532: Should you use subtitles to learn a language?
From StoryLearning Podcast by Olly Richards
May 20, 2026 · 16 min · Episode 532
About this episode
In this episode, Olly Richards discusses the use of subtitles in language learning and shares his controversial opinion on the effectiveness of TV and movies for this purpose.
👉 Grab your FREE Binge-Worthy Resources for Fluency: https://l.storylearning.com/TV_movies I've had a lot of comments come in all asking the same thing: when you watch TV or movies, should you use subtitles or not? Subtitle on or subtitles off? Subtitles in which language? Which subtitle-audio combination is best? I have a rather controversial take on this, which is that I generally don't recommend TV or movies for language learning. Now, before you throw me under the bus, let me explain why. Mentioned in this episode: The main StoryLearning channel: https://www.youtube.com/@storylearning 👉 Got a question you want Olly to answer on the podcast? Submit it here: https://storylearning.com/ask_Olly_your_question 👉 Get a 7-day FREE trial to one of my story-based language courses: https://storylearning.com/Language_Courses 👉 Check out my all-inclusive VIP language programme with guaranteed results: https://storylearning.com/StoryLearning_VIP_Info#storylearning #learnthroughstories
People in this episode
Host: Olly Richards
Topics covered
- language learning
- subtitles
- TV and movies
- language acquisition
- learning methods
Keywords
- subtitles
- language learning
- TV
- movies
- learning methods
- StoryLearning
- Olly Richards
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: StoryLearning, YouTube
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