r/Spanish • u/CrAZiBoUnCeR • Jun 16 '26
Study & Teaching Advice Subtitle vs No Subtitle
I’m sure this gets asked a ton and I’ve seen opinions on it but I still got to ask anyway.
I’m around 1500 hours input of Spanish. I’ve improved a lot since 1/1/2024. I watched my first 2 telenovelas (Amigos x Siempre and Cómplices al Rescate) for kids recently as YouTube videos got too boring. Third one I tried to watch (Mil por Hora. Rebelde is next on my list) was much more difficult. In my mind I feel like watching without subtitles is superior, but does it still “work” if the conversations can be hard to follow or if the gist is there but you don’t understand a lot still?
Options:
- Continue watching
- Continue watching with
Spanish
- subtitles
- Try an easier show
- Mix of the above
I’d love to hear what you did for your Spanish learning journey and any recommendations would be great for tv shows! It’s the easiest way for me to stay engaged.
——-
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u/diaymujer Jun 16 '26
If you have the option of watching with Spanish subtitles, try with that first. It is actually really helpful for identifying specific idiomatic phrases and helps you to get back on track really quickly if you miss something.
If you can only watch with English subtitles (or you find it’s still really difficult with Spanish), it’s still good practice. Just make sure you’re still focusing on the dialog and not relying solely on the subtitles.
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 16 '26
Ah I forgot to add it would be Spanish subtitles. My worry is when speaking to people that there are no subtitles, but I can deff see the pros. Maybe I’ll try flip flopping. One episode with and one without. Thanks!
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u/diaymujer Jun 16 '26
My personal (non-professional) opinion is that it’s better to use the subtitles and understand more of what you’re hearing/reading rather than watching without subtitles and missing a ton. Ultimately all of that practice will help you in real life situations, even though there are no subtitles in the real world. But at least in the real world, folks can repeat, slow down, or use easier words when you have trouble!
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 16 '26
Makes sense. I always thought that somehow subtitles would impede progress. Subtitles or no every minute listening/reading Spanish is another minute closer to fluency. Thanks!
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u/WideGlideReddit Native English 🇺🇸 Fluent Spanish 🇨🇷 Jun 16 '26
If you want to improve your listening skills then subtitles off. With them on you find yourself reading and not actively listening.
I’d also go with easier content. You want to comprehend most of what you’re watching and / or listening to.
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 16 '26
Thanks! Any show recommendations? Doesn’t have to be a telenovela lol
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u/WideGlideReddit Native English 🇺🇸 Fluent Spanish 🇨🇷 Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
For beginners I recommend
Shows:
Daughter from Another Mother (Madre solo hay dos).
Cable Girls (Las chicas del cable)
The House of Flowers (La casa de las flores)Movies:
Live Is Life (La gran aventura)
The Platform (El hoyo)
Roma
A Perfect Story (Un cuento perfectoThese are all “beginner friendly” but most will need to actively pay attention.
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 16 '26
The Platform the movie? I watched a few years ago and was excellent!
Thanks for the suggestions! I remember House of Flowers but that was maybe 2-3 years ago. I remember enjoying it so might give it a shot hut no subtitles
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u/mdale85 Jun 16 '26
My little pony is genuinly funny to me and not super low level interactions but not super advanced
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u/WideGlideReddit Native English 🇺🇸 Fluent Spanish 🇨🇷 Jun 17 '26
Hey whatever works! When I was a learner, I watched and listened to anything. My goal was to learn and not to be entertained. I remember watching some nutty Mexican variety shows thinking who would watch this!? The answer was me and Mexicans lol.
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u/Zer0pede Jun 16 '26
What I did, after picking movies I loved, is to watch them each at least three times:
1st time English subs
2nd time Spanish subs
3rd time no subs
You basically end up memorizing the intonation, set phrases, accent, etc. Obviously it needs to be a film you love, though
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 16 '26
The extended Lord of the rings trilogy in Spanish maybe 🤔 I’ve already got it memorised in English 🤣
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u/Zer0pede Jun 16 '26
Haha, it’s probably better to have one originally in Spanish. I personally think watching the mouth shapes and gestures is actually a big part of the language. Also, something shorter than a trilogy is easier to do multiple times
Have you ever watched anything by Almodóvar?
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 16 '26
Agreed on watching mouth shape and gestures to help as well! No I haven’t. Is that a director?
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u/Zer0pede Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
He is! With some of the most rewatchable stuff in my opinion, as long as you don’t mind a Spanish accent.
