The Effects of Watching English Television Shows to the Language Skills of Children With Autism...

8/12/2019 The Effects of Watching English Television Shows to the Language Skills of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

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FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY

THE EFFECTS OF WATCHING ENGLISH TELEVISION SHOWS

TO THE LANGUAGE SKILLS OF CHILDREN

WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

By

Basa, Kirsty G.

Buenaventura, Alyssa Denisse C.

Cruz, Jazmine Alaine T.

Far Eastern University

MARCH 2014

ABSTRACT

The effect of watching English television shows to the development of language

skills of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder was studied through experimental

method. Three children able to understand and communicate in English with Autism

Spectrum Disorder were used as the subjects during the experiment. The results didnt

show full support to the hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between the

length of time a child with autism watching English television shows and the childs level

of language skills concerning the areas of Listening, Semantics, Expressive, Social

Communication and Metalinguistic. The findings showed that with the value of 0.12 there

was a weak significant relationship to the Social Communication Skill. It was also found

out thatthere is a significant difference between the pre-tests and post-tests scores whencompared to the individual age of the subjects and within the group age. With all the

results and findings of this study it is recommended for schools with early childhood

learners to engage them in watching educational shows, same with the parents but with

guidance and interaction. For improving this study there does a need for further more

research to fill in gaps on the readers understanding.


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who are attached to watching English television shows. The researchers were driven by

the idea that maybe this habit of watching English television shows can inculcate and

affect certain aspects of a childs language skills.

SYNTHESIS

Communication skills which also includes the language are the important salient

features in coping up with the society. Language skills are important; lacking the said skills

may impede the learning progress of a child. There are children with ASD who are verbal,

however, language and communication difficulties are exhibited. Communication skills do

not focus entirely on speaking skills but also in the other areas of language skills which are

listening, semantics, expressive, social communication, and metalinguistic.

In relation to the language skills, television has been used as a tool in educating

the young minds. The television shows must be according to the needs and wants of the

child because young ones perceives differently from adolescents and adults. Like what is

stated above, television shows can help children with ASD to learn more. For the

improvement of verbal children with autism, the current abilities and the strengths and

weaknesses should be identified. This is to ensure that the appropriate communication

intervention program will be given to them.

This research paper is different from other researches in terms of its variables.

This research focuses on the effects of television shows in the dimensions of language

skills of children with ASD. To be exact, this study focuses on the five dimensions of


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language skills which are the following: listening, semantics, expressive, social

communication and metalinguistic. This research differs from other researches in terms

of its subjects, procedures, and the instrument that were used in conducting this study.

However, this research paper may also have its similarities to other research papers in

terms of the idea that television shows can help in educating the young minds. The

concern of this research paper is to know if watching television shows can help in

developing some aspects of the childs language and communication skills.

Summary of Findings

The summary of the findings were discussed and the researchers have also formulated

recommendations for the readers.

With the use of the adapted instrument and the procedures, listed below are the

summary of the findings of this study:

1. What is the level of performance of the subjects on the given pre-tests withinvarious time constraints in the following aspects of language skills

a. Listeningb. Semanticsc. Expressived. Social Communicatione. Metalinguistic

In the results that were gathered by the researchers, the intervention which is

watching English television shows can affect the language skills of the subjects. However,


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there are some dimensions of the language skills that decreased in a certain day. The

researchers think that there are some factors that can affect the results of the pre-tests

and post-tests scores. The present level of performance of the subjects may have an

impact on their performance. For example, subject As language skills was good at first

except for some improvements needed on some dimensions. The mean of subject A will

be higher than others given the present level of the subjects performance. Subject B has

the lowest mean among the subjects. The performance of subject B may be affected by

different factors. Before the experiment, the researchers noticed that subject B has low

language skills as compared to the other subjects.

2. What is the level of performance of the subjects on the given post-tests withinvarious time constraints in the following aspects of language skills mentioned

above.

With the help of the intervention, there is an improvement in the post-test scores

of the subjects. Given the statements on the summary of the findings for the statement

of the problem no. 1, Subject A got the highest score while Subject B got the lowest score.

As what is stated in the summary of the findings for the statement of the problem no. 1,

the post-tests scores may be affected by various factors. As what is stated in the Chapter

IV of this research paper, it is proven that watching English television shows can help in

the development of the childs language skills in different dimensions.


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3. Is there a significant relationship between the length of time watching Englishtelevision shows and the subjects ability in the following aspects of language

skills mentioned above.

Based on the research findings, the length of time has no significant relationship

to the language skills and ability of the subjects. The findings show that there is a

relationship between the different dimensions of the language skills. It means that when

a certain are improves, the other dimensions also improve. In the table shown in the

chapter IV of this research and the legend to determine the degree of relationship. The

dimensions of the language skills are connected to one another. If a certain area

increases then there is a possibility that the other areas will also increase.

4. Is there a significant difference between the pre-test and post test scores of thesubjects ability in the different languagedimensions such as mentioned above.

Given the result of the overall pre-test and post-test scores which is 0.049 it is

clearly stated that the intervention can help the subjects language skills development.

