Learning in the Living Room

When Hana was fifteen, she used to watch everything with German subtitles. She liked the stories, but she did not really listen to the English. Her eyes were always at the bottom of the screen.

One summer, her cousin from Canada came to stay. He laughed at her method. "You are reading, not listening," he said. "Try it with English subtitles. It is harder at first, but your ears and your eyes get the same words."

Hana tried it with a show she already knew well. The first few evenings were hard work. She stopped the show every few minutes to look up a word, and some people spoke so fast that she could not even read along. But after a month, she noticed that she was stopping less often.

The next step came by accident. One evening the subtitles did not work, and she was too lazy to fix them. She watched the whole show without them and understood almost everything.

Today Hana works for a travel company and writes emails in English every day. When people ask her where she learned it, she says: "Mostly in my living room." She is only half joking.

When Hana was fifteen, she watched everything with German subtitles. She liked the stories. But she did not really listen to the English.

One summer, her cousin came to stay. "You are reading, not listening," he said. "Read the English words on the screen. Then your ears and your eyes get the same words."

Hana tried it with a show she knew well. At first it was hard. She often stopped the show to look for a word. But after a month, she stopped less often.

One evening the subtitles did not work. Hana watched the show without them. She understood almost everything.

Today Hana works for a travel company. She writes emails in English every day. "I learned it in my living room," she says.