2021 Goals: This Awesome Extension Lets You Learn Mandarin With Netflix

Ah, it’s the dawn of another new year and so many possibilities await. This is your time. You’ll get fit. You’ll read more books. You’ll definitely not touch alcohol all month. You’ll be endlessly productive to best forget the train wreck that was 2020. Sound familiar?

Luckily, the sudden surge in impassioned promises of self-improvement from around the world means that now is a great time to discover useful online tools you may have otherwise missed. Instilled with a refreshed sense of purpose and committed to overcoming the latest in a long line of Mandarin learning plateaus, I happened upon Language Learning with Netflix.

Simply put, Language Learning with Netflix (LLN) takes advantage of the streaming platform’s vast catalog of TV shows and films, overlaying machine and human translated subtitles so that you can watch along and learn. First launched in 2018, it’s absolutely awesome for building listening skills and supplementing the otherwise drier elements of language learning such as reading and drilling new words.

As outlined on LLN’s study tips page, the aim here is to “'digest' as much material as you can, and focus on listening,” while an accompanying video describes why acquiring a language through context, maximizing input, and practicing listening and pronunciation are all important but often less discussed when it comes to getting a head start on rewiring your brain.

The biggest takeaway here is that acquisition — a natural and intuitive process that occurs when stimuli are presented with enough context to form a comprehensive whole — is much more effective than being told what something means. In effect, the more Netflix you watch in Chinese, the more the language will seep in (and hopefully stick) subconsciously.

Currently, the extension is only available for Google Chrome and of course, you’ll need a Netflix subscription. Once you have those, it's as simple as choosing a show or movie that you want to dive into and adjusting the settings to your specific needs (target language, whether to show or obscure the translation, highlight words of a specific HSK level, etc.).

Next comes choosing a show that is suitable for you, which will depend on both your tastes and your level. For ease of use, LLN has also compiled the shows available depending on browsing country and language that you're attempting to master. The shows are also rated, which makes it easier to find something that won't completely turn you off learning for another six months.

Once you're watching, using the add-on is simple and is kitted out with one incredibly useful feature: automatic pause, which when selected stops playback at the end of each subtitle so that you can drill the dialogue and look up any words you're unsure of. By hovering over words you can also see their definition and browse the subtitles in the right-hand sidebar.

However, the developers encourage learners not to get too hung up on new words or phrases, as "It's already quite helpful to be exposed to the new structure, and be able to associate some meaning to it. If it's something important that you should learn, you'll see it again soon anyway, and you'll gain more knowledge about how it works."

Fighting the urge to note down every unknown word or phrase definitely takes a little effort, but I've so far been happily surprised with how much appears to have sunk in. Now all I need is the perfect time to drop my new vocabulary, namely "familicide," "body parts," and "severed genitals." Okay, maybe detective drama Day and Night (白夜追凶) wasn't the most practical start to my renewed enthusiasm for Mandarin... or maybe it was exactly what I needed.

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Images: Learning Language with Netflix, Netflix