1.03.2010

The problem with watching TV with subtitles

I was watching Maigret on the MHz network, and once I heard the rapid French, I realized that I'd have to keep my eyes glued to the television to follow the story. So if I wanted to look something up online, or even look at my husband while talking to him, I'd miss important dialogue because all I had to go on were the subtitles. At one point I got so tired, I closed my eyes, then realized I was missing some of the action because I couldn't totally catch what they were saying. So when Maigret suspected someone of murder, I couldn't figure out how he came to that conclusion.

Which brings me to my main point: watching TV with subtitles requires total concentration and you can't multitask. Though you can talk to someone because it's not like you're talking over dialogue that you understand :D

Update: the same "Maigret" episode is being broadcast again, so now I'm reading stuff online while *listening* to the French to see if my comprehension has gotten any better.

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