International Journal of Contemporary Applied Researches Vol. 7, No.
9, September 2020
(ISSN: 2308-1365) www.ijcar.net
The Effectiveness of English Movie Subtitles in Vocabulary Learning Among
Iraqi Kurdistan EFL Learners: Soran University EFL Learners as an
Example
Chiaye Khorsheed Faqe
Soran University- Faculty of Arts-English Department.
Rwandz Private Technical Institute - English Department, Iraq
[email protected]Abstract:
The present study aims to investigate the role of English movie subtitles in vocabulary learning
by EFL learners at Soran University. Using English movies with subtitles help EFL learners
acquire more vocabularies and idioms. The participants were thirty one English department
students, they were randomly selected. The participants were males and females and all of them
had been learning English since primary school in Iraqi Kurdistan Region schools. And, the
study is an attempt to motivate students to subtitles in improving their vocabulary while learning
English as a foreign language. The results show that watching English movies with subtitles
facilitates vocabulary learning and motivate students in acquiring new vocabularies, phrases,
idioms and slangs.
Keywords: subtitles, movies, language learning, vocabulary learning, EFL learners.
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International Journal of Contemporary Applied Researches Vol. 7, No. 9, September 2020
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1. Introduction
With increasing access to audio - visual aids especially TV, English foreign language
learners have found more opportunities to use audio-visual materials as effective tools in the
process of learning English language. Those kinds of authentic materials are helpful for EFL
learners motivate to learn more vocabularies and understanding the language better. Since the
early 1970s, video materials have made its way into the EFL classrooms, promoting authenticity
and diversity for student learning language through the use of popular foreign films via digital
media. To (Gray, 1939, P.1) "Vocabulary is an essential means of interchanging ideas and of
acquiring new experiences. Man’s growth in ideas has always been accompanied by a
corresponding expansion of his vocabulary".
Movies as audio-visual aid help students to improve their limited vocabulary, poor
grammar and listening skill. Concerning vocabulary learning, subtitle movies play a crucial role
in advancing the learners with new and up-to-date vocabularies and phrases. The combination
sound and image remarkably motivate learners to achieve the learning process aims.
Furthermore, watching subtitled movies improve EFL learners to learn those situations in
which the new vocabularies are used. Also, acquiring other learning language goals like
improving listening and speaking skills and well as improving pronunciation. Moreover,
integrating subtitled movies inside the class or outside increase students’ interest for the
preferred language.
However, subtitled movies might bring the learners to realistic situations. Movies scenes
lead you to explain the ideas and concepts of the scenes and help you to think and expect what
might happen next. Besides, the combination of audio, video, contextual information will
effectively adopt the learners to the new environment of language learning.
Watching subtitled movies can facilitate vocabulary building especially when it comes to
English language learning. Most importantly, before having literature review, it is highly crucial
to define subtitle. By subtitle, we mean the printed words at the bottom of the screen either in a
foreign or same language showing those words and sentences by actors. (Zanon, 2006, P. 47)
indicates that subtitles might be distinguished to the following types: 1. Bimodal subtitling
(English dialogues to English subtitles). 2. Standard subtitling (English dialogues to learners’
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International Journal of Contemporary Applied Researches Vol. 7, No. 9, September 2020
(ISSN: 2308-1365) www.ijcar.net
mother tongue language). 3. Reversed subtitling (dialogues form learners mother tongue
language to English subtitles).
2. Literature Review
We cannot deny that audio visual aids have become a crucial part of people in general
and learners in particular. When it comes to language learners, the audio visual aids are
necessary rather than luxury; due to multimedia technology the process of learning has become
effective. Video equipments and other modern pedagogical tools help language learners to
improve their language properties an all aspects.
Most of previous studies emphasized that subtitled movies and captions facilitate the
process of learning language and motivate students to realize the value of those pedagogical tools
in improving their limited vocabulary and language skills.
According to (Danan, 2004, P. 67) audiovisual materials are useful tools for various
reasons. The first reason is that “because they improve listening comprehension skills of
second/foreign language learners; the second one “they facilitate language learning by helping
learners visualize what they hear; and third, they increase language comprehension and lead to
additional cognitive benefits, such as greater depth of processing".
