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) p 222 109 222 596 109 596 001** 000** 001** 000** 000** 000** 663 271 663 522 271 522 093 475 093 915 475 915 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Volume 32, Number 37 The results showed a significant effect of proficiency on perceived difficulty of media between all of the proficiency levels (low and average proficiency, p = 001; low and high, p = 000; average and high, p = 000) There was an indication of effect between low and high proficiency in terms of interest (p = 109) and between low and average proficiency in terms of familiarity (p = 093) The results indicate that the source of perceived difficulty, as expected, is likely to be the learners’ proficiency level This provides more evidence to research (Vidal, 2011; Wolff, 1987 as cited in Rodgers, 2013) that less proficient learners are less capable of benefitting from extensive viewing of English media Learners with a lower proficiency are less likely to engage in extensive viewing due to its difficulty Since perceived difficulty is likely to have an effect on interest in extensive viewing of English media, it is essential that this perceived difficulty is addressed by, once again, introducing learners to relatively easy media and by suggesting the various subtitling modalities This can, at least until students gain familiarity with viewing English media, reduce the linguistic burden of extensive viewing The role that gender plays on perceptions of English media was explored Descriptive statistics for the four survey factors and t-tests were conducted in order to explore whether there were significant differences in mean between males and females for the four factors (see Table below) TABLE Descriptive Statistics and Independent Sample T-Tests of Perceptions toward English Media by Gender Interest Difficulty Usefulness Familiarity Gender M SD Male (n = 59) Female (n = 108) Male (n = 59) Female (n = 108) Male (n = 59) Female (n = 108) Male (n = 59) Female (n = 108) 3.51 3.65 3.19 3.27 4.33 4.35 3.37 3.78 1.04 1.00 76 67 48 46 1.16 1.03 t df p -.88 116.02 381 -.62 107.21 540 -.22 115.31 828 -2.34 165 021* The results showed that females are more interested in English media (females, M = 3.65, SD = 1.00; males, M = 3.51, SD = 1.04), find media more difficult (females, M = 3.27, SD = 67; males, M = 3.19, SD = 76) and useful (females, M = 4.35, SD = 46; males, M = 4.33, SD = 48), and are more familiar with online streaming (females, M = 3.78, SD = 1.03; males, M = 3.37, SD = 1.16) than males 38 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes T-tests were conducted in order to explore whether there were significant differences in mean between males and females for the four survey factors The results can be found in Table above It was found that there was a significant effect of gender on familiarity with online streaming services t(165) = -2.34, p = 021* There was not a significant effect found for interest, perceived difficulty and perceived usefulness Despite the results indicating no significant differences in mean in terms of interest, perceived difficulty and usefulness of English media, men were found to be less familiar with English media The reason why females would be more familiar with online streaming services than males is not clear That being said, additional measures by teachers to motivate and introduce online streaming services to male students for extensive viewing of English media may be necessary V CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS The current study aimed to provide insight into learner perceptions regarding extensive viewing of English media Media and increased access to it via the expansion of available online streaming services provides additional resources for students to take advantage of The analyses of the data for this study showed that not only are students interested in English media, they also view it as being a potent resource for language learning Most language learning contexts not provide students with enough input to support achieving independent and unassisted comprehension in the target language For this reason, teachers and students alike need to embrace the role that extensive learning may play in learners achieving communicative competence Pedagogical Implications There are several pedagogical implications that arise from the research First, the correlation between the familiarity and interest factors of the survey suggests that the teacher may have a pivotal role as a facilitator simply by raising familiarity with English media The results indicate that increased familiarity is likely to increase student interest in media viewership While this research does not attempt to provide support for in-class viewership of media (teachers often shy away from this due to class time restrictions), there are other ways that teachers may support student extensive viewership of English media Teachers can support students by introducing them to online viewing platforms such as Netflix or Hulu, which are currently producing high quality media at a reasonable price Furthermore, teachers can help students make accounts, show trailers of interesting shows, and open up discussion ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Volume 32, Number 39 about English media Compelling research regarding the positive role of teacher modeling of reading on student reading behavior (Methe & Hintze, 2003; Widdowson, Dixon, & Moore, 1996) may also lend support for teachers to model viewing by showing interest in English media and telling students what they like watching in their free time The second pedagogical implication from this study is related to the first implication above There was negative correlation between interest in media and the perceived difficulty of media This may be the result of a fear of English media that originates from a lack of experience with English media It is possible that students with a high perceived difficulty of English media may be avoiding utilizing it as a tool for extensive viewership Thus, it is the teacher’s responsibility to familiarize learners with English media and its potential benefits for language learning Third, extensive viewing may have a positive supplementary benefit for aspects of language that the participants of this study found particularly difficult while watching media Proponents of the use of authentic text for language teaching argue that the overutilization of simplified texts that are used to isolate teaching points “overprotects the learners,” “contradicts what we know about how languages are acquired,” and “does not prepare them for the reality of language use outside the classroom” (Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2018, p 31) Students consider speed of speech, slang, and viewership of media without subtitles to be significantly more difficult than the content, grammar, and cultural references of English media This can be explained by the context of the South Korean education system that tends to rely heavily on the grammar translation method for high stakes exam preparation to the detriment of utilizing and teaching English for communicative purposes As a result, extensive learning is rarely prioritized, and teachers not have enough time to utilize extensive learning in the classroom As a result, it is essential that teachers value and promote out-of-class viewing to supplement for skills that are not being taught inside their classrooms Fourth, there was some evidence that learner differences play a role in perceptions toward media For unknown reasons, men had a lower familiarity with online streaming services than women despite having a comparable interest in it This may suggest that since men are less familiar with online streaming services, they may benefit from additional motivation and instruction for how to access English online streaming content In regards to the role that proficiency plays on