Theoretical Framework

Essential concepts related to the use of English movies with or without subtitles

on the development of listening skills and vocabulary acquisition of EFL Students are

explained in this section. First, this theoretical framework will present the

Connectionism Theory to understand how learning is achieved and to determine the

importance of connectionism in language learning. Moreover, the Dual-Coding Theory

applied to the language learning process will be explained. Finally, three subtitling

strategies used in movies (Expansion, Paraphrase, and Transfer) will be detailed.

Connectionism Theory

Connectionism is a learning theory that “tries to explain human mental abilities

in terms of artificial neural” (Banan et al., 2020, p. 2335). This theory states that human

beings learn by being in contact with information through a progressive process. Each

student has their own way of learning because the neural communication in each

student's brain is different (Banan et al., 2020).

One of the assumptions of the connectionist approach to language is that

“neurons in the brain are massively interconnected. This allows information to be

retrieved and processed by transforming activity among large assemblies of artificial

neurons” (Joanisse & McClelland, 2015, p.236)

In research from Plunkett et al. (2009), a neural network “learns exclusively

from exposure to a simulated environment by adjusting its connection weights, and the

nature and frequency of the stimuli will have an effect on the developing weight matrix

and the behavior of the mode” (p. 415). Therefore, students may learn English by being

in contact with authentic materials such as movies in English (Abdeen et al., 2018), and
the time spent in an English film may determine the success of learning a new language

(Kozhevnikova, 2014).

Dual-Coding Theory (DCT)

In research from Samburskiy (2020), Paivio’s dual-coding states that” cognition

involves two distinct but constantly interacting subsystems (verbal and nonverbal)”

(p.190), which means that human beings use the verbal and non-verbal systems to

remember or process information. The verbal system is complemented by the non-

verbal system (images, photographs, graphics, and so on) by retrieving information

previously stored in the human brain. For this reason, “the movies and their scripts are

widely used while teaching English because visuals help in stimulating learners’

perceptions directly while written words impact indirectly” (Murshidi, 2020, p.443).

Movies may be an excellent language learning tool due to the use of both verbal and

non-verbal systems.

The dual coding theory “explains human behavior and experience in terms of

dynamic associative processes that operate on a rich network of modality-specific

verbal and nonverbal representations” (Soylu & Yelken, 2014, p. 4814). Two codes are

involved in the learning process: the verbal (language) and non-verbal (images)

systems. Both systems work together in the retrieval and processing of information.

(Soylu & Yelken, 2014).

The dual-coding theory “is a general cognition theory that has been directly

applied to literacy and language learning. The theory was proposed by Allan Paivio in

1971 and explains the powerful effects of mental imagery on the mind and memory”

(Giannakoulopoulos, 2019, p.2). People learn new information by using separate verbal

and non-verbal codes. However, if these systems are combined, the learning process
will be more meaningful because each system stores and processes different types of

information (Giannakoulopoulos, 2019). For this reason, movies may be an effective

tool for learning a new language because they use verbal and non-verbal communication

at the same time (Fridayanti et al., 2018).

According to Sadoski (2005), “the use of concrete, high-imagery words and both

verbal and nonverbal contexts are found to be important factors in teaching sight

vocabulary along with word decodability” (p. 221). This is because the use of images

and verbal context can help identify or infer the meaning of unknown words since they

provide clues that may facilitate vocabulary learning.

In research from Barwasser et all (2021), “in the case of vocabulary learning, the

use of visual, verbal, and gestural connections could facilitate memorization, as the

inclusion of multiple modalities seems to increase the chances of remembering new

words” (p. 70). When context is provided in verbal and non-verbal form, it is easy to

memorize new vocabulary because human beings automatically relate visual

information to verbal information. The use of subtitles (verbal code) in video materials

such as movies may help improve students' listening comprehension (Kruger, 2013).

Definition of Subtitling

According to Ratusmanga and Napu (2019), “subtitling is a complex form of

translation in which the spoken language (source language) of the film is translated into

the written language of the viewing audience (target language)” (p. 38). Likewise,

according to Nauly and Basari (2016), “subtitling is a way to translate the foreign film

without tampering the original soundtrack and dialogues, as in the case of dubbing”

(p.18).
 Additionally, subtitles are written texts of the dialogues spoken in a movie or

television program, which are placed at the bottom of a screen. Subtitles can be the

translation from one language to another, or they can be the transcription of a spoken

text (Abdellah, 2008).

Types of subtitles

There are two types of subtitles: interlingual and intralingual subtitles. “The

language of intralingual subtitles is the same as that of dialogues, whereas the language

of interlingual subtitles is different from that of the audio” (Zarei & Rashvand,2011,

p.619).

Similarly, according to Liu (2014), Interlingual subtitling is the translation from

one language to another. The spoken version of a dialogue in a certain language is

translated into a desired language in written form. And Intralingual

subtitling(captioning) is the transcription of a dialogue using the same language.

In addition, in research from Zethsen (2010), the definition of interlinguistic

subtitling is summarized in the word “translation” because the function of this type of

subtitling is to translate information from one dialogue to another. And intralinguistic

subtitles are a written representation of the spoken language. That is, the written and

verbal versions use the same language.

Subtitling Strategies used in movies: Transcription, Paraphrase, Transfer

In their research, Napu and Ratusmanga (2019) identified some of Gottlieb's

strategies: "Transcription, paraphrase and transfer" (p.41).

“Paraphrase is used when the subtitler does not use the same syntactical rules

in subtitling the dialogue” (Napu & Ratusmanga, 2019, p. 42). This strategy helps the
public understand the subtitled information more easily since the subtitlers use simpler

structures than those of the original dialogue. In other words, “paraphrase is used when

the phrase in the SL cannot be reconstructed in the same syntactic way in the TL”

(Basari & Nauly, 2016, p. 23). The structure used when translating from one language to

another is different, but the meaning is the same in both languages.

Transfer is a literal translation of the original dialogue. Furthermore, the

structure used by the first language is not modified when it is translated into a second

language (Napu & Ratusmanga, 2019). Similarly, Ghaemi and Benyamin (2011), stated

that “transfer refers to the strategy of translating the source text completely and

accurately” (p.42).

Transcription is the strategy that allows keeping the original text when a term is

ambiguous or difficult to understand (Napu & Ratusmanga, 2019). For example, in his

study, Kendenan (2019), found that “for some words which come from Arabic

language, the transcription might happen not only because they have been familiar

enough to moslem community, but also because they are typical for them” (p.30)
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Language Learning theory from Visual Literacy: Dual-Coding Theory
Subtitling Strategies used in movies: Expansion, Paraphrase, Transfer