Watch and Learn: Study a language while watching Netflix

Learn a language while enjoying your favourite shows on Netflix.

This tool helps you use Netflix to study English, or Spanish, or French or any other language. Features include: - cast subtitles to study on your mobile or tablet - display dual subtitles - definitions of words or phrases with examples to help you understand - grammar explanations and vocabulary exercises to help you practice - translate subtitles into your own language - export definitions to Quizlet or Anki as flashcards FAQ ------ *Question* Uhh, I think Language Reactor already does this? *Answer* This extension helps you learn a language while watching video but offers different and more useful features than Language Reactor. Firstly, you can cast the subtitles to another device (mobile or tablet) to interact with them more comfortably while watching. Secondly, we are trying to focus not solely on vocabulary but understanding grammar, slang and culture/humour with exercises and examples to help put the language in context. Thirdly, we are building a bank of shows that have been annotated by real experienced teachers who can bring interesting observations and cultural knowledge that machine translations and AI would miss. Check this page for a list of teacher-annotated shows: https://watchandlearn.online/en/chrome-extension *Question* What a great way to engage in whatever you are watching, having to keep your eyes on your phone the whole time /sarcasm *Answer* That would be distracting but I think you know that :) and it's not how we'd recommend using the extension. If you want to cast subtitles to your mobile, we suggest using either of these two methods: 1. Link your phone to the show using the QR code and then put your phone down. But keep it close as you watch the show normally. When you hear a word or phrase you'd like clarified then pick up your phone and use the remote control feature to pause the video. The last 10 or so subtitles will still be on the screen of your phone. Just select the word/phrase you like to know more about. Then return to the show using the remote control to restart the playback. 2. Link your phone to the show using the QR code and put the phone away. Try your best to get through the show without any help (might be frustrating not understanding everything but its great if you just "best guess" at words and let your ear get used to the flow and rhythm of the language*). When the show is finished, pull out your phone and reinforce your "best guesses" by scrolling back through the subtitles and look up anything you'd like to learn about. Also, any time after you have watched the show you can click through to the flashcard export function and find anything you have looked up. This vocabulary can then be exported to Quizlet or Anki to fit into whatever practice schedule you are comfortable with that helps you move that vocab into longer term memory. *source: Rubin & Thompson reviewed here https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED507398.pdf where they define 14 characteristics of a good learner: number 5 is "learn to live with not understanding every word", number 9 is "use context clues" and number 10 "make intelligent guesses". *Question* Do you have Finnish? Swedish? German? Swahili? etc etc etc *Answer* The extension should work with all of the most popular languages. If you find that your desired language is not working correctly, then let us know and we will look into adding it! And if you are looking for Finnish, here is a screen recording of that language in action: https://res.cloudinary.com/dzyczavob/video/upload/v1724681773/samples/Screen_Recording_2024-08-26_at_15.12.59.mp4 *Question* But... Netflix already has subtitles in a variety of languages. Also, why would I watch Netflix in Chrome when I've got a big screen? When I watch series and films in languages other than English I like to set the audio to French and then use the subtitles to help me with whatever I can't catch from the audio. I don't really see what this extension would bring to the table? *Answer* The extension aims to augment the subtitle experience with definitions, explanations, exercises and flashcards to help you learn while watching. Maybe you'd find the dual subtitle feature useful? For example, here's a screen recording of Lupin with dual subtitles: https://res.cloudinary.com/dzyczavob/video/upload/v1724706492/samples/Screen_Recording_2024-08-26_at_22.05.55.mp4 There is a trade off between watching video to learn a language and watching for entertainment. This extension hopes to reduce the friction if you want to access a detailed language reference while simultaneously enjoying the show. You can cable your laptop up to a big screen if you want more of a cinema experience :) but we can't get away from needing a browser extension to inject these features into the Netflix platform. In the backlog there is a task to investigate Kodi, Jellyfin and other open source TV operating systems to try and bring these features to the bigger screen but for now we need to focus on getting the simpler stuff right.