L1 / L2 subtitled TV series and EFL learning: A study on vocabulary acquisition and content comprehension at different proficiency levels

Whether and how video viewing is beneficial for language learning has been a matter of debate over the last decades (Vanderplank, 2015). Multimedia learning theories (Mayer, 2009; Paivio, 1986) suggest that exposure to multimodal input promotes Foreign Language (FL) learning, although the Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1994) defends that multimodality may hinder it. First and second language subtitles have been found to enhance content comprehension (Baltova, 1999) and vocabulary learning (Frumuselu, 2015), even if opposite results have also been reported (Rodgers, 2013). However, most of the studies so far have been conducted with adult university learners viewing short videos (e.g., Montero Perez, Peters, & Desmet, 2013) and there is virtually no research on younger less proficient learners, with sustained exposure to video viewing, and comparing it to other teaching and methodological approaches. Therefore, this dissertation aims at analysing the effects of viewing subtitled TV series on the acquisition of FL vocabulary and on the degree of content comprehension at different proficiency levels. The present work aims at filling these gaps by exposing Catalan / Spanish English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners at three proficiency levels (primary school –beginners–, high school –intermediate–, and university –upper-intermediate–) to subtitled TV series over an academic term (university) or year (primary and high school). At each level, participants (N=158) were randomly allocated to the Experimental (EG) or control group. On a weekly basis, all learners were taught a set of Target Words (TW) and completed two vocabulary tasks (a pre-task at the beginning of the session and a post-task at the end), but only those in the EGs additionally watched a subtitled episode of a TV series containing the TWs. In order to assess lexical gains, all learners were pre- and post-tested on their knowledge of TW forms and meanings at the beginning and the end of each of the three terms the study was divided into. To measure retention effects, a vocabulary delayed post-test was also administered to the primary and highschool groups eight months after the end of the pedagogical intervention. Learners in the EGs were also regularly tested on content comprehension after viewing each of the episodes. Results on vocabulary learning show that viewing subtitled TV series was beneficial for participants’ vocabulary development. However, significant differences between conditions were only revealed in primary and high school, but not at university. More significant differences were also found in the last term, indicating that exposure to subtitled TV series is more effective if it is sustained over time. Vocabulary learning through video viewing is also mediated by the participants’ proficiency level, since intermediate learners benefitted from the pedagogical intervention to the greatest extent. Results from the vocabulary delayed post-test indicate that the benefits of being exposed to video viewing were not maintained in the longterm. Regarding comprehension, there was not a steady improvement throughout the intervention at any of the proficiency levels, and scores were both participant- and episodedependent. The findings are discussed in the light of what previous research on the topic has found, as well as multimedia learning theories and the role that proficiency level plays in learning from multimodal input. Results on video viewing are considered for further research in the field and potential advantages of this practice are also described. Therefore, not only does this thesis bring new evidence to research on multimodal input and FL learning, but it also offers new insights into EFL teaching.