How to learn a foreign language while watching movies

Many people believe that they can learn a foreign language or improve their accumulated skills while watching movies. This is not impossible, but only if you are not a complete beginner. It is a mistake, however, to think that by watching movies with subtitles in your native language, you'll learn something new. This activity is relaxing and certainly will not hurt your knowledge, but it will not improve it. If you want effective results, I suggest you pay attention to a few steps that will undoubtedly help you to combine business with pleasure.

Here are a few simple rules that you should follow:

 Choose a movie to watch

Sound Check
Be selective films that are about to watch - it is important that in the dialogues contain many colloquial words and phrases, or too specific scientific terms - from medicine, engineering, mechanics, physics, etc. If your level of proficiency not is very high, it is better to avoid betting on such films. Important is the quality of the film and how good the sound settings. You should hear everything, even when the actors drone on in a scene. When you do speak in a noisy environment is also a risk to miss the conversation because of problems with the sound.
Genre and date
Films that will educate, must be of the genre that allows very easy to learn new words with which to enrich their vocabulary. Films that recreate past eras, are not very suitable because the dialogues they use old words that are rarely used in contemporary speech.
 Subtitles
If you find it too hard to watch without subtitles, load such that not only Bulgarian, but the language of film. For example, if you're going to watch the series "Sex and the City" and "The Vampire Diaries" charge the player English subtitles.

Analysis of errors and omissions

 Preparation
This matter what you watch the movie - TV, DVD player or computer. In the first case you can not remove the subtitles, but you can cover them with a cloth or webbing. In the second and third option you can watch with or without subtitles in that language. It is desirable to use headphones because you will hear much better.
Start
Listen to a few sentences, give pause and try to write them on paper. If the exercise does not work or can not hear well, then drop the subtitle and compare.
Analyze what you do not understand
If you do not know a word, it's not an issue, but if you know and you have not heard it properly, then check the sound. Listen again and try to guess the word from the context. Repeat with the next few sentences from the movie and take the new words. The easier option is to watch foreign language films with subtitles, without pausing and recording of whole sentences and only when you see an unfamiliar word to stop to check it in the dictionary and write it down somewhere. Some actors have a particular focus, which hinders the viewer to hear and understand properly. So is repetition.


Each job requires a lot of progress. It is true that the proposed method has a risk pleasure movie going in the background, but sooner or later the positive effects begin to show. In this way you can improve your skills by listening to understand. I will say that it is important you choose what movies - in most action movies are not many dialogues, so if you are a beginner, you can start with them. Sit down and remove the dialogues. They are usually easy to understand. If you like series like "Gossip Girl" or full-length romantic comedies, they are also suitable for this exercise. Crime shows like "Hawaii 5-0," "Bones," "CSI" also provide an opportunity to enrich your vocabulary. Remember that to make progress, you need to put a lot of effort.
Movies can help you learn a second foreign language. For example, speak English at a high level and want to learn Spanish. Find Spanish movies and watch them with subtitles in Spanish. If too much difficulty, then put English subtitles. Thus, there is a chance to remember something when you make associations with the meaning of the words in English. Good luck!