Volume 29 Number 1, 2025 First- and second-language subtitles and cognitive load: An EEG study

First- and second-language subtitles and cognitive load: An EEG study

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bitstream:
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collection:
Volume 29 Number 1, 2025
contributor.author:
Lee, Taegang Lee, Yoohyoung Choi, Sungmook
date.accessioned:
2025-04-07T19:22:38Z
date.available:
2025-04-07T19:22:38Z
date.copyright:
2025
date.issued:
2025-04-07
description.abstract:
Empirical evidence remains sparse about how videos enhanced with first-language (L1) and secondlanguage (L2) subtitles influence cognitive load in L2 learners. To address this point, 25 Korean undergraduate students were exposed to six short videos: baseline, L1-subtitled, and L2-subtitled videos at both high and low difficulty levels (determined by linguistic complexity and speech rate). Baseline videos included subtitles in Arabic, a language unfamiliar to the participants. As participants viewed the videos, their brains’ electrical activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG). After each video, participants completed a self-report questionnaire based on the video they had just watched. Analyses of the EEG data and questionnaire responses consistently suggested that, compared to baseline videos, L1-subtitled videos reduce cognitive load in L2 learners. However, findings for L2-subtitled videos were less consistent. While the EEG results indicated no significant difference in cognitive load between L2-subtitled and baseline videos, participants reported significantly higher cognitive effort for baseline videos than for L2-subtitled videos. Notably, these results did not vary according to the difficulty levels of the videos.
endingpage:
18
format.extent:
18
identifier.citation:
Lee, T., Lee, Y., & Choi, S. (2025). First- and second-language subtitles and cognitive load: An EEG study. Language Learning & Technology, 29(1), 1–18. https://hdl.handle.net/10125/73625
identifier.issn:
1094-3501
identifier.uri:
https://hdl.handle.net/10125/73625
language:
eng
number:
1
publicationname:
Language Learning & Technology
publisher:
University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center Center for Language & Technology
rights.license:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
rights.uri:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
site_url:
/item/10125-73625/
startingpage:
1
subject:
Subtitles, EEG, Cognitive Load, Multimedia-Assisted Language Learning
title:
First- and second-language subtitles and cognitive load: An EEG study
type:
Article Text
volume:
29