The use of audio description in foreign language education

Abstract

Abstract Audio description (AD) is a type of audiovisual translation (AVT) used for making video content accessible to the blind and visually impaired. Over the last decade, the pedagogic potential of AVT in foreign language learning (FLL) has gained increasing recognition by experts. However, AD as a didactic tool in FLL is an innovative area that has received very little attention so far, despite its significant potential for language learners. In addition, many experts in Applied Linguistics have shown a growing interest in the study of fluency, pronunciation and intonation. With these ideas in mind the author of the present article has carried out a small scale preliminary experiment with university students of Spanish as a foreign language. This article presents the methodological framework of the experiment which includes the instruments for data gathering. Although only six students completed the experiment, their responses were positive and encouraging as they found active AD tasks useful for language learning. It is hoped that the lessons learnt will inform the methodological framework for larger scale studies.