I have often heard that people learn second languages at a young age from watching television shows in that second language. While not very academic, I think this is a completely acceptable and suitable way to begin learning a language, especially for children, because the programs capture their attention and they are also at a stage in their lives when language comes quite easily.
One of my best friends in high school was a Korean-American girl who moved here when she was one or two. Her parents knew very little English and to this day they still are not confident English-speakers. She told me once that the way she learned English was from watching American television with the subtitles on, and I was really surprised by that at the time. Since then, though, I’ve heard of numerous other people who learned English in childhood being aided by television or adults that supplemented their language studies by watching programs in another language.
I think that seeing real life conversations play out on screen and having the words there, appearing in real time, is quite helpful to learning. Our brains can make quick connections – sound-word, phrase-visual – as we are being entertained. I also think that watching shows is more beneficial than simply reading because hearing the words being said by speakers who are probably fluent can aid us in pronunciation, natural flow, and learning the common/ colloquialisms of a language.
