CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
5.3 Summary of findings
5.3.4 Summary of findings for the questionnaires
This section will provide a summary of findings of the two questionnaires, one focusing on the participants’ experience in the experiment and another on the participants’ general experience of subtitling.
5.3.4.1 Questionnaire 1: user experience
The questionnaire was employed to investigate the participants’ perceptions of the content difficulty and the usefulness of subtitles. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted in order to group the different questions according to the underlying factors observed. Two factors were identified, one deals with questions addressing the participants’ perceptions of content difficulty (content factor); and the other deals with questions concerning the participants’ perceptions of the helpfulness of the subtitles (subtitle factor). A summary of the content factor will be discussed first and will be followed by a summary of the subtitle factor. The content factor will be discussed in terms of the interaction between the videos and the subtitle conditions; and the subtitle factor will be discussed in terms of the various subtitle conditions.
5.3.4.1.1 Factor 1: Perceived difficulty of content
In terms of the content factor, varying results were found for the interaction between the five videos and the subtitle conditions. Video 1 was perceived to be most difficult when presented with the no subtitle condition, and easiest when presented with the English full subtitles. This means that the participants perceived this video with subtitles condition, especially the English full subtitles, to be easier than with no subtitles. The effect sizes of the differences in perceptions between the different subtitle conditions indicate that in terms of language, the content was
perceived to be less difficult with the English subtitles; and in terms of style, the keyword subtitles were perceived to be less difficult.
For Video 2, the content was perceived to be most difficult when presented with Sesotho keyword subtitles, and least difficult with no subtitles. The effect sizes of the differences in perceptions between the different subtitle conditions indicate that in terms of language, the content was perceived to be equally difficult with the subtitles irrespective of the language; and similar findings were indicated in terms of subtitle style.
Similarly, for Video 3, the content was perceived to be most difficult when presented with Sesotho keyword subtitles, but least difficult with Sesotho full subtitles. The effect sizes of the differences in perceptions between the different subtitle conditions indicate that in terms of language, the content was perceived to be equally difficult for the English and Sesotho full subtitles; however, for the keyword subtitles, the Sesotho were the most difficult. In terms of style, the keyword subtitles were perceived to be more difficult, although practical significance was found in the effect sizes of the difference between the Sesotho full and keyword subtitles only.
In terms of Video 4, the participants perceived the content to be most difficult when presented with English full subtitles and least difficult with Sesotho full subtitles. The effect sizes show that in terms of language, the content was perceived to be least difficult with the Sesotho subtitles.
With regard to style, the content was perceived to be less difficult with English keyword subtitles.
No significant difference is found between the Sesotho full and keyword subtitles, meaning that the content is perceived to be at the same level of difficulty when presented with subtitles in either of the two styles.
Similar to Video 2 and Video 3, the content of Video 5 was perceived to be most difficult when presented with Sesotho keyword subtitles. It was perceived to be least difficult when presented with English full subtitles. The effect sizes of the differences between the score means indicate no practical significance in the perceptions with regard to language, meaning that the content was perceived to be equally difficult irrespective of the language of the subtitles.
It can be concluded from the analyses that subtitles, whether they were in English or Sesotho, keyword or full subtitles, had an impact on the participants’ perception of content difficulty.
However, the effect of the subtitle type varies from video to video, and is contrary to the expectation that the content would be perceived as less difficult with the KSS specifically.
5.3.4.1.2 Factor 2: Perceived helpfulness of subtitles
According to the means of the scores for this factor, the English full subtitles were perceived to
size of the differences between the subtitle factor means, however, indicates that the differences were small with no practical significance. Based on this it is concluded the language and the style of the subtitles possibly did not influence the participants’ perception of the subtitles’ helpfulness, meaning that the subtitles were perceived to be equally helpful regardless of language or style.
Furthermore, correlations were conducted between comprehension and the questionnaire factors. Varying correlations were found between comprehension and the subtitle factor according to the subtitle conditions; negative correlations were found for the FSE and the KSS, whereas positive correlations were found for the FSS, KSE and NS. However, these correlations indicated small and no practical significant relationship. Therefore, it appears that there is no clear relationship between perceived helpfulness of the subtitles and comprehension.
In terms of comprehension and subtitle factor, the correlations revealed a medium, practically visible relationship for the Sesotho keyword subtitle. This finding is interesting given that the Sesotho keywords were regarded to be least helpful. Other subtitle conditions, which show possible practically visible relationship between comprehension and the subtitle factor are the English full and keyword subtitles. For these subtitles there is a clear relationship between the perceived helpfulness of subtitles and comprehension. The Sesotho full subtitles show no practically significant relationship between comprehension and the subtitle factor, meaning that the perceptions of subtitle helpfulness seems to have a direct relationship with comprehension.
5.3.4.2 Questionnaire 2: Participants’ experience of subtitling in general
This questionnaire sought to explore the participants’ general experience of and attitudes towards subtitles in the experiment and in general. The responses in this questionnaire may provide some insight to the findings in Questionnaire 1.
Most participants were found to be familiar with subtitled programmes and the main language used in the subtitles is English. It is therefore not a surprise that when asked to identify the preferred subtitle condition, the most preferred subtitles were the English full subtitles. The participants cited familiarity as one of the reasons for their choice. Participants also indicated that the subtitles assist with comprehension. In addition to the English full subtitles, the keywords subtitles (both English and Sesotho) were preferred for facilitating comprehension and memory.
A few participants preferred the no subtitles conditions, and they stated that the subtitles are a distraction. This was to be expected as Questionnaire 1 also investigated this issue of possible distraction in the subtitle perceived usefulness factor. The findings reveal that even though in general the participants perceived all the subtitles to be useful, some participants found the
investigated the participants’ perception of the usefulness of keyword subtitles and found that the keyword style distracted the participants.
Furthermore, Questionnaire 2 of this study asked the participants which subtitle condition they would recommend for education. In terms of language, the participants would recommend the English subtitles and in terms of style, they would recommend the full subtitles. From the findings of the questionnaires it can be deduced that there is a role for subtitles in education. However, the participants were not asked to motivate their response, this would be an important aspect to investigate in future studies.