About the project

“The informalisation of English language learning through the media: language input, learning outcomes and sociolinguistic attitudes from an Italian perspective”

Professor Maria Pavesi – National Coordinator (University of Pavia)

(Duration of the project 2022-2025)

The growing informalisation of English learning and use, especially through the media, has been investigated in many European countries. By contrast, although Italy appears to be experiencing a similar radical change in the language behaviours of young generations, little research has been carried out on the acquisitional and sociolinguistic impact of media-induced contact with English in the country. This project is informed by a plurality of theoretical premises integrated into a multidimensional and interdisciplinary research framework. It is based on functional, interactional and cognitive approaches to the acquisition of L2 and pays particular attention to exposure to multimedia genres.

The project involves four territorially differentiated universities (Pavia, Pisa, Salento and Catania) and uses a composite research design that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal data collections together with quantitative and qualitative approaches to data analysis. The four research units will follow the same protocols in the early stages to ensure comparability of results, developing specific components in the later stages. The interrelated objectives of the study are:

1. Informalisation of English language learning and use in Italy: towards a new ecology of contact with English
2. Media input and learning outcomes
3. L2 English and the media
4. Informal contact, attitudes and stance towards English – English as a native language (ENL)/English as a foreign language (EFL)/English as a second language (ESL)/English as a lingua franca (ELF)

Moving from the research framework and objectives outlined above, the project addresses the following research questions:

1. To what extent are Italian students of four selected universities exposed to English naturally and extramurally and what are the major sources of such informal contact?
2. What correlations are there between major factors potentially affecting SLA and L2 (self-assessed) knowledge?
3. What are the attitudes towards the English language, informal contact with English and language learning? What are the relationships between English media exposure and orientations towards ENL/EFL/ESL/ELF? 
4. What are the outcomes in terms of individual language learning trajectories of high media-exposure learner-users of English? Can common traits also be identified?
5. Does one single correlation and interpretation model apply to the four university samples? If not, by which factors do the groups differ? Do the characteristics of the socio-economic and geographic context co-vary with Italian university students’ behaviours, attitudes and learning outcomes?
6. How can higher education L2 instruction be reframed to bridge formal and informal learning and foster students’ self-regulated learning?

The project is divided into three phases:

1. By means of 4,000 questionnaires, information will be collected on personal data, extra-linguistic and social characteristics. The main variables to be tapped include frequency, type of media exposure, modality of access, access motivation and goals, instruction and non-media contact with English. The survey will comprise language competence self-evaluation and general vocabulary knowledge to allow correlations between the observed variables and language learning outcomes.
2. Considering the low visibility of informal learning, semi-structured interviews will be carried out with selected participants to gain an in-depth picture of behavioural patterns across space, time, beliefs and motivations associated with English-language media.
3. Longitudinal studies will be carried out with students who reported high media exposure, in order to investigate the impact of different types of input on specific acquisitional aspects.

The project addresses a highly dynamic and largely unexplored research area with implications on the acquisition and sociolinguistics of L2 English, on pedagogical and translation policies. The questionnaire created for the project qualifies as a useful tool for future large-scale surveys in Italy and other countries. The project aims to provide a current and in-depth picture of how university students acquire English informally in Italy by implementing specific actions that enhance them in terms of linguistic communication, while showing the effects of the ubiquity of English on the linguistic attitudes of the new generations.