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Does anyone use subtitles to learn a new language?


littlebelgianwriter

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When I first learned how to read (age 6 or 7), I just loved to read subtitles, and I always tried to combine the words I read with the words I heard.

That way, I learned my first words of English and enlarged my already existing basic French vocabulary. I know that in a lot of countries voiceovers are commonly used instead of subtitles, but I found it a fun way to pick up words in a foreign language.

We also have Spanish TV on cable here and sometimes I put on the 888 subtitles for the deaf in order to pick up words too.

Has anyone else tried this here?

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No, I have never used subtitles to learn a new language. I guess I never thought about it either.

Whenever I watch a foreign film, I am caught up in the drama/action of the flick.  So, after a while, it doesn't even feel as though I am reading anything to understand what I am seeing on the big screen.

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I love subtitles in general, not necessarily for learning English, but because I truly enjoy watching movies and series in their original language.  In my opinion nothing beats watching a movie or a TV series in its original language, that's when subtitles can come in really handy!  I'd never depend on subtitles entirely to learn a language tho. 

They can be really useful tho. My boyfriend swear he learnt English thanks to the fact most cartoons in the Netherlands were subtitled instead of dubbed.  He learnt a lot English thanks to that. His spelling is horrible tho, but his pronunciation is ok.

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In general, I do not use subtitles to assist me in learning Spanish; however, because we go see digitally subtitled movies in the theaters, almost every week, they are a part of my learning experience.

When my family and I are watching the movies we find ourselves reading the subtitles. Often, we have an "ah hah," moment, thinking to ourselves, so that's how they say that. My mom often comments how, the words written on the screen seem like a lot less than what the Mexican's say. I have to remind her that subtitles are there to get the point across. If every word was translated directly, there is no way people could follow along with the movie.

So, while I think they are a helpful tool, they should only be used as that: a tool.

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I find that paying attention to subtitles can be a great help when I'm learning a language - but I'm always aware that the quality and accuracy of subtitles varies a lot. I some Asian countries, for example, it seems the subtitles were written by someone who doesn't even understand the original language of the movie or TV show, so you get some stunningly misleading translations!

So I would say that you need to have a good enough grasp of both languages to ensure that the subtitles accurately mirror the dialogue before you start relying on them to improve your vocabulary!

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Hey Kilat

It's nice to have another Polyglot here in the forum! I can see you speak a lot of languages! That's really great and I envy you a little. Hmm, I currently speak 4 languages...that's a good start as well, I guess. I wanna learn Japanese and Spanish in the near future. Spanish will be rather easy as I already speak french. Japanese is pretty difficult though and it is not similar to Chinese at all (well, the Japanese use Chinese characters along with Kana but that's it then..at least this makes reading and writing less difficult, however the Japanese Grammar is really challenging).

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I've tried it but the problem I have with subtitles is that they make me sleepy when I am watching a DVD.  I can't simply sit and watch a video, I have to be doing something else at the same time or I will fall asleep.  with the subtitles I have to stay focused on the video and in doing so I am guaranteed to fall asleep, especially at the critical moment in the film. 

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