Learn a second language with subtitles

Can you improve your language learning skills by simply turning on subtitles?

Subtitles offer many benefits to individuals who are learning a new language and teachers who are teaching a foreign language. While some individuals may use subtitles as their main method of language learning, subtitles are typically used as a way to reinforce what may have already been taught in the classroom.

How can subtitles help to reinforce language learning for students?

With subtitles, students can read what they hear which improves their reading and listening comprehension while also building their phonetic understanding. Studies show that for students who are learning English, for example, it is beneficial to add English subtitles to English language videos in order to build greater phonetic understanding of the language. Students who watch the video with subtitles in their native language don’t show the same improvements in phonetic understanding as those who used English subtitles.

Subtitles also help to improve student’s word recognition and grammar skills. Reading the words that are spoken and seeing the sentence structures helps to visually reinforce what students may have already learned in the classroom. Students can also pause the program to see the grammatical structure of a sentence and recall for themselves verb conjugations and grammatical rules.

When you compare studying flash cards to watching a program with foreign subtitles, the foreign subtitles provide much greater benefits to language learning. Subtitles provide more “real life” language learning experience for students while also engaging them more which can improve their retention of new words and grammatical rules.

How language teachers can use subtitles to help their students:

Language teachers can easily and affordably add subtitles to the videos they create for their students. BroadStream Solutions provides closed captioning and translated subtitling services for teachers to help them provide their students with the best learning experience possible. Pricing starts at only $0.25/minute for same-language closed captioning and $1.67/minute for translated subtitles! Learn more here or send us a message to speak directly with our team.

Tips for learning a new language with the help of subtitles:

• Keep the videos short. Shorter, entertaining videos will keep your attention and better motivate you to study the words and grammar used. Even though longer videos or movies will provide great learning material, it can feel daunting to sit down and absorb that amount of a new language.
• Start with videos or a tv series you’ve already watched and loved! You’re more likely to follow along with the foreign language if you’ve already memorized the plot, and if you love the show you’re more likely to stay engaged with the subtitles.
• For beginners, keep things simple. Put the audio on in your native language and the subtitles in the language you’re learning. This way you can connect what you hear to what you’re reading. Once you feel confident enough, switch the audio over the foreign language as well so you can hear what you read and work on phonetic understanding.
• Repeat, repeat, repeat. Unfortunately, you can’t just watch one video with subtitles and feel like you finally understand a new language. Learning a new language takes time, and you need to create a habit of watching videos or Netflix series in a foreign language to start to see the benefits over time. Don’t get discouraged if it takes you a while! Keep immersing yourself in reading and listening to the language and over time you’ll come to understand.

Learn about our closed captioning and subtitling services that allow video creators to easily and affordably add captions to their videos! BroadStream Solutions uses advanced ASR technology to create accurate captions that are then edited and quality controlled by professional translators. That way, our captions are highly accurate with fast turnaround times and affordable prices. Help your students make the most out of your language learning videos and add subtitles today!