Native Language or Target Language? Effects of Different Types of Subtitles on Productive Skills = Native Language or Target Language? Effects of Different Types of Subtitles on Productive Skills

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper attempts to determine the effects of different types of subtitles on Korean EFL students’ English language productive skills: speaking and writing performance. This study was conducted in spring semester 2019. There was a total of 52 first-year college students in this study. The participants were divided into two subtitle groups: native language subtitles (n=27) and target language subtitles (n=25). They were asked to watch American television episodes in class with either Korean subtitles or English subtitles. Before and after the treatment, all participants took speaking and writing pre- and post-tests to determine the differential effects of subtitle types on English productive skills - speaking and writing. A perception survey was also carried out to explore the participants’ experience of language learning with subtitled audiovisual materials. Findings reveal that native language subtitles significantly improved EFL speaking and writing performance. Compared to the native language group, the target language group showed better performance, but the difference was not significant. However, the target language group showed more positive perception of subtitle use for EFL learning. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications and limitations are provided.