Subtitling and English Comprehension – Six Students’ Attitudes towards Subtitling

(1)

Lärarutbildningen

Kultur, Språk, Medier

Examensarbete

15 hp

Subtitling and English Comprehension –

Six Students’ Attitudes towards Subtitling

Undertexter och föståelse i Engelska –

sex elevers inställning till undertexter

Hanna Kuses

Zarah Melin

Lärarexamen 270 högskolepoäng Examinator: Bo Lundahl

Moderna språk med inriktning mot

(2)

(3)

3

Abstract

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.

Key words: Analyzing, comprehension, English, subtitles, television, understanding, word

(4)

4

In this degree paper there were some parts written individually. The sections that are not mentioned here were written together.

These sections were written by Hanna Kuses:

1.3.3 Vocabulary Language Test (VLT), 2. Previous Research, 3.1 Vocabulary Language Test (VLT), 3.3 Questionnaires, 3.5 Ethics, 4.4 Discussion of results, 4.5 Summary, 5 Discussion

These sections were written by Zarah Melin:

1.3.1 Comprehension, 3.2 Selection of Television Program, 3.4 Interviews, 3.6 Procedure, 3.7 Problems and Solutions, 4.1.Memorization skills, 4.2.2 Attitudes of test-group 2, 4.3 Analyzing the content

(5)

5

1. Introduction

How is television used as an educational tool in schools today? Our experience tells us that the usage of television in the classroom varies substantially depending on the attitude of the teacher, as well as on practical issues such as resources and lack of time. Stuart Webb and Michael P. H. Rodgers state in an article, The Lexical Coverage of Movies (2009a), that there have been very few studies executed in the field of movies and comprehension. A reason for this could be that there is generally a negative attitude towards television, which includes the misinformed belief that the physical inactivity in watching television is equal to mental inactivity. Singer & Singer conclude in their book, Handbook of Children and the Media (2001), that:

Many assume that television, as a medium, interferes with active processing and therefore believe that it is not conductive to learning, school achievement, or school readiness. Teachers rarely incorporate television into their curriculum or encourage targeted viewing as an at-home activity. (2001, 101)

In addition, Singer & Singer state that watching TV could be one of the most useful ways of expanding the students‟ vocabulary and developing their English skills such as pronunciation, comprehension and understanding and analyzing the plot.

Webb and Rodgers (2009a) agree with Singer & Singer and indicate through their study that European and Asian English learners felt that the most effective way of developing their L2 skills and improving their English was by watching English or American television programs (2009a, 407). We need to stress the fact that these learners are studying English as a Foreign Language (EFOL) and are beginners in English. Webb and Rodgers add that one reason for the lack of research being done is that some teachers do not believe that their students have the vocabulary necessary to comprehend the plot in the best way possible (2009a, 408). In other words, some programs could be too difficult for some learners to understand.

Webb and Rodgers claim that students need about 95 percent understanding of the most common words in order to understand the message of the movie (2009a, 408). Moreover, another study by the same authors, Vocabulary Demands of Television Programs (2009b),

(8)

8

shows that teachers and learners need to be aware of the fact that 95 percent word coverage is no guarantee for any full understanding of the plot. The authors further mention that getting to the point of knowing 95 percent of the most common words might be more difficult for EFOL learners, than for those who study ESOL. They draw this conclusion from believing that learners of EFOL might not get that much L2 input outside of the classroom (2009b, 352). This leads to selectivity being a very important factor to be aware of. Which genre you as a teacher choose to show and how much vocabulary input you provide the students before the viewing is crucial (2009, 351). When subtitles are included in television programs in educational situations we believe that students are aided in their understanding of the message. Furthermore, their vocabulary will expand since they do not only hear the spoken word, but can also read the Swedish translation. At the same time, we run the risk of students unconsciously ignoring the spoken English while solely reading the Swedish subtitles.

We believe that there are many positive outcomes of using television in school. With regards to all these factors mentioned above, we will in this degree paper mainly investigate six students‟ attitudes towards subtitling. Our interest in the subject stems from using television as a tool in an educational setting. We believe that television with subtitles as an educational tool can aid students in their comprehension. Specifically, we are interested in investigating if the students‟ attitudes towards subtitles are positive or negative. Since the majority of households in Sweden today have a television, we believe that it is safe to assume that most students watch the medium at home. Pia Sundqvist supports this argument in her dissertation

Extramural English Matters, Out-of-school English and Its Impact on Swedish Ninth Graders’ Oral Proficiency and Vocabulary (2009), where she discusses students‟ English

activities in their spare time. Her study shows that television comes in third place of popular media amongst the ninth graders she interviewed (2009, 192). To clarify, if we connect an interest from home to education we can hopefully raise ambition and motivation levels to help students reach the goals above. The importance of using various ways of teaching in the classroom is stressed, in the Curriculum for the compulsory school system, the pre-school

class and the leisure-time centre (Lpo 1994):

The school should promote the harmonious development of pupils. This is to be achieved by means of a varied and balanced combination of content and working methods. Common experiences and the social and cultural world that make up the school provide scope as well as the preconditions for learning and development where different forms of knowledge make up a coherent whole (1994, 6-7).

(9)

9

As mentioned earlier, not much research has been done in the area of subtitling. The little that has been executed, such as Webb and Rodgers‟ article (2009a), shows that learners are motivated to acquire a second language through television (2009a, 407). Furthermore, the study shows that people spend more time watching television than they do reading books. A series of studies executed by d‟Ydewalle whose research is referred to in Webb and Rodgers (2009a) confirms that watching television leads to vocabulary growth. Additionally, it shows that adding the subtitles to the equation increases the vocabulary even more (2009a, 411). Webb and Rodgers (2009a) refer to a study by d´Ydewalle and Pavakanun where it is stated that:

many children in Belgium can speak a considerable amount of English prior to receiving any formal English language instruction and [the report of d´Ydewalle and Pavakanun] suggest[s] that watching subtitled television may be responsible for some of those gains (qtd. in Webb & Rodgers 2009a, 411).

