Intralingual dubbing as a tool for developing speaking skills

Communicating verbally with others is one of the main features of human behaviour, but the time employed in class to practise this skill is often insufficient. In an attempt to overcome the need to practise oral conversations and help students feel less anxious in foreign language (FL) contexts, new didactic approaches are being considered. Amongst those, the active use of techniques traditionally employed in audiovisual translation (AVT) has proved to have a positive impact on FL learning. This paper examines the relationship between intralingual dubbing (students' replacement of the original voices of actors in 1 minute long clips) and FL oral expression. The main aim is to provide objective evidence that the use of intralingual dubbing can enhance speed, intonation and pronunciation when speaking spontaneously in Spanish as a FL. A total of 47 participants aged 16–18 with a B1 level of Spanish dubbed videos for 12 weeks. Data is triangulated both qualitatively and quantitatively. Results confirm the main hypothesis and serve as evidence to support theoretical aspects of the inclusion of active AVT techniques in FL speaking classes.