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Show HN: Learn English with movies and TV Shows

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Re: Show HN: Learn English with movies and TV Shows

#101

Post by gmu3 »

jtemplestein wrote: post #34

I'm originally from Germany and moved to San Francisco three years ago, when I was 21. People are often surprised that I don't have a strong German accent and I jokingly say that it's because I watched all 10 seasons of Friends a few times in a row. It's a joke, but I'm convinced it has a lot to do with it. There's an interview with Max Levchin somewhere in which he says that he watched some TV show over and over and…

In Once You're Lucky. Twice You're Good by Sarah Lacy, she humorously recounts Max Levchin learning English from TV:

He’d worked so hard to be perfect—what could he possibly have done wrong? It wasn’t a feeling he was used to.

“Where did you learn English?” the teacher asked.

Max responded: “Watchu talkin’ ‘bout, Mr. Harris?”

Mr. Harris kindly suggested he switch from Different Strokes reruns to the nightly news. Embarrassed but undeterred, Max did, and his near-flawless English steadily improved.

Re: Show HN: Learn English with movies and TV Shows

#102

Post by kurt_ »

duwip wrote: post #9
Ecio78 wrote: post #3

I do this process by downloading subtitles automatically with http://subdownloader.net/ or manually from http://www.opensubtitles.org/en and then play the tv series directly on the tv. It's of course less advanced than this (but more easy/enjoyable). I think this approach could be good at the beginning of the learning process (i.e. I've just begun studyin' French and it's too difficult for me to watch a movie with fr…

A Linux version isn't too far away either - there simply hasn't been much demand for it yet.

I would use it if it was available on linux !

Re: Show HN: Learn English with movies and TV Shows

#103

Post by myle »

duwip wrote: post #9
Ecio78 wrote: post #3

I do this process by downloading subtitles automatically with http://subdownloader.net/ or manually from http://www.opensubtitles.org/en and then play the tv series directly on the tv. It's of course less advanced than this (but more easy/enjoyable). I think this approach could be good at the beginning of the learning process (i.e. I've just begun studyin' French and it's too difficult for me to watch a movie with fr…

A Linux version isn't too far away either - there simply hasn't been much demand for it yet.

Is there a way to get notified when a linux port is available?

Re: Show HN: Learn English with movies and TV Shows

#104

Post by ghostDancer »

StavrosK wrote: post #24
duwip wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Linux version isn't too far away either - there simply hasn't been much demand for it yet.

Yeah, I'd pay for something like this (for Linux) for learning Spanish. I learnt English by watching TV, and it's pretty much one of the best ways to learn a language. A small problem is that you'd have to find enough good Spanish (as in Spain) shows/movies, but I guess there's no dearth of those.

You may try to watch dubbed Tv/Films to spanish, easier to find, and you can find the spanish subtitles http://www.subtitulos.es/ .

Re: Show HN: Learn English with movies and TV Shows

#105

Post by geekfactor »

jclos wrote: post #70
Lewton wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh if only watching tv was enough to get rid of the accent! As a dane, my accent at its worst sounds like someone making fun of a deaf person

Same here as a french guy. Even worse is that I can usually hide it pretty well (or at least diminish it) until I have to pronounce the letter 'R'. Damn R's...

What would be the equivalent french show for going the other way? I found Braquo on Hulu and started watching/translating/studying it, but realized pretty quickly that most of what they say should not be said in good company.

Re: Show HN: Learn English with movies and TV Shows

#106

Post by Dewie »

jacalata wrote: post #86
Dewie wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if it's so hard for most people to de-accent, if they want to. All you have to do is to be able to make all the sounds that are in regular English - for me I was missing -th (ð) sound - and make an effort to pronounce everything correctly. I've always had a knack for imitating people, and it's never been hard for me to imitate any accent or dialect (of my own language or English) as long I've had enough…

Yes, it is so hard. I am learning Hindi and I can't even hear the difference between several of the consonants, making it very difficult to measure how well I'm pronouncing them. My Chicago friends can't hear the difference when I say Kyle and Karl, so can't teach themselves to imitate it. And even if they could, changing pronunciation habits takes a lot of attention to the way you speak, which takes effort, which is…

I didn't mean to say that everyone else is lazy - I just thought that having a native accent wasn't a priority for most people. People can usually make themselves understood perfectly as long as their accent isn't too deviant, and having an accent has its own charm :)

Re: Show HN: Learn English with movies and TV Shows

#108

Post by abdullahkhalids »

duwip wrote: post #9
Ecio78 wrote: post #3

I do this process by downloading subtitles automatically with http://subdownloader.net/ or manually from http://www.opensubtitles.org/en and then play the tv series directly on the tv. It's of course less advanced than this (but more easy/enjoyable). I think this approach could be good at the beginning of the learning process (i.e. I've just begun studyin' French and it's too difficult for me to watch a movie with fr…

A Linux version isn't too far away either - there simply hasn't been much demand for it yet.

need linux

Re: Show HN: Learn English with movies and TV Shows

#110

Post by Dewie »

duwip wrote: post #75
adamzerner wrote: post #72

The market you're after is people who want to learn a new language. The want they have, is to learn a new language. The question then, is "will this be something people learning a new language will want?" I don't think this is the best way to learn a new language. Learning requires you to push yourself slightly beyond your comfort level/what you know. If you push too far beyond what you already know, learning will be…

I get your concerns - this is precisely why we added adaptative subtitles as one of our first features. So people could say: "I'm a beginner, keep 80% of the subtitles in my native language", vs. "I'm a more advanced speaker, let's go ahead and put 100% of the subtitles in English".

That sounds like a great feature. The most frustrating thing about learning languages is that it is so hard to ease into it, and you have to have a relatively solid vocabulary to go beyond canned phrases, but this sounds like it could help with that.
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