It is worth mentioning that in the study with the children from Belgium, they are learning English as a L2. However, the research is unclear in the sense that comprehension with or without subtitles depends on the genre of the movie or television series. One might add that there are several other factors that need to be considered, other than the genre of the show. Factors such as the age if the learners, the types of data collected, the type of TV show being viewed and the socio-economic status of the learners. D‟Ydewalle and Pavakanun conclude that the only uniform outcome of the research shows that English comprehension is aided by television. Since watching television provides the viewer with both aural and visual input, this in turn will lead to greater English comprehension (qtd. in Webb & Rodgers 2009a, 412).

1.1 Purpose and Research Questions

The aim of this study is to explore the possible difference when watching a television show with and without subtitles. Furthermore, we are interested in investigating the students‟ attitudes towards subtitling and if it is used by them as a tool in comprehension or not. Our hypothesis is that Swedish subtitles in English media aid comprehension, since the students receive the written translation in relation to the spoken word. However, we can be disproved since there is a possibility that the students focus solely on the written Swedish translation

(10)

10

instead of the spoken English and hence miss a learning opportunity. The target students of this degree paper are studying English as a second language (ESOL).

The research questions of this degree paper are:

1. Is there a difference in memorization of the content when viewing a program with subtitles (Test-group 1) or without subtitles (Test-group 2)?

2. Is there a difference in analyzing the content when viewing a program with subtitles (Test-group 1) or without subtitles (Test-(Test-group 2)?

3. What attitudes do the students have towards subtitling? More specifically:

- Do the students have positive or negative attitudes towards subtitling?

- When do they prefer the usage of subtitles, and when do they not? - To what extent do the students believe that subtitles should be used

in an educational setting?

1.2. Definition of Central Terms

1.2.1 Comprehension

I

n order to answer the first two research questions we chose to divide comprehension into two categories. These were in the purpose of this paper named recollection and inferencing, and were used since these are relatively easy to test. However, despite the fact that the two have been tested separately, there is no way of keeping memorization and inferencing from intertwining. In most cases where you are able to recollect information, you are also able to draw conclusions from it. Correspondingly, if you are able to reason about something, you are most likely able to remember it. By recollection we simply refer to information stored in the students‟ memory. No analyzing skills were requested during this part. In their book

Television and Children (1995), Clifford, Gunter and McAller reported a research project

(11)

11

their definition of understanding is useful for our purpose:

Comprehending material was taken to mean having the ability to go beyond the information actually presented and to reason with the general principles implied by the presentation of specific details. (1995, 105)

Inferencing, in the purpose of this degree project, is therefore conceptualized as the capacity to use the information which was memorized. Students who are able to fully comprehend the American television show are thus able to analyze the content beyond the obvious information offered. To measure how much information could be memorized by the students, an open-response questionnaire was given to them after the viewing of the program. To clarify, this was not intended to measure understanding of the program, merely the memory. The understanding of the program, on the other hand, was assessed through in-depth interviews. The primary information in the purpose of this degree project was to be measured through what informational content the students could memorize and comprehend after the viewing of the program.

1.2.2. Subtitles

By subtitles we are referring to the Swedish written translation of the spoken English word at the bottom of the screen. In contrast to many other countries, Swedish television does not dub English or American programs. Instead, we are used to subtitling as a bridge between English and Swedish. Hence the subtitles are not a new phenomenon for the students. One might ask why Swedish subtitles were chosen instead of English subtitles. This was due to the young ages of the students included in the test-groups. The students had to read rapidly since the subtitles appeared and disappeared within a short span of time. Hence, the fact that the focus of this study was comprehension, and the ages of the students in comparison to what we expected them to do, made us draw the conclusion that they would be further aided by Swedish subtitles than English subtitles

1.2.3. Vocabulary Language Test (VLT)

Vocabulary Language Test (VLT) is a test taken from Norbert Schmitt‟s book, Vocabulary in

Language Teaching (2000). The test is relevant to us since it is constructed to examine the

(12)

12

for our purpose. VLT is divided into fifty sections, each containing six English words and three definitions. The goal of the test is to pair up the definition with the correct word. VLT is constructed into various levels, which makes it suitable for placement purposes (2000, 174). Furthermore, there are four levels of frequency: 2,000, 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000. The first ten definitions in the test that are connected to a word are counted under level 2,000 and contain the most common words. In addition, as the test proceeds the levels rise and the words get more rare and uncommon. Our purpose with the VLT is to use it to measure the students‟ vocabulary size, in order to divide the class into two equal groups with regards to their vocabulary knowledge. We also made use of the VLT to control external factors, in this case vocabulary size, which could be crucial for the results of our investigation. To clarify

differences in memorization and analyzing abilities should thus not depend on vocabulary size.

(13)

13

2. Previous Research

Before proceeding with this degree paper our study will benefit from clarifying the context of English as a Second Language (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFOL). Some of our studies that will be mentioned involve participants that study EFOL as opposed to our interviewees that are studying ESOL. In addition, we have already mentioned a couple of studies dealing with ESOL/EFOL in the introduction. One might argue that the two cannot be compared, but because of the lack of research in the field of subtitling and comprehension the studies on EFOL will be used anyway.

2.1 Television and Comprehension

In this section on previous research we will focus on the field of television and comprehension, since it goes hand in hand with the research on subtitles. In a world where television and media are becoming more and more important for children we need to take a closer look at how we can use these tools in our teaching. Jennings Bryant and Daniel R. Anderson investigate television and learning in Children’s Understanding of Television (1983):

First, it is proposed that most of what children acquire from television occurs through incidental rather than intentional learning. In this context the importance of the child‟s motives and goals for viewing television need to be emphasized. We then proceed to an analysis of the cognitive processes that children use to deal with television. In both theory and research, attention and comprehension are the two major categories of processing discussed (1983, 53).

