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I. Introduction 1. Sitcom and its worldwide popularity For several decades, people coming home from work or school have been tempted by their televisions to watch sitcoms, or situation comedies. Sitcoms have been the source of relaxation and entertainment since the 1950s. Today sitcoms are very popular among all generations of people, since they are entertaining and funny; mirror modern society and reflect social changes; characters and audiences problems are interconnected; and sitcoms are not time consuming due to the fact that each episode takes 30 minutes at longest. The sitcom is one of the most favourite forms of program on television. Not only do sitcoms present current social problems but they also suggest solutions to them; they are full of advice about hot social issues. Since the sitcom is interconnected with its audience, it tries to socialize us, change our habits and make us better (Berman).
Name: Ma Hong Anh Class: 64A Faculty of English – Hanoi National University of Education A study of students’ attitude towards the use of the sitcom “Friends” in ESL classroom I Introduction Sitcom and its worldwide popularity For several decades, people coming home from work or school have been tempted by their televisions to watch sitcoms, or situation comedies Sitcoms have been the source of relaxation and entertainment since the 1950s Today sitcoms are very popular among all generations of people, since they are entertaining and funny; mirror modern society and reflect social changes; characters' and audience's problems are interconnected; and sitcoms are not time consuming due to the fact that each episode takes 30 minutes at longest The sitcom is one of the most favourite forms of program on television Not only sitcoms present current social problems but they also suggest solutions to them; they are full of advice about hot social issues Since the sitcom is interconnected with its audience, it tries to socialize us, change our habits and make us better (Berman) 2 The importance of using sitcoms as an ELT tool It goes without saying that a sitcom is a valuable and motivative source of authentic English language which can be exploited in English language teaching and learning Sitcoms provide students with: - Authentic English Sitcoms have more realistic contexts of the English language compared to English course books The English students hear in sitcoms is more likely to be everyday English – in other words it is more ‘real’ - Opportunities to practice and improve skills + Listening skill: The students will improve their listening skills as they will be able to hear a variety of different accents + Conversational skill => Research by Kaplan International Colleges revealed that watching the popular sitcoms assists the largest number of people who are studying to improve their language skills The study found that 82% of people said watching television programs helps them learn English and 26% claim to have enhanced their understanding of the language from enjoying episodes of the popular sitcom - Motivation enhancement If the students find a great series that they really enjoy, they will end up getting addicted and forget that they are even learning English - Humour in the classroom The students enjoy the funny moments in sitcoms and move closer towards understanding different kinds of humour - Culture + Cultural references The students will begin to learn and understand different cultural references that are made and feel more connected to a country and the language + Comparison with L1 culture The students can compare the culture of the country in sitcoms with their L1 culture The sitcom “Friends” “Friends” is an American situation comedy about a group of friends living in the New York City borough of Manhattan It is one of the most popular sitcoms of its time It is now often ranked among the all-time best TV shows “Friends” consistently ranked within the top ten of the final television season ratings A research by Kaplan International Colleges discovered that the influence of the show is so powerful that people who said “Friends” helped them learn English were more likely to want to travel to the USA to study the language II Aim and Objectives Aim The aim of this study is to examine to superiority of the sitcom “Friends” Objectives - To evaluate students’ attitude towards the use of the sitcom “Friends” - To suggest some implications that can be applied in ESL classroom III Research questions - To what extent students evaluate their interest in learning English through “Friends” and its effectiveness? - In what ways should teacher employ the sitcom “Friends” to teach English in the classroom the most effectively? IV Methods *Quantitative: - Survey questionnaire *Qualitative: - Observation - Interview V Expected results - Students find it effective and motivating when using “Friends” as a learning tool - Implications that can be exploited in the ESL classroom are suggested