P5: da is een heel handige taal (.) een leuke taal (.) zo anders soms (.) ma soms ook ni (.) soms vind ik dat da hetzelfde @lijkt
A: hetzelfde als het Nederlands? P5: (nodds) ongeveer hetzelfde
P7: omdat de mensen van een ander land, die verstaan da ni= A: =nee=
P7: =en als die dan Engels kunnen (.) want in bijna alle talen (.) euh in alle landen spreken ze Engels dus das wel handig
P5: da is leuk en da is ook euhm (.) handig om een andere taal te leren voor mij A: ja (.) oke (.) en waarom is da handig?
P5: eu:hm bijvoorbeeld ge zij in een ander land dan (.) en in een bepaalde situatie als ge die taal dan kunt is da veel beter want (.) ja (.) dan kunnen andere mensen u ook verstaan
A: swaar (.) oke (.) Axelle?
P3: euhm omdat da dan (.) omdat da een leukere taal is vind ik en (.) en heel veel mensen spreken ook Engels
4.2.6 Comparison with previous study on spontaneous English language use by Flemish 10-12-year-olds
In this chapter, the findings from the focus group discussions will be compared with the outcome of De Bleecker's (2019) discussions to examine the differences or similarities in activities where the participants speak English, their reasons for speaking English and their attitude towards English.
Firstly, the situations in which the participants in both studies indicated to speak English themselves are analysed. The vast majority of situations that were mentioned corresponded in both studies. The children reported to use English while being on vacation, while speaking to parents, siblings and friends, while gaming, while talking to themselves and while cursing. A difference was found in the participants’ online use of English. In De Bleecker’s study, some participants referred to chatting in English on social media, which was not discussed in this study. This may be due to the age difference between the participants of both studies. Younger children are less likely to possess their own smartphone and social media profiles.
In terms of participation in language input activities in English, significant similarities were again observed. In both studies, the participants listened to music in English and sang along, they watched English content on YouTube and other social media channels and they watched TV in English with subtitles in their mother tongue.
The participants of both studies had approximately the same reasons for speaking English themselves. The most popular reason was because they thought of English as a fun or cool language. Secondly, the children found it important to improve their English language skills. However, in this study more emphasis was placed on the fact that the children speak English because they want to learn the language better in view of the future.
This latter mentioned reason is reflected in the participants’ similar attitude towards English in both studies. The children realise the value of English and are aware of its position as lingua franca in today’s globalised world. Therefore, most participants think it is useful to develop English speaking skills. Another attitude that was mentioned in this study but not in De Bleecker’s (2019) is that some children referred to English as an easy language because of the amount of words that look or sound similar to their Dutch equivalent.
5 DISCUSSION
The first research question aimed to investigate the English receptive vocabulary size of Flemish children aged 7-10 years old before they had received formal instruction in English. To measure the participants’ English receptive vocabulary size, they performed the fourth version of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The results revealed that most children already possessed a substantial amount of English vocabulary. The mean score amounted to 67.27/120, which equals 56.06%. The participant with the highest score even obtained a score of 107 points. This is in stark contrast to the lowest score (32). However, it is remarkable how many words the children have already acquired prior to being taught the English language. Furthermore, it is interesting to see that there are considerable differences in the participants’ scores. As shown in the result section, some factors can strongly influence the children's vocabulary size and need to be taken into account when analysing incidental vocabulary acquisition. These factors include the amount of exposure to the foreign language and the attitude towards the foreign language, which is linked to the motivation to learn the language.
The second research question investigated the participants’ productive use of the English language. It looked into the situations in which the children speak English and why they prefer English over their mother tongue on certain occasions. During the focus group discussions, the overall majority of participants reported to speak English in several situations, while 30 children (50.8%) indicated during the questionnaire to never speak English. This contrast may be a result of the interaction during the focus group discussions. Some participants mentioned certain situations in which they speak English and others realised they do the same, but it were probably situations they had not thought of when filling in the questionnaire. Based on the qualitative analysis of the focus group discussions, seven situations were identified which were most frequently referred to:
− on vacation with locals, hotel staff and new foreign friends − at home with parents and/or siblings
− playing with friends − talking to themselves − online while gaming − while cursing − while counting
Two main reasons for the participants’ use of English were found. Firstly, the children consider English to be a more fun language than Dutch. When the participants were asked to explain why they liked English better, most of them answered that it was because it is a new language which they enjoy learning from their everyday environment. From their explanations it became clear that the newness of the language is what makes English so attractive to them. There is still much to discover and it appeals to the children to use English in order to master the language better.
