This thesis explores the frequency of English-language (EL) media-usage by Croatian high school students in the city of Split, and its influence on English foreign language (EFL) competences. In addition, this relationship is also explored in comparison to students’ exposure to Italian-language (IL) media and its influence on Italian foreign language (IFL), where the Italian language is taken as both an example of another FL taught within the Croatian educational system, as well as a language which has had considerable influence in the region of Dalmatia due to historical reasons and geographical proximity. The study includes an overview of relevant literature on SLA, explicit and implicit leaning, the past and present statuses of the EL and IL, external and internal factors of L2 acquisition, out-of-school EL exposure via different media and its effects on formal language learning outcomes. The research was carried out by means of questionnaires administered to over 650 students of 8 general-education and vocational schools in the urban area of the city of Split, Croatia. Along with a descriptive analysis of the results, inferential tests of statistical significance were carried out to reach conclusions on the relationship between the EFL competences of students and the out-of-school exposure to EL media. Finally, the EL media-related influence on EFL competences was also compared to the influence Italian media has on IFL competences, to gain insight into the dissimilar media presence of these languages and stress the need for different approaches in the process of formal language learning. The results highlight watching EL audio-visual material and listening to EL music both via Internet platforms, rather than by way of older media, as the most frequently undertaken activities, with music being the content most frequently browsed for online. Both activities show statistically significant correlations to learners’ EFL competence levels, with all language skills, grammar and vocabulary profiting from English-spoken movies online, and with EL music bringing benefits to speaking and receptive skills. For male students specifically, playing video games with EL content seems to considerably affect word stock, grammar competence and writing skills. Reading EL texts and writing in English online were found to be likely to benefit general-education students, who confirm significantly more frequent engagement. Respondents pointed out TV, music and social media, Instagram in particular, as sources providing most EFL vocabulary input, while 50% stated they prefer watching EL movies with EL captions or no subtitles, rather than with Croatian