In the global and interconnected world in which we live, the importance of learning foreign languages ​​is fully assumed, as it can help us improve our academic and professional career , enrich our personal lives and even have benefits for our brain .

However, it is not so widespread to ensure access to these learnings for all citizens, regardless of their abilities or the specific needs for educational support they may have.

Learning a foreign language is already a great challenge in itself, but it can also be a great opportunity, since languages ​​open doors and generate opportunities in the educational, social and work fields. Therefore, speaking a foreign language cannot be a privilege of a few, but an opportunity open to all people. At this point, we must remember that the Spanish Constitution establishes in article 27 that “everyone has the right to education”, and Royal Decree 1/2013 , which regulates the General Law on the rights of people with disabilities, includes cognitive accessibility in its article 2 to allow easy understanding, communication and interaction for all people.

Therefore, we must ensure inclusive educational models and this extends to the materials and resources we use.

LenguAccesibles: raising awareness about accessibility in languages

Our LenguAccesibles scientific and citizen outreach project aims to raise public awareness about the importance of ensuring accessibility to foreign language learning. If we manage to make the materials used in teaching-learning processes accessible, we will advance in promoting equal opportunities for people with disabilities and removing barriers to access, participation and language learning.

To this end, we have created a series of informative videos that will help us all identify which foreign language learning materials are accessible and which are not.

How do we know if a video is accessible?

There are several recommendations to ensure that the videos we watch and create are accessible:

• They include subtitles for people with hearing disabilities.
• They have audio description for people with visual disabilities, if there are visual presentations.
• Avoid flashing content, which may cause seizures for some users.
• The audio is of high quality, background noise is avoided, and explanations of the sound elements are provided.
• Speakers are visible, to facilitate lip reading.
• If there is text overlay, it is legible and does not interfere with the subtitles.

What characteristics must a digital text meet to be accessible?

If we use a word processor such as Microsoft Word, we can use its accessibility checking tool, which will make our work easier; it is also advisable to save the document in .docx format instead of .doc. Additionally, the following recommendations should be followed:

• Align text to the left and do not justify it.
• Avoid using underlining, bold and italics to highlight words.
• Do not split words at the end of the line.
• Use sans serif fonts , meaning ones without serifs or lines at the ends (for example, Arial or Verdana).
• Incorporate metadata into the document, at least title, authorship and keywords.

Which images are accessible?

Infographics or visual representations of information that combine images and text are very common in language learning materials. For images to be accessible, they must meet the following requirements:

• Include alternative text (a clear and simple description of the images), so that screen readers can describe them to people with visual impairments or connectivity problems.
• In cases where images do not add extra or specific information to that presented in the paragraph text, it is recommended not to add alternative text and label them as “decorative”.
• Checking the color contrast is important, as there must be sufficient contrast between the background and the figure or text for the content to be perceived. The contrast ratio must be at least 4.5:1 to ensure legibility. There are online tools that help us check this.
• Colour should not be relied upon alone to convey information; it should be accompanied by text or other indicators to ensure that the information is accessible to people with colour blindness or other colour perception difficulties.
• It is advisable to provide multiple ways to access information in an image, such as including detailed descriptions in the text when the image is complex.
• The use of animated images or GIFs, especially those that have flashes or rapid movements, should be limited or avoided to avoid problems for photosensitive people and minimize distractions for people with attention deficit.

All these features and recommendations allow us to create materials that are accessible to everyone. If we are sensitive enough to take them into account, we will be taking a big step towards equity in education and equal opportunities in learning foreign languages.

Author Bios: Elena Martin-Monje is Professor of English Philology, at UNED – National University of Distance Education, Blanca Arias-Badia is a tenure-track Professor, Translation and Language Sciences at Pompeu Fabra University. Elisenda Bernal Gallén is Associate Professor Serra Húnter also at Pompeu Fabra University, Estella Oncins Noguer is Associate Professor, researcher at TransMedia Catalonia, coordinator of the Master’s Degree in Audiovisual Translation (MUTAV) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Silvia Andrea Cristian Ladaga has PhD a in Communication. Director of the Master’s Degree in Digital Accessibility in Education, Communication and Design at the University of Barcelona