Movie streaming platform Netflix’s popular series “Squid Games” has increased the demand for Korean language lessons by almost a third (27,7%).
This is according to research by language learning platform Preply which found that more than 77% of respondents agreed that watching foreign-language films, and TV benefitted the process of language learning.
For those who enjoy watching Korean or any other foreign-language movie for the perks of increasing their language skills, Daniele Saccardi from Preply has some tips for you.
Step 1: Make sure your boxset has subtitles
The first step is to make sure that your boxset has good subtitles, both in your language and the language you’re hoping to improve on. Since you’ll be studying the boxset over a few weeks, make sure you pick a show that you are interested in.
Step 2: Split the story into segments
First, watch the episode all the way through with your native language subtitles on. Learn the story and understand each character. This way, you’ll enjoy the show and ensure that the plot doesn’t interrupt your language learning later on.
Step 3: Take some notes
As you’re watching the show, pick a few scenes and note down the timestamp. You should look for scenes between five and ten minutes long, and use one scene or segment at a time for the next few steps.
Step 4: Turn on your foreign language subtitles
Once you’ve finished the episode in your native language, it’s time to study! Restart the episode, fast forward to your chosen scene, and turn on the foreign language subtitles. As you rewatch the scene or segment, jot down any words or phrases that you don’t understand (yet). Pay particular attention to anything that is repeated multiple times.
Step 5: Hover over the pause button
Keep your pause button handy, so you can stop the show and look up any words you don’t know or understand. Aim to note down 20 new words and around 10 new phrases, then try to repeat them out loud each time you hear them. This will help improve your pronunciation as well as cement the words and phrases in your long-term memory.
Step 6: See how much you have remembered
Once you’ve watched your chosen segment or scene around five times, you’ll know the dialogue and story really well. Next, you need to turn off the subtitles altogether and rewatch the segment again. This will help you see how much you can understand without relying on the additional help.