Paola Elizabeth Perez Garcia, BA (Hons) Education, London Metropolitan University

“Understanding a language is not just about knowing words; it’s about understanding people”

Dabbling and Language Inequality

In Spain, speaking English is seen as a golden ticket opening doors to better jobs, travel, and global connections. But mastering English isn’t always simple. One major hurdle comes from an unexpected place: Spain’s strong tradition of dubbing foreign films and TV shows.

While dubbing makes media more accessible, it cuts off valuable English listening practice something countries like the Netherlands and Sweden gain through subtitles. For Spanish adults, this hidden disadvantage only hits hard when they step into real-world conversations abroad, where English is fast, slangy, and full of unfamiliar accents.

In this blog, we’ll explore how Spain’s dubbing tradition and deeper social inequalities create barriers for Spanish-speaking adults learning English and what changes could help build a fairer, more inclusive path to language success.”

The Hidden Costs of Dubbing

Spain’s preference for dubbing foreign films and television shows traces back to the early 20th century, when the practice was institutionalized to promote national unity under authoritarian rule. Over time, it transformed from political strategy into cultural norm, so much so that most viewers today rarely engage with original audio tracks or subtitles.

While dubbing improves accessibility for local audiences, it limits learners’ natural exposure to English. Vocabulary, pronunciation, tone, and rhythm all crucial aspects of language acquisition are missing from dubbed media. As a result, Spanish adults often lack the immersive listening experiences that are essential for mastering a foreign language, particularly in casual and conversational settings.

The countries that Favor subtitling, such as the Netherlands or Sweden, generally report higher average English proficiency. This leads to an experience by the adult learners that they possess some skills which society does not consider very impressive. Some of them internalize the thought that bilingualism is not as good or even is not bilingualism at all, that it is not enough, and this attitude lowers motivation and value.

Real-World Struggles of Adult English Learners

I spent four years learning English with a private tutor in a small class of about ten people. Looking back, even after all that time, I couldn’t really speak English confidently. Most of our lessons were focused on grammar rules, worksheets, endless corrections but very little on real conversation or pronunciation.

Now, after living in an English-speaking country for over ten years, I realise just how important listening and pronunciation skills really are. Grammar is useful, but it doesn’t help much when you can’t understand people in everyday situations. Even now, my accent is still strong, and sometimes it feels like another barrier. This personal experience made me see how traditional teaching methods especially ones focused too much on grammar often leave adult learners underprepared for real-world communication.”

And this isn’t just my experience.

Many Spanish-speaking adults face the same challenges when they move to places like the UK. They’re often hit with a totally different kind of English fast, informal, full of slang and regional accents. What they learned in class doesn’t always help them in the real world.

Even after years of English classes, many adult learners struggle to understand or respond in everyday situations. Too often, this is blamed on personal failure laziness, lack of discipline, or low ability. But that’s not fair. The real issue is that the education system didn’t give them the tools they needed to succeed.

As Bolaños-García-Escribano and Navarrete (2022) suggest, language education tools including media like dubbing are not just technical choices. They reflect deeper assumptions about who has access to language learning and how that learning happens.

The Class Divide in Language Learning

The gap in language learning becomes even sharper when viewed through a socioeconomic lens. Bilingualism is not simply a useful tool for employment; it should be recognised as a basic right — a right to education, to community, and to personal dignity. Adult learners who return to education deserve systems that value them, understand their challenges, and help them succeed in multilingual environments.

However, the reality often tells a different story.

In Spain, wealthier individuals can bypass many of the common barriers. They enrol in international schools, travel abroad, or work with private language tutors. Their exposure to English is frequent, immersive, and closely aligned with real-world use. As a result, they develop strong communication skills that offer them a clear advantage in global contexts.

Meanwhile, adults from lower-income backgrounds are usually restricted to traditional classroom environments, where learning often revolves around grammar exercises and textbook-based instruction. Authentic exposure to spoken English is rare, and much of their contact with the language is limited to dubbed media. This compounds their disadvantage and makes real-life communication far more difficult (Quindós, 2024).

The result is a system that divides learners into two groups: those who have genuine opportunities to become bilingual, and those who are left behind. This division is not accidental. It is reinforced by education policies and media practices that consistently favour those with greater financial resources. Bilingualism should open doors for everyone, but in reality, it often remains a privilege for the few.

Teachers: Hidden Policymakers

Teachers play a crucial, although often overlooked, role in shaping how students experience language learning. Inside the classroom, they act as policymakers. Every choice they make from which accents they expose learners to, to whether they use authentic materials like films or podcasts carries weight. These decisions quietly inform students of what is “real English” and what they think would make a difference.

By leaning over too much towards “neutral” or “standard” varieties of English, teachers unwittingly build barriers. Learners can excel in tests but when they find real-life conversations full of regional accents, slangs, and talk in an informal manner then they will find it difficult.

This classroom-level decision making, when integrated with wider practices of the media, creates a system that readies students for written tests, but not for the wider world instead of the classroom. The adult learners get stranded in the English-speaking environments because they feel overwhelmed after trying to cope with the everyday communication as the language they learned doesn’t exist where spoken.

The first step is the identification of these gaps. But the real issue is the need for reconsidering the methods of teaching languages, deliverance of real communication to the learners and facilitation of bilingualism being practically available to all.

Towards Fairer Language Education

What an equitable method of language education may look like? A good starting point would be a national shift to subtitling of imported media instead of dubbing. Subtitles will enable learners of every socio-economic class to have passive listening skills, which much needed exposure to natural English from a young age.

Curriculum reform would also help a lot. A more inclusive curriculum would prioritise real-world communication over textbook perfection. It would encourage the use of different English accents, including non-standard and regional varieties, and recognise the value of learning through the experience of non-native speakers.

In addition, communities could offer new opportunities outside traditional classrooms. Local programmes, online platforms, and public broadcasters could work together to provide more access to authentic English. Exposure to the way English is used in everyday life not just in examinations would help learners build the skills they need to succeed.

Through these changes, European countries and Spain in particular could help a new generation of adults to develop the linguistic skills required to compete, connect, and belong in a global society.

Language as Access, Not Privilege

As a country that is strongly attached to the preservation culture, Spain is often perceived to be a member state of the EU that is most interested in dubbing foreign media. However, this practice has turned out to contradict its intended purpose of incorporating linguistic fairness. For adult learners, the consequences are personal, and they live on. Numerous people feel embarrassed when they speak in foreign languages, which means lower self-confidence, less participation, and fewer opportunities to be active participants of the global world.

Acknowledging this issue is not about the rejection of cultural traditions. It is about enlarging it leaving space for diversity and making certain that the skills of language are bridge and not a barrier. Learning language is not to be considered as merely a technical accomplishment. It is an act of liberation, an act of belonging, a ground for justice.

The Experiences of Spanish Speaking Adult ESL Learners

Although systems of education and media policy are more in the nature of the chance opportunities for learning language, the effect may be most evident at the personal level. For Spanish-speaking adults, it is not as if learning of the English language ends with grammar classes or formal qualifications. It is a daily identity, confidence, and social connection negotiation. The following section examines Spanish speaking adult ESL learners’ experiences in real life; it is based on their challenges when trying to cope with the intricacies of everyday English in new cultural settings.

Facing the Realities of UK English

For a lot of Spanish speaking adults, the transition from classroom teaching to real world communication in English is much greater than expected. English is part of the national curriculum in Spain, but the attention is inclined to the formal grammar and the standard pronunciation. Students get very little exposure to informal, regional, or fast speech, which they are likely to be exposed to abroad.

This disparity is particularly evident when they emigrate to the English-speaking countries like the United Kingdom. Upon arrival, a sizeable number of students are besieged with accents like the Scouse, Cockney, Geordie or the Scottish speaking patterns which may seem strange if not incomprehensible to these students, despite years of language study. Such sounds can be confusing even to those who were believed to be skilled in their home country.

I recall the first time I went to see my sister in Leeds, and I was totally stressed out. I expected to be able to understand every word people were saying, after believing that I well spoke and understood the English language. It was a stark realisation that classroom learning had not fully prepared me for the fast, accented, and informal language of everyday life.

Without early exposure to natural speech patterns, many Spanish-speaking adults find real-world communication not only challenging but mentally exhausting, setting the stage for deeper struggles with listening, confidence, and participation.

Listening Fatigue and the Struggle for Real Understanding

Accent comprehension is not a natural part of general language fluency. Understanding diverse ways of speaking requires targeted listening practice, cultural awareness, and real-world exposure elements that many Spanish-speaking ESL learners have had limited access to (Heller and Mumma, 2023). Without this early exposure, many adult learners experience intense listening fatigue. Processing unfamiliar speech patterns in real time social and professional settings demands considerable cognitive effort, leading to mental exhaustion.

Psychiatric disorders are commonly developed due to the absence of organized support in the recognition of various varieties of English. Others avoid speaking for fear of making mistakes. As time passes, this cycle of anxiety and avoidance lead to a dwindling sense of confidence and increased social isolation and lost opportunities for integration.

The Limits of Traditional Education

The challenges that the Spanish speakers face as adult learners are not just a result of personal struggle. Rigid educational systems that are based on grammar, formal speech and textbook study are not effective in preparing learners with communication skills for the real life. More so, Spain has a long history of dubbing foreign media limiting access to raw audio of the English language. Different from subtitling that provides the learners with an opportunity to interact with the original speech patterns, dubbing excludes the possibility of passive listening practice through the course of time. Adults, having lived in such environments, fail to make use of crucial opportunities to develop the listening skills necessary for adjusting to varied English accents.

Learning Across the Lifespan: Age and Adaptation

The age of the learner also determines language acquisition but should never be considered as a barrier. There is the strong ability for older adults to learn second languages, although it is different from its application in the younger generation learners. Adults tend to rely more heavily on conscious strategies such as memorisation, structured study, and note taking, rather than the intuitive language absorption common among children.

Although these strategies work well for grammar and vocabulary, they often fall short when dealing with unpredictable, fast-paced speech. However, research shows that with the right support, adult learners can still achieve a high level of fluency. Techniques like active listening, anticipating speech patterns, and reflecting on communication experiences can greatly enhance understanding over time (Devaki, 2021).

Building Confidence Through Real-World Exposure

Social engagement is critical in helping learners overcome listening fatigue and build fluency. Spanish-speaking adult learners who regularly participate in conversations with native speakers improve not only in language proficiency but also in cultural understanding. However, many learners report feeling embarrassed or anxious, shaped by fears of being misunderstood, mocked, or dismissed. These fears often stem from negative past experiences and internalised stereotypes about non-native speakers.

It is crucial to design favorable environments that take mistakes as a learning experience. The most favorable circumstance for the learners to gain confidence and competence is the real-world conversation informal, imperfect, and spontaneous.

Challenging the Hierarchies of Bilingualism

In education settings, the silent bilingualism hierarchies tend to perpetuate inequality. Bilingualism of prestigious and international contexts is idolized while bilingualism identified in migrants, or working-class learners, is considered to be incomplete or sub-standard. This social bias influences self-esteem of learners, and many learners end up internalising the idea that bilingual skills are not valuable or legitimate.

Therefore, individuals who have essential language capabilities may feel unproductive of themselves, which also serves to undermine motivation and personal growth further. It is vital to challenge these hierarchies if education must indeed cater for the diversity of learners and champion the multilingualism of all kinds.

Redefining Success for Adult Learners

For the adult English learners to thrive, there needs to be a paradigm shift in terms of the culture of practice and public perception.

First, programmes such as NELLA (Network of European Language Learner Associations) that emphasise learner oriented and socially inclusive language education, point to the significance of meeting actual communication needs of adults in language learning and other educational endeavours that must consider the understanding of accent as a significant skill. Varied speech patterns should be introduced in classroom resources by podcasts, films, and guest speaker sessions from different backgrounds. There should be encouragement for the students to use English creatively, adopting the idea of expression and communication than the strict issue of correctness.

Second, social inclusion also has to be given top priority as the cardinal form of learner support. Learners should have ample room to be able to practice freely without a fear of ridicule and judgment (Yadav, 2021). Community based participation of families, peers, teachers, and social groups are critical in determining language practice while developing confidence.

At last, there should be a more global shift of attitudes regarding bilingualism. Bilingualism should never be considered as one of the professional skills but rather as a right granted to education, participation in the community and human dignity. Adult learners who are going back to education should have systems that understand their strains, appreciate their experiences and support their success. Their learning journeys demonstrate how the process of language acquisition goes way beyond technical proficiency into questions of belonging, resilience, and opportunities.

Success should not be based on perfect pronunciation or exams, but rather on the ability of the leaner to communicate, connect, and fit in a multicultural society.

Opportunities And Challenges in Multilingual Education Policy for Adult ESL Learners

Multilingual Education Policy: Opportunities and Challenges for Adult ESL Learners

The multilingual education policy plays a significant role in influencing the experiences of the adult ESL learners. With an increasing number of adults moving to other parts of the world for work, study, or family reasons, the skill of learning and learning to communicate in another language is no longer just another form of communication, but of inclusion, participation and personal development. However, many traditional systems of education are still not completely in-line with practical requirements of adult learners. This blog shows how multilingual education policy can either empower or diminish adult ESL learners, especially those in multicultural settings such as the UK.

Technology and Flexibility in Language Learning

The increasing emphasis on technology enhanced learning is one of the major developments in multilingual education policy. Vs. the strict discipline of the classroom of years gone by, the modern-day adult learners can use language learning tools whenever and wherever they want. Immersive, interactive learning is offered by mobile apps, online platforms as well as virtual reality programmers. These tools allow the learners to practice real-life conversations, pronunciation, and vocabulary at their own convenience (Ashraf, Turner and Laar, 2021). For grown up people who are pursuing jobs, family commitments and resettlement, this flexibility is a great benefit.

Lifelong Learning and Cultural Integration

The global models of education are more and more considering the value of lifelong language learning. Canada and Germany have implemented policies, community-based programmers not only promoting grammar and vocabulary development, but cultural integration as well. In Canada, language instruction is in most cases combined with social orientation lessons to guide newcomers on how they can manage daily life in a foreign country. These programmers recognize that language learning involves social aspects, aspect of relationships, and deeply human aspects.

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Policy in Practice: Community and Inclusion

In Europe, multilingual education policy is facilitated by such measures as Erasmus that encourage adult education and cross-cultural exchange as well as formal study. These programmers consider multilingualism to be a resource and promote inclusive pedagogies that cater to various learners. One such program is Finland’s tandem learning program, where speakers of different first languages are paired to help each other learn. These practices enhance fluency of language and sensitivity to other communities (Bergroth et al., 2022).

Persistent Barriers for Adult Learners

Despite these opportunities, a lot of barriers still stand in the way for many adult ESL learners. Learners in the countries where exposure towards English had been historically low such as Spain, have difficulty in the natural pronunciation and the informal speech. For instance, instead of subtitling in Spanish media, the lifting of dubbing can only restrict exposure to the actual English intonation and phrasing. Such a discrepancy between formal education and real-life conversations can cause a listening fatigue, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

Another inconvenience is the fact that most ESL curriculums are still dependent on youth oriented delivery approaches. Adults learn differently, they have different requirements for studying, including the demand for learning which is based on context and a demand for emotional support. Although children are capable of learning language in an intuitive way, adults require a structured practical methodology and prescription. For example, an older learner may have no problems when it comes to reading fluently yet may still find it difficult to decipher regional accents or slang.

Accessibility remains a significant issue. Even if there are good quality language programmes available, the adult learners, particularly those from rural areas or of a poor background, continue to be excluded because of a lack of resources or infrastructure. Multilingual education policy has to be equitable for it to guarantee that one’s opportunity is not rooted on where one is or on what status one is in (Kirss et al., 2021). The national language ideologies are also, in some cases, responsible for resistance towards multilingualism. Promotion of one national language can be regarded as crucial to national identity which fosters cultural or political opposition to policies aimed at promoting language diversity.

Fluency Beyond Grammar

To increase the quality of multilingual education policy, the voices of adult ESL learners need to be centered by the educators. Knowing their aims, difficulties, and daily life is crucial for developing relevant and workable program. Grammatical correctness should not be the only way of determining fluency. Instead, it should demonstrate a learner’s capacity of taking an active role in a new linguistic and cultural milieu be it in the absence of humor, gestures or comfort in tea-time chatter.

Rethinking Policy Through Learner Voices

Multilingual education policy has a potential of changing the lives of adult ESL learners. Elimination of obsolete curriculum, removal of access barrier and provision of room for multilingualism in national systems are crucial initiation points. Policy should not be regarded as a technical procedure, but rather human with learners, communities and real-world communication. Flexible and inclusive education policies to multilinguists do not only peddle language on them but also dignity and agency, and success in multi-societies.

When the multilingual education policy hears adult learners’ voices, it is more than a system; it becomes an inclusion and agency pathway for lifelong belonging.

Sources

Ashraf, M.A., Turner, D.A. and Laar, R.A., 2021. Multilingual language practices in education in Pakistan: The conflict between policy and practice. Sage Open, 11(1), p.21582440211004140.

Bergroth, M., Llompart, J., Pepiot, N., Van Der Worp, K., Dražnik, T. and Sierens, S., 2022. Identifying space for mainstreaming multilingual pedagogies in European initial teacher education policies. European Educational Research Journal, 21(5), pp.801–821.

Bolaños-García-Escribano, A. and Navarrete, M., 2022. An action-oriented approach to didactic dubbing in foreign language education: Students as producers. XLinguae, 15(2), pp.103-120.

Devaki, V., 2021. Influence of behaviourist and cognitivist theories in adult language acquisition. Elsya: Journal of English Language Studies, 3(1), pp.38–44.

Heller, B.H. and Mumma, K.S., 2023. Immigrant integration in the United States: the role of adult English language training. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 15(3), pp.407–437.

Image 1, 2 and 3 –www.freepik.com

Image 4 https://www.iitms.co.in/blog/multilingual-education-comprehensive-guide.html

Kirss, L., Säälik, Ü., Leijen, Ä. and Pedaste, M., 2021. School effectiveness in multilingual education: A review of success factors. Education Sciences, 11(5), p.193.

Yadav, M.S., 2021. Role of social media in English language learning to the adult learners. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 4(1), pp.238–247.