SCMT wrote:For me, watching TV was one of the best exercises I have done to improve my listening, although it was done in a structured, intentional manner. At the suggestion of one of my italki tutors, we chose a show, and I watched it, once with target language subtitles, and then again without. At times, I watched with subtitles twice, once stopping every time I couldn't follow, and another time letting it play uninterrupted. I would then discuss the episode with my tutor, with conversation ranging from plot discussions language usage.
The show lasted about 35 episodes of 30 minutes, so I guess I had somewhere around 45 hours of focused listening practice and follow up with it, and it is some of the most productive work I have done.
This is very similar to what I did with Portuguese. I watched a series chosen by my tutor- "Gabriela"- 79 episodes around 50 minutes or so with no subtitles available. I did this after having finished DLI Portuguese Basic Course, Pimsleur and basic conversation with my tutor- plus reading.
It was mind-numbingly difficult at first. In our tutoring sessions we would go over unknown words (with time-stamps) and then I would give a synopsis and be corrected with my output. It got easier and easier over time. By the time I had finished, I felt like I had made a huge breakthrough in Portuguese. I visited Portugal on my own and had a great time. I was understanding and understood. I went on to watch more series- novelas; sit-coms, drama, dubs- another couple hundred hours.
Artificially scripted or not, like SCMT, it was one of the most useful things I have done with a language. It worked for me. Spontaneous speech, sure it's useful. It's also not as engaging as a good TV series like "Mandrake"; "Sai de Baixo"; and Toma Lá Dá Cá. Half the battle of language-learning is consistency, staying engaged, habit. Listening to RFI Brasil's news magazine show and the Café Brasil podcast on my morning walk became a habit. Watching Brazilian series was also a habit. I enjoyed them and it really helped/helps my language skills. If I had to watch several hundred hours of people talking about brushing their teeth, making coffee or other routine daily life situations... I'd be bored to tears.
BeaP wrote:There is no perfect resource. Everything has disadvantages, especially when used as a sole resource.
This is so true! If I only watched TV, I would not have gained the benefit I did. Speaking, reading, writing, listening, my courses, concurrent grammar study together was what worked with me. I couldn't have gotten the benefit from the series if I hadn't already had a good foundation in the language. It's the basis of my multi-track approach.