To subtitle or not to subtitle in class

[amyeme6414]

I teach Spanish III (Intermediate Spanish I) at a state university in the US where we conduct classes entirely (well 95%) in Spanish. As part of the class we watch short clips from a documentary in Spanish each day and discuss the grammar and vocab related to these clips.

Unfortunately, the majority of students in class are there because they are fulfilling their language requirement and therefore aren't always the most motivated to learn the language.

I go back and forth on the advantages/disadvantages to putting Spanish subtitles on when I play the film (generally 3-5 minute segments of native Mexican Spanish speakers that are not adjusting their speech for language learners).

Here's a brief sample of my internal debate:
Advantages to subtitles: make the oral input more comprehensible, make the students happy, allow them to see more subtle uses of language they wouldn't hear ie. subjunctive, keep them more motivated and less frustrated

Disadvantages to subtitles: am I really giving them oral input to process if I know they are all just reading?

I'd love some thoughts and advice!

[Rusty]

In my experience, subtitles don't always follow the dialog and taking the time to read them detracts from the movie and lessens interest. Part of communication relies on body language, which isn't detected as well if one is trying to read subtitles.

It would be better, in my opinion, to encourage ear training and leave subtitles turned off.

[amyeme6414]

Since the documentary was meant for teaching, they do follow the subtitles exactly to the words spoken. Does this change your advice at all?

[Rusty]

Reading is a good way to learn Spanish. Listening is a good way to learn Spanish.
It is often very useful to hear what is written. This can help students understand that words are blended together in normal speech and that the language has a particular cadence.

A short clip from a documentary provides a break from the routine. It allows the students to listen to the cadence of the language. It gets them away from stilted, boring, and mostly useless textbook dialog.

When you think about it, your instruction in Spanish is far better for the students. Why? Because the flow of language isn't contrived. I suppose you're asking questions and expecting responses in Spanish. None of that is subtitled, but proves to be effective.
If students know they may be asked about something they heard, you can be sure they are trying to catch your every word. If they know they'll be quizzed about the clips you show, you can be sure they're using their listening skills to make sense of everyday language as spoken by native speakers. That's a great skill to have.
Your students will feel much more comfortable when they hear the language spoken outside of the classroom. They won't be at a total loss because the subtitles are missing.

[amyeme6414]

Rusty, what great advice. I think I'll just have to bear through their complains and discomfort and know that it is the best for them. I really appreciate your insights!

[Mozzo]

Non-native speakers simply don't have the ear training to recognize some sounds. Their minds adapted at a young age, to disregard what is irrelevant in the native language. So I do think subtitles are helpful at an early stage to keep a beginner "on the rail road tracks". But like any learning technique, it can become a crutch when overused.

Spanish has a wide phonetic overlap with English, but "B" versus "V" and the variety of "LL" pronunciations are especially troublesome for English learners. And little words like "se", "de" and "no" can be pronouced rapidly into following syllabes, causing a beginner think it's an entirely different (unfamiliar) word.

I would say in my own classroom experience... both Spanish and French... the instructors basically gave up trying to get us to understand native speech on tapes. There just was not enough classroom time to repeat and fix misunderstandings. We mainly ended up only being able to understand our instructor (and each other).

I think it even took a bit of time to acclimate to the speech of a new instructor, each following year...