Using videos and films as a learning tool received the attraction of researchers and even
teachers in applying the tools successfully in a variety of educational environment. The first
study about the effectiveness of subtitling was done by Price in which he conducted that
subtitling resulted in comprehending a great deal of cultural background, linguistic aspects, and
social behaviors (Price, 1983 as cited in Rokni and Ataee 2014, p.718).
Many scholars and researchers have conducted that videos with subtitles facilitate
vocabulary acquisition. Koskenin et al, 1985 (as cited in Yuksel& Tanriverdi, 2009, p. 1303)
examined the effects of captioned videos on reading vocabulary. Based on the findings of their
study, videos are substantially improved reading vocabulary knowledge non-native English
speakers. (Akbulut, 2007, p. 5) argued that “combining text with visuals is more effective in
facilitating vocabulary learning than providing only definitions of words”.
Several studies supported the use of film subtitles either in second language or foreign
language. For this reason (Snyder and Colon, 1988. As cited in Rokni and Ataee 2014, p.718)
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indicated that those EFL learners who use audio visual aids are performed better in vocabulary
learning and comprehension compared to those who don’t expose the audio visual aids. While
some of the opponents believe that using videos and films with subtitles is distracting and leads
to slow down the learners’ ability of listening comprehension skills.
However, (Canning-Wilson, C., & Wallace, J. 2000) state that subtitled movies are
significantly motivated language learners to consciously use new vocabularies and idioms. The
learners have potential to vocabulary acquisition without being distracted. On the other hand
(Zanon, 2006) showed opposed understanding toward the use of subtitles and claimed that it is
still nuisance which leads to lessen the credibility of the movie. Sometimes subtitles might be
tending to slow down the development of listening skills.
Movie subtitles have three types as (Zanon, 2006, p. 47) distinguished them to the
following types: 1. Bimodal subtitling (English dialogues to English subtitles). 2. Standard
subtitling (English dialogues to learners’ mother tongue language). 3. Reversed subtitling
(dialogues form learners mother tongue language to English subtitles). Among the three
mentioned subtitles, bimodal subtitling is an appropriate type for EFL learners to follow because
it helps the loaners to see and hear every single word.
However, there are still some opponents toward bimodal as well. For example (Etemadi
2012, as cited in Sabouri et al, 2015, p.113) argued that even bimodal subtitle will not have any
effect on vocabulary recognition, this is due to the fact that watching subtitled movies once
might have no influence on vocabulary learning. On this account, students and learners can
watch the movie more than once even twice and third so as to recognize vocabularies and learn
new words, phrases and idioms.
According to (Koolstra and Beentjes, 1999 as cited in Rokni and Ataee, 2014, p.205)
worked on some Dutch children toward vocabulary recognition and learning. They found that
children acquired more English vocabulary from watching subtitled as compared to those who
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International Journal of Contemporary Applied Researches Vol. 7, No. 9, September 2020
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watched the same film without subtitles. As well as children with subtitled videos performed
significantly better on a word recognition.
Some other researchers suggested that key words are significantly important rather than
having the entire sentences. To (Guillory, 1998) keywords are beneficial especially for beginner
furthermore; she found that beginning-level students would benefit more. She noted that
keyword subtitling might be better for beginning-level learners because it may not impose as
large of a cognitive load.
Some of the previous studies examined the role of movie subtitles in learning new
vocabularies, because learning vocabulary is an essential part of learning a foreign language.
One of the studies is carried by (Huang and Yang, 2012) emphasized that vocabulary learning is
the source of learning language in authentic situations. They showed that extensive reading has
been the main focus to assist learners in acquiring vocabulary incidentally.
Furthermore (Vanderplank, 1988, p. 277) highlighted that movie subtitles can bring
benefits to hard of hearing learners. Infact, research findings show that learners use subtitles as a
support for listening comprehension and for finding new words.
It needs to be admitted that (Bean & Wilson, 1989, as cited in Peng, 2102, p.15) showed
that non-native speaking students and learners have positive attitude toward captioning and
increased vocabularies with subtitled movie. They concluded that students with subtitled
materials showed remarkable improvement in vocabulary acquisition, word recognition, and
listening comprehension.
