This study examined the effects of captioned video material on ESL student comprehension, focusing on lower-level students. Prior research such as Garza (1991) has been restricted to advanced students. A total of 40 college students participated in the experiment. In order to get student feedback, a brief survey was also conducted for the purpose of measuring the learners' views on studying with captioned materials. The results revealed that advanced students benefited most from captioned materials. Conversely, caption availability did not substantially improve lower-level student comprehension, and, in some cases, reduced their motivation.
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