Similar to Webb and Rodgers (2009b), Bryant and Anderson stress the fact that television could work as a motivating power to help students learn through visual aid. Furthermore, Bryant and Anderson claim that children‟s incidental learning happens since they often watch television seeking for humor and entertainment (1983, 53). Humor functions as a great motivator for watching television amongst children. The authors further suggest that motivation and goals guide children‟s viewing of television. Such goals could be to keep update with the latest and most popular programs and to have this work as a factor for inclusion amongst the peers (1983, 54). This goes back to the statement made by Webb and

(14)

14

Rodgers earlier in the paper, that what genre you choose to show for your students in class is crucial for the best comprehension possibilities. Furthermore, there is an important link between attention and comprehension. Bryant and Anderson argue that content of the program is crucial to keep the children‟s attention intact. If the content is too simple the highest attention levels will be reached quickly and acquisition will not occur. The other extreme suggests that if the content is too difficult attention will fail to bring forth comprehension. Additionally, the authors make a point about how to produce understanding:

In the middle range, however, will increases in attention brought about by formal features, humor or attractive characters contribute to the child‟s comprehension of the message? If formal features suggest that the content will be interesting, funny, or designed for children, or that the content is similar to something the child has previously enjoyed, then the child may attend and expend some mental effort on processing the content (1983, 58).

One might conclude that all these factors play a significant role in order to learn in the best way possible. Factors such as motivation, attention and the content of the program need to be on equal levels for the learners to achieve comprehension. In Bo Lundahls‟ Läsa på

Främmande Språk (1998), this theory is developed more and describes the fact that students‟

are at various levels in their comprehension abilities. This theory is called schema theory and describes that when students read a text their individual understanding of it is decided by several different factors other than motivation and attention. If reading a text or as in this case watching a show there are a couple of factors that will decide how the students will perceive the text or the show. In addition to the factors mentioned above their previous knowledge, television habits and language abilities are crucial as well. Lundahl‟s arguments are in line with Bryant and Anderson (1983) stating that if students read a text they where they have a lot of previous knowledge about the subject it will be a lot easier for them to comprehend the text, as opposed to the students that are limited in their previous knowledge of the subject in question, whom will be challenged and in turn their schema will increase (1998, 23). The matter of fact is that all the students are at the same level in their motivation, attention and language abilities, but their previous knowledge will decide who will read the text easier. This theory allows us once again to draw the conclusion that the content of the show is very important for the best motivation.

In her study Pia Sundqvist (2009) points out the complexity when using the television in an educational setting. One should bear in mind that it is not only a matter of if you use the

(15)

15

medium, but how you use it. She acknowledges the fact that television is a popular activity in students‟ spare time and that the medium might work as a motivational factor in the classroom (2009, 205). However, she encourages teachers to use television in combination with other tasks:

Using music as well as TV programs or films in the classroom will most likely enhance student motivation. However, based on my results, the use of music, TV and films in teaching should be combined with tasks that require students to interact and to produce output (2009, 205).

Sundqvist further discusses the fact that nine graders, which were the target students of her study “needs assistance in order to learn English from films” (2009, 206). With assistance the author means by working intensively with short clips rather than whole films (2009, 206). It is crucial for a teacher to provide the students with this type of assistance when using television, for instance, by using different types of tasks to follow up with after the viewing.

One should bear in mind that there is a substantial body of research on the negative aspects of television and comprehension. In Relations of Television Viewing and Reading: Findings

from a 4-year Longitudinal Study (2007) by Ennemoser and Schneider, the researchers point

out that heavy television viewing from a young age might have a negative impact on the reading development (2007, 365). The study included 330 children from two different age-groups and their families in Germany. The first group was 6-year-olds attending German kindergarten, and the second group went to the second grade in school (2007, 352). Ennemoser and Schneider went about measuring the children‟s leisure-time reading, TV consumption, concentration and reading attitudes using methods such as diaries and TV checklists. In addition, assessing the IQ of the children and the socio-economic status (SES) of the family to measure if the amount of TV being viewed and reading could be linked back to the two variables (2007, 352). After following the children for a couple of years the authors came to some interesting findings:

The findings of our study show that both synchronous and diachronous correlations between measures of reading literacy and entertainment TV consumption were negative and significant in most cases, regardless of cohort. In fact, the correlations found for the later stages of the study were not only significant but also substantial. So there is clear evidence that heavy amounts of entertainment viewing can have negative effects on subsequent reading literacy development. As already noted in previous research, low IQ-children and children from low-SES backgrounds seem to be particularly at risk for joining the group of heavy entertainment viewers (2007, 365).

(16)

16

The authors‟ further findings showed that there was a significant difference between the children who attended kindergarten. Young children that were spending more time in front of the TV showed a significant lower level in their reading development as opposed to those children who did not consume television to that extent (2007, 352). One should keep in mind that the negative results when it comes to television and reading development were clearer with the younger group in the study. The authors explain this by stating that the older group might be more stable in their reading abilities than the younger ones (2007, 366). To sum up, one might draw the conclusion that it is the younger children that are mainly at risk in their reading development if they turn to heavy viewing.

2.2. Subtitling and Comprehension

We have stressed the fact that not much research has been done on the complex area of subtitling and comprehension. However, Madhubala Bava Harji, Peter Charles Woods and Zhinoos Kamal Alavi at Multimedia University, Malaysia, have studied English subtitling and the effects on comprehension. Their study, The Effect of Viewing Subtitled Videos on

Vocabulary Learning (2010) sets out to examine subtitled videos and their effectiveness with

Iranian university students that studied English as a foreign language (EFOL). Their study is relevant to this degree paper since it investigates the relations between subtitles and comprehension, and the authors‟ way of going about their study was similar to ours. Obviously, there are some great difference between our studies, such as the fact that they used English subtitling instead of Swedish subtitling as we did in our study, the selection of the target group, the show being viewed, the socio-economic status of the informants, the age of the participants and the fact that the Iranian students studied EFOL. Hajri et. al‟s target students were a group of 92 Iranian students at a university in Iran, who studied translation (2010, 37). We need to stress the fact that the Iranian students cannot be compared to students from the ninth grade. Our point in referring to this study is to show a group where using subtitles worked in a positive way. Much like we did, the three researchers tested their participants‟ vocabulary learning by having them take a test; Content Specific Test (CST). In addition, prior to exposing the groups to the viewing, they had to take another test (Michigan English Test) to check that their English proficiency levels were equal, in order to see the

(17)

17

results (2010, 40). The researchers continued their study as we did, and divided the students into two groups and subjected them to a video, one with subtitles, and the other without. They came to the conclusion that using subtitles was positive and that it made the students‟ vocabulary knowledge grow:

The findings illustrated that participants viewing the videos with subtitles could obtain a significantly higher mean score of the CST vocabulary tests than that of the ones who viewed the videos without subtitles (2010, 37).

