1. What do you think a family is?

3. Repetition

Watching a movie just once is akin to looking at a flashcard just once. If you are going to study the material you need to review it multiple times.

4. Engagement

You should be actively engaged with your movie. Speak along with the characters, practice mimicking their pronunciation, and copy their body language.

5. Subtitles

Subtitles can either be a huge crutch, or an incredible study aid. Using them the right way can elevate your study of a language to new heights. I’ll explain how to use them in a moment.

My Method for Studying a Language with Foreign Movies

Here’s the method I recommend to help you learn a language when watching films in another language. I’ve broken it down into five simple steps that will help you get the most out of your foreign movie study.

Step 1: Pick a Movie You Like, With Subtitles

The key here is to make sure your movie has excellent subtitles, both in your target language and your native language. This is no time to settle for second-rate products. It will be worth your while to shell out a bit more money for the right DVD.

Since you’ll be studying this movie over the course of several weeks, the cost is actually quite reasonable for the sheer volume of language learning you’ll get from a single movie.

You should also pick a movie that you have some familiarity with or covers a topic you are interested in. You're going to be watching this movie several times so be sure you enjoy it. If you're a big sci-fi action adventure fan, then watching a romantic courtroom drama will quickly get boring.