Exploring young L2 learners’ perceptions of their viewing experience with captioned animated cartoons

An increasing number of researchers have devoted their attention to the use of audiovisual input for L2 learning purposes. Although videos with captions have been shown to be effective in enhancing comprehension and learning various aspects of language, only a few studies have focused on young L2 learners at the primary school level. The present study analysed a group of fourth and fifth graders’ perceptions of their extensive viewing experience with a captioned animated cartoon (11 episodes) to shed light on some of the key challenges encountered in research with this underrepresented group. It examined (a) the extent to which the elicitation of qualitative data contributes to the interpretation of the findings of a questionnaire on perceptions, (b) the consistency between their perceptions and objective data, and (c) how the manipulation of viewing time distribution influences learners’ perceptions of their viewing experience. The results revealed that primary school learners’ growing awareness of their learning process enables them to provide rich and reliable data on their perceptions. The implementation of group interviews proved to be a valuable tool to gain deeper insights into their viewing process. Finally, viewing time distribution was shown to play a role in learners’ perceptions of their viewing experience, indicating that this is a factor that must be considered in research designs.