Audiovisual translation in foreign language education: the use of intralingual dubbing to improve speed, intonation and pronunciation in spontaneous speech

Sanchez-Requena, Alicia (2017) Audiovisual translation in foreign language education: the use of intralingual dubbing to improve speed, intonation and pronunciation in spontaneous speech. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

Recent studies have shown that the current situation of foreign language learning in England seems to be discouraging in comparison with the European average (British Council, 2013; European Commission, 2013). The fact that numerous cities are becoming multilingual nowadays emphasises the usefulness of opening up to other communities. Bearing this in mind, communicating verbally with others in another language can be seen as a convenient skill to develop in the foreign language classroom. In an attempt to satisfy the need to practise oral conversations and offer innovative options in the context of England, new didactic approaches are being considered. Amongst these, the active use of techniques traditionally employed in audiovisual translation has proved to have a positive impact on foreign language learning (Talaván, 2013; Incalcaterra and Lertola, 2014; Baños and Sokoli, 2015). This thesis examines the effect of the technique of intralingual dubbing (where students replace the original voices of actors in video clips) on Spanish oral production. There are two main aims. The first is to provide objective evidence to support the hypothesis that the use of intralingual dubbing can enhance students’ speed, intonation and pronunciation when speaking spontaneously in Spanish as a foreign language. The second is to create a teaching and learning toolkit on the subject for teachers. To this end, a total of 94 students aged 16–19 with a B1–B2 level of Spanish dubbed videos in several stages. In addition, 28 teachers received training on dubbing activities and five of them implemented the activities in their classes with a total of 26 students. The data is triangulated qualitatively and quantitatively. Results confirm that the main hypothesis serve as evidence to support the theoretical justification for the inclusion of active AVT techniques in FL speaking classes.