How Movies Can Help You Learn A Language

by: Anthony D. Richards

Learning a language is not just about learning grammar rules and vocabulary. A better approach is to balance language lessons, real-world practice, and supplemental media like movies, books, and podcasts. Movies aren’t only for entertainment. They can also give you some cultural education that enriches your understanding of the language you’re learning with real vocabulary and slang, and help you connect the words with associated body language. 

Pick Your Plot And Get To Know It

Choosing the right movie is almost as important as the way you watch it. Just because a movie has some cinematic appeal doesn’t mean it’s the best film to help you progress in learning the language. You should choose a movie that will keep you engaged, but it can help to start with a storyline that you are already familiar with or to read a synopsis of the plot and characters first so you aren’t completely lost when you start watching. 

Consider the difficulty level of the dialogue. If you aren’t into watching kids’ movies, which often have the easiest vocabulary to follow, a light comedy or a rom-com might be a better choice than a complex thriller that will be harder to understand, even for native speakers. You can also engage with other entertainment to learn about the culture, such as traditional dance like Shen Yun.

Use The Subtitles

There is an ongoing debate over whether you should watch movies with subtitles or with dubbed voiceovers, often called the subs vs dubs debates. Subtitles are the better option. Dubbing is often poor quality, and it defeats the purpose of what you’re trying to do. Subtitles are a little like training wheels, as they will help you to find your balance in a new language, even if they aren’t going to support you forever. 

Repetition is also important when it comes to learning with movies. Watching a movie once probably won’t get you optimal results for your learning. Instead, try watching the movie again with the subtitles when you feel ready to, or perhaps set yourself the challenge to watch first without subtitles, and then go back and watch again with subtitles to see how well you understood things the first time. Watch the movie for a third time without subtitles at some point in the future. You might want to choose a movie that you know you will enjoy to do this. 

Break It Up Into Chunks

You aren’t in a cinema, and you aren’t obligated to watch the entire movie from start to finish in one go. In fact, it could be better for your brain to break the movie up into chunks instead because you will need to focus on the movie a lot more than you would need to if you were watching only for entertainment. Instead, try breaking the film up into twenty or thirty-minute chunks so that you can process what you are seeing and hearing. Feel free to rewind certain parts if you didn’t get it the first time.