Help options and multimedia listening: students' use of subtitles and the transcript.

ABSTRACT

As multimedia language learning materials become prevalent in foreign and second language classrooms, their design is an important avenue of research in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Some argue that the design of the pedagogical materials should be informed by theory such as the interactionist SLA theory, which suggests that input modification can help comprehension, but does not provide specific guidance regarding choices designers should make when they attempt to implement theory-based features like modified input. This empirical study was designed to provide evidence about one such issue: whether subtitles or transcripts are more effective in providing modified input to learners.

A multimedia listening activity containing a video of an academic lecture was designed to offer help in the form of target language subtitles (captions) and lecture transcripts in cases of comprehension breakdowns. Eighteen intermediate ESL students enrolled in an academic listening class at a research university participated in the study. Two tests and questionnaires in addition to screen recordings were used to analyze students' performance on the activity and their use of help.

The results indicate that participants interacted with the subtitles more frequently and for longer periods of time than with the transcript. Also, the study identified four patterns of learner interaction with the help options. Since, overall, the participants interacted with help less than half of the time they opened help pages, an important challenge in investigating help options lies in finding ways to promote the use of help.

INTRODUCTION

As multimedia language learning materials are becoming increasingly common in foreign and second language classrooms, the design of those materials is becoming an important avenue of research in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Chapelle (2003) argues that the real challenge in applied linguistics at present is the search for "evidence for the most effective ways to design software for CALL, to use software effectively in tasks, and to help learners to take advantage of the electronic resources available to them" (p. xiii). Addressing the challenge, this paper offers suggestions on the design and implementation of software help options (L2 subtitles and L2 transcript) in a multimedia listening activity. Also, it investigates the learner's use of multimedia listening software with a particular focus on learner interaction with subtitles and transcripts in cases of comprehension breakdowns. Finally, the paper examines if and how learners take advantage of help options available to them.

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Theoretical Framework

The interactionist SLA theory considers interaction to be a crucial factor for language acquisition since it can promote negotiation of meaning (Long, 1996; Pica, 1994). Although originally based on the study of the negotiation of meaning between human interlocutors, the notion of interaction in CALL was extended to include person-computer interaction during a task completion by a single user (Chapelle, 2003). A key component of this theory--that only the input that is noticed, or apperceived, can become beneficial--provides guidance for the design of instructional materials, which should contain features that enhance input through modifications (Chapelle, 2003, p. 40) such as added redundancy and change of the input mode. Following Chapelle's (1998) suggestions relevant for the development of multimedia CALL, the online unit used in this study was constructed to investigate the effectiveness of two types of input modifications, subtitles and transcripts, within a listening comprehension unit centered around a video of an academic lecture. In particular, these two textual help options were selected because they can add redundancy to the aural input by changing the input mode from its aural form in the video into the textual form of subtitles and a transcript, hence addressing different learning styles.

Multimedia Listening and Help Options Studies

Quite a bit has been written about the different characteristics of multimedia that can enhance reading (Chun & Plass, 1997), vocabulary acquisition (Plass, Chun, Mayer & Leutner, 1998), and even speaking (Borras & Lafayette, 1994). However, a smaller number of studies (Brett, 1996, 1997) investigated the use of multimedia software for listening comprehension. When investigating learners' attitudes towards multimedia, Brett (1996) found that 86.9% of students believed that a multimedia application they were introduced to would improve their listening skills. Also, in questionnaires, participants preferred multimedia for listening over media such as video and audio (Brett, 1997). Finally, learners had better listening comprehension scores on a multimedia task than on a paper and pencil task in which the input was delivered via video and audio tapes (Brett, 1997). More research into the use of multimedia listening materials is necessary as is research into help options, which Pujola (2002) defined as "resources of the program which assist the learner in performing a task" (p. 241). Since several studies investigating help options (Hegelheimer & Tower, 2004; Hsu, 1994; Liou, 1997, 2000; Pujola, 2002) proved instrumental for the current research study, their main findings are briefly reviewed here. Appendix provides the summary of results of these help option studies.

Hsu's study (1994) was one of the first studies examining ESL students' use of help options (audio repetition, textual repetition, and the dictionary) while listening to a story delivered on the computer. Textual repetition was in the form of a transcript, which was displayed on the screen when students requested help after being unable to comprehend the spoken input. Frequencies of help function use showed that the transcript was the most often used tool followed by aural repetition and the dictionary. The participants also mentioned in questionnaires that the transcript was the most effective tool. Finally, Hsu (1994) found that the amount of requests for textual help positively correlated with participants' listening comprehension scores.

Liou (1997) also studied the frequency and effectiveness of help use. She examined how 20 college students at a Taiwanese university interacted with eight online help functions in a self-paced multimedia video disc. The textual help options included English and Chinese scripts in addition to the video control functions (pause and rewind) and five other options (see Appendix for details). Liou (1997) divided the participants into an "effective" and an "ineffective" group based on three factors: listening proficiency, direct student observation, and instructors' records. Frequency of help access showed that the ineffective group requested twice as much help as the effective group and used the replay of aural input more than the English and Chinese scripts. The effective group, on the other hand, used the English script most, followed by the replay function and the Chinese script. As can be seen from Hsu's and Liou's results, the transcript was among the most frequently used forms of help. In another article about the same study, Liou (2000) reported that 80% of participants found the English script useful. However, contrary to Hsu (1994), Liou (1997) found that frequency of help use did not correlate with listening scores.

In addition to the transcript, Pujola (2002) examined the use of subtitles (which were in his study a part of one help option) as well as six other help facilities (Appendix). Based on participants' decoding level, the ability to decode input, Pujola divided 22 beginner EFL students into four groups (higher, average, lower, and poorer decoders) and observed their use of textual help. He found that participants in each group behaved in "varied, idiosyncratic ways" (p. 253), so it was difficult to draw conclusions that would apply to all participants in one group especially since some participants in lower groups never used textual help. Generally, the higher decoders used the replay and rewind functions more than the transcript and/or subtitles. The use of textual help increased as the decoding level decreased, so some poorer decoders relied on it to such an extent that at times "they were doing a reading task instead of listening" (p. 253). Pujola believed that this was due to the participants' perception of the purpose behind textual help. While the higher groups used textual help as a backup for listening, lower groups tended to use it as a necessary part of the listening process. In terms of overall help use, there was no correlation between the use of any help facility (including textual help) and participants' linguistic level.