This is a very good idea (outlined in this article from The Guardian) and is supported by my own anecdotal evidence. I am a student of Spanish and enjoy watching Spanish TV shows. I struggle to understand the shows from the dialogue only but if I use subtitles – Spanish subtitles – my understanding of the show increases dramatically because I can understand more Spanish through reading than I can through listening.
If TV programmes, particularly ones aimed at children, had same language subtitles, I am sure that reading and literacy would improve because children would be exposed to more written words and would become more familiar with various sound combinations and with spellings. Once parents were encouraged to read to young children and then children were encouraged to read to themselves. In the modern age, with much less exposure to books, for a variety of reasons, the idea of exposure to the written word through TV subtitles is a very good one. The fact is it is more common for children to watch TV than to read books and this is a straightforward way to use that TV time for an educational purpose.
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