My Experience with TV Shows and Language Learning. After passing my B1 test in English which placed me at a comfortable intermediate level, I was willing to take my skills to an advanced level. At that time, I was able to deal with content aimed at students but native material was still beyond my abilities. That summer I met a Slovenian girl with a near-native proficiency in Spanish claiming that she had learnt everything from soap operas. I was a bit skeptical about someone reaching such an impressive level with soap operas alone but that fact motivated me in a certain way. As we spend ridiculous amounts of time binge-watching TV series, I decided to give it a go and added it to my language learning routine. I first tried watching TV shows with Spanish subtitles but I realized that I was only reading in Spanish. It happened pretty much the same when I switched to English subtitles. I wasn’t really paying attention to what they were saying because I was focused on reading. When I switched off the subtitles I was utterly at sea. I started to watch TV shows that I already watched without subtitles. That way, it was easier to follow the plot and draw a parallel between what you were listening and what you recall from the Spanish version. Listening comprehension is still my Achilles’ heel but it dramatically improved since I started to do that. So far I’ve successfully watched Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy in Spanish, English and French, which has boost my listening skills and, no less important, provided me with some vocabulary about gangs, criminality, money laundering, mafias and so forth. It may come in handy if I decide to start up an international drug empire :D