I’ve always felt guilty for watching TV because it felt like I was doing something unproductive with my time. Now in the name of learning a language, I can watch TV guilt-free! Here’s how it’s done.

First, you need to find a streaming service that supports learning a language. This post is going to talk specifically about Netflix and Viki.

Best way to learn languages from Netflix?

1. By listening

Just watching videos in the desired language will help your vocabulary grow. To find shows in the language you want, find “Audio and Subtitles” - This should be located at the end of the page.

From this page, find the drop-down menus and choose the language of your choice. From Netflix’s extensive library of videos, I’m sure you’ll be able to find suited to your liking.

2. Language Learning with Netflix

Bless the chrome web store to having Language Learning with Netflix extension. This extension allows the concurrent coexistence of two different subtitles. This extension has a lot of handy features such as:

1. Altering play speed

2. Automatically pausing playback at the end of every subtitle

3. Easy one-click features to replay the previous line, repeat the current line, and skip to the next line.  

4. User-friendly interactions with subtitles. Click on individual words in the subtitle to hear the pronunciation, access a pop-up dictionary, and see other examples where the word was used.

With an account, you could easily save subtitles

Disable and enable this feature by finding your extensions at  chrome://extensions/

Best way to learn languages from Viki?

Similar to the Language Learning with Netflix extension offered from Chrome, Viki has their own feature called, Learning Mode, which allows for two subtitles to coexist. This feature is not available on mobile web or app.

No need for me to explain this as their Help Center has already done a good job here.

I got a Viki Pass subscription just to have access to their dramas with a functioning working learning mode toggle. However, in the year that I had access to Viki I found very few Chinese dramas that actually had learning mode, and occasionally it was only offered for part of the episode or it wasn’t offered for all the episodes of the same drama. Which made it possible to learn from episode 1, but not so on and so forth.

My recommendations?

1. Well-intended Love

Light-hearted drama about a romantic CEO and a rookie actress. I used this drama to learn how to talk like a native speaker.

2. Triad Princess

Focuses on a daughter or a triad boss and a famous actor falling in love. Perfect for learning street talk! The choice of words is harsher, but why not practice sounding like a gangster?!

3. Nezha

Fate, is it chosen by the individual or predetermined by a higher being? Cute, funny, tear-jerker.

4. Scissor Seven

A comedic piece of a hairdresser who also works as an assassin. Interesting dialect, but it’s so funny especially if you have some Cantonese background!  

5. Untamed

What list would this be without the incredibly successful and popular novel adaptation Untamed? Enjoy the adventures of two cultivators as they solve mysteries and protect the ones they love.