Same language subtitling: a buterfly for literacy?

Abstract

Same Language Subtitling (SLS) refers to the idea of subtitling motion media programmes (television and films) in the 'same' language as the audio. This simplest of additions in existing television programmes, especially film songs and music vedios, can make a quantum contribution to the improvement of reading skills of over 325 million neo - literate people in India. song vedios are watched with great passion all over India, in every state and major language. Earlier work on SLS reported that it was found to enhance the entertainment value of televised songs for both, the literate an d neo - literate viewers. Presently we discuss a controlled experiment to ' measure' the impact of SLS on the reading skills of disadvantaged school children. The results confirm that SLS of film songs leads to reading skill improvement, thus, reaffirming the enormous potential of this simple and economical approach for mass literacy skill development in India.