English Subtitled Movies as a Pedagogical Tool: Exploring Lived Experiences Regarding Vocabulary Acquisition and Grammatical Competence among Junior High School Students

Abstract

English proficiency is a critical academic requirement, many students struggle with the cognitive demands of vocabulary acquisition and grammatical mastery in traditional settings, therefore the study explored the lived experiences of Junior High School (JHS) students at Zosimo Magdadaro National High School (ZMNHS) regarding the use of English-subtitled movies as a pedagogical intervention. Anchored in Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and Clark and Paivio’s Dual Coding Theory, the research utilized a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological design. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with eight purposively selected participants and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis framework. The findings revealed four major themes: (1) Subtitles as Scaffolding for Second Language (L2) Input, where students perceived subtitles as a vital bridge for comprehending complex dialogue and noticing linguistic patterns; (2) Working the Subtitles: Self-Regulated Viewing, highlighting active strategies such as pausing, replaying, and contextual inferencing to internalize new lexicon; (3) Walking the Line Between Fun and Learning, which uncovered the cognitive tension between entertainment and the processing demands of fast-paced text; and (4) Perceived Linguistic Growth, where students reported improved spelling, pronunciation, and functional grammar. The results suggest that English-subtitled movies serve as a potent form of supported immersion, facilitating incidental learning and increasing learner engagement. The study concludes that integrating subtitled multimedia into the Philippine English curriculum can provide a cognitively supportive, learner-centered approach to language acquisition. Recommendations include the deliberate use of audio-visual materials to supplement traditional instruction and address persistent gaps in communicative performance among Filipino learners.