All things considered, subtitled videos, movies and films are a rich source in
communicative language in use. Languages are changeable, not fixed at all. Every day new
things come languages and the best way to reflect this is through movies, TV, and multimedia in
general. Movie subtitles give language learners more motivations and comforts, as well as the
production of new terms, words, phrases and idioms.
3. Statement of the Problem
To resolve the impacts of using subtitles in vocabulary acquisition while watching
subtitled movies, the present study seeks to find out” How effective is English movie with
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International Journal of Contemporary Applied Researches Vol. 7, No. 9, September 2020
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subtitles help the improvement of vocabulary by Soran University EFL learners in learning
English vocabulary”?
4. Research Methodology
Participants
The participants of the present study were 31 Kurdish EFL learners of English
department at Soran University. The participants were (14 males) and (17 females). Infact, all
participants were Kurdish students and their mother tongue language was Kurdish language. The
participants were from two classes and their age ranges were between (19-22). All participants
were at the same level of vocabulary knowledge based on Michigan test of English Language
Proficiency. The participants were randomly selected.
Instruments
Proficiency Test
1. At the beginning of study, the researcher was given the participants Michigan test of
English Language Proficiency to assess the participants’ proficiency level and make the
participants homogenized.
2. The instrument that was used to gather data was a Likert- scale questionnaire. It was a
self made instrument devise. The mechanisms and requirements of the questionnaire as
well as the nature of the study were explained to respondents. A close-ended
questionnaire was developed to determine the participants’ attitude toward watching
movies with subtitles and without subtitles in vocabulary learning. The researcher used
test and retest method to get reliability for both scales of questionnaires.
Selecting movie
An English animation movie named Kung Fu Panda Holiday was used in the study which
is an animation movie. The movie was a dream work and “PO” as a main character tried to host
winter holiday feast but he found hard to meet his friends’ expectations. It was about 21 minutes
long. The purpose of selecting this movie is the suitability in vocabulary recognition based on the
variety of vocabulary knowledge.
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Procedure
In order to conduct the present study, the participants were gathered in a room with
multimedia facilities. To begin with, all the participants watched 21 minutes movie without
subtitle, after that; the participants were given a questionnaire related to the selected movie. This
treatment was done to find out the participants’ improvement in vocabulary learning while they
watch the movie without subtitle. And then the participants watched the same movie but with
bimodal subtitle, and another questionnaire distributed to find out the participants attitude
towards watching movies with subtitles in vocabulary achievement.
Results of the Study
Part One: Students’ perceptions toward watching movie with and without subtitle.
Table One
St. Degree of
N Mean Deviation Freedom T table T Sig2-tailed
Without
subtitle 31 31.00 4.54
With 30 2.042 -4.17 Significant
subtitle 31 35.87 3.87
Table one illustrates that providing subtitles while watching English movies is an
effective tool in achieving more vocabularies, as compared to watching the same movies without
subtitle. The mean of students while watching the movie without subtitle is ( 31.00), but when
they watched the same movie with subtitles the mean changed to ( 35.87) which indicate that
providing subtitles have an effective impact on students’ achievement of more vocabularies.
The analysis of the questionnaire data revealed that Kurdish EFL learners have positive
attitude toward using subtitled movies in the process of language learning and vocabulary
recognition in particular. The difference here between watching movie with subtitle and without
subtitle is significant. To get the above results, the researcher used paired sample T test.
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Part Two: Gender differences without subtitle.
Table Two
St. Degree
Gender N Mean Deviation of T table T Sig-
freedom 2tailed
Male 14 29.93 3.97
29 2.045 -1.18 No
significant
Female 17 31.88 4.98
Table two illustrates that females are better comprehended the movie without subtitles as
compared to males. The mean degree of females is (31.88) which more than (29.93) by males.
This is a remarkable finding which indicates that females are faster than males in comprehending
the content and vocabularies of the watched movie, which is clear evidence that subtitles might
be tending to slow down the development of listening skills by males.
The differences are not too significance because it is not big. To get the reliable results
here, the researcher used independent sample t test for both gender differences in watching
movies with and without subtitles.
Part Three: Gender differences with subtitle.
Table Three
St. Degree of
Gender N Mean Deviation Freedom T table T Sig-
2tailed
Male 14 37 1.3 No
29 2.045 1.5 significant
Female 17 34.94 4.98
Table three indicates that male students are better comprehended as compared to female
students. The mean degree by male students is (37) as compared to female mean degree
(34.94).It can be clearly proven that male students are more quicker than female students in
reading the bimodal subtitles of the movie and acquired more words and vocabularies.
