In 2021, over 600,000 international students came to the UK from 100 countries. And with the ESOL sector generating £1.4bn towards the UK economy, UK institutions need to do everything they can to support international students with their studies.
And this is where Caption.Ed can help. It’s a captioning and note-taking tool used in the UK’s leading Higher Education institutions and universities. And by enhancing learning for students at University of Cambridge, University of Sheffield, Oxford University and St Andrews, Caption.Ed is transforming learning for UK ESOL students.
But how exactly does it help?
In this post, we’ll show you the key ways that Caption.Ed benefits international students. And we’ll also make the case for why you should invest in this technology to support your next intake of international students.
Improves ESOL Learners’ Comprehension
Adding live captions, or subtitles, to ESOL learners’ videos can increase rates of comprehension. And this is evident across every stage of learning.
For example, one study showed comprehension was higher for Primary ESOL learners when videos included full captioning.
And another revealed that adding captions to Instagram helped Secondary ESOL students in Indonesia get higher scores for writing. Or at least they did when compared to ESOL students who used pictures only.
But also, Professors at the University of Nottingham and Western Ontario revealed that adding subtitles to English-spoken TV programmes increased comprehension for adult Japanese ESOL learners.
Supports Multilingual Captioning
China accounts for almost 25% of total international students arriving to the UK. And while many students arrive from other countries, it’s still popular for European students.
So it’s great that Caption.Ed supports live captioning in 12 different languages. And these include Simplified Chinese, Danish, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, German and French.
But even when students can handle a basic level of English language, adding captions will help further their language learning and assist them with accessing coursework.
Helps ESOL Learners to Improve Pronunciation
The English language is full of unusual sounds that many non-native speakers struggle to get to grips with. For example, there are twelve vowels in English but only five in Spanish.
Then when you add in regional accents and dialects, odd colloquialisms, and variations in spoken English between nations it’s a recipe for some complex navigation.
The good news is that Caption.Ed can accommodate British English, US English, Australian English and also Canadian French. Plus, when you record a lecture or seminar session with Caption.Ed, you can adjust the playback speed.to 0.5 or 0.75 during playback. And when everything slows down, students will find it easier to analyse and deconstruct meaning while they get to grips with pronunciation.
Enhances In-Person and Online Learning
Following the impact of the pandemic, most higher education institutions have adapted their systems such as LMS or VLEs. And most students are happy to have remote or hybrid access to coursework, lectures and assessments.
Even Aston University’s Biosciences Department revealed students had a positive experience of online open book assessments and said they would welcome more of these in the future. And with more students happy to engage with remote or hybrid learning, HE leaders must optimise their VLE’s. Or in other words, they should ensure that everyone has equal access to course materials online, regardless of where they work or any differences in their accessibility needs.
So, adding Caption.Ed to your students’ suite of tools would be a fantastic way to enhance accessibility and boost language learning. But it will also improve students’ confidence and give them access to English learning that’s proven to work.
Book A Demo With Our Team Today
Caption.Ed is assistive accessibility software that supports language learning in Higher Education. Developed by Dr Richard Purcell, the technology includes live captioning, transcriptions and helpful note-taking features.
And with so many international students bringing benefits to the UK economy, we’re proud to work with many leading universities to raise the bar in Higher Education English language learning.
To include Caption.Ed in your suite of tools, talk to our team. They’d be happy to book you in for a free consultation where they can reveal the full benefits of Caption.Ed.
