Reinventing Subtitling for Language Learning in Vocational Education

Idea

During his apprenticeship, Juan, an 18-year-old nurse, produces a short video explaining how to make a bed ergonomically. He creates English subtitles for the video in his class and uploads it to draufhaber.tv. In Italy, other apprentices in the care sector use Juan’s video and create Italian subtitles for it in their English class. Similar videos are produced by German apprentices in geriatric care who have a migrant background. In this case, the videos are subtitled in the apprentices’ mother tongue. By subtitling videos, the apprentices’ language skills are effectively strengthened as part of their on-the-job learning. The video production itself fosters a sense of professional identity and supports the development of media skills.

Background

User-generated content, as a key feature of Web 2.0 applications, offers enormous learning potential in vocational education. By producing explanatory videos on a specific work task, apprentices deepen their understanding of the task and develop an awareness of the complexity of their work, which in turn fosters a sense of commitment to their profession. Knowledge of foreign languages and mobility are two sides of the same coin. Mobility is a ‘basic qualification’ for European employees. The care sector is particularly well-suited to this project due to the increasing number of employees and clients from migrant backgrounds. For a long time, subtitles were overlooked as a teaching tool. By the mid-1980s, it had been demonstrated that subtitles do not distract attention from the spoken word, but are always perceived as additional information. Web 2.0 offers the opportunity to provide audiovisual content independently with subtitles. The production of subtitles is an active method of language learning because it requires various considerations and the use of contextual knowledge.

Products

ReSoLVe aims to develop the German video platform draufhaber.tv to meet European usability standards. draufhaber.tv is set to become a European video platform used by young people during their career guidance or vocational training to explain how to carry out work-related tasks. In doing so, it provides a module within the European information space as well as within the European space for lifelong learning. By applying the highest European standards of data security, draufhaber.tv offers young people a suitable space for their self-produced videos. The platform will be translated into English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Russian. The establishment of a multilingual video platform aims to disseminate professional or practice-oriented content produced by young people across Europe. In ReSoLVE, apprentices in the care sector are producing their own explanatory videos on a specific work task and adding subtitles to them during foreign language lessons. This enables a precise alignment between professional activities and the foreign language. In a second stage, these video resources will be shared amongst partners, providing learning opportunities on foreign work practices.