Learning English in Singapore up to a fluent level is an ongoing process. Fortunately, there are countless ways to incorporate English into your daily life and enhance your mastery of the language.
For instance, one of the most effective ways of incorporating English in your leisure activities is by using subtitles while watching movies as well as your favourite shows.
In this article, we look at the benefits of using subtitles and how to best utilise them to improve your spoken and written English.
Benefits of Using Subtitles
There are many ways that subtitles help in improving your English. They help you to become more familiar with the language, especially when you relate the words with the visual content of the show you are watching.
Subtitles also help to improve your pronunciation when you see the words on the screen and hear how the native speakers in the show pronounce the words.
And when in doubt, you can always check any word you are not sure about. More importantly, movie or TV show subtitles provide a good opportunity to build your vocabulary.
How Best to Use Subtitles
So how do you use subtitles to improve your pronunciation, build your vocabulary, and take your English to the next level?
We’ve summed up the following tips to help you out from the perspective of a leading provider of English courses in Singapore:
1. For shows in your native language, set the subtitles in English
For starters, you can watch any shows or movies in your native language then set the subtitles in English.
The English subtitles in your native language shows help to build on word recognition and improve your translation speed, especially when starting out on your English learning journey.
You’ll also get a better understanding of the English words and build your vocabulary in a faster and easier process.
The entertainment value of the show will also help to make the learning process fun and more memorable while complementing the lessons you take in a class.
2. Watch the show in snippets
If you are watching the show for learning purposes, it’s not a must to watch everything at one go.
There’s so much your brain can take in one sitting so watch the show in snippets and take time to learn as much as you can through shorter video content.
3. Watch English shows with subtitles
Besides watching your native language shows with English subtitles, you can also watch English shows with subtitles to improve your pronunciation and intonation of words in English.
The process also allows you to develop your reading and listening skills at the same time. You can also develop a better understanding of the meaning of any new word you come across in the show.
4. Re-watch the show when you have time
Learning a new language is a continuous process so keep on re-watching the shows with subtitles whenever you have the time.
This will help you to better familiarise yourself with the various conversational phrases and sentences in the given context.
The more you watch the show and see the words being used in their right context, the more you understand issues such as English grammar, vocabulary, and sentence construction.
Want to Discover More Learning Tools?
Besides learning through subtitles, there are a number of ways to work on your English on an everyday basis. For helpful tips, we cover it all on our Youtube channel. Here’s a video to get you started if you’re trying to read more in English:
Want to discover more English learning tools? Learn with ULC today. To find out more, check out our course information and explore the general English classes and business English courses available for adults in Singapore.
