The present article describes how the introduction of training in audiovisual translation - particularly in subtitling - in a translation course in Portugal came to prove that, rather than becoming proficient subtitlers, the students attending such courses gained skills and language awareness that reflected itself in their performance in other courses and activities. According to the author this is due to the junction of translation and audiovisuals, which is an asset to language learning in general. The article is divided into four parts: the first part discusses language learning through translation; the second looks into language learning through audiovisuals; the third part analyses how training in subtitling can improve language awareness; and a last part examines how language awareness can be improved at each step of the subtitling process.