Today’s rapidly changing live requires from people all around the world the ability to constantly learn and develop. The endless challenges and goals in various areas of human activity oftentimes involve our interactions with others on an international or a global level whether it is simply the search for the needed data on the Internet or a face to face cooperation with the representatives of other countries in the spheres of education, entertainment, traveling and work as well as for communication as it is. For such purposes, having a command of a foreign language allows individuals to dive into a subject matter and equally contribute to it without limitations from a language barrier. English, being a lingua franca [3], is used in more than 60 countries [4], which allows its users to have an exchange of experience, cultural features, general and specific knowledge, including international business cooperation and traineeship, while revealing a rich history, culture, literature and the language itself to English speakers and learners. The mentioned above stimuli together with digitalization and the growing number of sources for studying [1, p. 19; 5, pp. 1–2; 6, p.154] encourage people to start or continue their English learning journey using up-to-date forms, methods and means.
Among many pieces of advice for language learners, one of most common ways to develop both macro and micro skills in English is immersing oneself in the language and surrounding oneself with it. However, if the learners are unable to physically stay in an English-speaking country and actively practice there, they are recommended to begin with reading books and articles and / or watching films, TV series and videos in English for educational and entertainment purposes. Both of the macro skills developed by the usage of the described ways of learning the language are passive, i.e. based on the absorption of information, its inner procession and comprehension, leading to a further increase of the vocabulary possessed by a learner and a deeper understanding of grammar (micro skills). However, listening is a more complex activity compared with reading. That is to say, it requires more efforts from those who choose to learn English as a second language mainly or additionally through watching any kind of video content in the original language. Nowadays English, being the language of international communication and interaction, offers a huge variety of movies, series and videos for every liking. Though the choice can be too overwhelming and temptation to watch as much as possible can lead to language learners opting for a film, show or a video clip for more experienced or native speakers, subtitles are there to help. Even with a great choice of adapted films and videos, individuals are still cornered by such factors as a certain percent of unknown words and grammatical structures; slang and dialects; actors’ speaking speed and intonations together with overlapping sounds [8], which may confuse and distract the viewer from diving into the story and enjoying the plot. In a described situation the learner struggles to differentiate what is being said, leading to them overlooking significant fragments of information and struggling with learning new words. Moreover, a number of homonyms and similar linguistic structures interpreted by a learner with limited language knowledge may result in a misunderstanding and a shortage of the attention span, which, in its turn, can lead to demotivation and even regress in the foreign language learning process.
To tackle the challenges and watch movies, TV series and videos in English in a more enjoyable and beneficial way, learners use subtitles, including those in the original language. But are they really helping or rather complicating the information perception? Are they supposed to be used constantly in order to provide a pleasant experience of watching a film or a video with English conversations and discussions for language learners or have to be applied moderately?
On the one hand, the idea along with modern forms and types of subtitles provided for viewers primarily solves the problem of learners of Beginner, Elementary, Pre Intermediate, Intermediate and even Upper-Intermediate levels of the English language command: the visualization and correct perception of the verbal aspect of communication presented on the screen additionally to the variety in pronunciation they hear from actors and / or bloggers. The lack of pieces in the general outlook or the context in a particular scene of the audiovisual media can be compensated by complete speakers’ lines shown to the learner. The location of the subtitles on the screen allows the viewers to follow the story in the film, TV show or video without feeling lost in the possible cacophony of sounds, interjections and actual words. Language learners are presented with an opportunity to watch and read the lines with additional details if provided in the subtitles all at the same time, with no need to rewind the show to listen to a particular word combination once again and / or stop it to process was has been heard. A bright white block of text is centered on the bottom of the screen against a dark background for convenient reading and specification together with revision of already known words, falling within the passive vocabulary, and learning something new. One of the most useful features of this process is that individuals learn English in the context, observing situations in which particular collocations and structures are used naturally.
It is interesting that watching anything in the original language with the use of subtitles combines both listening and reading. Thus, it doubles the entertaining and educational benefits for the viewer. As the reading speed of any reader exceeds the speaking speed, including the one of actors, show hosts and bloggers, in more than 100% [2], language learners have a high change of getting acquainted with a block of lines, in other words, information discussed in an audiovisual media presented in a written form, before it is pronounced on the screen, even though the time particular subtitles are shown is generally aligned with the duration of a particular scene. In this way the viewers think out the main ideas based more on what they already understand and prove them to be correct or incorrect according to what they hear. While beginners may heavily rely on the offered subtitles to a full extent, viewers with better language skills can skim through a written phrase and / or a sentence, noticing fascinating linguistic specifics, for example, the frame structure of extended phrasal verbs or the lack of double negation in the English language. That is the point when the learners get interested in English itself as a language.
On the other hand, some of the issues addressed above can be considered to be disadvantages at the same time. Firstly, if the language learners, especially those with more poorly developed macro and micro skills, watch a film, a TV show or a video with subtitles without further study and practice of the vocabulary and grammar appearing there, the process of immersing oneself in an environment with a foreign language to learn as well loses its educational qualities. Moreover, the lack of parallel self-study leaves the viewers in a place where they guess the meanings of the word combinations read and heard by the context, particularly in English as in an analytical language, rather than understand it to a sufficient extent.
Secondly, by focusing mostly on the textual element of each scene on the screen, the viewers may face a problem when their watching experience gradually turns into a subtitle reading session. In such a way, if the story the language learners are watching is new to them, while paying more attention to the lines provided in the subtitles the individuals can miss important to the plot or character perception details, whether they are displayed in a non-verbal communication or interior / exterior. Their opportunity to get acquainted with cultural interactive codes, values and traditions presented in the particular audiovisual media disappears either. An example to this argument can be a scene from 1995 Pride and Prejudice screen adaptation when Mr. Darcy comforts Elizabeth Bennet and takes her hand in his while they are both not wearing gloves [7]. Such a little detail is overshadowed by a continuous dialogue, reflected in the subtitles, so that if the viewers’ attention is mainly drawn to the text, they miss such a subtle detail, which is crucial for understanding the development of the relationship between the characters and how affection and care could prevail over of the Regency period strict behavioral norms.
Furthermore, the constant use of subtitles, including those in the original audiovisual source language, may lead to the formation of a harmful habit to continuously rely on the textual script of what is heard. Thereby, the language learners’ listening skill improvement is substituted by the development of their reading skill alone. One of its results is that individuals can feel discouraged by the lack of progress. Besides, there is a tendency among individuals to subconsciously adjust what they actually hear to what they have just read, so in situations when the subtitles do not exactly reflect the audio or have a typo the language learners are more prone to trusting the text more than what they hear. In the long run, such doings can make people exposed to disinformation they may face in various spheres of their lives, especially provided in a foreign language. Likewise, having a habit of relying on subtitles while diving into a culturally and linguistically foreign environment through films, TV series and videos and not having such a supportive item in real life can increase the individuals’ anxiety additionally to their possible stress because of face-to-face interactions with native speakers, when the former have to use the foreign language they learn in an actual conversation, even if it is a widely-spread lingua franca [3] English.
To sum up, using subtitles to watch any kind of an audiovisual media is both easy and convenient. Moreover, it is a helpful way for the viewers with different foreign language knowledge levels to immerse oneself in the culture, values and contexts of other countries in the original language and feel like an active participant and / or prepare oneself before actual interactions with foreigners. If the language the viewers opt to focus on is English, today they have a wide variety of movies, TV shows and videos available for them to get acquainted with. They can choose the level of difficulty and use subtitles in the original language to provide oneself with an additional visual support to understand and learn more. Although it sounds enough to combine entertainment and education at the ideal rate, the usage of this method solely without any further study limits the language learners and the skills they develop. To crown it all, constant use of subtitles and reliance on them can complicate audible perception of information, cause a subconscious desire to check what the individuals hear with a reliable written source, prolong the procession process and make the foreign language learning and further use of it less encouraging and exciting. Nevertheless, if implemented wisely, watching audiovisual media with the original subtitles can add to a greater experience of learning a foreign language.
References
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2. Communication speed test: speaking vs. reading – Entefy | AI & Automation. URL: https://www.entefy.com/blog/communication-speed-test-speaking-vs-reading/ (Last accessed: 01.02.2024).
3. English as a Lingua Franca: Meaning & Features | StudySmarter. URL: https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english/international-english/english-as-a-lingua-franca/ (Last accessed: 03.02.2024).
4. English Speaking Countries List | Lingoda Online English Language School. URL: https://www.lingoda.com/en/content/english-speaking-countries/ (Last accessed: 29.01.2024).
5. Jabeen S. S., Thomas A. J. Effectiveness of Online Language Learning. WCECS: Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science (San Francisco, 21–23 Oct. 2015). San Francisco, 2015. Vol I. 5 p. URL: https://www.iaeng.org/publication/WCECS2015/WCECS2015_pp297-301.pdf (Last accessed: 29.01.2024).
6. Nalyvaiko O., Vakulenko A. CANVAS LMS: OPPORTUNITIES AND FEATURES. OD. 2021. Vol. 35, № 4. P. 154–172. DOI: 10.28925/2312-5829.2021.410.
7. Pride and Prejudice (1995) - Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet (Part 3of3). URL: https://youtu.be/v_SfRo335_s?si=yu5tkQUBLBSmjAGu&t=264 (Last accessed: 02.02.2024).
8. Why is Listening in a Foreign Language So Hard? – Diplomatic Language Services. URL: https://dlsdc.com/blog/listening-in-a-foreign-language/ (Last accessed: 01.02.2024).
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