How to remember the words you hear in TV shows

One episode is not enough

To learn vocabulary from TV shows, you need more than one episode. Research suggests that clear gains start at around ten encounters with a word.

Shows help because the same words return across episodes. Watching one series for weeks beats sampling many.

Recognising is not the same as knowing

In a study of reading a novel, learners met some words ten or more times. They recognised 84% of those words but recalled the meaning of only 55%.

Test yourself instead of rewatching

A well-known study found that once students could recall a word, further testing kept about 80% after a week. Further study without testing kept 33–36%.

Rewatching the scene

Feels productive, adds little after the first time

Typing the word from memory

Slower, and much better for keeping it

A routine that fits around watching

NativeLingo adds the words you met in subtitles to your word list. They come back in a short daily review where you type the answer, just before you would forget them.

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