Identify a large positive effect for subtitled original version broadcasts, as opposed to dubbed television, on English proficiency scores; governments could promote subtitling

TV or not TV? The impact of subtitling on English skills. Augusto Rupérez Micola, Ainoa Aparicio Fenoll, Albert Banal-Estañol, Arturo Bris. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2018.12.019

Highlights
•    We provide a fundamental and novel explanation of the quality of English spoken worldwide–the translation mode of foreign movies and shows in television.
•    We identify a large positive effect for subtitled original version broadcasts, as opposed to dubbed television, on English proficiency scores.
•    We analyze the historical circumstances under which countries opted for one of the translation modes and use it to account for the possible endogeneity of the subtitling indicator.
•    We disaggregate the results by type of skills - listening comprehension, speaking, reading and writing - and find that television is an especially beneficial tool for listening comprehension.
•    Our paper suggests that governments could promote subtitling as a means to improve foreign language proficiency which, in turn, enhances economic performance.

Abstract: We study the influence of television translation techniques on the worldwide distribution of English-speaking skills. We identify a large positive effect for subtitled original version broadcasts, as opposed to dubbed television, on English proficiency scores. We analyze the historical circumstances under which countries opted for one of the translation modes and use it to account for the possible endogeneity of the subtitling indicator. We disaggregate the results by type of skills and find that television works especially well for listening comprehension. Our paper suggests that governments could promote subtitling as a means to improve foreign language proficiency.