Jane King’s research while affiliated with Soochow University and other places

DVDs have substantially replaced traditional VHS videotapes as the movie medium of the new millennium. In addition to their compactness and availability, there are a variety of special features offered on DVDs, including interactive menus, theatrical trailers, behind-the-scenes commentary, foreign languages, captions and subtitles, and immediate scene access. With these special features, DVD feature films provide a wide array of pedagogical options and represent a rich resource of intrinsically motivating materials for learners. This study is three-fold in nature: the first part is devoted to a discussion of film-viewing approaches; it then provides an assessment on the use of closed-captioned and non-closed-captioned DVD feature films for different levels of learners. Finally, suggestions are provided for choosing appropriate films to promote active viewing and interaction in order to maximize classroom application of DVD feature films.