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5. Discussion
The present study attempted to investigate the impact of movie subtitles in vocabulary
learning among Soran University EFL learners. The answer to the research question, concerning
the effectiveness of subtitled movies toward vocabulary improvement. The analysis of the
questionnaire data revealed that Kurdish EFL learners have positive attitude toward using
subtitled movies in the process of language learning and vocabulary recognition in particular.
Based on the results of previous studies and the present one, we come to a significant result in
which subtitles are beneficial in improving vocabulary learning, especially bimodal subtitles.
Furthermore, regarding the comparison of participants’ attitude between watching movies
with subtitles and without, the analysis of present study revealed that participants acquired more
words while watching the movie with subtitles. The findings of current study were accordance
with previous studies, such as (Mitter and Mcqueen, 2009, as cited in Mousavi and Gholami,
2014, p. 1280) revealed that “revealed that native-language subtitles appear to create lexical
interference, but foreign-language subtitles assist speech learning by indicating which words
(and hence sounds) are being spoken”.
The participants also commented that, at the beginning their learning time it was difficult
for to understand every single word on the movie, but with the help of bimodal subtitles they
could manage ability to learn new vocabularies included words, idioms, and slangs. ( Putra,
2014) experienced in his study and found that “Two types of subtitling, bimodal and standard
subtitling, were given to the respondents, and it appeared that after watching the movie more
than once and used those two different types of subtitling, the respondents gained more
vocabulary effectively”.
The study findings revealed that most of the participants believed that using movie
subtitles is a better way to improve English language vocabualry as a foreign language and better
acquainted with their culture. The participants made a significant improvement in their
vocabulary knowledge after watching the movie with subtitle as compared to viewing the movie
without subtitle. (Paivio, 1971, as cited in Harji et al, 2010, p. 38) proposed that “when pictures
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are added to the meaning, the number of signals connected with the message increases. Viewers
then will be more probable to keep the message in mind”.
Due to the results of the current study, the researcher supports viewing movies with
subtitles not only for vocabulary improvement, but also learners may improve their spelling,
word recognition capability, pronunciation of new words and words they have already learned,
understanding of spoken language through idioms and slangs, and culture awareness as well. The
findings of current study might accord with (Vanderplank, 1988, p. 272-273) stating that
“subtitles might have potential value in helping the language acquisition process by providing
learners with the key to massive quantities of authentic and comprehensible input”.
It can be clearly seen that watching subtitled movies could have effective impacts on
student’s perception toward viewing English movies with subtitles. Some of the students
mentioned that they need to watch the movie more than once; otherwise the process might be a
kind of disturbing and confusing.
Moreover, watching movies more than once can improve the learners’ skills of listening
and reading as well as gaining more vocabularies, idioms, and slangs simultaneously. Most of
previous researches indicated that subtitled movies could bridge the gap between language skills
and vocabulary knowledge. For further studies, it is desirable for researchers to investigate the
role of viewing English movies either with subtitles or without in learners’ listening and
speaking performances, also the degree of motivation toward language learning in general.
6. Recommendations
One of the recommendations on helping Kurdish EFL learners in acquiring more
vocabularies is to integrate technology devices in their learning environment. Kurdish EFL
learners in Iraqi Kurdistan region need more supports to adopt with foreign culture and this can
be done through watching English movies to familiarize with the culture and those new slangs
and idioms that daily come to English language.
Furthermore, more vocabularies might be watching movies with bimodal and standard
subtitles at least two days a week in a multimedia room with absolute facilities. Because
changing the teaching strategy might conduct as an effective teaching environment and
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producing more learners with high argumentations and critical thinkers while they watch the
dialogue and argumentations on movies.
English language teachers in Iraqi Kurdistan region need to consider providing Kurdish
EFL learners with watching English films in their spare time and friendly atmosphere should be
maintained to gain more language skills and vocabulary recognition during the time of watching
movies. Kurdish researchers might develop other projects seeking the influences of movie
subtitles on other components of language, such as listening comprehension, reading and
pronunciation abilities.
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