According to the "Turn on the Subtitles" (TOTS) campaign, watching TV, movies and videos with the same language subtitles has important benefits for kids, both as a teaching tool and for entertainment. It helps students to develop their reading and comprehension skills, to enrich their vocabulary, as well as to learn other languages. This is also a great help for kids with disabilities or who speak a minority language.
The TOTS campaign calls for broadcasters and streamers to turn on their subtitles by default for viewers from 6 to 10 years old, seeking to raise parents' awareness of the big advantages that the use of subtitles can have in enhancing their children's reading abilities, while providing a better access to viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Moreover, watching foreign language films and TV programs with subtitles is a good way to motivate kids to start learning other languages. Research has shown that kids can extend their vocabulary and improve their level in other languages just by watching subtitled foreign language movies and TV programs. At the same time, such a habit has the potential to stimulate children's intercultural awareness. Given the widespread decline in language learning over the past decades, all the means to encourage kids to learn other languages is of crucial importance.
