Effects of Subtitles and Captions on Taiwanese High and Low Achievers in Senior High School in English Learning

• Main Authors: Yi-ju Lai, 賴怡如
• Other Authors: Su-chin Shih
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/76870394185729325411

碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 99 === The aim of this study was to examine the effects of Chinese subtitles, English captions, and no captions on high and low achievers in English learning. Vocabulary learning, content comprehension, and listening comprehension were the three aspects that were concerned. 500 second graders in St. Dominic Senior High School were recruited as the subjects. According to the grades of the two monthly exams, the top 30% and the bottom 30% were defined as HEA (High English Achievers) and LEA (Low English Achievers). Further, HEA were randomly divided into three groups (50 students in each group) and LEA another three. The three different groups of HEA watched the same programs with different visual aids, and so did the three of LEA. After watching the programs, the subjects were made to take the vocabulary test, content comprehension test, and listening comprehension test. The major findings of this study are summarized as follows: 1. In vocabulary learning, the statistical results show that for HEA, the Chinese-subtitled group and the English-captioned one performed significantly better than the non-captioned one. As for LEA, there was no significant difference among the effects of Chinese subtitles, English captions, and no captions. 2. In content comprehension, for HEA, the Chinese-subtitled group performed significantly better than the English-captioned one; the English-subtitled group performed significantly better than the non-captioned one. That is, the effects of Chinese subtitles > the effects of English captions > the effects of no captions. With regard to LEA, Chinese subtitles were significantly the most effective, but there was no distinct difference of the effects of English captions and the effects of no captions. 3. In listening comprehension, HEA, with Chinese subtitles and English captions, performed significantly better than those who watched the program with no captions, but there was no significant difference between the Chinese-subtitled and English-captioned groups. When it comes to LEA, the Chinese-subtitled group performed significantly better than the other two, but there was no significant difference between the performance of English-captioned and non-captioned groups. Generally speaking, the whole study yields the result that the effect of Chinese subtitles > the effect of English captions > the effect of no captions on Taiwanese senior high school students’ English learning. The Chinese subtitles seem to be the most effective on both HEA and LEA. However, what is worth most notice is that English captions are far more effective on HEA than on LEA. Based on the findings listed above, EFL teachers, English learners, and parents can choose the most appropriate visual aids while broadcasting English-pronounced DVD according to their objectives and the learners’ levels.