The Effect of Subtitles on Second Language Pronunciation

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of video-on-demand services for watching movies and TV shows presents a unique opportunity for foreign language learning, thanks to easy access to original language content. When watching films in the original language, viewers typically can follow the audiovisual content with subtitles either in their language (L1) or the film's language (L2). Here, we present a pilot study that examines the impact of English (L2) subtitles, Italian (L1) subtitles, or no subtitles on L1 native Italian speakers' production of L2 English phonemes. Our findings reveal that subtitles in the L2 language (English) can improve the production of L2 phonemes. However, while L2 subtitles facilitated the improved pronunciation of the vowel /æ/, no significant enhancements were observed for /ʌ/. The study emphasizes the utility of incorporating reading and listening in L2 for effective language acquisition. It also points out the importance of considering L1 phonemic traits that may pose challenges to L2 acquisition.