Comparative Analyses of Films and Textbook Materials Focusing on the Speech Rate and the Readability

Abstract

In this study, the speech rate and the readability of films and textbook materials were compared and analyzed to determine the factors that make the comprehension of films challenging for language learners. Five films from various genres and five major tests that employ standard linguistic features were selected for analyses. The readability was examined using three scales. The speech rate was measured in wpm and sps. The number and length of pauses between sentences were also counted. The results showed that the readability and word levels of the two material types did not differ, but differences were found in the speech rate and in the length of pauses. It was found that the speech rate in films was significantly faster than that of textbook materials. The length of the pauses was also found to be longer in films.