In the Presence of English: Media and European Youth (Language Policy Book 7)

The starting point for this comparative study on the role of English within the media worlds of European youth is the recognition of the increasing importance of communication with peoples from other cultures and countries. Within the European Union (EU), English has a special role in this regard. While EU policy promotes all languages spoken in member states, and although English is not the most frequently spoken first language, it is the language two Europeans are most likely to use to make themselves understood. This lingua franca phenomenon occurs not only in the fields of science and technology, but also in business and everyday, personal interactions. The media, which plays an important role in intercultural communication, serves as a cultural forum, and both creates culture and transmits representations of other cultures. Its offerings are often highly internationalized, especially in pop culture, films, TV series, and variety shows, which exercise great influence on cultural and linguistic issues in the multilingual, multicultural EU. The primary goals of "In the Presence of English: Media and European Youth" are to gain insight into the roles of English in and for Europe; to contribute to discussions of the possibilities of transnational media offerings; to better understand the influence of media in foreign language acquisition and of its role in promoting cross cultural understanding across European cultures; and to better understand the role of English media in the construction of the world view of European youth. The research presented on the relationship of media use to language proficiency has relevance to how schools react to and take advantage of media influences on English acquisition. It also has implications for approaches to language policy and planning issues relating to the present and future role of English in the EU, and the re-evaluation of the presence and prevalence of English in the media both as a threat to the notion of a European identity and as a contributing factor in the creation of such an identity. Researchers, scholars, practitioners, and students of such fields as second language pedagogy and acquisition, language policy, media and communication, and sociolinguistics as well as educational and social psychology will all have an interest in "In the Presence of English: Media and European Youth". In the Presence of English: Media and European Youth is the realization of a project first conceived in 1991 in Hamburg, Germany where Uwe Hasebrink, Ewart Skinner, and Margie Berns, with their respective specializations in media studies, international communication, and world Englishes, met and discovered intersecting interests. In that meeting they sketched out plans for a questionnaire survey to be distributed in Hamburg schools that would investigate secondary school pupils access to and use of media, their access to and use of English, and their attitudes concerning these and related topics. A year later several hundred young people in selected schools completed the questionnaire. The findings from this initial investigation appeared in a book chapter by Hasebrink, Berns, and Skinner (1997) and were reported on at conferences in North America and Europe. Eventually Kees de Bot (The Netherlands) was inspired to join Berns and Hasebrink (Ewart Skinner had moved on to other projects). Eventually we decided to extend and refine the project by building upon its interdisciplinary and international potential. From this point on the study gained increasing momentum and scope and individual team members contributed variously to what became a major undertaking. The size and complexity of the project made it not only time intensive, but time extensive as well. With limited sources of financial support, progress was slow, at times arduous, and the gap between data collection and finished manuscript was greater than anticipated. Distribution of labor among us kept the task manageable. Ch. 1. The Presence Of English : Sociocultural, Acquisitional, And Media Dimensions / Margie Berns -- Ch. 2. English In Europe / Margie Berns, Marie-therese Claes, Kees De Bot, Riet Evers, Uwe Hasebrink, Ineke Huibregtse, Claude Truchot And Per Van De Wijst -- Ch. 3. An Empirical Approach To The Presence Of English / Margie Berns -- Ch. 4. Descriptive Findings On The Presence Of English / Kees De Bot, Riet Evers And Ineke Huibregtse -- Ch. 5. Determinants Of Contact, Proficiency And Attitudes / Kees De Bot And Riet Evers -- Ch. 6. English, Youth And Media Environments / Uwe Hasebrink -- Ch. 7. In The Presence Of English : A Resume After Step One Of An International Study / Uwe Hasebrink, Margie Berns And Kees De Bot. Editors: Margie Berns, Kees De Bot, Uwe Hasebrink. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 121-136) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xviii The Presence of English Sociocultural, Acquisitional, and Media Dimensions....Pages 1-14 English in Europe....Pages 15-42 An Empirical Approach to the Presence of English....Pages 43-51 Descriptive Findings on the Presence of English....Pages 53-69 Determinants of Contact, Proficiency, and Attitudes....Pages 71-88 English, Youth, and Media Environments....Pages 89-110 In the Presence of English: A Resume After Step one of an International Study....Pages 111-119 Back Matter....Pages 121-163 This book is designed to provide insight into the roles of English in and for Europe. The starting point for this comparative study is recognition of the increasing importance of communication with peoples from other cultures and countries. The book contributes to discussions of the possibilities of transnational media offerings, and facilitates a better understanding of the influence of media in foreign language acquisition. Recognizing the increasing importance of communication with peoples from other cultures and countries, this book presents a comparative study on the role of English within the media worlds of European youth