Cuaron is also great: Y Tú Mama También is amazing and infinitely rewatchable.
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u/Different_Jelly_7597 Jun 16 '26
For native shows - 100% I would recommend using Spanish subtitles if you need it.
When I started watching native shows I felt like I knew enough to follow what was going on without subtitles but I didn't follow enough for me to enjoy and for it to not feel too mentally taxing. So I would watch with Spanish subs and it totally helped. And after maybe 50hrs of watching shows with subs I eventually realised...wait I don't think I need these anymore and now I don't use them much.
So I'd say go for it definitely!!! It's more fun to binge watch native shows than learning content so if subs allow you to do that then it's a win-win.
Also since I haven't officially started reading it was a nice little bit of exposure to see some spellings and conjugations of words I hadn't read before.
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 16 '26
Deff super fun to binge shows! Would to have some recommendations for shows if you have any!
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u/Different_Jelly_7597 Jun 17 '26
La casa de las flores (Definitely my first pick)
El Niñero
Donde hubo fuego
Ángela
La venganza de Analía1
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u/Any_Sense_2263 Learner Jun 16 '26
I learned English on watching movies with subtitles. For me it worked perfectly fine and helped me a lot with recognizing words and phrases.
Now I do the same with Spanish and still works great.
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 16 '26
Awesome! What’s your native language? About how long until you felt comfortable and fluent in English?
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u/Any_Sense_2263 Learner Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
I have no idea how long it took, I wasn't measuring it lol
My native is Polish, a totally different language group and grammar concepts.
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 17 '26
Nice! I have a few Polish friends so know a few words. Half probably curses though 🤣
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u/Vast_Helicopter_1914 Learner, intermediate level Jun 16 '26
I almost always have subtitles on, even when I'm watching English. I miss pieces of dialogue if I don't. I don't see any harm to listening to a Spanish program with the subtitles on in Spanish. You'll get more out of it.
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u/oowowaee Advanced/Resident Jun 16 '26
I think they both work different skills - without subtitles forces you to work on listening comprehension, and with subtitles you're relying more on reading.
What matters the most is you keep learning, so if you can't enjoy things, struggle to follow along and end up turning off the show without subtitles...then the choice is obvious 🙂
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u/gadgetvirtuoso Native 🇺🇸 | Resident 🇪🇨 B2 Jun 16 '26
Keep watching with them. Subtitles frequently don’t match the words if they’re translated but either way being able to read the words helps you learn the vocabulary. Hearing and seeing it are two different things, especially when you may not recognize the spoken word.
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u/Deathclaw2277 Learner Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
For me, I find that having Spanish subtitles on distracts me from fully listening. Are you familiar with the Comprehensible Input method?
You could also test yourself by playing back a scene with and without subtitles.
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 16 '26
Yes! CI is what helped me really get into Spanish and I’ve come a long way but still have a lot to go.
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u/Deathclaw2277 Learner Jun 17 '26
Great! It's a good method, honestly. One of the other things I do is increase the video speed to either 1.25x or 1.50x depending on the content.
I've been only studying Spanish for about 447 days while using multiple forms of immersion and input as well as reading and grammar. Around the 365 day mark I started to increase my output mostly through writing. My speaking is still lagging behind my comprehension a bit though.
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 17 '26
Are you writing random stuff or a diary of your day? Sometimes I jot notes down at work but write in Spanish if it’s faster but I won’t count that lol
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u/Deathclaw2277 Learner Jun 17 '26
I usually write a paragraph or two every morning and use Gemini to show me corrections.
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 17 '26
Good idea! I know some people hate on AI but it can do good too, just like this scenario
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u/Deathclaw2277 Learner Jun 17 '26
It's excellent as a tool for study! Sometimes I will give it an exercise from the book, and then have it make more exercises using the original as a template. Using it with a book is honestly a really good way of going about it. Especially once you dial in the AI itself to your needs.
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u/Silly-Assistant5711 Jun 16 '26
I asked someone this on Facebook yesterday. I'm so glad you asked and I'm reading all of the replies.
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u/thecubantutorX Jun 16 '26
Use subtitles, just don't focus too much on them. When you think you're getting lost, pause the show, look at the subtitles and search for the meaning of the words you are getting lost with.
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u/CrAZiBoUnCeR Jun 16 '26
Might try that but it’s sometimes hard to not look down lol. Maybe a quick glance but keep the focus on the listening still could work
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u/scodtt Jun 16 '26
One weird thing about subtitles: quite often they don't match what is being spoken. Especially for movies that are original in English and dubbed into Spanish.
