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Turn off the subtitles
I shouldn't have to bother reading subtitles in French films. I studied French for many years, and understand it at a fairly high comprehension level. Still, whenever the subtitles are on, I can't help but read them. Even if I try hard to focus on the film, my eyes wander to the bottom of the screen, where I catch the sometimes rapidly flashing script, if only to reassure myself that what I'm understanding is in fact what I'm supposed to be understanding. (You may have noticed this whenever television shows choose to subtitle people speaking English with strong accents. It's usually not that hard to understand what they're saying just by listening to them, yet because the words happen to be at the bottom of the screen, you end up reading the subtitles anyway.) One of my favorite films from recent years is the French film Amélie. I love watching the scene where Amélie leads a blind man around town, telling him everything she sees. One day, I popped the DVD into the player, and selected that scene. When given the option for subtitles, I politely declined and began to watch. The scene took on new meaning. The words weren't completely different, but the sense had changed. And I understood so much more than I had expected to without the crutch of subtitles. It was liberating, and a real confidence builder. So the next time you happen to be watching a film in the language you're studying, try turning off the subtitles to see how much you can understand. It will give the film an entirely different feel, and you'll shock yourself by how much you can pick up. Of course, keep in mind that watching with subtitles can help your language learning as well. If you're a beginner, there's no better way to tune your ear to a language than to hear it spoken regularly. The subtitles will help you recognize new words and phrases and become more familiar with the structure of the language. Tags: French films, newsletter, subtitles
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