The authors argue that multimedia technology, and especially subtitled viewing, aids comprehension. A theorist named Paivio presented a theory called the dual coding theory. This theory argues that when words and pictures collaborate and are showed both orally and visually together, comprehension is more likely to take place than when displaying them separately. Paivio states that:”when pictures are added to the meaning the number of signals connected with the message increases” (qtd. in Hajri et. al 38). Throughout their paper, the authors use different sources that support the positive outcomes of using subtitles. Hajri et. al referred to Bean & Wilson, who state that the students in their studies showed a significant enhancement of many aspect of the English language, such as improving their vocabulary comprehension, as well as their listening and reading skills (qtd. in Hajri et. al 39). In Hajri et. al‟s article a study by a teacher at the Benjamin Franklin Institute, Mexican State of Yucatan, supports the positive outcomes of subtitles, arguing that subtitling even provided the students with a great deal of confidence to use the second language (qtd. Hajri et. al 39). One might claim that hearing the pronunciation and intonation, could help boost the confidence of using a second language. After having conducted their research Hajri et. al came to the conclusion that using the assistance of subtitling, showed a remarkable enhancement of vocabulary comprehension in comparison to the group without subtitles (2010, 40).

In Psychology of Media in Europe (1995) one can find a collection of studies on media as a phenomenon. For example, Gery d‟Ydewalle & Ubolwanna Pavakanun have investigated the relation between subtitling and comprehension. Their study also supports the positive outcomes of the usage of subtitles. In their article, Acquisition of a Second/Foreign Language

by Viewing a Television program, they investigated English students learning Dutch as a

second language. The researchers wanted to see if there was a difference in reversing the subtitles when watching a television program. Firstly, they started by showing a program in

(18)

18

Dutch with English subtitled, and then reversed the process and used English audio with Dutch subtitles. The results showed:

The standard subtitling condition (Dutch sound/English subtitles) produces the best performance, next to the reversed subtitling condition (English voice/Dutch subtitles (1995, 57).

Furthermore, at the end of the study the authors came to the conclusion that the best vocabulary acquisition took place when the learner had access to both languages in the program (1995, 58).

These different researchers mentioned above all agree that television can promote vocabulary growth. We believe that television is a way of making the learning-experience more fun and motivating for the students. Programs that students find interesting and fun will help them relax and receive the input. Furthermore, one might add that there is a positive attitude towards the use of subtitles amongst the researchers, and that subtitling might in fact help boost the confidence of language learners.

(19)

19

3. Methodology

In order to carry out our research project we selected a class from grade nine. Firstly, we made the class take the VLT, in order to check their vocabulary skills. Secondly, we divided the class according to their VLT results into two groups of equal word knowledge to watch an episode of the TV-program Friends. One group saw the program with subtitles, and the other without. After the viewing the students had to answer questionnaires about the show. Afterwards we looked at the VLT and the questionnaires, and selected six students to further investigate and interview in depth. The six target students were chosen with regard to their answers on the questionnaires and their VLT-results. Our aim was to pick three from each group, with different English levels.

3.1 Vocabulary Language Test (VLT)

Understandably, some teachers at the target school were not keen on letting our project interrupt their lesson plans. It had just been a holiday, and the students were starting up with new working areas and needed to stay in class. However, we managed to get the whole class to take the test when one of the teachers agreed to let us do so during one of her lessons. In order to manage to correct all the tests in the time given we chose to start up with the VLT for practical reasons. As well as the fact that we needed to divide the class into groups of equal average of word knowledge prior to the viewing.

The test is designed to be done quickly, and to measure the knowledge of words. VLT is useful because it tests the learners‟ vocabulary coverage in five different levels (2000, 174). In Vocabulary in Language Teaching (2000), Norbert Schmitt describes the different levels of the test: “Rather than giving a single estimate of total vocabulary size, it (VLT) measures knowledge of words at four frequency levels: 2,000, 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000” (2000, 174). As the levels rise, there are harder words to be placed with the right definition. For example, the first ten definitions are at level 2,000, and are estimated to be the easiest ones (2000, 192). These levels of five are helpful for placement purposes, since it works for making placements

(20)

20

and enables to create groups. However, our focus was only on the average scores of the students, since we did not have time or the need for our purpose to go in depth in the various levels. In addition, VLT also works as a way to measure vocabulary gaps, and is in this way useful for teachers (2000, 174). However, we have come to the conclusion that testing English vocabulary in this way is quite complex. A major pitfall is that we can never know if the students half way through the test had lost their focus and started connecting words and definitions randomly. Another question mark is if the students really know the words or if they guessed their way through the test. Thus, we need to take in consideration that we know the students who took the test as a hardworking class. We also told them that it was important for us that they were sincere when filling in the test. This allows us to assume that they took the test seriously, and that the results are to an extent reliable.

3.2 Selection of Television Program

With a starting-point in the research of Webb and Rodgers, Vocabulary Demands on

Television Programs (2009), we chose the television show Friends. Their research showed

that different coverage, in other words the amount of recognizable words, is needed for different genres of television. Specifically, their research aims to define the necessary amount of word-knowledge to achieve a useful comprehension of television programs. They state that in order to comprehend situation comedy and dramas, knowledge of the 3000 most common word families is needed. Next to children‟s programs, this is the category demanding the least of the viewer. Since the students are only in year nine, this seemed appropriate (2009, 351).

