Online learning
Do live captions raise online L2 course grades?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Live Zoom transcripts did not raise academic reading grades, but they helped lower-proficiency students join more in-class activities.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Other — 2×2 quasi-experiment crossing L2 proficiency with Zoom live-transcript availability
- N
- N=129 · 129 science/engineering sophomores after attendance exclusions
- Population
- Japanese university students in synchronous Zoom English academic reading classes
- Outcome
- Reading grades and in-class participation with vs without live transcripts
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
Key findings
Higher-proficiency students outperformed lower-proficiency peers on grades regardless of transcripts, and transcripts did not significantly improve grades for either group. With transcripts available, lower-proficiency students participated more; without them, they completed fewer activities. Both proficiency groups generally viewed transcripts positively despite accuracy concerns.
Methodology
In a Japanese university English academic reading course taught synchronously on Zoom, researchers used a 2×2 design crossing L2 proficiency with transcript availability across four classes taught by the same instructor. After excluding incomplete attendance, 129 science and engineering sophomores remained; grades, participation, and perceptions were compared.
Limitations
Classes were not randomly assigned students, transcript accuracy was imperfect, and no questionnaire was given to no-transcript classes, so mechanisms and causal certainty are limited. Findings are tied to one academic reading course in Japan.
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
In a Japanese Zoom academic-reading course, 129 sophomores remained after attendance exclusions (class sizes about 30–34 per cell). Higher-proficiency students outperformed lower-proficiency peers on grades regardless of live transcripts; transcripts did not significantly improve grades for either group. Lower-proficiency students participated more with transcripts available. Both proficiency groups generally viewed transcripts positively on questionnaires despite accuracy concerns — a Likert/perception win without a grade win.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
High Likert approval is not a common learning result. Peer-video students preferred peer content to lectures; transcript groups viewed captions positively; German students’ learning-success satisfaction tracked teacher digital-competence ratings (0.39). Transcripts still did not raise grades, and the emotional-interface Likert measures did not rise even when recall did. Treating 'students rated it well' as 'students learned more' collides those papers.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Open questions
Tensions this paper is part of
From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.
High Likert approval is not a common learning result. Peer-video students preferred peer content to lectures; transcript groups viewed captions positively; German students’ learning-success satisfaction tracked teacher digital-competence ratings (0.39). Transcripts still did not raise grades, and the emotional-interface Likert measures did not rise even when recall did. Treating 'students rated it well' as 'students learned more' collides those papers.
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Same topic cluster — not a recommendation engine.