Cover not available

Article published In: Translation Spaces: Online-First Articles

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB

Visual attention, perception, and performance of international students in EMI lectures with automatic live intralingual subtitles

ORCiD logo with link | University of Antwerp
ORCiD logo with link | University of Antwerp
ORCiD logo with link | University of Antwerp
Open Access logo
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with University of Antwerp.

Published online: 2 February 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.25017.van
Abstract
This article presents a study that examines how international university students perform in English Medium Instruction (EMI) lectures with live intralingual subtitles, or lectures in which the lecturer’s words are subtitled in real time in the same language as the speaker. It investigates which study variables are predictive of the students’ performance, taking into account perception, visual attention and cognitive load. Two one-hour simulated Research Methodology lectures were examined to determine the effects of live subtitling. The lectures were in English for international students. Automatic voice recognition was used for the live subtitling. Data collection used: online language tests; an online demographic questionnaire; online questionnaires regarding the lecture content and students’ perceptions and academic motivation; and eye tracking glasses to gauge visual attention and cognitive load. Findings show that students did not benefit from subtitles as much as expected, suggesting that the presence of subtitles may not significantly enhance comprehension or retention for all learners.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework and research questions
    • 2.1EMI
    • 2.2Live subtitles
    • 2.3Multimedia Learning Theory of Mayer (2021)
    • 2.4Research questions
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Experimental design
    • 3.2Participants
    • 3.3Material
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Entire group: Comparison between subtitled condition and unsubtitled condition
    • 4.2Entire Group: Focus on subtitled condition
    • 4.3Subgroup: Comparison between subtitled condition and unsubtitled condition
    • 4.4Subgroup: Focus on subtitled condition
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Websites
References (31)
References
Bain, Keith., Basson, Sara., and Wald, Mike. 2002. Speech recognition in university classrooms. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies, ASSETS 2002, July 8–10, 2002, Edinburgh.
Chan, Wing Shan., Kruger, Jan-Louis, and Doherty, Stephen. 2019. “Comparing the impact of automatically-generated and corrected subtitles on cognitive load and learning in a first and second language educational context.” Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series: Themes in Translation Studies 181: 237–272.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dafouz, Emma., and Gray, John. 2022. “Rethinking the roles of ELT in English-medium education in multilingual university settings: An introduction.” ELT Journal 76 (2): 163–171. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Di Giovanni, Elena. 2018. “The reception of professional and non-professional subtitles: Agency, awareness, and change.” Cultus 111: 18–37.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Field, Andy. 2018. Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. University of Sussex.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Galloway, Nicola., Numajiri, Takuya, and Rees, Nerys. 2020. “The “internationalisation”, or “Englishisation”, of higher education in East Asia.” Higher Education 80 (3): 395–414. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kuteeva, Maria. 2020. “Revisiting the “E” in EMI: Students’ perceptions of standard English, lingua franca and translingual practices.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 23 (3): 287–300. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Leppink, Jimmie, and van den Heuvel, Angelique. 2015. “The evolution of cognitive load theory and its application to medical education”. Perspectives on Medical Education 4 (3): 119–127. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Macaro, Ernesto, Curle, Samantha, Pun, Jack, An, Jianshang, and Dearden, Julie. 2018. “A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education.” Language Teaching 51 (1): 36–76. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Macaro, Ernesto. 2024. “English-medium instruction: Theoretical and applied perspectives.” In The Routledge Handbook of English-Medium Instruction in Higher Education, edited by Kingsley Bolton, Werner Botha, and Benedict Lin, 21–34. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mayer, Richard E. 2021. Multimedia learning: Third edition. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nachtrab, Michaela, and Mössner, Sarah. 2017. “Speech-to-text and online respeaking in Switzerland”. In Barrier-free Communication: Methods and Products, edited by Susanne J. Jekat, and Gary Massey, 16–22. Winterthur: ZHAW.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Perego, Elisa. 2016. “Is subtitling equally effective everywhere? A first cross-national study on the reception of interlingually subtitled messages.” Across Languages and Cultures 171: 203–227. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Richards, Jack C., and Pun, Jack. 2022. Teaching and Learning in English Medium Instruction: An Introduction. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Robert, Isabelle S., De Meulder, Amaury, and Schrijver, Iris. 2021. “Live subtitling for access to education: A pilot study of university students’ reception of intralingual live subtitles.” JoSTrans 36 a1: 53–78. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Romero-Fresco, Pablo. 2009. More haste less speed: Edited versus verbatim respoken subtitles. VIAL 61: 109–133.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2011. Subtitling through speech recognition: Respeaking. St Jerome.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ruiz-Arroyo, Adrian, Garcia-Crespo, Angel, Fuenmayor-Gonzalez, Francisco, and Rodriguez-Goncalves, Roxana. 2024. “Comparative analysis between a respeaking captioning system and a captioning system without human intervention.” Universal Access in the Information Society 231: 167–178. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ryba, Ken, McIvor, Tom, Shakir, Maha, and Paez, Di. 2006. “Liberated learning: Analysis of university students’ perceptions and experiences with continuous automated speech recognition.” E-J. Instructional Science and technology 9 (1): 1–19.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schmitt, Norbert, Schmitt, Diane, and Clapham, Caroline. 2001. “Developing and exploring the behaviour of two new versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test.” Language Testing 18 (1): 55–58. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Smit, Ute. 2023. “English-Medium Instruction (EMI).” ELT Journal 77 (4): 499–503. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tobii. 2021. Tobii Pro Lab user manual (Version 1.181). Tobii Pro AB.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Van Gauwbergen, Yanou. Forthcoming. Quality of live intralingual subtitles during EMI lectures: A case study. inTRAlinea.
. 2025. Intralingual live subtitling in EMI lectures: Investigating student performance, perception, visual attention, and cognitive load. Dissertation, University of Antwerp.
Van Gauwbergen, Yanou, Robert, Isabelle S., and Schrijver, Iris. Forthcoming. Do EMI students benefit from intralingual live subtitles? Insights from an eye tracking study. trans-kom.
. 2025. “Intralingual live subtitling in EMI lectures in Flanders: Students’ perceptions and performance.” Parallèles 37 (2): 144–161. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2024. “The effect of intralingual live subtitling on students’ performance and perception in EMI lectures in Flanders: A pilot study.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 72 (1): 1–16. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Van Hoecke, Senne. 2023. Subtitles for access to education: The impact of subtitles, subtitle language and linguistic proficiency on cognitive load, comprehension, reading and processing in different styles of asynchronous, online university lectures. Dissertation, University of Antwerp.
Vermunt, Jan, Donche, Vincent, and Van Petegem, Peter. 2022. Vragenlijst LEMO. Plantyn.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Websites
Council of Europe. 2001. Self-assessment grid: Table 2 (CEFR 3.3): Common reference levels. [URL]
Education First. Standardized English listening test. [URL]
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue