Learning through watching

1. Why It Works):

- Movies and series immerse you in the language naturally.

- "You’re not just learning words—you’re learning how people actually speak, with all the slang, jokes, and drama."

-You see words and phrases in action, making them easier to remember.

- "For example, if someone says *‘I’m dead’* in a comedy, you’ll quickly realize they’re not actually dead—just really bad at karaoke."

- You learn about the culture behind the language.

- "I tried learning French by watching *Emily in Paris*. Now I can say *‘Ooh la la’* perfectly, but I still can’t order a croissant without pointing."

2. How to Do It Effectively

- *Start with Subtitles:*

- Use subtitles in your native language first, then switch to the target language, and finally try without subtitles.

- "It’s like training wheels for your brain. Soon, you’ll be riding the language bike like a pro—or at least not falling off too often."

- *Repeat and Mimic:*

- Pause and repeat phrases. Mimic the actors’ pronunciation and intonation.

- "I once spent an entire hour practicing “money” in Yorkshire accent like in Downtown abbey.

- *Pick the Right Content:*

- Start with shows you enjoy and that match your language level.

- "If you’re a beginner, maybe don’t start with *Game of Thrones*. Unless you want to learn how to say *‘Winter is coming’* in 10 different dramatic tones."

3. The Fun Factor

- *It’s Enjoyable:*

- Learning through movies and series doesn’t feel like work or study.

- "It’s like tricking your brain into learning while you’re just sitting there with popcorn."

- *Motivation:*

- You’re more likely to stick with it because you’re interested in the story.

How to apply it for students at school

Step1: Watch the whole movie in dual subtitles

For Intermediate learners, after choosing a suitable movie, you should first attempt to watch it with dual subtitles. This will make it easier for you to grasp the main contents of the movie as well as the meaning of new words. After watching and noting down new words, you can attempt to watch the movie again but this time with English subtitles to practice on your listening and speaking skills.

Step 2: Extract a small part of the movie to focus on

After watching the whole movie with the help of subtitles, you should choose a few particular scenes (under three minutes) of it to practice further. There are some exercises that you can use such as:

• Watch the scene with English subtitles over and over again
• Look up and save new words and expressions to your notebook
• Practice listening using dictation exercises
• Practice speaking using the shadowing method

Step 3: Rewatch the movie and play games to revise vocabulary

In this step, you should watch the whole movie with English subtitles one more time to check how many percents of new words you have memorized and how much of the movie you can understand. After that, don’t forget to play fun vocabulary games to brush up on the words you have learned from the movie.

- "Language learning doesn’t have to be boring. With movies and series, you can laugh, cry, and learn—all at the same time. So grab some popcorn, press play, and let the binge-learning begin! That is edutainment and how confidence is growing