A B S T R A C TThis article presents an experimental study to investigate whether subtitle reading has a positive impact on academic performance. In the absence of reliable indexes of reading behavior in dynamic texts, the article first formulates and validates an index to measure the reading of text, such as subtitles on film. Eye-tracking measures (fixations and saccades) are expressed as functions of the number of standard words and word length and provide a reliable index of reading behavior of subtitles over extended audiovisual texts. By providing a robust index of reading over dynamic texts, this article lays the foundation for future studies combining behavioral measures and performance measures in fields such as media psychology, educational psychology, multimedia design, and audiovisual translation. The article then utilizes this index to correlate the degree to which subtitles are read and the performance of students who were exposed to the subtitles in a comprehension test. It is found that a significant positive correlation is obtained between comprehension and subtitle reading for the sample, providing some evidence in favor of using subtitles in reading instruction and language learning. The study, which was conducted in the context of English subtitles on academic lectures delivered in English, further seems to indicate that the number of words and the number of lines do not play as big a role in the processing of subtitles as previously thought but that attention distribution across different redundant sources of information results in the partial processing of subtitles.A s digital contexts proliferate, the types of texts that children and adults encounter keep changing. Moreover, as the contexts in which reading occurs change, the reader has to adopt a variety of reading styles. These reading styles have to adapt to static text on a stable background on the one end of the spectrum (where the pace of reading is determined by the reader) and fleeting text on a dynamic background, as in subtitled or captioned audiovisual texts, on the other end of the spectrum (where the reader has to adjust the pace of reading to the pace of presentation). Furthermore, new media such as smartphones and tablets present information in increasingly hands-free modes that anticipate reading behavior by means of algorithms and scroll text (semi)automatically, presenting readers with a combination of dynamic and static texts.It can be assumed that the exposure to and reliance on dynamic texts, such as video and interactive multimedia, in both formal and informal education will continue to increase. This could have farreaching effects for reading instruction if subtitles and other text were to be introduced in a more conscious manner. However, before teachers and reading instructors can employ modes such as subtitles optimally, we require more insight into the way in which children and

The use of video has become well established in education, from traditional courses to blended and online courses. It has grown both in its diversity of applications as well as its content. Such educational video however is not fully accessible to all students, particularly those who require additional visual support or students studying in a foreign language. Subtitles (also known as captions) represent a unique solution to these language and accessibility barriers, however, the impact of subtitles on cognitive load in such a rich and complex multimodal environment has yet to be determined. Cognitive load is a complex construct and its measurement by means of single indirect and unidimensional methods is a severe methodological limitation. Building upon previous work from several disciplines, this paper moves to establish a multimodal methodology for the measurement of cognitive load in the presence of educational video. We show how this methodology, with refinement, can allow us to determine the effectiveness of subtitles as a learning support in educational contexts. This methodology will also make it possible to analyse the impact of other multimedia learning technology on cognitive load.

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Abstract:In this paper we examine the influence of text editing (edited vs. verbatim subtitles) and subtitle presentation rates (12 vs. 15 characters per second) on the comprehension and reading patterns of interlingual and intralingual subtitles among a group of 44 deaf, 33 hard of hearing and 60 hearing Polish adult subjects. The results of the eyetracking study show no benefit of editing down the text of subtitles, particularly in the case of intralingual subtitling and deaf viewers. Verbatim subtitles displayed with the higher presentation rate yielded slightly better comprehension results, were skipped less often, and resulted in more effective reading patterns. Deaf and hard of hearing participants had lower comprehension than hearing people; they also had a higher number of fixations per subtitle and were found to dwell on subtitles longer than the hearing.

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In multilingual classrooms, subtitling can be used to address the language needs of students from different linguistic backgrounds. The way students distribute their visual and cognitive resources during a lecture is important in educational design. Students have to shift their attention between sources of information of varying density and relevance. If there is redundancy between these sources, there will be competition and possible cognitive overload. This paper compares visual attention distribution between subtitles and other sources of information through eye tracking and relates this to academic comprehension and cognitive load as measured through self-report questionnaires and EEG. The study provides promising results for the use of both first and second language subtitles in academic contexts.

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