Every time I borrow a DVD from the médiathèque, I always check first to see if there are subtitles in French because reading while listening helps increases my comprehension and vocabulary. I know that closed captioning and subtitles are not always exactly what the characters say, but it’s still better than nothing. Especially since I can’t watch my beloved French in Action videos online anymore because they are only available to people who are in North America.
However, I’m having a problem finding DVDs here that include any closed captioning or subtitling at all. The past three movies that I’ve borrowed had none. In the English-speaking world, 6 out of 7 people use closed captioning as a way of learning English as a Second Language, and they have no hearing disabilities whatsoever. I wish France would see the value in closed captioning, for the deaf and hard-of-hearing people, as well as for those of us who are desperately trying to learn French!
