Who can benefit from captioned television?
The original purpose of captions was to make television meaningful for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers. However, captions also have great potential to serve people of all ages who are learning to read. For those learning English as a second language, captions can reinforce vocabulary and help them learn expressions and speech patterns in spoken English which are not always reflected in written English. The National Parent Teacher Association, The National Education Association, and Action for Children´s Television are among the organizations which have recognized the educational benefits of captioning. Even former First Lady Barbara Bush has championed captioning as an aid to reading and increasing literacy. How can I use captions in the classroom? Educators use closed captioned television programs to improve literacy, build reading fluency and assist in teaching English as a second language. One high school teacher uses captioned tapes of popular programs in his remedial reading clas
