Languages - TV Edition

[Pumpkin]

So my boyfriend got me the complete Sex and the City box set recently (don't you judge me) and it has Spanish as an available language! So I have been playing it in the background with the English subtitles on repeat all day to try and pick some stuff up.

Have any of you tried this method for learning languages? When I was learning English TV and being surrounded by English speaking people was really helpful.

[Pant Leg Eater from the Bad World]

I don't know why I never thought of this. This is a grand idea. Probably one of the best alternatives to actual immersion.

Awesome idea! I may have to try and find something in German for this.

[Shiny]

I only learned Spanish to troll Hispanics and make them think I'm one of their people.

[Bubba]

I was chatting to this greek waiter once who had learned English purely by watching Neighbours and Home and Away.

He even had a weird Greek/Australian accent :p

[Old Manus]

I've been watching S4C for over 20 years and have learned absolutely nothing apart from there are no good Welsh speaking actors.

[Ayen]

I learned a little bit about the Japanese language through this method, but never have I set out to actually learn a new language. English is hard enough.

[Agent Proto]

It's a good method if you intend to learn the new language and watch on a regular basis, but not if you want to watch the show. You may pick up a few easy phrases though.

[Pumpkin]

When I was 12 I could understand a decent amount of Japanese from watching shows in Japanese and playing games in Japanese. I'm watching the show in English (or French, depending on my mood) and I rewatch the episodes afterwards in Spanish.

I learned last night that Canada in Spanish is Canada

[Mirage]

It's good to expand on a language if you already know the basics. I wouldn't use a dub though, as I can't stand mismatched lip syncing. I'd rather find a series or movie that was originally made in the language you want to train yourself in.

It is not ideal if you don't know the language though, because subtitles are very often not accurate. Often times, some words are left out and some phrases are simplified to make them faster to read. Without any basic knowledge, you're also likely to not pick up a significant amount of grammar. At least in my experience.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

It is not ideal if you don't know the language though, because subtitles are very often not accurate. Often times, some words are left out and some phrases are simplified to make them faster to read. Without any basic knowledge, you're also likely to not pick up a significant amount of grammar. At least in my experience.

Sentence fragments? Poor grammar? Wrong words?Around here at least, that will probably make you sound more like a native. :|

[Miriel]

Whenever I feel like getting a refresher on my Korean, I'll watch a Korean drama. And my Korean will dramatically improve for awhile. And then it'll start slipping again because that's what happens when you don't constantly use a language. Then after awhile I'll have to start watching the dramas again. There's nothing wrong with that except that I always have a love/hate relationship with Kdramas. They're so terrible, but so addicting.

[blackmage_nuke]

I've watched anime for 7 years and have learnt very little Japanese

[Mirage]

Yeah, because you don't have a base to build on :p, probably.

[Mo-Nercy]

Watching Hong Kong films and dramas is how I maintain any semblance of my bilingualism (bilinguality?) I regress fairly quickly though. I also get peeved when whatever I'm watching turns out to be dubbed over in Mandarin rather than being in the original Cantonese. Mandarin may as well be a whole other language to me.

As an aside, Sleeping Dogs really got me back into swearing in my native tongue.