Secondly, the participants indicated to use English for future-oriented purposes. They are convinced that it is important to improve their English language skills in view of their future. The children realise the value of English in today’s globalised world and they are aware of the fact that English is mostly used as a means of communication in multilingual situations. They also believe it is important to make oneself understood in situations with people from different language backgrounds. Some participants also stated that they wanted to be well-prepared for secondary education, when Flemish pupils receive formal instruction of English.
Even though, most children speak English sometimes, it is important to note that they often only use a few words or short phrases between their conversations in Dutch. Although the children possess some English vocabulary, their skills are probably not yet sufficiently developed to be able to have entire conversations in English.
The third research question focussed on the differences and similarities between this study and Fien De Bleecker’s (2019) study who carried out a similar research with 43 children aged 10- 12 years old. All aspects of the studies were compared: the quantitative analysis with the PPVT scores and the scores in relation to the language input activities as well as the individual characteristics, but also the qualitative analysis which presented the outcomes of the focus group discussions in which the participants talked about the situations in which they speak English, their reasons for speaking English and their attitude towards the language.
Firstly, the differences and similarities in the quantitative analyses will be displayed. Regarding the PPVT results, the participants in De Bleecker’s (2019) study outperformed the participants in this study with a mean score of 74.58/120 versus 67.27/120. These differences in results are most likely due to the fact that the children in De Bleecker’s study are older and have therefore
been longer exposed to English in their daily environment. As mentioned above, the amount of exposure can have a significant effect on the children’s vocabulary size.
In both studies the effect of six language input activities was measured in relation to the PPVT scores. These activities included watching TV in English with subtitles in the mother tongue, listening to English music, reading in English, gaming in English, using YouTube and/or social media in English and speaking English. De Bleecker did not find any significant relationships between the scores and the activities, while in this study a significant relation was measured between ‘using YouTube and/or social media’ and the PPVT scores.
The influence of three individual characteristics age, gender and attitude towards the English language on the PPVT scores was measured as well. De Bleecker measured a significant relation for gender and attitude, but not for age. In this study, however, a significant relation was measured for age and attitude, but not for gender. Therefore, it is recommended to further investigate the effect of age and gender on Flemish children’s English vocabulary size with a wider scope of participants.
Subsequently, the differences and similarities in the qualitative analyses will be presented. The outcomes of the focus group discussions in both studies were compared which revealed substantial similarities in the situations in which the participants indicated to speak English. In both studies the children reported to speak English on vacation, with parents, siblings and/or friends, while talking to themselves, while cursing and while gaming. One small difference was found in the participants’ online use of English. In De Bleecker’s (2019) study, some children also mentioned chatting online on social media, which was not referred to in this study. Another minor difference is that in this study the participants also indicated to speak English while counting.
The participants’ reasons for speaking English were almost identical as well in both studies. The majority of children speaks English because they think of it as a fun and attractive language. The participants also use English for future-oriented purposes. They want to improve their English language skills because they realise the importance of English in today’s globalised world and because they are convinced that they will need to use English in later encounters with non-native speakers.
The latter mentioned reason for speaking English also demonstrates the participants’ first attitude towards the English language. The children consider English to be a valuable language. They think it is useful to develop English language skills in order to be able to communicate in multilingual situations. Another attitude that was mentioned in this study but not in De Bleecker’s (2019) study is that some participants indicated that they thought of English as an easy language because of the amount of words that are resembling in English and Dutch.
6 CONCLUSION
The main aim of this master dissertation was to gain insight into the English receptive vocabulary size of Flemish children aged 7-10 years old before they received formal instruction of English and to give an impression of the situations in which the children use English productively and their reasons for speaking English. To measure the participants’ English vocabulary size, 59 children from the third to the fifth grade of primary school participated in the fourth edition of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-4). The relation between the PPVT scores and the participants’ exposure to English as well as individual characteristics such as age, gender and attitude towards the English language was calculated to examine the effect of these variables on the children’s receptive vocabulary size.
While a number of studies have already investigated incidental language acquisition of English in Flanders with children aged 10-12 years old, to the researcher’s knowledge, this is the first study to examine younger Flemish children. On top of that, this study has compared the data of seven to ten-year-olds with the data of children aged ten to twelve years old, collected in the study of De Bleecker (2019).
The PPVT results showed a great variation in the participants’ scores with a minimum score of 32 points and a maximum score of 107 points. With a mean score of 67.27/120, it can however be stated that Flemish children between 7 and 10 years old already possess some English vocabulary prior to formal instruction.
