Using subtitles to learn a new language is something that has the potential to help you in your language learning. Subtitles are traditionally helpful for hearing-impaired people so that a movie or TV show is still accessible despite not hearing the audio. It can also be helpful for English speakers to watch non-English media, either for enjoyment or for learning purposes. Although it is useful, there are some aspects of using subtitles for your learning that you should be aware of.

You should use subtitles to help you learn a language as one of several tools in your toolbox. Subtitles can help you enhance your language learning, so long as you are also using other language learning methods. As your language learning skills increase, your need for subtitles will diminish, as you will understand more and more of what is being said using your own knowledge.

The first question to ask about using subtitles is to ask if watching media is an effective way of learning a language. You can read a more in-depth answer to this question in this post here. You may find that watching media is not an effective tool for the skill you want to learn. For the purpose of discussing subtitles, we will assume you are watching media for the right reasons.

How Should You Use Subtitles?

Of course, you won’t be successful in learning a language by watching only media, even with subtitles. If you tried this, you would have a difficult first day of learning, as you simply won’t know any of the words to match them to their English counterpart. Simply being exposed to your target language may not mean that you are learning your target language, and this is part of the difference between passive and active language learning. While there may be some benefits to passive language learning, you will need to engage in active language learning alongside this.

Active Learning With Subtitles

Some examples of active language learning that can be used alongside passive language learning include writing down words that you do not recognize while watching the TV or movie and afterwards creating flashcards to practice them. This is passive learning; watching a show with subtitles, and active learning: writing down words you don’t know and practising them as flashcards later. The benefit here is that you

The benefit is that the next time the words pop up, you will know what they are because you have put them on flashcards and have practised them, as compared to relying on seeing the word once before.

An easy check to ensure you are being an active language learner is to have a pen and paper in front of you and write down words you do not understand throughout the show. You can filter which words to add to your vocabulary list later on if you want to keep your active learning list free from rare words at the moment.

The benefit of using a pen and paper instead of your phone to do this is that you don’t need to look so much when you are writing, and you won’t get distracted on your phone, either with social media or looking up words.

Using Subtitles At the Start And Middle Stages Of Language Learning

The point of subtitles is to give you information that you are not able to pick up from the audio. When first watching media in your target language, it may be best to leave the subtitles in English so that you are listening to your target language, but can still read any missed words in English to match the spoken in the target language.

Later on, as you progress in your language-learning journey, you will be able to change the subtitles from English to your target language. This will mean that you are not only listening to your target language, but you are able to read it as well.

The advantage of this is that not only are you listening to the language, but you are reading it as well.

Make sure the words you do not understand, that come up frequently, are noted down so that you can add them to your vocabulary practice.

You may decide to add non-frequent words to your vocabulary list as well, and I would recommend that you do this when you are comfortable with common words. Be aware that adding non-frequent words may result in your vocabulary list becoming oversaturated with words that you do not frequently see. Even more so, if you are needing to frequently stop and rewind to write down the non-frequent words you’re missing, the flow of what you are watching will also become impacted.

An example of this is adding lots of adjectives that are rarely used, such as “turquoise”, or “nimble”. While these are useful to know at some point, knowing more common words or verbs will be much more useful in the early/mid stages of language learning.

Language learning is a balance of learning everything there is to know about the language, while not spending too much time and energy on unimportant or uncommon words or grammatical rules.

Using Subtitles With Languages You Are Highly Skilled In

The final stage of using subtitles is having the confidence to stop using them. By this point, you are comfortable in your target language and are able to understand most things that are said. By this stage, words that you do not know or recognize will be relatively rare and you will likely be able to understand their meaning from context.

Remember to always be adding to your vocabulary list even at this stage.

There will always be words that you do not understand, as I’m sure there are words in English that you do not understand. This may be because they are context-specific, such as medical terms or legal terms, so do not be discouraged if you find that you are still adding words to your vocabulary list at this stage.

How Do I Know I Am Using Subtitles Correctly?

It is one thing to use subtitles, but it’s quite another to know if you are getting any benefit from it. If you are able to finish watching your TV show or movie and feel that you have progressed in your language learning and can show this by the new words you will be adding to your vocabulary list, you are doing it correctly.

Suppose you cannot show the words that you have learned from watching with subtitles or have not added to your vocabulary list. In that case, it is likely that you have only engaged in passive language learning instead of active language learning.

It is unlikely you’d be able to watch a show in German and then repeat word for word what it was, or listen to different sections and be able to say with 100% certainty what it meant. This doesn’t mean you haven’t benefited from subtitles, but you do need to be clear on your expectations to know if the activity is worth it for you.

One benefit of using subtitles that may not be immediately apparent is that you will simply be immersed in your target language. This means you may pick up on some idioms, or at the very least feel more comfortable being surrounded by a foreign language. This can help you distinguish words in a conversation, especially if your movie or show has got fast dialogue. You will also have a better gauge of the rhythm of the language, as well as maybe even pick up some cultural tips from the show.