We all love movies, but did you know that they play a very important role in language learning for foreign audiences?
In fact, 79% of people say that movies helped them learn English, with Harry Potter being a particularly popular choice.
However, this makes the quality of movie dubbing extra important, as any mistakes in the translation may be replicated by worldwide audiences.
The Role & Benefits of Dubbing in Language Learning
Watching movies or a TV series with dubbing is not just a hobby; It also helps when studying a foreign language. Thus, you can combine usefulness with entertainment.
However, producers should understand that the accuracy of the dub in any movie is the key to global understanding, and fixing mistakes like this can be costly after the dubs have been released to the world.
Production companies should ensure they use human translation services over AI for the best quality, as AI translation is usually only around 80% accurate. An AI writing checker will help content creators confirm that the translation they receive from freelancers was indeed performed by a native linguist with cultural expertise.
But what are the benefits to the audience?
Vocabulary
One of the most important advantages of using dubbing in language learning is the expansion of vocabulary. Many films and TV series cover completely different topics: medicine, history, navigation, forensics, and much more. Depending on students’ interests and goals, they can choose something with a suitable theme.
Thus, the American TV series “House M.D.” will help you learn many medical terms. Starting from the names of organs and ending with the names of diseases and surgical instruments. Don’t forget to turn on subtitles in your own native language so you can learn the translation of words while listening to accurate pronunciation.
Sitcoms are also a good option for expanding your vocabulary. If you don’t want to watch something serious and long and don’t want to overload your brain, you can always watch sitcoms with dubbing. They mainly use vocabulary that is used in everyday life and can benefit the average conversation of language learners.
Grammar
It is more difficult to learn grammar through dubbed films and TV series than vocabulary since the focus is on audio. Nevertheless, you can find some grammatical constructions and subsequently use them as examples while learning.
This is often achieved by paying close attention to subtitles, captions, and transcripts alongside the video.
Cultural content
Another advantage of watching dubbed movies when learning a language is the cultural aspect. To learn and delve into the country’s history, it is worth choosing TV series or movies of the appropriate genre. Word-for-word translation is actually not the best way to learn the culture surrounding a language. Transcreation is the process of translating content to be dubbed, where culture is also translated to fit the new audience, such as when Pokemon translated ‘onigiri’, a Japanese rice snack, to ‘jelly-filled doughnuts’ for American audiences.
Another example is idioms and phrases. Some sayings only exist in one language, so they cannot be translated in a way that makes sense. Dubbed movies will instead use the most similar saying, giving the audience a more accurate and cultural use of language over regular translation.
In addition to the above advantages, using dubbed movies in the learning process will maintain, increase, or even create motivation since it is more enjoyable than traditional learning methods.
Dubbing provides a glimpse into the local culture, not just a word-for-word translation of the original.
Natural contexts
Dubbing can provide students with the opportunity to listen to a foreign language in natural contexts while still being able to see the text in their native language. This can be particularly useful for developing listening and comprehension skills.
Conclusion
Overall, dubbing’s role in language learning is undoubtedly important. It contributes to the dissemination of cultural content around the world, facilitating access to film, television, and video materials in different languages.
Dubbing also plays an important role in the teaching and learning of foreign languages and the study of the impact of translation on linguistic and cultural adaptation.
Discover Dubbing Services
Cultural Sensitivity in Dubbing
More from this author
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores such as Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, if you click on a link and make a
purchase, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
