字幕呈現方式對偏好不同訊息型態的英語學習者聽力理解之效益研究

Abstract

許多現存研究指出，字幕能有效輔助第二語言學習者的聽力理解，然而，由於人類的認知負荷量有限，字幕出現的時間也相當短暫，並非所有學習者皆能在觀看影片的過程中，全程專注於字幕，再者，由於字幕影片會同時呈現多種型態(modality)的訊息，學習者對訊息型態的偏好，容易影響其在觀看時的注意力配置；為了讓字幕及字幕影片的教學價值發揮到極致，須先了解學習者對訊息型態的偏好如何影響他們處理字幕的過程及對內容理解的程度。本研究旨在探究不同字幕呈現方式(全字幕、部分字幕、即時字幕)對偏好不同訊息型態的英語學習者(視覺型、聽覺型)的聽力理解之效益。 本研究的受試者為95位台灣中高級程度的英語學習者，首先，受試者須進行「字幕依賴程度測驗」，以了解受試者在處理即時訊息時，較偏好何種訊息型態，研究者根據測驗結果將受試者區分為視覺型及聽覺型的學習者；接著，受試者被隨機分配到四個組別，分別在四種不同字幕的輔助下(無字幕、全字幕、部分字幕、即時字幕)觀賞影片並完成理解測驗。 研究結果顯示，字幕呈現方式雖然沒有對受試者的理解表現造成顯著差異，但是若將學習者對訊息型態的偏好納入考量，差異便呈顯著：聽覺型學習者在部分字幕的輔助下表現最佳，在全字幕的輔助下表現最差，反之，視覺型學習者在全字幕的輔助下表現最佳，在部分字幕的輔助下表現最差，這項結果顯示，每一種字幕對聽力理解的效益，會因學習者對訊息型態的偏好而有所不同。本研究結果凸顯第二語言學習者個別差異之重要性，並鼓勵教學者在使用字幕影片做為教材時，了解學習者對訊息型態的偏好，並適度融入差異化教學，以提升學習成效。Existing research has established captions as effective second-language (L2) listening comprehension aids. However, due to the limit of human’s cognitive load and the transient nature of captions, not all L2 learners are capable of attending to captions in all cases. To optimize the pedagogical value of captions and to use captioned videos—a multimodal materials frequently used in the L2 classrooms—for the benefit of L2 learners, it is important to understand how L2 learners’ preferred modality (i.e., visual or auditory) affects their processing of captions and resulting comprehension outcomes. The current study was set out to investigate the effects of different caption modes (full vs. partial vs. real-time) on the L2 listening comprehension of 95 high-intermediate Taiwanese EFL learners with different modality preferences. All participants received the Caption Reliance Test (CRT)—an instrument used in L2 research to determine learners’ modality preference in real-time L2 processing—and were categorized into visual and auditory L2 learners based on their test results. Next, the participants were randomly assigned to four video caption viewing conditions (no, full, partial, and real-time captioning) and completed an exit comprehension test. The results showed no significant difference between the participants’ performance under four caption conditions when L2 learners’ modality preference was not considered. However, when this was considered, the difference became salient, which was suggestive of the selective effect of captions on L2 learners of different modality preferences. While auditory L2 learners performed the best under the partial caption condition and the worst under the full caption condition, visual L2 learners scored the highest under the full caption condition yet the lowest under the partial caption condition. The finding underscores the importance of considering L2 learners’ processing profiles when utilizing captioned video as instructional materials and utilizing differentiated video materials for optimal learning outcomes.