3.3 Questionnaires

The direct follow-up after the show was established through questionnaires that investigated the content of the program and analyzing skills. When working with the questionnaire we took guidance from Heigham & Crokers‟ Qualitative Research in Applied Linguistics (2009). The questions that we posed were open-response questions, and this means that we gave the participants the opportunity to express their own thoughts in the questions, rather than

(21)

21

restricting them to answers already made. Since we needed to make a selection of students using the open-response method in our questionnaires was the natural way to go. A wide range of students was requested on our part, and the “open-response items call for the respondents to answer in their own words” (2009, 202). Furthermore, the flexibility in the answers that open-response questions provide was a suitable approach for our research to continue. In Johansson & Svenders‟ Examensarbete i Lärarutbildningen (2001), questionnaires have been reported to be overused, since it seems as an easy method to some (2001, 21). However, we chose this method since it suited our aims in the best way practically. When dealing with a large group it would be impractical and overly time-consuming to interview the whole class. In addition, we complemented our questionnaires with in depth interviews.

3.4. Interviews

Our aim with the interviews was to get a view of what role subtitling plays in the six students‟ comprehension. Furthermore, the questions were developed to examine their views on television and subtitling. The interview had to be semi-structured, in the sense that we had some key topics that needed to be covered. However, we wanted the interviews to be flexible and open for free discussions. Heigham and Croker describe this approach in their book about methodology, Qualitative Research in Applied Linguistics (2009):

The researchers, for example, know what topics need to be covered and to a large extent what questions need to be asked (though this does vary), so a degree of comparison is possible. However, at the same time, the interviewer needs to allow sufficient flexibility to probe some aspects in depth and, where necessary, to let the respondent lead in much the same way as in an open interview. For this reason, the interview should be based on an interview guide that identifies key topics that need to be covered (2009, 185-186).

The main focus of the study was to indicate whether or not there was any difference between using subtitles or not. Furthermore, we wanted to explore the perceptions of learning in relation to subtitles.

(22)

22

3.5 Ethics

In order to proceed with our research we had to make sure that we covered a couple of practical issues. Since there were going to be six students under the age of 18 interviewed in depth, we had to get consent from their parents (See Appendix D). These ethical codes were important because we had to go about our work in a professional way, and show the students who were willing to participate that we are trustworthy. Furthermore, their identities were going to be protected, and more importantly to make the students feel safe in participating. When reading how to conduct interviews in Qualitative Research in Applied Linguistics (2009), the participants‟ integrity and rights were crucial factors to continue with our project:

It is important to ask permission of all those concerned and explain how you will involve them, outline your overall aims, and indicate how you will collect data and what you will do with them. Finally, you must insure the anonymity of those involved when writing up and reporting the research (2009, 121)

In addition, we told the students that took the VLT and that had done the questionnaire that all results and material were for our eyes only. They were informed that their teachers would not be involved in any way, and that the results would not interfere with their grades. The recordings of the six students that were picked out for interviews were told that the conversations were going to be erased after we had conducted the research and collected all the results.

3.6 Procedure

The research was carried out in the south of Sweden, with a class in grade nine at a compulsory school, in Lund. The first step of this study was to divide the class into two groups. We chose one class, and tested their vocabulary skills through the VLT (see section 3.1). This enabled us to divide the class into two groups of a similar average in English vocabulary. One group saw the program with Swedish subtitles, and the other group without. From now on, they will be referred to as Test-group 1 (with subtitles), and Test-group 2 (without subtitles). Moreover, our aim was to make a selection for the interviews of students representing the high, medium, and lower level learners. This was done so that not only

(23)

23

students with the 95% coverage needed in order to comprehend the program would be represented (2009b).

Before the test, the students were informed of how the test was constructed. They were also told not to guess the answer if they did not know it, since it would disrupt the results and make the analysis invalid. The students were then reassured that their results would not affect their grade in school in any way. After the test, the students‟ results were compiled and put into a chart (see figure 3.6.1). Three students from each group were selected from the chart, representing the left, center, and right of the chart. The vertical line represents the points scored on the test and the horizontal line represents the students, with each column representing one students result. It is important to note that more students showed up to take the VLT, than to see the program and participate in the questionnaires. However, we thought it was important to include all statistics.

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Results of VLT test

Figure 3.6.1 Points scored on the Vocabulary Language Test

Since the students are not of age, they were handed a permission slip for their parents to sign. This informed the parents of what was to be done in the project and gave them the choice of allowing their child to participate (see Appendix D). Divided into two groups, the students were now subjected to fifteen minutes of episode 10 seasons 1, The One with the Monkey. One group saw the clip with subtitles, the other one without. After the viewing, the students were handed questionnaires (see Appendix B), testing the entire class‟ ability to memorize events and details of the program. After the vocabulary test, the viewing of the program, and the questionnaires six students were selected to be interviewed (see Appendix C). The dialogues were conducted in one of the work-rooms at the school. The questions and answers

(24)

24

were digitally recorded in confidentiality and those recordings have since the publication of this paper been erased in concern of the student anonymity. The interview was completed in Swedish, in order not to restrict the students‟ answers by their English vocabulary. Before the interview, the students were informed that they should not feel restricted in their answers since it would not affect their grade in school in any way. They were also asked if they gave their consent to the recordings and reassured that the material recorded was to be erased at a later point in time. All of the recordings were executed using a digital voice recorder (Olympus VN-240PC) belonging to the school. The interview itself was divided into two parts, where the first part questioned their television habits and the second part tested their ability to analyze the facts presented in the show.

When conducting an experiment such as this one, details are of highest concern. By constructing the procedure in the various steps we have undertaken, we have also made sure that factors such as vocabulary, previous knowledge and memorization abilities are represented in three different levels in order not to give a bias view of the results. However, it is not only validity that concerned us. In the following section we present the problems and solutions to issues concerning this degree paper.

