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Subtitling and English Comprehension – Six Students’ Attitudes towards Subtitling

The study undertaken sets out to explore if there is any difference in English comprehension when viewing TV-programs with or without subtitles, in the classroom. The research which has been executed prior to ours shows that lots of people spend more time watching television than they do reading books in their native language. Still, there is more research in reading than in the field of television and comprehension. Furthermore, there are very few studies in the area of subtitling. Media use in today’s society is unavoidable and we believe that future teachers should use television as an educational tool and incorporate multimedia in lesson plans in an effective way. It is our belief that the visual and oral input of television with subtitles can aid students in their ability to memorize and comprehend the content.The research was carried out in the south of Sweden with a class of ninth graders. Firstly, we tested their vocabulary skills through a word knowledge test. Secondly, we proceeded to divide the class into two groups. These groups later saw the same episode of an American TV series. One group saw the show with subtitles, and the other one without. After the show they answered questionnaires on the content of the program and later on six students were selected to be interviewed. These target students were questioned on their thoughts and attitudes towards subtitles, as well as tested on their ability to analyze the content of the show. Although no definite answers can be given from this degree paper, we came to some conclusions. The students’ attitudes towards subtitles differed. Four out of six students were negative towards the usage of subtitles in an educational setting, because they felt more challenged to comprehend the plot without them. The two remaining were positive to subtitles and would use them at all times as support to aid them in their English comprehension.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-34845
Date January 2011
CreatorsMelin, Zarah, Kuses, Hanna
PublisherMalmö högskola, Lärarutbildningen (LUT), Malmö högskola/Lärarutbildningen
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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