How Movies Can Teach You New Language and Culture of Foreign Country

Learning a language does not necessarily mean taking classes, memorization of vocabulary and grammar rules. It does not always have to be that rigorous, you know. It is healthy for a learner to get involved in a varied learning experience. Combining real learning with supplementary media like films, podcasts, and books might seem like just entertainment; it isn’t. Using movies to learn a new language is just not fun but also helps you grasp the culture of the setting of the movie, whether Hispanic, Indian, French or English. Films expose you to a more natural sense of the language in action. You are exposed to vocabulary and slang, and you get to learn the non-verbal cues associated with certain words.

Here are some ways through which movies can help you in learning a new language and culture.

• Visual context

Movies are visual, and that makes them priceless teaching tools in learning languages. Movies enable learners to grasp a language more by interpreting the language in a full visual context. Learners’ language comprehension is improved as they can see visual supports as non-verbal cues and language exchanges are simultaneously used. A learner’s attention focuses on the verbal message created and supported by these visual cues.

• Movies are entertaining

In any learning scenario, learner motivation plays a crucial part. There is no exception in language learning, either. Movies are a big part of our lives, and therefore incorporating them into our study plans is logical and very appropriate. Movies became motivators and made the learning process even better through entertainment.

• Movies offer variety

There are a variety of movies that one can choose to use to extend the range of teaching and learning materials during the learning of a new language. Through film, you get to learn and develop all four vital communication skills.

You can use a movie as a model of learning in the following ways;

• speaking and writing through the sounds and subtitles
• listening and reading
• follow up tasks like debates and discussions on social issues raised in the movie
• dialogue reconstruction
• role plays
• dialogue summery

By choosing to watch a variety of different movie genres, you get to accumulate a variety of jargon, slang, and other aspects of language. IsAccurate can also come in handy whenever you get to a point where you are lost in translation.

• Movies offer varied and authentic language

Movies will help you learn a foreign language and its users’ culture by offering you authentic language and actual representation of the native’s culture. You get examples used in the real world outside the classroom interactively. Movies offer real-life language use through real-time conversations coupled with natural expressions and a natural flow and consistency of speech that wouldn’t be achieved in a typical classroom learning experience.

If you do not live in a French-speaking environment and wish to learn French, maybe watching French movies can provide you with a near real-life French language input.

• Movies have subtitles

If you are trying to learn a new language through movies, then opt for movies with subtitles and not dubbed ones. Subtitles will act as training wheels as they help you gain balance as you watch the movie and try to learn a new language.

Another aspect is that movies offer you a sense of repetition. You can always re-watch the movie several times and then switch off the subtitles when you feel well equipped. This way, you get to see how well your comprehension of the language is without the aid of the subtitles.

Conclusion

It is not surprising that many language teachers and learners themselves opt to use movies in learning about a particular culture and language. Integrating movies into learning language has been successful and incorporated into syllabuses. With the advent of the internet, this has even been simplified, as teachers and learners can easily access any films from streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.

Author’s Bio

Merissa Moore is an experienced content writer and translator who has worked with several multinational companies. She is passionate about second language acquisition and learning. She runs a multilingual blog and travels the world, taking in the splendor of the variety of cultures it offers.