perceptions, low-proficiency learners were found to have higher perceptions of difficulty of media It is recommended that teachers initially focus on increasing interest and motivation in lower proficiency learners Thus, teachers can introduce media that is relatively easy to understand, and instruct students how to access subtitling in order to lessen the language burden This is important since lowproficiency learners will be less likely to engage in extensive viewing without support from 40 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes their teachers This study argues that extensive viewership of English media is an important asset to any English learning program Media has the potential to be highly motivating and provides incremental and incidental language learning opportunities Though extensive viewing takes place outside of the classroom, there is an important opportunity for teachers to facilitate its use inside the classroom Limitations Six of the items from the survey did not function as expected as was identified in the initial factor analysis following the collection of the data As mentioned above, despite the participants being briefed regarding the nature of the present study, they may have been unsure whether the questions were inquiring about general interest in watching movies or interest in movies in the context of language learning The three items that did not meet requirements for analysis mention interest in movies as it pertains to language learning while the other three had not The design of the items would have been better served as all explicitly being framed as a general interest in watching movies Furthermore, only one university was sampled from for this study which may call into question the generalizability of the research In addition, all students from the university have the same major (elementary education) which adds to the homogeneity of the population sampled In saying that, the students at the university are focused learners who are at the forefront of educational theory as they prepare to become teachers This may make them especially fit to partake in a study regarding educational practices Future Directions for Research In sum, teachers can benefit from the findings of this study by recognizing the potential of using English media as a motivational tool It is recommended that students and teachers initially focus on student enjoyment and comprehension This can be done by utilizing tools such as playback and speed adjustment options, as well as the various forms of subtitling available on English media streaming sites These tools can then be relaxed as students begin to feel more comfortable The hope is to get students to embrace extensive viewing as a lifelong event In order to add credibility to this, however, the role of teachers in extensive viewing would benefit in the future from studies that attempt to show to what extent teachers are capable of increasing extensive viewing in their students ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Volume 32, Number 41 REFERENCES Abrams, Z (2014) Using film to provide a context for teaching L2 pragmatics System, 46, 55-64 Bada, E., & Okan, Z (2000) Students’ language learning preferences TESL-EJ, 4(3), 1-15 Chapple, L., & Curtis, A (2000) Content-based instruction in Hong Kong: Student responses to film System, 28(3), 419-433 Constantino, R., Lee, S., Cho, K., & Krashen, S D (1997) Free voluntary reading as a predictor of TOEFL scores Applied Language Learning, 8(1), 111-118 De’Ath, P (2001) The Niue literacy experiment International Journal of Educational Research, 35(2), 137-146 Ellis, R (2006) Current issues in the teaching of grammar: An SLA perspective TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 83-107 Etemadi, A (2012) Effects of bimodal subtitling of English movies on content comprehension and vocabulary recognition International Journal of English Linguistics, 2(1), 239-248 Hafiz, F M., & Tudor, 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Longman Widdowson, D., Dixon, R., & Moore, D (1996) The effects of teacher modeling of silent reading on students’ engagement during sustained silent reading Educational Psychology, 16(2), 171-180 Williams, R., & Lutes, P (2007) Using Videos in the EFL classroom Unpublished manuscript Takamatsu University Wolff, D (1987) Some assumptions about second language text comprehension Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 9(3), 307-326 APPENDIX Student Perceptions toward English Media Survey Purpose: The purpose of this survey is to gain a better understanding of the potential of using movies and dramas to study English There are no right or wrong answers and this survey will not affect your grade Your answers will be kept confidential Instructions: Please respond to each statement as accurately as you can Your honest and thoughtful responses are important to the study Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree Nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree I like to watch English media (movies, dramas, etc.) in my free time 2 I am interested in watching English media (movies, dramas, etc.) whenever possible 3 I like to watch English media because it is interesting and fun 44 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes I enjoy watching English media for English study purposes 5 I would rather watch English media than study in a traditional way I am motivated and become active when I watch English media I find it difficult to watch English media because of unfamiliar vocabulary I find it difficult to watch English media because of unfamiliar content I find it difficult to watch English media because of complex grammar 10 I find the speed of speech of English media difficult 11 Cultural references make it harder to understand English media 12 Slang makes it harder to understand English media 13 I find it difficult to watch English media without subtitles 14 I believe watching media is an effective way to learn English 15 I believe I can learn about culture through watching English media 16 I believe I can improve my listening speed through watching English media 17 I believe I can learn grammar through watching English media 18 I believe I can learn vocabulary through watching English media 19 I believe I can learn slang through watching English media 20 I believe repeat viewings of the same movie or show will help advance my English ability 21 I have experience using English online streaming platforms (like Netflix) ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Volume 32, Number 22 I like to watch English media via online streaming platforms (like Netflix) 23 I believe online streaming platforms (like Netflix) has made it more easy to view English media 24 I believe that online streaming platforms have features that are more helpful for learning English than traditional options (like TV) 25 I often binge English media through online streaming services Bio Data Instructions: Please check or write the most appropriate response What is your gender? a) Male b) Female How old are you? What is your university year? Korean age Year _ How many years have you lived in an English speaking country? Years of stay Considering all aspects of language, what is your English ability? a) Low b) Average c) High Devin Michael Strome Dept of English Education Busan National University of Education 3, Gyodae-ro, Yeonje-gu, Busan, Korea Busan 47506, South Korea 45 ... Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Perceptions toward the Use of English Media for Language Learning The first research... total of 65.86% of the variance for the entire set of variables The results can be found in Table below 28 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study. .. important for students to be partaking in extensive 24 Devin Michael Strome (2020) Student Perceptions toward the Use of Media for Extensive Study Purposes learning outside of class because most