Abstract:
The study is an analysis of the reaction of students in a faculty of natural and agricultural
sciences (NAS) to subtitles and also includes an investigation of their responses thereto.
Reception of and responses to academic English (close to verbatim transcription), plain
English, and keyword English subtitles were explored by showing participants subtitled
videos related to the content of their module. Participants were then asked to complete
demographic and affective questionnaires, and participated in focus group interviews to
investigate their reception of the various subtitles. The results show that participants
responded particularly well to plain English subtitles. The focus group interviews indicated
that they found all three sets of subtitles useful for note-taking purposes, adjusting the speed
at which they accessed and processed information by pausing the videos, highlighting
important information in the study materials, and being able to engage aurally and visually
with the materials. From a higher education perspective, this emphasises students’ readiness
for subtitles as an academic mediation tool.
CONTRIBUTION : This article aims to fill existing gaps in the fulfilment of higher education
institutions’ language policies, which have been exposed by the thrust for multilingualism
in higher education. Research into academic subtitling as an academic mediation tool can be
used to bridge this gap, thereby supporting innovative research in higher education.
