“There’s a Lot of Beauty in Ordinary Things, Isn’t That Kind of the Point?”: A Study of the Effect of Exposure to American Sitcoms on Natural Speech Acquisition

In our globalized world, English learning has become a central issue for Italian students. Research conducted by the World Economic Forum on European countries shows that less than 30% of the population can fluently speak English, compared to the average 70% of the northern countries. In this context, alternative methods for language acquisition have been studied intensely to appeal to young students and increase their second language skills. However, few studies focused on American sitcoms as tools for learning the colloquial aspects of English, the key to a more effortless expression and comprehension of the language. The present study demonstrates the effectiveness of the 2000s TV show “The Office” in Italian students’ development of spontaneous and colloquial conversation. To identify significant grammar patterns and informal expressions, transcripts from the show have been analyzed and compared to the TV Corpus. Then, such material has been included in B1-level English activities and tested on a group of students aged 14-19 during one hour lesson. After completing a questionnaire on movies and TV series viewing preferences, students have been evaluated through objective exercises based on the phraseology of the scenes seen in class. Results have shown that not only was there a relevant increase in listening comprehension and ability to communicate naturally, but also a shift in the class environment, as the students seemed to lower their affective filter showing higher motivation, critical thinking ability, and will to interact with each other in the second language. The limitation of the study comprised the lack of experimentation regarding activities and exercises related to the audiovisual material; so that further research could focus on the implementation of American sitcoms in secondary school teaching units in more diverse and creative ways.