A study of students’ attitude towards the use of the sitcom “Friends” in ESL classroom

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
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 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 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).


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
3. 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
1. Aim
The aim of this study is to examine to superiority of the sitcom “Friends”
2. 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 do 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