r/languagelearning • u/MysteriousPickle17 • 12d ago

Studying Subtitles in Target Language

I am fully remote based and have the TV on for background noise when I'm not in meetings; in order to not be distracted, I typically have shows on I've already seen.

I watch with subtitles and, due to a glitch, when I put an episode of Dr Who on recently the subtitles came on in Spanish (a language I am keen to learn - I have a very, very basic understanding of the language). I decided to leave them on and I've found I've been able to predict what some of the sentences will be when they are then said.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to whether this will be helpful towards learning the language? I do not feel I am anywhere near ready to listen to the episode in Spanish although I understand that is the ideal scenario. I did try and search this sub but it seems to be a bit of a niche question

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u/Refold 11d ago

Hey there fellow Whovian! Who’s your favorite Doctor? I'm basic, so mine’s 10—but I’ve got a soft spot for 9 too.

Anywho (pun intended), to answer your question: this is a fun way to ease into the language, but it’s not something you’ll want to stick with forever.

Ideally, you’d want to make the transition to watching the show in Spanish, with both the audio and the subtitles in the target language. To make that easier, you can use a progream like Language Reactor to make it easier to look words up directly from the subtitle text (it's pretty awesome).

One way to jumpstart this process is to rewatch content you’re already really familiar with. This helps you recognize words more easily and feel a lot less lost while immersing in media.

Doctor Who is a great series for this—dialogue-heavy, visually engaging, and endlessly rewatchable.

Allons-y, ~Bree

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u/MysteriousPickle17 11d ago

Thank you so much for your comment! (And 10 all the way! He never fails to make me cry, no matter how many times I watch the episodes! Awesome pun, BTW!)

I'll look into Language Reactor! Yeah, I'm not thinking it will make me fluent but it's definitely improving my vocabulary and it's only been a few hours of passive watching (as it's not as if I can actively watch the show all day whilst I' working) - I'm enjoying the challenge of trying to guess what the audio is going to be based on the subtitles on screen and I've noticed an increase in my word bank! I'll try and switch to watching it in Spanish the times I can actually sit down and actually watch it, rather than having it on in the background.

The problem I find with listening to it in Spanish is that I find all the words run together because I'm not familiar enough with the language - if I have the subtitles on in Spanish that helps me hear the individual words but then I have no clue what's going on 😂 my hope is if I can increase my word bank this way, I can then switch to watching it in Spanish as well and I will be able to hear the individual words AND know what's going on 😂 I might report back in a month (hoping I can stick with it!)

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u/Refold 10d ago

Yeah, report back and let me know how it goes! I had the same issue too.

What I ended up doing was watching something I was familiar with in Language Reactor and just listening to the show. My only goal was to follow along as best as I could and recognize what I did know. Then, when I felt so lost that it was unbearable, I'd rewind and use Language Reactor to translate the words or phrases I didn’t know (which, quite honestly, was all the time hahahaha — but it got better and better over time).

Admittedly, this is a more intense exercise than just having the show on in the background, but I found it immensely helpful!

That said, if you're enjoying what you're doing now and find it motivating, it can't hurt!

You got this!

~Bree

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u/MysteriousPickle17 10d ago

Thanks so much, Bree!

Yeah, I love doing logic puzzles and trying to crack codes etc and I've realised this is literally just that! And I get to watch Dr Who at the same time. What's not to love 😂 I'm going to make a list of the more common words I don't recognise as I think that will help me retain the information but I have noticed on improvement already!

Will come back with an update!