Literacy Activities Handbook - Saskatchewan Association of Rehabilitation Centres

Activity: Closed Captioning

A television that is capable of displaying closed captioning (CC) can be used as a literacy tool. A closed-captioned television program displays text on the screen, corresponding to the words being spoken. The learner / viewer is able to hear the correct pronunciation of words as she reads them, while the pictures reinforce comprehension.

Regularly televised closed-captioned programs may run too fast to benefit learners with intellectual / developmental disabilities. Instead, a captioned videocassette (or a taped program with subtitles) can be used. The screen can be paused at regular intervals so that the tutor and leaner can focus on text at a manageable pace.

Advice:

It will be helpful for comprehension to watch a video segment several times before tackling the on-screen text.
The tutor should preview videos to check content and technical quality. Is the pace of captioning too fast for the learner? Is there too much dialogue in the scene? Are captions readable?
When using this technique, the learner should choose the topics of the videos to study to ensure they are interested in what is being watched and read.

Adapted from:
George H. Maginnis. Captioned Video Cassettes: A Source of Reading Material. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Reading Association. Anaheim, CA, May 3-7, 1987.