The measurement of acculturation was also felt to be too general and did not include enough criteria and variables to be very effective. Nevertheless, the results of this survey in terms of the findings of the relationship between the media and acculturation were significant and noteworthy. It is also noteworthy that the measurement fro acculturation and the use of media was comprehensive and included a wide range of aspects, including exposure and media-related needs.
One of the significant findings from this survey was that the level of social knowledge was relatively low. The means score out a possible 10 ten points was 4.99 (Ryu, 1977, p. 9). Females were found to be generally lower than males in terms of cultural knowledge. Another finding that affects acculturation rates was that the results showed poor levels of relationships with American people. Less than three percent of respondents visited American people. This is also supported by the finding that there was a general ambivalence in terms of acculturation among the respondents. "…31.2 to 57.8% of expressed a neutral position" (Ryu, 1977, p. 9).
The above findings therefore place a great degree of onus on the media as an important part of the acculturation process. The study found that, " Most of the respondents indicated that they watched television when they had spare time" (Ryu, 1977, p. 14) It was also found that the media was used for information, education and entertainment (Ryu, 1977, p. 15). Television was found to be the most effective of the media in the needs list. In this regard one of the central conclusions of the study was that "…the mass media like television and newspapers serve surrogate function where immigrants tend to avoid direct contact with American people and culture" (Ryu, 1977, p. 16). Significantly, the study ends with a suggestion that there should be further research into the relationship between the media and the perception of the host people and environment.
An article that deals with the various media effects on both ethnic identity and acculturation is Media Effects on Ethnic Identity Among Linguistic Majorities
and Minorities (2005). This is a useful study in terms of some of the central findings that it makes. The research deals with media effects in the acculturation process. In terms of methodology the study make use of a longitudinal design. The respondents were from minority and majority groups who attended a bilingual university.
A fundamental issue that is addressed in the study is the view that "…the kind of information received from the media has implications for how we view our own culture, as well as other cultures" (Clement R. et al. 2005, p. 399). The study also notes that there is paucity in research into the effects of long-term intercultural media usage on group identification (Clement R. et al. 2005, p. 399).
The complex interaction between acculturation, ethnic and social polarity and confluence, and language, are explored on this study. The results of the study provide some interesting and valuable views and data. A central finding was that the minority Francophile students were not affected in terms of their ethnic identity by the predominantly English media exposure. An interesting result that affects the present study is that, while books and television were found to play a significant role in the acculturation process of foreign students, radio and music media were not seen to play the same role. This is a facet of this subject that can be compared to the study of music and acculturation that will be explored in the next section of this literary review.
One conclusion from the findings is that the media is responsible for both cultural and ethnic assimilation and polarity. More importantly in terms of the present study, it was found that media exposure and usage over time showed that the media, by influencing identity profiles and language confidence, "…promotes societal level changes in the ethnic composition of the population" (Clement R. et al. 2005, p. 418).
Specific Media Aspects and Acculturation
Media and its function in learning and acculturation are explored from another perspective in an article by Hsiu-Ting (2009) entitled Learners' Perceived Value of Video as Mediation in Foreign Language Learning. One of the advantages that the author notes of video learning and education is that it is "…often associated with
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