Learning French through movies, series, and videos is an excellent way to improve your listening skills, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Subtitles can be a powerful tool to help you understand spoken French while gradually reducing your dependence on translations. By strategically using subtitles, you can reinforce your comprehension, recognise new words in context, and familiarise yourself with different accents, speech patterns and speaking pace. Whether you're an absolute beginner or an advanced learner, knowing how to use subtitles effectively can significantly enhance your learning experience. Here’s a complete guide to making the most of subtitles when learning French.
Quote from the classic French film Amélie Poulain. «Without you, the emotions of today are just the dead skin of the emotions of the past.»
1. Why Use Subtitles?
Subtitles offer much more than just a way to understand foreign languages. They help improve listening comprehension, as they help learners recognize words and phrases in context. Watching with subtitles also expands your vocabulary by exposing you to new expressions and idioms that might not be easily picked up through traditional learning methods. Additionally, subtitles enhance pronunciation and intonation by allowing you to connect spoken words with their written forms, making it easier to mimic native speakers.
Understanding spoken French becomes significantly easier when you engage with subtitles, as they expose you to slang, informal speech, and varied expressions used in real-life conversations. They can boost your confidence by making content more accessible and enjoyable, helping you stay engaged in the learning process. Furthermore, they familiarise you with different accents from various French-speaking regions and reinforce grammar and sentence structure by presenting full sentences in context.
2. Choosing the Right Type of Subtitles
Selecting the right type of subtitles depends on your level and the specific skills you want to improve. Here are some options to consider:
Depending on your level and goals, you can choose different subtitle combinations:
French Audio + French Subtitles: This is ideal for intermediate and advanced learners who want to improve their comprehension, spelling, and grammar. It allows you to connect spoken words with their written forms, helping reinforce vocabulary and sentence structure in context.
French Audio + English Subtitles: This is a good option for beginners who may still struggle with understanding spoken French. English subtitles provide extra support by making it easier to follow the plot while you start familiarising yourself with French pronunciation, rhythm, and vocabulary.
No Subtitles: For upper intermediate and advanced learners, watching content without subtitles is a great way to challenge yourself and fully immerse yourself in the language. It tests your comprehension skills and encourages you to rely entirely on listening, helping you adapt to native French speakers’ speed and style of communication.
By choosing the right type of subtitles for your level, you can gradually enhance your listening skills while enjoying your French learning experience.
When to Switch Subtitle Types
Beginner Level: Start with English subtitles to build familiarity.
French Intermediate Level: Switch to French subtitles to strengthen reading and listening comprehension.
Advanced Level: Try watching without subtitles for immersion.
3. The Best Way to Use Subtitles for Learning
To maximise the benefits of subtitles, follow this progressive approach:
Start with French audio and English subtitles to grasp the general meaning.
Switch to French subtitles to train your ear while reinforcing vocabulary.
Watch again without subtitles to test your comprehension.
Pause and take notes of new words and expressions.
Repeat key scenes to practice pronunciation and recognise patterns in spoken French.
Use subtitles selectively—for example, only enabling them when struggling with a specific scene.
4. Active vs. Passive Watching
Active watching involves engaging with the content in a focused and intentional way. This means pausing frequently to write down new vocabulary, replaying key phrases to improve pronunciation, and even speaking along with the characters to enhance fluency. The goal is to actively reinforce what you hear and see, making it an effective technique for improving listening comprehension and retention. However, active learning can be tiring, especially for beginners. If you're just starting out, it's a good idea to limit your active watching sessions to around 10 minutes at a time. As you gain confidence and reach an A2 or B1 level, you can gradually increase the duration of your sessions.
Passive watching, on the other hand, allows you to enjoy the content naturally without stopping to analyse every word. This method is useful for exposure to the language, helping you absorb new expressions and structures subconsciously. While it may not be as intense as active watching, passive watching is still beneficial, especially when used alongside active study sessions.
5. What to Watch?
Choosing the right content is essential. Here are some recommendations:
Series: Dix pour cent, Lupin, Call My Agent, Le bureau des légendes
Children’s Shows: Les Aventures de Tintin, Les aventures de Ladybug et Chat Noir
Talk Shows: Quotidien, C à Vous (good for spontaneous conversations and informal language).
Classic French Cinema: La Haine, Les Choristes, Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, Intouchables.
YouTube & French Content Creators
When watching content on platforms like YouTube, be cautious with the automated subtitles, as they are often full of errors. These subtitles may not always accurately reflect the spoken language, which can lead to confusion or reinforce incorrect language patterns. If possible, try to find content with manually created subtitles or use alternative resources like French TV shows, films, or platforms dedicated to language learning that provide higher-quality subtitles.If you’re looking for more viewing ideas, don’t miss my blog post “French Films and Series to Elevate Your Language Skills” where I share a variety of recommendations to support your learning.
6. Making the Most of Subtitles
Practise shadowing (repeating sentences aloud as you hear them) to improve pronunciation and fluency.
Use dictation exercises – write down what you hear, then check against the subtitles.
Create flashcards with new vocabulary from subtitles to reinforce learning.
Watch the same episode or scene several times to notice new words and expressions.
Finally, when you are a beginner, trying to understand every single word can be overwhelming; instead, it is more effective to focus on the overall meaning.
7. Feedback from students
Many language learners from La Classe have successfully improved their French using subtitles while watching films and series. For example:
Ruth, a French intermediate learner, watched ‘Call My Agent’ with French subtitles and noticed a significant boost in her listening comprehension after a few months. After each episode, she wrote a summary in a document that I corrected.
Stephen, a beginner, started with English subtitles but gradually switched to French subtitles while watching ‘Lupin’. He found that writing down key words helped reinforce his learning.
Hannah, an advanced learner, challenged herself to watch ‘Dix pour cent’ without subtitles and was surprised by how much she understood.
8. Take Your French Learning Further
If you want more opportunities to practice and improve your French, consider joining one of my subscriptions. Designed for learners at the French intermediate level and above, these sessions provide regular speaking practice in a friendly and supportive environment. You’ll get the chance to use the vocabulary and expressions you have learned so far in real conversations, reinforcing your learning in a natural way.
You May Also Like:
