Cartoons as an entertaining source of learning English(L2) for the young learners(YL)

by Sharmin Sultana, Senior Lecturer, English Language Institute, United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

With the recent development of EFL/ESL studies, researchers are using diverse directions to analyze the language acquisition of the young learners (YL) and are examining more day-to-day issues. What is widely accepted in this regard is that kids are basically prone to learn new ideas from their sources of entertainment rather than formal instructions, and that they usually cannot adhere to an instructional target set before them. Watching cartoons is indeed a ‘happy experience’ for the young children and is the basis for ‘an attractive and enjoyable learning environment’. Due to this entertaining appeal and their wide availability, cartoons have become one important resource from which today’s kids take a great amount of English language input and try to use that to communicate with people around them. The present paper overviews the content of some famous cartoons, delivers several case studies of some young kids and then shows how cartoon-watching has accelerated these youngsters’ English learning, and how it has influenced their language development in general. In addition, there is an attempt to demonstrate how the enthusiasm or high motivation, tender age, positive attitude and willingness for acculturation bridge between YL and L2 learning/acquisition.

Key Words: Watching cartoons, Learning English (L2), Young Learners(YL), Learning Environment, Language Development and use. (more…)