As a Korean language teacher, I know it gets dreadful and demotivating to have to constantly face books and notes, especially in a language you are not familiar with.
Hence, I'm always encouraging my students to go out there and do something apart from learning off books – speak to someone in Korean even with your very limited vocabulary, practise through quizzes, join experiential learning activities. As the saying goes – learning goes beyond the classroom.
One activity that I suggested which students have NO TROUBLE following is learning through entertainment. ie: watching a Korean movie or series. I mean, who doesn't like watching Korean series?!
However, there is a fine difference between active or passive watching. A passive watcher will be engrossed in the storyline and rely heavily on subtitles to understand what the characters or casts are saying.
An active watcher will do all that, but also pay close attention to the phrases and grammar used in the conversations, subsequently taking either mental or literal notes.
Ideally, active watching is a great way to learn a new language but realistically, beginner learners might find the conversations going too fast and unable to catch up.
Imagine how excited I am when I was informed that there is a new Chrome extension called ‘Language Learning with Netflix‘, with Korean language covered!
See it in action here for Spanish and English.
I didn't waste any time and took it for a spin so here's what I understood:
Language Learning with Netflix is a free Chrome extension that automatically works when you log into Netflix after installing. It displays the subtitles of whatever you're watching in both the native language and your target language, so that you can view both at the same time.
This is such an incredible feature for a language learner as you're able to read the subtitle AND hear the dialogue AND see the translation or explanation all at once.
Here's what I did:
1. Download the extension at https://languagelearningwithnetflix.com/
2. Select your target language and your Netflix country as subs as programs vary according to region. If you would like to learn Korean and your Netflix country is Malaysia, the available films/series are shown here.
This was me watching Boys Over Flowers. Ah~ one of the best.
I set it to have both Korean and English subtitles and it works!
This extension has tonnes of options – you can choose the translation language, decide playback speed, choose font size and many more.
Here's a recommended watch – The Sound of Your Heart!
Though there are lots of options, it takes very little time for one to get familiar with this extension. One feature that I really like is to have the film / series pause automatically after each line in spoken – a feature that is really catered to language learners!
Do try it out yourself and let me know if it benefits you! If you want to try out Language Learning with Netflix extension for yourself, then get it here from Chrome Web Store for FREE.
While you're at it, be sure to check out 7 common mistakes Korean learners make and how not to repeat the mistakes! Do also find out how to learn Korean fast!
Responses