In this paper I will reflect on the potential of using subtitling freeware as a didactic tool in the teaching of languages. With the increase in popularity of and access to video and subtitling programs, the average Internet user is becoming more and more familiar with video and subtitling software. I will provide examples of these from the video hosting website YouTube and specifically its recently released feature on annotations that allows users, among other things, to add background information to their videos. Although this might not be the best example for language teaching, I have chosen it because it could become a very popular feature.
The mass appeal and uptake of internet-based video opens up the exploitation of these resources as didactic tools for language teaching. There have been some academic projects working on this area and some teachers are already starting to use these resources in their lessons.
My paper will provide a brief survey of the different subtitling programs that are currently available online free of charge. First, I will classify them according to their apparent main goals: language teaching, literacy (in the case of same language subtitling) or entertainment, but I will focus on their use for language learning, even if they belong to different categories. Then I will consider how ‘YouTube Annotations’ (YTA) work and what can be done both in face-to-face and online environments with YTA to help improve the language skills of learners. Finally, I will conclude by summarising the main points of my thesis and I will look at trends in the development of the tools under discussion and their usage in the future, both inside and outside the language learning environment.

Marga NAVARETTE teaches Translation and Spanish as a Foreign Language at the Department of Humanities at Imperial College London (UK). She holds a BA in English Philology from the University of Seville (Spain) and an MA in the Teaching of Modern Languages from the Institute of Education, London. She also obtained a Certificate of Advanced Study in Learning and Teaching (CASLAT) from Imperial College London. Her research interests include teacher training, e-learning and audiovisual translation. She has given many workshops, delivered distance courses and developed materials for the training of academics in e-learning and other areas. She is about to start a PhD on the use of subtitling as a didactic tool in the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language.