Sociocultural and Pragmatic Perspectives in Countries that Use Dubbing for Multimedia Translation. Implications for Foreign Language Teaching

Abstract

Sociocultural and pragmatic perspectives have semiotic implications that differ greatly between different countries. These have important cultural implications in the way multimedia cultural products are produced and received. The learning of foreign language, specifically English, has become widely excepted as an unconditional norm. The current global context has created a need for successful and efficient teaching and learning. Consequently, this has made the research in the field of second language acquisition significantly active in the past decades. The use of subtitled audio – visual material in foreign language teaching is considered an innovative strategy for foreign language instruction. It is an effective teaching tool since it enhances second language learning both from linguistic and sociocultural perspective. The full potential of the use of subtitles in classroom practice is still to be explored. However, the recent findings in regard are more than encouraging. This paper aims to provide a set of evidence on the multifaceted implications the subtitled audio – visual materials have for second language learning. It analyses this process from theoretical aspect considering all the elements involved in second language learning through watching subtitled films and TV series, while denoting possible directions for its implementation in foreign language teaching. The proposal is based on the indicators which show a certain connection between the use of subtitles for films and TV series as a general system for multimedia translation and the level of proficiency in English language specifically. The research in this field is still limited, so there is a large number of lines of investigation to carry out which could allow learners who are exposed to foreign language only in classroom to benefit from as greatly as possible.