L2 English teaching and the challenges of the YouTube generation

The learning of a second or a foreign language, L2/FL, is traditionally associated with an educational context and the presence of a teacher and a curriculum. Research into young FL learners also tends to focus on such contexts (e.g., Nikolov & Mihaljevic Djigunovic, 2011). Likewise, theories on language learning motivation in most cases place the language learner in a scholastic setting (e.g., Dörnyei, 2009). The rapid spread of English as the global lingua franca (Crystal, 2003) and the extensive use of social media and computers for various purposes, however, have changed the L2/ FL learning context for certain individuals. Recent research has shown the pivotal effect of extramural exposure to English on school-aged learners (e.g., Hannibal Jensen, 2017; Piirainen-Marsh & Tainio, 2009; Reinders, 2012).

This paper explores the extramural exposure to English (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016) among even younger children. Two sisters, aged five and seven whose first language is Swedish, and their exposure primarily to YouTube videos are in focus. Conversations with and observations of the sisters, in combination with interviews with their parents, form the empirical data. Tentative results indicate a strong self-confidence (Clément, 1978) in these girls, and that their learning trajectories and motivational drives mirror those of the acquisition of a first language; both sisters demonstrate signs of "self-selected" bilingualism. The findings raise important issues as regards the future of the teaching of L2/FL English to young learners, where the heterogeneity can be expected to be even greater than today (Sylvén & Sundqvist, 2016).