| Resumo: | This paper explores the effects of intralingual and interlingual subtitles on Brazilian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ processing and video comprehension of a North-American sitcom. More specifically, it looks at the effects of intralingual and interlingual subtitles on learners’ general and specific video comprehension. Thirty-six intermediate-level EFL learners, enrolled at the Extracurricular Language Courses at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), were equally divided into two experimental groups (intralingual subtitles and interlingual subtitles) and one control group (no subtitles). Participants’ performance was measured based on a general and specific video comprehension test. Data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Regarding the effects of subtitles on video comprehension, statistical tests and analyses performed revealed that intralingual subtitles were found to be more beneficial in terms of learners’ general and specific video comprehension than interlingual subtitles, which in turn were found to be more effective than no subtitles. Still, participants’ performance in the experimental conditions did not differ statistically. These results are discussed in light of the possible different processing mechanisms and potentials that both intralingual and interlingual subtitles may offer for L2 learning/instructional purposes.
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