3.7 Problems and Solutions

The field of television and subtitles in educational settings is overrun with problems, making it even more problematic to attempt a small research project within it. First, there is next to no research executed on subtitling in relation to education. There is even less research on Swedish subtitling in educational television. Secondly, the research executed in this paper is not general and can therefore only note the attitudes of six students. We have chosen to examine comprehension in relation to subtitling. The fact is that we can never be completely sure whether or not it is the subtitles or if the students‟ previous knowledge that affect the results. Nonetheless, this is a problem we are aware of and have taken into consideration during this degree project. To exclude as many external factors as possible, we started off by testing the students vocabulary level (VLT) and through this made groups with equal word knowledge. Furthermore, during the interviews we asked about their television habits to define who could have seen the show and thus scored higher on the previous test of

(25)

25

memorization. This does not fully exclude external factors, defined for the purpose of this degree project as ambition, concentration and attention, previous knowledge and focus.

The students play an important role in the results of the experiment in this paper. First and foremost, it is partly the individuals‟ level of ambition that decides if a student comprehends the message. The plot will be hard to memorize and even more difficult to interpret, if the student chooses not to follow the program. However, this argument can be used no matter what instrument is chosen. If the testee does not want to participate, the results will be invalid. This was prevented by making the interviews optional. Secondly, the students‟ concentration and attention play an important part in comprehension. Singer and Singer state that when watching television “… the viewer not only actively participates in the viewing process but may attend to a program designed to hold her imagination and elicit her highest potential of cognitive processing” (2001, 113). In order to aid the students in their concentration and attention, we chose the American television program Friends. It is easy to follow as well as amusing and therefore might help the students keep their focus. Furthermore, the English is clear and the pronunciation is easy to hear. However, at the same time as the show is familiar and accessible for us to use in this research, we run the risk of the students having previous knowledge of the episode. This was our third problem. We supposed Friends might be a well-known show to most adults but perhaps not as famous amongst those born in the later 90‟s. Nevertheless, it was clear that some were familiar with the series. Those who clearly stated that they had seen the show many times were not chosen for the interviews. Furthermore, we questioned the six students‟ television habits and what they usually watch during the interviews to be able to include this in our discussion of the results. Lastly, the physical attributes of the student plays a central role in where he/she chooses to place the focus. A student with seeing disabilities will most likely choose to focus on the spoken English despite the fact that subtitles offer an aid. Likewise, a student with hearing loss will probably focus more on subtitles and are therefore more dependent of them in their comprehension. We chose to overlook this factor, since it could not be eliminated.

(26)

26

4. Results and Analysis

The following section deals with the results after the questionnaires and the in depth interviews. First and foremost, we show the results from after the two groups saw the program, and answered the questionnaires. In other words, the students‟ memorization skills are examined. Afterwards, we continue to the primary part of this project, and that is to further investigate our research questions, with the in depth interviews. In addition, the students‟ names are pseudonyms. Because of lack of time, we have disregarded some factors that could be crucial to the results, such as some of their English abilities for example, their listening and reading skills. Additionally, gender and ethnicity are also being excluded due to lack of time.

4.1 Memorization skills

The questionnaires tested the students‟ ability to memorize certain events and details of the show. We proceeded to mark the questionnaires, to see if there was a difference between the ones who saw the program with and without subtitles (see figure 4.1.1.1). The marking of the questionnaires was relatively easy done, since it only contained questions on the obvious information given during the show. To simplify our correction we made a key of the right answers that we followed. Although they were able to answer in different ways since the questions were open for individual interpretation, we could easily identify if someone in the class had misunderstood the plot completely. For example, on question 1 (See Appendix C), one of the students merely answered “no”. This was not an acceptable answer. Furthermore, two other students who were both right answered in different ways; Student 1: “Because she can‟t find the right man for her. Student 2: “All the boys she has met are either too soft or sweet, and not sexy. Or just sexy and not sweet”.

A clear difference was shown between test-group 1 and test-group 2; the students who did not see the program with subtitles displayed a difficulty in answering the initial questions (i.e. 1-3 and 6) as well as the last question. Moreover, the students who viewed the program with

(27)

27

subtitles were able to answer most questions correctly. The chart illustrates the difference in correct answers between Test-group 1 and Test-group 2. The Y-axis line represents the number of students who were able to answer the question correctly, and the X-axis line shows the questions.

Figure 4.1.1.1 Memorization tested through questionnaires

The results can be linked back to previous research, as well as strengthen the positive attitudes towards subtitles since you can see a clear improvement in results when comparing Test-group 1 with Test-Test-group 2. In The Practice of English Language Teaching (2007), it is suggested that subtitles make a huge difference when the students can connect the English language to their own L1 (2007, 310). In other words, hearing the English language and relating it to the written Swedish in the subtitles is beneficial for the students. This is however somewhat problematic for us, since all students do not share the same L1 in our research. For our purposes, it is enough that they all speak fluent Swedish and on a daily basis to be considered under the L1 category.

It needs to be stressed that these results are in no way definite. Although the subtitles appear to have aided our students in the memorization part of this project, there are other factors that could affect the results. Inequality amongst the students is expressed through factors such as

(28)

28

their familiarity with the program, their ability to listen and read, and their previous English skills. In this paper we have tried to erase one factor through the VLT, where their vocabulary levels were tested. When looking at the whole class in general, we did not see any connection between the VLT results and the questionnaires. Of course there were a minority in the class that had high results on the VLT as well as in the questionnaires, but this is not enough to draw any conclusions of a connection.

4.2 Attitudes towards subtitling

The six students that we chose from Test-group 1 and Test-group 2 represent students with different vocabulary knowledge. In group 1, we chose three students, one male and two females hereby called: Frank, Julie and Jane. To link this back to the VLT that helped us choose these students, Frank got the result 123, which was the best result in the class. Julie represents the middle range of the chart, and had 84 on the test. Jane, however, was at the lower half of the range and got 63 points. Test-group 2, also included one male and two females; Dave, Sara and Sophie. Dave had the next best score of 122 at the test. Sara was in the middle and had 84, and Sophie‟s result was 50 points.