The mean is lesser than the alpha (0.05). To interpret this data, the intervention created

effects on the language skills of the children; however, the improvement is not that

much. Given the equivalent of the alpha which is 0.05 the difference of the result is only

0.01; it means that the procedures and the instrument need more refining and the

duration of the research must be extended for the researchers to rightfully observe and


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determine the impact of the chosen intervention. But, given the result, the intervention

had an impact on the language development of the subjects.

5. Is there a significant difference between the pre-test and post test scores of thesubjects ability in the different language dimensions such as mentioned above.

It is clearly showed that the age of the subjects can affect their performance in the

experiment. The ages of the subjects are as follow; Subject A (21 years old), Subject B (15

years old) and Subject C (20 years old). Given the tables presented in the chapter IV of

this research, Subjects A and C have performed better than Subject B showing that their

age had an impact in the experiment. The older the subjects got higher scores than the

younger the subject which shows that age is a factor in the language skills development.

This is evident in the .000 result which means that there is a justifiable correlation

between the age of the respondents and their performance in the experiment and as well

as their language abilities.

Conclusion

The data gathered in the previous chapter shows the effects of watching English

television shows in the development of language skills of children with Autism Spectrum

Disorder. The language skill is a very wide and general topic. To narrow it down and to

make it more precise, the researchers focused on certain aspects of language skills such


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as auditory, semantics, expressive, social communication, metalinguistic, expression of

verbal and non-verbal skills.

Base on conducted experiment, the researchers therefore conclude that Children

with ASD show a slight improvement from Pre-Test to Post-Test about the dimension of

language skills. The length of time that the child spent in watching has a significant

relationship with their language skills. It indicates that the time of exposure to such shows

bring about a positive feedback; each day that the subjects were given more time to

watch the show, their scores increase.

According to Heather L. Kirkorian, Ellen A. Wartella, and Daniel R. Anderson, there

is a positive effect on watching television shows to children. This supports our study

because children with ASD are fascinated by television shows especially English television

shows. This can help children with ASD because children with this disorder have

difficulties in communicating with others and might also have difficulties in their language

skills. Thus, the researchers conclude that watching English television shows has impacts

and effects to children with ASD. But according to other researches, watching television is

bad for children with ASD because of the violence displayed on some shows that involve

hurting people and blowing things up. It was said that children with ASD will imitate the

behaviors of the characters that they like on the television shows that they have watched

and these might lead to hurting other people.

The researchers conclude that it is a smart idea if parents/guardians will have a

watchful eye while the children are watching television shows, because they theyre child

might be exposed to shows that will result to the development of negative skills and


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behaviors such as saying bad words or shouting to adults. This can be a tool to teach a

child with ASD about what is right and wrong and what is appropriate and inappropriate.

Also, the researchers conclude that parents should let their children be exposed to

television for about 1-2 hours a day.

To further conclude, this study shows that with just a click on the remote control,

children with Autism Spectrum Disorder becomes automatically enrolled in the four

cornered, rectangle-shaped school that gives not just entertainment but also sends an

indirect lecture on improving the language skill.

Recommendations for Research

For future related researches in the field of special education, the following

recommendations might be useful specifically for experimental studies.

1. Based on the result of this study that there is a significant effect on watching televisionshows on the level of performance of children with autism, it is recommended to conduct

the same study to other different disabilities.

2. Given that there are many television shows designed for children to learn fromwatching, it is recommended to conduct a study about what television shows for

children exhibit a high possibility of helping a childs learning when watched

continuously.

3. Research related to other electronic materials or gadgets that provide means ofdefining their contribution to the educational improvement of children with

special needs.


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4. Given that kids nowadays, from age of 2 and above, are already using smartphones, touchscreen gadgets and tablets, it is recommended to conduct a study

about the effects of being exposed to a device with a specially designed

educational applications (games) for children on their level of performance in

communication with peers; English examinations; pronunciation skills; Math

skills/examination, etcetera.

Recommendations for Improving this Study

The following recommendations are offered for related research about watching

television shows, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Language skills:

1. Based on the findings of this research, it is recommended to have further moreresearch about the effects of watching television shows to the language

development of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to fill in gaps on the

readers understanding.

2. Given that this is an experimental study, having more respondents for theresearch will help you gather enough findings and understanding from its result.

3. Based on the researchers experience in conducting this experimental study, it isrecommended to carry out this study in a Special Education school that have

enough or more than enough number of respondents that can be able to

participate on the researchers study.


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4. It is recommended to at least conduct the experimental observation for a monthor two to compare various test results from another test result and show a lot

more improvements.

5. As a tip from the researchers, before conducting a survey or observation test it iseasier to look for a place where you will be able to gather enough capable

respondents. It will be easier if the researchers will specifically choose a Special

Education School in Quezon City.

6. It is recommended for the other related researches to use one (1) Adaptedquestionnaire and (1) Research-made Instrument for their pre and post-test.

Recommendations for Parents

The following recommendations are offered for the parents with children

with/without Special Needs.

1. Based on the findings of this study, watching television shows has asignificant effect on the level of performance of children with Autism

Spectrum Disorder. Meaning, the level of performance of the subjects

from day one to day four improved and increased accordingly.

2. Based on the researcher findings, it is recommended for parents to lettheir child with Autism Spectrum Disorder and even the typical learners to

watch television shows, specifically, educational shows for a certain time

and with proper guidance.


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