What are you watching on Netflix? How to learn a foreign language from series

Abstract

With the rise of streaming services, more and more people are watching films and series in their leisure time. Some of this content is available only in the original language, which is often English. This can be a great resource when learning different foreign languages, especially English, in an entertaining way. Audio-visual content plays a key role in foreign language learning, as in most cases films and series have subtitles available in the original language. This way it can contribute to an easier understanding of these films and series at the same time helping the viewer expand their vocabulary. The aim of the present study is to introduce the theoretical framework of incidental and intentional learning and to explore how it is possible to effectively learn a foreign language through a web browser extension (Language Reactor) using content from the streaming service provider called Netflix. The paper presents the use of a user-friendly extension (Language Reactor) for web browsers.