The role of informal learning of Spanish as a foreign language in communicative competence of Spanish philology students: Example of Spanish-language films and series

Abstract

The research concerns a specific learning environment, namely the Institute of Romance Studies at the University of Wrocław, and attempts to address two questions: 1. To what extent do students of Spanish philology currently benefit from the affordances offered to them by modern digital tools, in particular the various video-on-demand platforms, for informal learning of Spanish via Spanish-language films and series? 2. How does this activity stimulate their metacognitive awareness and self-awareness in the area of learning Spanish as a foreign language? To this end, students of Spanish philology took part in a survey which demonstrated that films and series are an important leisure activity, even if Spanish-language titles represent only 24% of what they are watching. However, these films and series are subjected to important metacognitive reflection.