Subtitles, yes or no? Spanish or English?
As a rule of thumb, my advice is: be open to all different approaches and see what works best for you. Adopt a method of watching that aligns with the time you have, the effort you are willing to put in, the kind of movie in question and other factors.
Let’s consider some of the pros and cons in each case.
Watching with subtitles in your first language
Benefits
- It can serve as a stepping stone to more immersive watching.
- Suitable for all levels.
- It helps you associate phrases in your native language with their translation.
- It allows for a more relaxed viewing experience which can encourage language acquisition.
Drawbacks
- However, there is a risk of becoming too reliant on subtitles.
- Engaging too much in reading can lead to neglecting listening skills.
______________
Warning
Be mindful of poor-quality subtitles online. If you notice inaccuracies, it’s best to turn them off.
______________
Exercise: ASSOCIATIONS
If keeping your concentration up for the whole duration of the film seems daunting, try at least tackling this over the first 15/20 minutes.
Pen in hand: jot down some associations you are making between what you read and what you hear. Using this technique regularly enough will improve your listening over time because you will find yourself forming those associations long after you have put down your pen.
Watching with subtitles in English
Benefits
- First and foremost, learning pronunciation as you are coupling the way words are written and the way they are uttered.
- Secondly, if you are a visual learner, chances are that you will memorise more easily what you can see in the written form.
- Additionally, you can make more sense of some pronunciation features that tend to go unnoticed, like connected speech and the use of intonation.
Drawbacks
- As with subtitles in Spanish, one can become too dependent on them. Ideally, it should be interspersed with watching stretches without them.
Exercise: PHRASE* HUNT
(definition of phrase: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/grammar/phrases)
Decide on the time you want to allocate for this exercise. Don‘t go overboard with it, shorter spans can keep the fun going.
Pen in hand: hunt down as many phrases as you can. The ones you find useful, that is. Not sentences but groups of words and collocations will do the trick.
Go the extra mile: It would probably be best if at this point you just jotted them down as a first draft. Later on, create a notebook where you can collect phrases from different films.
As always, having a context works wonders when it comes to memorising words.
Watching without subtitles
Benefits
- Taking your eyes off the text leaves more space for observing other details such as body language, which can speak volumes.
- Your undivided attention is on listening now. Try to lay back, enjoy it and take in as much as you can.
- Turns out to be a big booster when your level of understanding improves.
Drawbacks
- The risk of losing track and zoning out is higher without the help of subtitles. Make a point of rewinding and finding your way back in.
- Missing out on parts of the conversations may make the plot confusing to follow. But then again, this is a necessary step in the right direction. Sooner or later, it will pay off. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day!.
Exercise: Did I get it right?
During a twenty-minute interval, test yourself on your comprehension ability.
- Watch five minutes without subtitles. Pause and recollect what you have understood. (Orally or on a piece of paper)
- Play the same five minutes with subtitles in English. Were you close? If not, why not? Work it out.
- You get the picture. Keep going with the next five-minute bit and follow the same procedure.
Once you’ve done this for a reasonable time, you can reward yourself by watching the rest of the film without interruptions and in the format, you find more pleasurable. Remember you don’t want to run out of steam. This is supposed to be fun!
A combination of them all
My following suggestion is going to demand a lot of your time but it is also bound to be fruitful.
Select a film in English that you would like to delve into. Your cult film, so to speak, if you have one. Alternatively, choose a film which sounds appealing enough to watch several times.
Given that you are familiarised with the plot, watching it in English with Spanish subtitles should present no difficulty. Tune in your ears and try to draw a parallel with what you are reading.
A few days later, watch it again, this time with subtitles in English. Now you can focus your attention on how utterances are pronounced. Notice the intonation, the connected speech and the accents.
One last watch without any subtitles will round it off. If you have been paying attention this should be a walk in the park. Pleasurable, stimulating and confidence building. And you will have taken in a great deal of language.