Using Audio Description for Language Learning

You may have noticed while changing the language or subtitles on netflix, an option called 'audio description' or even on television programmes, a symbol that says AD which represents that audio description is available. Generally audio description will only be available in the language the TV show was produced in although there may be some exceptions.

The intended use of audio description is to allow blind or visually impaired individuals to understand more of what is happening during the silent and action oriented parts of a show or movie. When this setting is active, a narrator will describe the actions that are taking place, such as 'man with scruffy hair walks down a long corridor.'

Audio description logo on UK television

More content in the same time frame

As language learners we can take advantage of this setting in two main ways. First of all it gives us more immersion time giving us more words per minute, especially in cases where a TV show has a lot of dead air. 

Its not uncommon for TV shows and movies to have really long drawn out sequences where there is no dialogue and characters are looking for something or something is about to be revealed and the director wants to show their use of music to build tension.

Times like this are when audio description shines. The once dead air now comes alive with descriptions of all the actions taking place allowing you to get more of a sense of how natives would express that action or the look on someone's face. Here is an example taken from the Korean show 비밀의 숲.

Descriptions that describe

Second advantage I've found is, the sentences are much more literary due to their descriptive nature. This can help us better understand verbs as the actions are being described on screen and the adjectives one would use in that situation.

The literary nature of these descriptions means that if we combine this with regular reading of fiction books, we can see and hear these words more commonly allowing one to memorise them easier. Having many hours in reading will also allow you to understand the audio description better and I can imagine inversely that if you listened to a lot of audio description and could pick out the words it would make reading easier for you.

Best case scenario would be to use both a lot so you can reinforce, the sort of 'sub-domain', of descriptive language. Understanding the commonly used words will also make you better at describing things yourself and give you more ammunition for your writing.

Example of descriptive language found in writing

Down sides to audio description.

While the upsides are fantastic for very little investment there are a few disadvantages. There will be times when you do not want to listen to something so hardcore. Sometimes we can just be too tired to be constantly hearing our target language blasted into our brain for an hour straight with minimal pauses. If you're just too tired to deal with it, it can be more frustrating than it is helpful.

Another problem is that there are no subtitles or transcripts for the audio description. Many learners will be fine with this as they are used to their target language not have much subs for content. 

This is mainly a disadvantage to those who heavily rely on the use of subtitles in their watching time but also if you want to know what that one noise they keep saying is you'll have to ask someone or just face the fact you won't know until later on. 

Sometimes listening too much can be annoying

Conclusion 

Audio description is a fantastic tool for language learning, as I state in my article, the role of listening in language learning,  the role of listening is develop the sounds in your head and almost like a review for the words that you know. Once we take this mindset we can allow ourselves to let the language enter our ears and focus on what is being said in the moment as opposed to trying to understand sentences gone by. 

Audio description is a great tool for having a much more densely packed watching experience that is great for language learners that love to optimise their learning. Making listening more akin to pure audio like a radio show or audiobook but not quite at the density of a full book.

Although for most people, our main source of audio description content will come from Netflix. When using Netflix it is also possible to search specifically for shows that have audio description.  If you are lucky enough to live in the country of your target language, you should be able to find the option on TV and readily available for most TV shows.

Netflix audio description is available in the bottom right corner

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