Listening TV experiment

[mjd550]

Hi all. I am going to do a experiment and report back once I have finished. I plan to watch two or three seasons of star trek with English subtitles. One or two episodes a day. It was recommended I read the the subtitles in both languages tried that but it takes too much time and don't feel like I'm getting anywhere with it.

My current level is breakthrough, I plan to finish assimil 2014 with ease then complete 1987 assimil Spanish with ease. I have watched a few episodes so far and getting used to the individual voices already. Sometimes I can almost see Spanish words spelled out in my head even if I don't understand the word.

[iguanamon]

...It was recommended I read the the subtitles in both languages tried that but it takes too much time and don't feel like I'm getting anywhere with it. ...

Language-learning fools us in the beginning and low intermediate stages because progress is rapid. We go from knowing nothing in L2 to being on the cusp of a general understanding of how the language works. When moving to higher levels, the progress is slower and, as a result, it can sometimes seem imperceptible but progress does happen. The thing is that it takes time . Sometimes learners aren't willing to accept that. If they can manage to accept it then they generally do progress.

A lot of things in language learning take time. Remember, you are trying to get your brain to do something it is unaccustomed to doing- understanding a foreign language. It's going to be hard at first, mind-meltingly hard. It is also going to take time- a lot more time than you think or may be willing to give, but if you want to get good at listening you will have to work at it. It isn't going to fall into your lap and Assimil course audio just isn't enough. Watching with L2 subs can help. The goal should always be to wean yourself off of subtitles and/or transcripts. They should be used as an aid to learning, not as a crutch. I wish you luck, but it is generally accepted here that watching L2 with L1 subtitles isn't very effective in training listening.

[mjd550]

...It was recommended I read the the subtitles in both languages tried that but it takes too much time and don't feel like I'm getting anywhere with it. ...

Language-learning fools us in the beginning and low intermediate stages because progress is rapid. We go from knowing nothing in L2 to being on the cusp of a general understanding of how the language works. When moving to higher levels, the progress is slower and, as a result, it can sometimes seem imperceptible but progress does happen. The thing is that it takes time . Sometimes learners aren't willing to accept that. If they can manage to accept it then they generally do progress.

A lot of things in language learning take time. Remember, you are trying to get your brain to do something it is unaccustomed to doing- understanding a foreign language. It's going to be hard at first, mind-meltingly hard. It is also going to take time- a lot more time than you think or may be willing to give, but if you want to get good at listening you will have to work at it. It isn't going to fall into your lap and Assimil course audio just isn't enough. Watching with L2 subs can help. The goal should always be to wean yourself off of subtitles and/or transcripts. They should be used as an aid to learning, not as a crutch. I wish you luck, but it is generally accepted here that watching L2 with L1 subtitles isn't very effective in training listening.

I knew really it was harder than that. I just hoped for confirmation that my method would work. Thanks for the post. I'm doing it the hard way now. I'm translating the subtitles from Spanish to English then back again. Internalise them and listening to the audio.

[jeff_lindqvist]

I knew really it was harder than that. I just hoped for confirmation that my method would work. Thanks for the post. I'm doing it the hard way now. I'm translating the subtitles from Spanish to English then back again. Internalise them and listening to the audio.

It's not that L1 subs are useless - at some point they're probably necessary unless you for some reason already have good listening skills or are happy with incomprehensible input. How else could I enjoy movies in languages I don't speak?

Related topic:
Subtitles in L1 or different L2

[golyplot]

I knew really it was harder than that. I just hoped for confirmation that my method would work. Thanks for the post. I'm doing it the hard way now. I'm translating the subtitles from Spanish to English then back again. Internalise them and listening to the audio.

I'm not sure how comparable it is, but I studied French primarily through watching lots of French shows and videos. I also used Duolingo and stuff like that and occasionally read stuff in French, but I mostly focused on listening, because I'm lazy, and it's a lot easier to spend time on things that are passive and entertaining.

One difference is that I never tried to translate subtitles or anything. I always watched videos without subtitles first. For a while, I would watch everything twice, once without subtitles and then once with subtitles so I could understand what was going on. But eventually, I got to the point where I rarely bothered with the second step because I mostly understood everything the first time around.

[mjd550]

I knew really it was harder than that. I just hoped for confirmation that my method would work. Thanks for the post. I'm doing it the hard way now. I'm translating the subtitles from Spanish to English then back again. Internalise them and listening to the audio.

I'm not sure how comparable it is, but I studied French primarily through watching lots of French shows and videos. I also used Duolingo and stuff like that and occasionally read stuff in French, but I mostly focused on listening, because I'm lazy, and it's a lot easier to spend time on things that are passive and entertaining.

One difference is that I never tried to translate subtitles or anything. I always watched videos without subtitles first. For a while, I would watch everything twice, once without subtitles and then once with subtitles so I could understand what was going on. But eventually, I got to the point where I rarely bothered with the second step because I mostly understood everything the first time around.

Yeah I'm going to do that. Might take longer but I do not care. Going through subtitle texts trying to remember them is no fun. I will watch star trek with and without subtitles for a couple of seasons see if it helps. I'll finish assimil then start assimil 1984. I've even got assimil 1956 I think it is and using Spanish because I like assimil so much.

[DaveBee]

I knew really it was harder than that. I just hoped for confirmation that my method would work. Thanks for the post. I'm doing it the hard way now. I'm translating the subtitles from Spanish to English then back again. Internalise them and listening to the audio.

It's not that L1 subs are useless - at some point they're probably necessary unless you for some reason already have good listening skills or are happy with incomprehensible input. How else could I enjoy movies in languages I don't speak?

Related topic:
Subtitles in L1 or different L2

I've developed a new respect for actors since starting to watch L2 programmes. Actors convey a lot of information even if you don't understand the dialogue.