Should I Use Subtitles on Movies to Learn English Listening Skills?

Hey guys! How's it going? In today's episode, I have an awesome tip for you to work on your

English fluency, especially to help you with your listening.

You know, English listening skills can be really challenging because English just doesn't

sound the way it looks. It looks one way and then it sounds completely different. It's

just totally crazy. But using subtitles when you're watching your favorite movies, your

favorite TV shows, or even your favorite songs, can help so much, and it's a fun way to learn

the English language. I've used this technique to help me to learn Spanish, Portuguese and

other languages, because I love music and I love movies. Maybe you do too! So, turning

those subtitles on when you're watching something in English and using the English subtitles

will help you in many ways. Here's how: First of all, it activates two

parts of your brain. So, not only are you listening and using your brain for your listening

skills, but you're also reading. So you're activating different parts of your brain.

So, this actually helps you to learn better and to remember new vocabulary or just to

become aware of new vocabulary, because you might hear a new word, but kind of miss it,

because you're not sure what it is, you're not sure how to spell it. But if you listen

to it and read it in the subtitles, it's going to stick in your mind much better.

So, English spelling is notoriously difficult. Being able to hear the word or phrase and

read the subtitles is an excellent way to learn how to spell in English and to check

your spelling, to learn new words, to be able to understand what that new word is and how

to spell it; so that maybe you want to look it up in the dictionary, or ask your native

English speaker friends about how to use that word in different situations, not only in

the phrase or situation that you see in the movie or hear in a song.

Also, what's really great about subtitles is that when you have a phrase, words can

sound really different. For example, "Whatchu doin'?" I might say instead of "What are you

doing?" So if you hear in a movie, "Whatchu doin'?" and you see on the screen, "What are

you doing?" you're going to realize, "Oh my gosh! These words, when we put them together

in a phrase, they sound totally different!" But this will help you so much to make your

English more natural. Also, when you use subtitles, you can pause

the video when there's a new phrase or something confusing and you can check the subtitles.

So, this is really, really helpful. As I mentioned, you're not only hearing the word, but you're

reading it too. Another important point is that seeing the

words written down will help you to write them down in your notes. So, maybe you have

an English notebook, on paper, or on your laptop, on your computer, or even just in

your smartphone, and it will help you to write down your new words. It's a really good idea

to write down new words so that you can find out more about them. Maybe look up the meaning.

Ask your friends about them. See how to use the words in different situations. And, of

course, to review them because we have to see a new word or a new phrase, about twenty,

thirty, even forty times, before it really sticks, before you're confident about using

it yourself. So, don't get down on yourself, don't get

frustrated, if after the first time you hear a new word in a movie, you can't remember

it and know how to use it in any situation. It's just not realistic. Now, I know you're

smart, but be patient with yourself, because it really requires repetition, it's really

important. So, a lot of English learners have asked me:

"Should I use subtitles? Should I not use subtitles?" I say, try both. First, try listening

to material, or try watching the movie, without the subtitles. Why not challenge yourself?

If it's really not possible to catch most of the movie, that's okay. Turn on the subtitles.

They're a great way to learn. And it's a much more rich experience watching the movie with

subtitles as a language learner. So, it's up to you. I'm giving you the suggestion.

You have the power to choose. Subtitles, or no subtitles?

Now, if you really want me to give you a strong suggestion, as I said, try first without the

subtitles. See how you do. If you can understand more than 70% of the movie or the sitcom or

the song without subtitles, then you don't need subtitles. In general, you don't need

them. But if you can only understand 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% of the movie or the song, then

turn on the subtitles. Use it as a great learning tool. And you'll benefit a lot.

So, if you enjoyed this episode and the tips, share it with a friend. Subscribe to Go Natural

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how you can become fluent and confident, and a more natural English speaker.

Also, come visit me at gonaturalenglish.com/7steps and I have a free video course for you showing

you the seven steps that you need to master fluency in English the Go Natural English

way. I hope to see you there! Bye for now!