How to Netflix and Chill ... and Learn
- Aneisha Green
- Mar 6, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: May 4, 2020
When I started to take my language learning seriously, I realized the plethora of resources around me. Netflix was one of them. Thanks to instant streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, we have become consumers who are even more enamored by instant gratification. Have you ever sat down to think about the convenience that instant streaming brings at a click of a button? The warm feeling of snuggling up on a couch and binge-watching the latest series is quite relaxing. Trust me, I stand with all of my fellow binge-watchers in relishing this activity.
Not only does Netflix provide an international platform for movies of all languages, but the service graciously supplies subtitles as well. Using Netflix as a source for language learning can literally change the game. In this infographic we can see the plethora of languages currently available for streaming on Netflix!
Clearly Netflix can be a helpful source of practice if you're learning any one of the listed languages. Watching media in your target language can be a great way to sharpen your listening skills as well. Typically, we learn a language through two dynamically overarching methods: passive learning and active learning.
Passive & Active Learning
Passive language learning looks like receiving content while your brain absorbs it on a surface level. A few examples of passive learning would be:
• Listening to a podcast / music while driving
• Watching a show on YouTube / Netflix
Although these methods can be helpful and contribute to the overall learning experience, coupling passive learning with active learning can guarantee greater absorption and retention.
Have you ever fallen victim to only being able to recall a word after its been used elsewhere? This is an example of the word only being passively learned. When a word is embedded in your mind and readily able to be reproduced, you have won a small victory. Active learning on the other hand, takes learning by the reigns and requires activities that aren’t all that easy. You’ll need to flex those figurative brain muscles and fully engage yourself.
Examples of active learning include:
• Making flashcards for vocabulary words and actually using them
• Writing in your target language (not texting)
• Reading in your target language and researching unfamiliar words
Incorporating these activities together go much farther than simply listening to a song and hoping to figure out the lyrics one day. Learning a word, placing it in more than one context, and uttering it in those contexts, form a surefire way for the storage and retrieval portion of our memory to operate effectively.
Ditch the Blanket and Grab a Notebook
After binge-watching Grand Hotel, a prominent Arabic series streaming on Netflix, I realized that I wasn’t completely maximizing my time. The series aided me in learning new phrases and how to properly format sentences, but I felt there was still a lack in my learning. I soon realized that instead of actively learning, I was passively absorbing content. To put a stop to this, I grabbed two lifesaving apparatuses: a pen and paper.
I started a new series with intentionality. The series Hidden Worlds includes subtitles in both colloquial Arabic and English. I was able to switch from the two subtitles when I didn’t understand something in my target language. Although watching a 30-minute episode turned into an hour and a half of rewinding, studying, and shadowing the speakers, I can say that each episode provided a beneficial lesson of learning.
Sentence Mining and Repetition
The legendary activity of Netflix and chill has taken on a new face… and it’s yours. Instead of lounging, make this an opportunity for some fun and personal learning. The truth is that the plateau and peak of our progress solely depends on us. This reality can be encouraging, yet tempting for simple passive learning. However, there is one way that we can avoid this hiccup and it is by sentence mining.
The use of sentence mining while watching Netflix has dramatically improved my comprehension. This process requires you to find the sentences that include the vocabulary you want to learn, memorize these sentences, and actively use them. It is also ideal to incorporate various sentences for each word in order to have a better understanding of the grammar format being used. Sentence mining works by showing the use of vocabulary in different contexts. The association of the words in different contexts works to accelerate the consolidation of knowledge.
How To Do It
If you’re watching Netflix on a web browser, I have great news for you. Language Learning with Netflix is an extension offered by Google Chrome that actively builds skills in your target language. After selecting your video, the subtitles are shown in two languages, which allows you to compare the original audio and text with a translation in your target language. The function of a pop-up dictionary also suggests the most important words for you to learn.
The objective in sentence mining is to create repetition and long-term word usage. The sentence represented above can function as a chunk represented on its own, or broken down into smaller fragments. You can even use different pronouns in order to effectively strengthen your grammar.
This sentence can even be reworded to create variation. For instance, “Alright, then, Noha, I will allow you to accompany him”, can be altered to various formats:
• Alright then, Noha.
• Accompany him Noha.
• Will you allow me to accompany him?
• I will accompany him.
If you are experienced in conjugating verbs and just need to learn more vocabulary, this is a perfect way to do so! Imagine how many short phrases you can make by learning one sentence through sentence mining.
Netflix and its similar platforms have given us language-learning ease at the press of a button.
Who needs a trip to a foreign country when you have native speakers speaking right in front of you? Sentence mining and Netflix has been a transformational tool for my goal of moving to a B2 Upper Intermediate speaker. What will be the first series that you watch and use sentence mining for?
Aneisha,
I really enjoyed this post. After taking Spanish for seven years, I know how important it is to practice and how listening to that specific language over and over will only benefit your skills. Your article brings up a very great point of how to enjoy TV and practice your language skills. I think along with learning a new language it is also good to understand their culture as well, by watching TV native to the specific location you may also pick up hints of culture from where the language originated from. All and all, your article catches the attention and is easy to read. I did not feel like you there were any unnecessary words or paragraphs.
Hi Aneisha! I really enjoyed your post and related to it in a somewhat odd way. I am Puerto Rican, which means I was raised in a household where English and Spanish was spoken fluently, therefore making me bilingual. However I have talked to many American friends/colleagues that have told me that they learned Spanish or are learning Spanish and they all tell me that Netflix has helped the immensely. I good thing to note is that according to what I have been told it is much more useful to rewatch a series in a different language, that way you know what they are supposed to be saying and can begin to match these words with the new language you…
I really enjoyed reading your post. It is interesting because my best friend does this all of the time and she has gotten me interested in trying it. She has always been interested in Spanish and last semester, she studied abroad in Spain. One day before class started, she was watching a Spanish show on Netflix and also had the closed captions in Spanish. I asked her about it, and she told me that it helps her learn Spanish. I plan on soon trying Netflix as a source for learning a new language. I actually might watch the show she was watching which is called “Unauthorized Living”.