ENHANCING VOCABULARY THROUGH ENGLISH MOVIES: A STUDY OF PAKISTANI ESL LEARNERS

Abstract

This study investigates how exposure to English-language movies with same language subtitles enhances the vocabulary knowledge of Pakistani ESL Learners. The study adopted a mixed-methods research design, consisting of a quantitative one group pre-test/post-test approach followed by a qualitative sequential design. Based on the Noticing Hypothesis of Schmidt, Dual Coding Theory of Paivio, and incidental vocabulary learning model of Nation, vocabulary learning improves. The study is conducted with third-year BS English students of a public university in Punjab. Participants watched the films Forrest Gump and Freedom Writers for four weeks with English subtitles and participated in reflective vocabulary activities on the researcher-designed worksheets. The quantitative analysis showed that students' vocabulary improved significantly, as indicated by the analysis conducted in JASP. The overall mean score increased from 22.50 (56.25%) in the pre-test to 32.23 (80.58%) in the post-test, with a mean gain of 9.73 marks. The results of the paired-samples t-test confirmed the significance of the results (p < .001) and a Cohen's d value of 5.25 suggested a very large practical effect. The qualitative results obtained from the interviews with the 10 participants showed positive attitude towards the view of movies with subtitles overwhelming. The study concludes that structured film-based learning is an effective and feasible approach for enhancing vocabulary knowledge and communicative competence among ESL learners in Pakistani universities.