FROM WRITTEN TO ORAL TEXTS IN EASY LANGUAGE: EASY AUDIOS IN CULTURAL VISITS AND VIDEOGAMES

THE FOCUS OF THIS PROJECT IS ON EASY LANGUAGE (EL) IN AUDIOVISUAL (AV) EXPERIENCES, MOVING FROM WRITTEN TO ORAL TEXTS AND DEVELOPING EASY AUDIOS (EA) WHILE RELATING THIS NEW ACCESS SERVICE TO EXISTING ONES, SUCH AS AUDIO INTRODUCTIONS OR AUDIO DESCRIPTION (AD). OUR MAIN HYPOTHESIS IS THAT BY DEVELOPING A SIMPLIFIED AUDITORY TRACK BASED ON EL THAT SUPPORTS AV CONTENT –AN ACCESS SERVICE TERMED “EASY AUDIOS” IN THIS PROPOSAL–, THE EXPERIENCE OF USERS, INCLUDING THOSE WITH COGNITIVE AND LEARNING DISABILITIES WILL IMPROVE IN TERMS OF COMPREHENSION AND ENJOYMENT. WE ALSO EXPECT TO IMPLEMENT THIS CONCEPT IN SUCH A WAY THAT OTHER USER GROUPS WILL WELCOME IT, OVERCOMING TRADITIONAL ACCEPTABILITY ISSUES. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THREE MAIN RESEARCH GAPS. RESEARCH GAP 1. THERE IS A NEED TO RESEARCH HOW EL RECOMMENDATIONS COULD BE TRANSFERRED INTO AUDIO MODALITIES. RESEARCH GAP 2. THERE IS A NEED TO RESEARCH HOW EASY AUDIOS COULD BE DEVELOPED AND HOW THEY WOULD RELATE TO EXISTING ACCESS SERVICES SUCH AS AD OR AUDIO INTRODUCTION. RESEARCH GAP 3. THERE IS A NEED TO RESEARCH HOW EL AND EASY AUDIOS COULD BE APPLIED TO VIDEO GAMES. OUR PROJECT WILL AIM TO FILL IN THE PREVIOUS RESEARCH GAPS AND APPLY THE KNOWLEDGE GENERATED INTO TWO VERY DIFFERENT USE CASES: IN VIDEO GAMES AND IN CULTURAL LEISURE VISITS. THE CHOICE IS MOTIVATED BY THE FACT THAT VIDEO GAME PLAYING IS ONE OF THE MAIN LEISURE ACTIVITIES OF YOUNGER ADULTS, WHEREAS CULTURAL VISITS ARE A TYPICAL LEISURE ACTIVITY OF GENERALLY OLDER ADULTS. TO GUARANTEE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE PROJECT, WE WILL NARROW DOWN EASY AUDIOS APPLIED TO ONE-WAY TEXTS WITHOUT DIALOGUES. IN OTHER WORDS, DESCRIPTIVE, INSTRUCTIVE OR EXPOSITIVE AUDIO TEXTS WILL BE PRIORITIZED OVER CONTENT OF A CONVERSATIONAL NATURE, THE REASONS BEING THAT DIALOGUES MAY ADD AN ADDITIONAL DIFFICULTY LAYER BEYOND THE SCOPE OF THIS PROJECT. IN THE CASE OF VIDEO GAMES, A PREVIOUS STEP WILL CONSIST OF RESEARCHING HOW EL COULD BE IMPLEMENTED IN WRITTEN TUTORIALS TO IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY.