Audiovisual Translation in Language Education

Audiovisual translation (AVT) encompasses the adaptation of spoken and visual content through subtitling, dubbing and related modes to support language learning. In contemporary pedagogy, AVT serves as both a rich source of authentic input and an active learning task, engaging learners in decoding and producing language in context. By integrating visual cues, paralinguistic features and cultural references, AVT stimulates multiple facets of communicative competence, including listening, reading, speaking and intercultural awareness. Didactic applications range from creative dubbing and subtitling projects, which foster oral and written production, to structured audio description and captioning tasks that develop technical translation skills and deepen metalinguistic reflection. The global proliferation of digital media platforms has facilitated access to diverse audiovisual materials, enabling educators to tailor tasks to proficiency levels and cultural objectives. As a result, AVT in language education has evolved into a versatile pedagogical approach that bridges theoretical frameworks—such as task-based learning and content and language integrated learning—with practical classroom and online implementations.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Audiovisual Translation in Language Education publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in audiovisual translation in language education across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Audiovisual translation (AVT): The adaptation of multimedia content through methods such as subtitling, dubbing and audio description to bridge source and target languages.

Subtitling: The process of rendering spoken dialogue into written text displayed on screen, either interlingually (between languages) or intralingually (within the same language).

Dubbing: The replacement of original speech in a film or video with a new audio track in the target language, synchronised to lip movements and timing.

Audio description: A verbal narration that conveys visual elements and actions for learners or viewers who cannot access non-verbal content.

Funsubbing/Fundubbing: Creative learner-centred activities in which students generate informal or playful subtitles or dubbed audio, often diverging from literal translation to cultivate engagement and creativity.

Subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH): A specialised form of subtitling that includes non-dialogue sounds and speaker identification to support comprehension and accessibility.

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL): An educational approach in which language learning occurs through the study of subject content, promoting simultaneous development of both language and disciplinary knowledge.

References

1. Creative Audiovisual Translation Applied to Foreign Language Education. Journal of Audiovisual Translation (2019).
2. Didactic audiovisual translation. Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts (2023).
3. Enhancing Foreign-Language Creativity: A Didactic Approach through Audio Description. Complutense Journal of English Studies (2024).
4. InnoDAT—An Innovative Project Based on Subtitling for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing for Learning Languages and Cultures. Languages (2023).
5. Developing L2 Intercultural Competence in an Online Context through Didactic Audiovisual Translation. Languages (2023).