Interpretation of an audiovisual documentary by deaf and hearing adolescents: The importance of subtitling

This study investigated types of expository texts, which have been less explored than narrative texts. The main objective was to analyze the interpretation of an audiovisual documentary by 2. groups of adolescents, one group of 20. hearing adolescents and another group of 20. deaf adolescents aged 12 to 19. years, and to assess the contribution of subtitles to the interpretations of the group with hearing loss. The documentary contained material on the social sciences, geography and history curricula required by compulsory secondary education. After viewing the documentary, the participants were asked to list its contents. The results showed significant differences in the interpretation of the documentary, both in the lower number of contents noted by deaf adolescents and in the type of content that most attracted their attention. These differences disappeared when the deaf adolescents viewed the film with subtitles. © 2012 AELFA.