How to sell your product: a lesson plan on dubbing to foster students’ communicative skills

When learning a new language, improving speaking skills can prove challenging. Didactic audiovisual translation (DAT) has gained attention in the past decade for its potential in language learning, with extensive research validating its efficacy. However, application to English for specific purposes (ESP) is scarcer, despite demonstrated effectiveness (see, for instance, Ávila-Cabrera González-Vera, 2021; Talaván, 2006). This paper presents two lesson plans aimed to foster ESP students’ oral production skills following a communicative approach. Whereas a control group (CG) followed a traditional approach to speaking skills enhancement, the experimental group (EG) undertook active dubbing tasks. The methodology and materials are presented with the tasks and rubric used in evaluating students’ performance. Findings indicate that students encounter challenges, particularly in speaking activities. Meanwhile, DAT emerges as a promising approach to enhancing motivation, encouraging students to recognize its significance in improving speaking skills. Future studies should analyse dubbing sequences to gain further insights into the potential improvement of speaking skills among EG students.