A film and substrate consisting of poly(ethylene terephthalate) were adhered by means of film-insert molding. Two injection speeds (i.e., 50 and 500 mm/s) were chosen to induce different shear rates (and molecular orientation) between the film and the substrate. Annealing was subsequently performed on these specimens at different times and temperatures to examine the extent of orientation-induced crystallization of the substrate surfaces embedded under the film. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms clearly indicated a shift in the position of the secondary (P) crystalline phase toward a higher temperature in specimens molded at a 500 mm/s injection speed, suggesting that a more densely packed and well-formed crystalline structure was generated because of higher localized orientation of molecules. Polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses provided dichroic ratios of the 1340- and 1410-cm(-1) wavelengths, which corresponded to the trans-glycol conformer and the stable benzene ring, respectively. Drastic increases in the dichroic ratios were observed, especially in specimens molded at a 500 mm/s injection speed after being annealed for 1 min, This could have been caused by the reorientation of molecules fueled by residual stresses, particularly in regions experiencing high shear during molding. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.