In addition, the relationship between the PPVT scores and six language input activities was looked into. The language input activities include watching TV in English with subtitles in the mother tongue, listening to English music, reading in English, gaming in English, using YouTube and/or social media in English and speaking English. A linear regression was used to measure the effect of these activities on the participants’ English vocabulary size. Only ‘using YouTube and/or social media’ was found to have a significant relationship with the PPVT scores.
As for the individual characteristics age and attitude, a significant relation was found with the PPVT scores. In this study, the older participants clearly outperformed the younger ones and the results showed that the younger the children were, the lower they scored on the test.
Regarding attitude, the majority of the participants expressed a positive attitude towards the English language. However, 18 out of the 59 children indicated to not like English. The results revealed that the children who had a positive attitude towards English scored higher than the participants with a negative attitude towards the English language. For the third individual variable gender, no correlation was found with the PPVT scores. Although the boys slightly outperformed the girls with a difference of four points based on the average scores for boys and girls, no significant relation was measured.
To gain insight in the situations in which the participants speak English and their reasons for speaking English, the children were divided into small groups of approximately 10 children and they participated in focus group discussions that looked into their productive use of English. The outcome of the focus group discussions provided seven main situations in which Flemish seven to ten-year-old pupils who are in the third to fifth grade of primary education use English:
− on vacation with locals, hotel staff and new foreign friends − at home with parents and/or siblings
− playing with friends − talking to themselves − online while gaming − while cursing − while counting
During the focus group discussions, the participants mentioned several language input activities as well which increase their contact with the English language. According to the children, the most popular English language input activities were listening to music, watching TV with subtitles in the mother tongue and watching online content on YouTube or other social media channels.
The participants portrayed two main reasons for their use of English. Firstly, they think of English as a fun language which serves as an attractive alternative for their mother tongue Dutch. The children enjoy the incidental language learning process and are attracted by the newness of English, as for them there is still much to discover about the language. Secondly, the participants use English for future-oriented purposes. They want to improve their English language skills because they believe it will be beneficial for their future, for example when they
will receive formal instruction in English at secondary school or when they will have to communicate with non-native speakers in their later careers.
The latter mentioned reason is linked to one of the participants’ attitudes towards the English language. They are aware of the significant status English has developed across the world. The children understand its position as lingua franca in multilingual situations and believe that it is important to possess English language skills in order to make oneself understood among people with different language backgrounds. Therefore, the participants consider English to be a valuable language. The general attitude towards the English language is overall positive. As mentioned above, children think of English as a fun, cool and beautiful language. Some children also identify English as easy, because of the amount of words that are similar in Dutch.
This study also identified the differences and similarities in the participants’ English receptive vocabulary size and their reasons for speaking English in certain contexts compared with the data De Bleecker (2019) has collected in her study on the same topic with children aged 10-12 years old. As for the PPVT scores, the participants in De Bleecker’s study clearly outperformed the children in this study with a mean score of 74.58/120 compared to 67.27/120. It is highly probable that the difference in scores is a result of the fact that the older children have been exposed to English for a longer period of time and that they have therefore developed a larger vocabulary size.
Regarding the situations in which children speak English, great similarities were identified. In both studies the participants mentioned speaking English on vacation, with parents, siblings and/or friends, while talking to themselves, while cursing and while gaming. The language input activities in which the children engaged in corresponded as well.
As for the children’s reasons for speaking English and their attitude towards the language, strong resemblances were observed. In both studies, the participants reported to speak English because they thought of it as a fun or cool language which serves as a nice alternative for their mother tongue Dutch. They also considered English to be a useful language as they realised the value of English in today’s globalised world and the fact that it is mostly used as a medium of communication in multilingual situations. Therefore, the children believe it is important to improve their English language skills.
7 LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
As with many other research, this study had its limitations. Firstly, the data collection took place during an activity of the participants’ youth movement Scouts en Gidsen Berlaar and although this location was very familiar to the children and made sure they were at ease, it was not ideal. Due to the rather small size of the room in comparison to the number of participants, the children were seated close to each other and were separated by a piece of cardboard that was placed between them. That way, it was not so difficult for the children to look at each other’s answer sheet, even though it was clearly stated before the start of the PPVT that this was prohibited.
The fact that the data was collected during an activity of the children’s youth movement also resulted in less concentration among the participants. The researcher had less authority than a normal teacher since the children already knew her as a scouts leader and because the participants see their youth movement as an informal environment where they go to play and have fun. On top of that, a clear difference in concentration was noticed between the boys and girls. The boys were much more distracted and had a hard time remaining silent during the test. Therefore it was decided to take a 10-minute break throughout half of the test. The girls, on the