The Problem of Fun

I've had a lot of students tell me that they watch Netflix with English subtitles as a way to learn. I have a standard answer--but I would like to take it a step further. First of all, listening and reading are two separate cognitive activities. They aren't processed in the same part of the brain. When someone watches a show in English with subtitles in English--they are switching constantly between two activities. The best way to do it is to turn the subtitles off and focus on the audio, even if for a short segment of 10-20 minutes. You can even make your own subtitles by writing what you hear to reinforce--Then you watch the same thing again with the subtitles and fill in the gaps. Hearing something without knowing what it means is good. That way when you hear it--it sticks and is meaningful and exciting. Honestly, the more times you watch the segment, the better. Do it until you sense the nuances and get a grip on the language.

I'm not a fan of people watching something in their native language and putting on English subtitles. They're switching between two languages and two processes. Also, they will never go back and watch the episode again to understand everything. It's fragmented understanding that isn't very useful. Language learning is tough because trying to mix it with entertainment can be counter-productive. It's better to watch the same 20 minutes three times until you own it, as opposed to passively switching between fragments of spoken and written language and not going back. Own your language.

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Matthew Irwin

Dec 5, 2023

Anything is better than nothing.
Manning

Nov 29, 2023

Hi Matthew, Thank you for writing this informative and enlightening post. I completely agree with you. I have a similar thought about using Bilingual vs. Monolingual dictionaries. Dare I say, studying a language requires work and cannot always be fun? Or, perhaps one person's fun is another's chore?

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