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movies with subtitles help in improving or not.?


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I've watched some foreign movies whose sub-titling left a lot to be desired because the translations didn't even make sense.

Most English movies however, tend to be almost as accurate [in the rendering of sub-titles] as possible. For that reason therefore, an English student by reading the sub-titles and listening to the actors speak may actually improve their spoken language if they practice what they hear. Listening and reading alone won't help. You have to go the extra mile and try to speak like the actors do.

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In my opinion movies with subtitles do help alot. My English has improved a big deal because it's great to listen to the spoken language and at the same time read the words you're familiar with the sound, but that you didn't exactly know what they meant or the correct context. I think it's a great aid.

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It may help at first but relying on the subtitles too much would not be beneficial to the person learning another language. As I always tell my Korean students who are watching English films with Korean subtitles, they should not depend on this scripts on the screen.

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How do y'all feel about the Spanish subtitles on most of the English mainstream films from the USA?  Are they any good for the aspiring language learner?  Funny you were referring to having foreign language subtitles on a foreign language film, haha!  For some reason I was assuming subtitles in your native language and sound in the film language.  Why, I'll never know

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It may help at first but relying on the subtitles too much would not be beneficial to the person learning another language. As I always tell my Korean students who are watching English films with Korean subtitles, they should not depend on this scripts on the screen.

Sure, we should be able to watch the movie without the subtitles, but when we are in doubt the subtitles are there and they are helpful. It would also depend on the level you're students are in, if they are not that advanced they do need this help.

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Thank you all for your positive response.  :party

After reading your replies I have started watching movies. My friend who suggested me this technique also told about the website from where I can get movies with subtitles. Its http://movie25.ws/.

Thought to share with you.

Thanks again. I really appreciate your help.

Regards

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Movies with subtitles are not advisable for beginners who do not understand the language. And most subtitles are not very accurate because some are translated by ordinary people and not by linguists and professionals. My advice is that you should stick to examinations with key answers regarding the English language.

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Foreign movies with subtitles are very helpful in understanding a movie better. I remember watching a movie called Apocalypto which was acted in a foreign language but I did understand it well and I still consider it as one of my all-time favorite movies.

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  • 5 weeks later...

It's definitely helpful. You are simultaneously hearing proper pronunciations and reading the translations with context. Heck, if you were more advanced in your language learning, you could watch without subtitles and try to understand. Watching movies is a great way to assist your learning, though I wouldn't recommend it for acquiring basic knowledge.

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Subtitle work to some extent. I mean it helps to understand what is being said on screen but I don't think it helps too much on learning. We may know what is being talked about but we don't actually know the meanings word for word unless you're studying the language already and are using subtitles as reference.

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It depends on what level you are on. But I would say it is helpful in most cases. Then you can listen closely to words at the same time as you read them. You will get better at pronunciation and spelling of the words. Especially if you watch closely and focus on both.

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I think it can be helpful in some minor ways, but I wouldn't rely on it to provide me with majority of the lessons I need to learn. Movie dialogues are often exaggerated and usually doesn't translate well into everyday speaking purposes, but some lines in between could be common enough to be useful, although even then you'd have to rely on how well the subtitles are translated by the one who made it and most of the time it's only a rough translation because the purpose of subtitles are only to give you an idea of what the character wishes to convey instead of an exact and literal translation.

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I personally feel like they don't really help you learn a language because for the majority of the time you are just reading what is written on the screen and not really focusing on the actual words being said in the language you want to learn.  This is why it's really good to watch cartoons or shows for kids because you can sort of learn a lot more from them.

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I personally feel like they don't really help you learn a language because for the majority of the time you are just reading what is written on the screen and not really focusing on the actual words being said in the language you want to learn.  This is why it's really good to watch cartoons or shows for kids because you can sort of learn a lot more from them.

Speaking of watching cartoons and kids shows remind me of how I improved my English language last time. I watched Sesame Street everyday when I was a child, there are many aspects of English that I didn't know I learned from Sesame Street.  :wink:

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It depends from person to person. I believe it is related to neurological comprehension of language, plus the ability to synchronize visual and audio information with the text(the visual details are very important actually). So for me, it actually works quite well, especially if I watch movies with subtitles, and then maybe re-watch them 2-3 times, and you are bound to understand them by now, but by then, you can turn off the subtitles and see yourself trying to comprehend the situations and dialogue without translation.

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It depends on your level. Movies with subtitles can make a difference and they can help you with the process of learning. But I will be honest: Watching movies with subtitles won't help you very much if you're a beginner.

The thing that will help you more is having long conversations with native speakers of the language.

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I think you've got to have a certain level of understanding to be able to watch a film in the language you are learning and actually know what is happening. There is no point sat there when you only have a basic understanding and can only pick out words like 'hello, name, how are you and bye'.

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If you're not 100% sure that you will understand everything in the movie, you should definitely use subtitles. I mean otherwise you're just wasting your time. Even if you read all those subtitles, the subconscious mind will pick up some words that you will later hear and know what they mean.

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