The first part of the interviews will be presented in the form of summaries. The interviews took place two days after the viewing of the show. Each student‟s answers and reflections on subtitling, and the program that they saw will be distributed in the section below. We will start off with test-group 1:

4.2.1 Attitudes of test-group 1

Frank reported a television habit of two to three hours per day. When asked what he watches in English, it was mostly American and British comedy programs, such as Little Britain. With regard to subtitling, Frank stated that he does not think of them consciously. Positive outcomes with subtitles according to Frank were that difficult words are translated. However, he is ambivalent to subtitling, in the sense that sometimes the context is not suitably translated. Furthermore, Frank mentioned: “If you focus too much on the subtitles, you can

(29)

29

sometimes miss out on the content”. In addition, he prefers to watch television with subtitles, but reported that if no subtitles are available it is not a big issue. In Franks‟ spare time he uses the internet as a source for movies and program, where Swedish subtitles are rarely available. This is the only time he does not have access to subtitles. He feels that television has the potential to be a good educational tool in school, both in the sense of learning new words and intonation. Although he would prefer to use subtitles, he argues that they should not be used in an educational setting because the students need to be able to understand spoken English.

The next participant was Julie, a girl with average1 results on the VLT. About her television habits, Julie told us that she mostly watches TV on weekends. Furthermore, she is fond of watching English movies, and stated that she often chooses not to include subtitles if she is by herself. Julie tries to avoid looking at the subtitles if she is forced to have them, in case she has company while seeing the movie. In addition, she found it more developing and challenging to try to understand the whole plot without subtitles. However, a positive factor with subtitles according to her was the fact that it works as a support, if there are some difficult words. Furthermore, Julie felt that sometimes the translation into Swedish is not correct, and the purpose of the dialogue in the program is lost. In addition, Julie once again agreed with Frank and stated that intonation is successfully taught through. In her opinion television is not an effective educational tool to be used in the classroom.

The third subject of the project was Jane, a girl with 63 points on the VLT. Jane revealed that she watches television quite a lot, up to a couple of hours per day. She likes to watch programs such as Desperate Housewives, Greys Anatomy and Two and a Half Men. Jane does not consciously watch subtitles, it happens automatically. However, sometimes she finds herself watching the news or the likes without subtitles, and still understands the content. In addition, she finds subtitles positive because they allow her to get a better understanding of the plot. Jane could not come up with any negative aspects towards subtitling and is thus very positively set to their support when watching television. She added that when given the choice she always prefers to use subtitles in her spare time. In the matter of using more television in school she is satisfied with the amount.

1

(30)

30

4.2.2 Attitudes of test-group 2

The first interviewee was a high achiever on the VLT with 122 points, which makes him the second best to take the test in the class. Dave told us that he watches on average about two-three hours of television each week day, and that the hours increase during the weekend. He reported that he prefers watching action movies or murder television series. The subtitles work merely as an aid, according to Dave, if there is a word which he finds difficult. However, he stated that the subtitles are mostly noticed when they do not work which could indicate that he uses the subtitles subconsciously. At the same time as Dave believed the subtitles aid him in understanding, he also reported that there is a risk of solely reading them and thus missing the plot. If there is an option of subtitles he chooses to include them. Despite all, he still did not believe that television could be used for educational purposes.

Sara was a girl with 84 points on the VLT, placing her results in the middle of the scale (see figure 3.6.1). She had a television habit of one-two hours a day which mostly consisted of comedy shows. Sara normally avoids subtitles since she believes they might hinder her language development. Furthermore, she finds them untrustworthy since the translations sometimes are wrong and misleading. In contrast, her attitude towards television was positive. Sara stated that she learns more from television than she does in school, adding that (in her opinion) television gives you both visual and audio input and is thus better fit. When asked if she thought television should be used more frequently in school, her answer was “yes” with the condition that it should be shown without subtitles.

Our last student to be interviewed was Sophie, a low-achiever with 50 out of 150 points on the VLT. With no great difference from the rest, she reported a television habit of about two hours per day. She added that her favorite programs to watch were American soaps and comedy shows. Sophie said that she does not intentionally pay any attention to the subtitles. However, she does catch herself reading them subconsciously. The positive aspects of subtitling were limited to them being used as a reference. When asked about negative aspects, Sophie said she finds it irritating when translations are incorrect. Given the choice, she always uses subtitles. Lastly, she added that school can give you one type of L2-input, for example grammar, while television enables her to learn how to speak and understand English.

(31)

31

4.3 Analyzing the content

In the second part of the interview we questioned the six students‟ ability to analyze the facts presented in the show. The assessment was founded in three different steps of analyzing skills, coined by us to identify the subtle differences in capabilities amongst the six target students. The learners in the first step are identified as those who have a high ability to analyze the information given to them during the viewing. Most details are incorporated in their descriptions, and they make their own interpretation to further the analysis. Step two represents those who have a good ability to analyze the facts presented during the show. However, these learners fail to notice some details and thus miss to incorporate them in their analyses, but still remember most major events. They sometimes go beyond the information presented to make their own readings of the material, though not regularly. The last step represents a low ability to analyze. These students are unable to see the information as clues to expand their understanding of the program. Moreover, the students classified as step three learners have failed to answer five questions or more. All of the interviewees could not be placed clearly in one category. Some students possessed clear qualities from more than one step and have therefore been said to belong to both. During the interview, they were asked to reflect over why certain characters acted in a certain way, and to analyze how they would have acted in the place of the character. Patterns such as what they usually watch and their vocabulary skills will be included in discussion of results. First, we present each student‟s ability to analyze the content – starting with Test-group 1. The interview guide is presented in Appendix C.

Frank proved to belong to step two in analyzing skills. He showed that he is able to put himself in the situation of the characters in the episode, but failed to answer two questions. His answers showed that he could not remember minor events from the show, and therefore failed to be able to answer at all. Accordingly, he did not misunderstand the scenario nor did he prove unable to analyze the facts, since he did not give an incorrect answer. Instead, he chose not to answer at all. For example in question four where the neighbours‟ attitudes towards two of the main characters were questioned. Frank asked us to clarify twice as well as remind him who the neighbors were, then replied “I don‟t remember”. When asked about Monica‟s feelings towards Marcel, in question seven, Frank clearly stated “I never watch

(32)

32

Friends”. However, since Frank was able to analyze the mental state and feelings of several

characters and remembered major events from the show, his analysis is still classified as step two.

At the beginning of the interview, Julie stated that she had never seen Friends. Still, she remembered details from the show. Her ability to analyze the characters mental state and feelings is step one. For example in question one, where she is asked why Ross chooses to have a monkey despite it being forbidden, she answered that “he probably thinks it is cool”. She then surprised us by saying, “and he could probably make it useful by teaching it to do tricks and fetch tings for Ross”. Julie has thus analyzed the material in a far more original way than the other five interviewees. In question five she reflected over the situation far more than in any other question. When asked why an old man would steal a monkey, she considered both his appearance and surroundings to interpret that he might be lonely and a bit confused. However, she is only able to sympathize with the main characters in the show. She had an even harder time understanding that there could be an emotional bond between Ross and his pet (question one). In the end, Julie‟s ability to analyze is classified as step one since she remembered most details and made her own interpretation to further her analysis.

Jane seemed insecure of her answers and unintentional giggles indicated that she felt uncomfortable. Her analysis was classified as step three. Despite guidelines, she did not seem to have thought about the information presented during the viewing in any depth. Jane also failed to answer most of the questions. For example, in the first question she did not really answer the question asked. Instead of reflecting over Ross‟ feelings and actions, Jane replied “Because monkeys feel best if they live in a zoo”. When asked what one of the characters think of the monkey (question seven), she reminded herself out loud of who they were, after which she answered that she did not know. Since Jane did not seem to understand the connection between events and implied messages. Additionally, she is unable to reflect over her own potential actions if placed in the same situation as the characters.

Dave (Test-group 2) seemed insecure when answering most questions and revealed a vague memory of the events from the show. When given guidelines, he proved able to analyze the situation to some extent and was therefore marked as a step two analyzer. For example on question three about Ross‟ feelings towards Rachel, he reflected over their potential history

(33)

33

but neglected the factor of Ross‟ confidence. Dave had a hard time reflecting over what he would do in the same situation as the characters. His analysis remained at a basic level and Dave did not prove to be able to analyze most of the information in any deeper way. Situations familiar to him were easier to analyze, such as question one, where the bond between a human and his or her pet was the target. He answered “When you love a pet, it is hard to let go of it. Even though he knows he is doing something wrong”. Dave‟s ability to analyze was considered a step two; despite the fact that he failed to notice some details, he still remembered the major events and was able to make an interpretation in some cases.

The fifth interviewee, Sara (Test-group 2), seemed to remember the episode quite well. The characters of the show did not seem unfamiliar to Sara and we believe she had seen the series before the viewing of the episode. Most of the time, the answers were descriptive and acceptable for a step two analysis, but never reflective enough to reach step one. For example, when she was asked why the neighbor stole the monkey (question 5) she replied that he probably wanted to hurt the owner of the pet. This is a clear interpretation, but it builds on events from other episodes and can therefore not be considered an independent analysis. Despite this, she was able to recall the major events as well as interpret situations in some questions which were the qualifications for step two. However, we must stress that her previous knowledge gives her an unfair advantage over the rest.

Despite Sophie‟s (Test-group 2) low VLT-scores, her ability to analyze information is very good. We have classified her analysis as step one, since she showed an ability to reflect over her own actions in the given situations as well as a good attention to details which were incorporated in her interpretations. She also seemed to be able to consider what unspoken emotions might have caused reactions. For example, when she answered why an old man might steal a monkey (question 5):

I think he wants someone to keep him company and somebody to talk to, or maybe he just wants to get back at Ross [the owner of the monkey]”

However, in this answer she also hints towards another episode. Ross, one of the main characters, had not done anything to make the old man want to seek revenge in this episode. Sophie thus seemed too familiar with the characters not to have seen the show prior to this study. We therefore reasoned that she has had an advantage over those who had not seen it.

(34)

34

Despite this, her analysis was classified as step one since she remembered most details and made her own interpretations to further her analysis.

4. 4 Discussion of results

In this section we will discuss the results taking in consideration some of the theories that are mentioned in the previous chapters. Most of the students interviewed had an overall agreement on their attitudes towards subtitling. Their main thought on watching programs in an educational setting is that they should be viewed without subtitles, placing the focus solely on the English language. The students‟ statements are contradictory to the research on subtitling presented in Webb and Rodgers (2009a). The majority of the students had negative attitudes towards subtitles in an educational setting. However, Webb and Rodgers reported that since the aural input is connected to the visual, it is easier to comprehend (2009, 410).

In our interviews all the six students expressed their opinions about advantages and weaknesses with subtitling. They all agreed that an obvious weakness was that sometimes the translation is not correct. Some of the positive outcomes were that subtitling worked as support when it comes to difficult words. They also expressed the advantage of hearing the intonation. It is interesting to note that in Pia Sundqvists‟ (2009) dissertation she mentions a boy who learned a fluent Scottish accent only through watching television. Sundqvist further points out that he did not have any Scottish relatives or friends. His interest in the Scottish accent was mainly inspired by the Scottish actor Sean Connery (2009, 1).

Frank (Test-group 1) who had high results on the VLT, could see subtitles as a tool to understand difficult words, but stated that they should not be used in an educational setting. In our interview with Julie (Test-group 1) she stated that she always tries not to use subtitles in her spare time. However, we feel that she contradicted herself. Julie claimed that she learns the most on her own when reading or translating, but was dismissive of using subtitles. This could be a contradictory statement and maybe Julie would benefit from using subtitles instead, since translation was a tool for her to learn more English. Jane, who was also from Test-group 1, who had a low result on the VLT, did not have any negative comments towards subtitling. In addition, she feels that subtitles provide her with support when watching