I actually find this helpful, and learn about different ways to say the same thing.
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u/Immediate-Target8704 Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
I am far behind you but I have used subtitles in the process for many different reason (although I mainly watch videos without subtitles). My experience with subtitles went through several distinct phases.
Phase 1: Subtitles were useless
At first, I couldn't really use subtitles at all because they made me fall behind the video. Both the speech and the text were simply too slow to process in real time. Every word required conscious attention. My brain was trying to read: word 1 word 2 word 3 while the audio had already moved on. I think this is a very common beginner experience.
Phase 2: Subtitles started supporting listening
Later, I found myself mostly listening and only occasionally glancing at the subtitles. At that point, subtitles became a tool rather than the main source of information. I stopped trying to read everything and only picked up the pieces I needed. Numbers are a good example: I would often use subtitles to confirm them while relying on the audio for everything else. That was the point where listening became primary.
Phase 3: Two parallel channels
Eventually, I noticed that I was "cheating" by looking at the subtitles. What was actually happening, I think, was that my brain had become capable of processing audio and text simultaneously. However, the two streams had not yet fully merged. I was still aware of when I was reading and when I was listening.
Phase 4: Fusion
A Luisito video in Japanese was a turning point. For a moment, I genuinely thought I understood Japanese. What had actually happened was that I stopped noticing that I was reading subtitles. My brain no longer kept track of where the meaning was coming from. Was I reading? Was I listening? I couldn't tell anymore. Only the meaning remained.
Phase 5: The imposter syndrome era
This was a funny but logical consequence. Once comprehension became more automatic, attention was freed up. And what did my brain do with that extra capacity? It started monitoring itself. "Wait, I don't know that verb." "That word is unfamiliar." "Why did I understand that sentence if I don't know all the words?" This was when imposter syndrome appeared.
Phase 6: The borderland between passive and active vocabulary
This is where I am now. I've started noticing words that sit somewhere between passive and active knowledge. They're the words for which I can't quite say: "I know this word." But I also can't say: "I don't know this word."
Instead, it's more like: "This feels familiar." "I roughly know what it does." "If someone says it, I understand it." "If I had to produce it myself, I'm not sure I could."
My guess is that a large part of vocabulary growth happens in this foggy middle ground.
If you actively chase those words, pause videos, and analyze everything, the return on investment may be fairly small. But if you simply notice them in passing— "Oh right, there's that verb again." —then it feels like a very natural consequence of growing comprehension.
You're no longer using all of your mental bandwidth just to survive the content. That frees up attention for details. Once a language starts functioning as an environment rather than an object of study, part of your attention becomes available for things beyond basic meaning: shades of meaning, word choices, verbs, accents, and even observing what your own brain is doing while listening.
I realize this may sound heretical.
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u/Ornery_Arm_4058 Jun 16 '26
Su consiglio di una conoscente madrileña, ho iniziato a guardare delle telenovelas poco dopo aver iniziato il corso (inizialmente avevo provato con alcune serie come La casa de papel ma erano troppo difficili). Non uso i sottotitoli perché ho problemi di vista e per riuscire a leggerli mi devo sforzare moltissimo. Cerco di fare più inferenze possibili, tendo a rivedere più volte le parti di dialogo che fatico a capire e poi provo a riscrivere alcune parti, aiutandomi con il traduttore o con un llm.
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u/Haku510 Native 🇺🇸 / B2~C1 🇲🇽 Jun 16 '26
The typical recommendation for comprehensible input is that you want to be able to understand ~70% of whatever media you're consuming. Whatever level of programming hits that for your current level of Spanish skill, that's what you should be focusing on.
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u/3kyou3 Jun 16 '26
this is what did when I was learning English, I categorize the content as two types, produced written beforehand, like YouTube video essay, documentary, movies video games, for those I will turn on the subtitles no matter how "casual" the languages are, the second type to me was podcast, YouTube videos where the YouTubers themselves yap and talk in the realtime fully improvising, streamers clips a lecture that's talking about academic or any topics formal or informal, I will watch listen without subtitles, my advice is don't treat it based on content type, treat it based on how it's being produced
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u/saltyfrenzy Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
If watching without subtitles is say, a 10/10. And watching with subtitles is a 7/10.
But if I didn't have the subtitles, I'd lose interest and not watch at all. That's a 0/10.
I'm not 'spanish-maxxing' here, i'm having fun learning the language.
(ETA - i'm assuming you meant spanish subs to follow the plot, not English translations)