Captions in L2 Learning from Language Teachers’ Perspective: What Do Teachers Believe and Do?

Abstract

Captions, i.e. subtitles in the original language, have been studied extensively in recent years. Many studies have found that captions facilitate listening comprehension and, vocabulary acquisition and that learners tend to have positive attitudes towards captions. However, except for few anecdotal observations, what language teachers believe about captions’ role in L2 learning and how, if at all, they use captions in class have remained untapped despite the substantial influence teacher cognition has on teachers. Therefore, this study explores the stated beliefs and reported practices of EFL teachers regarding captions in L2 learning. To this end, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from EFL teachers (N= 63). Thematic analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to analyse the data. The findings showed that despite evidently lacking empirical knowledge, teachers had positive beliefs about captions. It was also found that teachers’ past experiences as captions users were correlated with their beliefs about captions. Finally, comments from teachers revealed that they use captions in the class to ease comprehension, contribute to language development, and address the affective aspects of listening activities. Implications of the findings are discussed within the context of teacher training.