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STUDY ONE technical language in the movie or TV show as subtitles can help her understand the different accents the characters use in the movie or (television) series (Mitterer-McQueen 2009). Lucas also points out that he does not consume anything in Hungarian but uses English subtitles so that when he cannot hear something, he can check it. He also adds that “Subtitles help me a lot. I think when one hears and sees something at the same time, they learn much faster”. Lina points out that a lot depends on the genre of the movie or series as well since films with a simpler plot or story are easier to follow and understand. In her words: It generally depends on how advanced the vocabulary is that they’re using, for example, the show Friends, which has lots of everyday conversations, I can watch it in English, but for instance, a more “complex” fantasy movie, where I have to understand what’s what and all the “mythical” and difficult things, Id rather watch them in English with English or Hungarian subtitles so I can enjoy it. These thoughts of the participants also reflect on the literature in which it is asserted that regardless of language (i.e., whether they use intralingual or interlingual subtitles), subtitles reduce the cognitive burden on language learners, which results in an easier comprehension of the content of the videos (Baranowska 2020). In addition, the lexical coverage of movies, i.e., how many different vocabulary items and how complex these items are, is also highly dependent on the genre, so sitcoms, such as Friends, are indeed more likely to be comprehended with less effort than movies or series with difficult scientific terms (Webb—Rodgers 2009). Interviewees were also asked whether they could remember any words, expressions, or phrases that they learned from movies or TV shows. The most common phrases were either everyday expressions, such as “let’s get it over with” or “I beg your pardon.” Sandra claims that these common expressions are not present in coursebooks, and most of these words and expressions are frequently used. In her words: “[Things] they say often, but [are] not in textbooks.” Indeed, as Qiang et al. (2007) point out, movies are an excellent way for learners to encounter idiomatic L2 language use and familiarize themselves with the target language culture. Many participants mentioned that they learned technical terms related to certain topics, such as “warfare” and the different types of weapons from movies, and terms related to religions, such as “monk” from the TV show Vikings. From participants’ accounts, it becomes evident that they demonstrate a preference for watching films and series in the original language, usually the English language. Furthermore, participants show awareness of the benefits of watching films and series in English when striving to improve their EFL skills. «77 ¢
