How to Watch German Movies, TV Shows & Videos for Language Learning Results

Many German learners and German teachers  will tell you that watching movies,  

tv shows or even YouTube videos can help you learn  German. What they don’t tell you is how to do this  

so you actually get something out of it instead  of just mindlessly staring at the subtitles.  

In this video I’m going to tell you my  tips for German learners so you don’t just  

watch movies, tv shows or YouTube  videos in German, but you actually  

bend them to meet your language learning  goals. While you’re watching this video,  

hop on down to the comments and let me know  what you are watching to boost your German  

skills. Let’s see if we can get a great list of  recommendations for German learners down there.

Once you have the basics of the German language  out of the way (maybe you watched my Beginner  

German course or bought my e-book for beginners),  I think it is very important to absorb as much  

naturally spoken German as possible. Watch German  films, TV shows, YouTube videos, etc. Choose them  

based on your goals, interests and vocabulary that  you need to learn. One of the worst things you can  

do is just search for “learn German videos” on  YouTube and just randomly click whichever one  

sounds good. I’m sure those videos are great, but  that isn’t our goal for this. We want something  

that is authentic, but also entertaining,  engaging and above all goal oriented.

If you need to learn vocabulary about  school, watch a movie about school  

in German. If you are trying to learn kitchen  vocabulary, watch cooking shows in German.  

Do you want to become a doctor in Germany? Watch  a German doctor TV show. I know they are over the  

top and exaggerated, but you aren’t watching  it for that, you are watching it because the  

vocabulary is authentic and you can hear how  someone might talk in a hospital in German.

If you are looking to pass a German proficiency  test, look at the topics that are expected to be  

on the exam and use those to guide your viewing.  You know that the A2 exam is going to have  

something on it about work life. Watch  “Office Space” in German. It is full of  

office vocabulary. They talk about the things they  did in the past, which is also on the A2 exam. And  

to top it all off, it is a fantastic film. You  know that the daily life vocabulary shows up on  

every proficiency test at every level, so go back  and watch the entire series of Friends in German.  

It is funny and Chandler’s voice is ridiculous  in German. The main perk is that they talk  

about everything in daily life. It is literally  just whatever they have going on in their lives.  

Any of these kinds of shows are perfect  for learning about daily life vocabulary  

in German. Obviously you don’t have to pick  an American show and watch the German dubbed  

version. Ideally you would find a German show  that shows you life in Germany. Maybe das Leben  

der Anderen or Dark. Both of those are great  for daily vocabulary, but Dark is definitely  

higher level German, as they are talking about  time travel theories and alternate universes.  

I recommend C1 level at least. You can leave your  suggestions for shows to watch in the comments.

Before you watch anything, I recommend making  a list of vocabulary that is likely going to  

show up in what you are watching. Read the  plot summary from Wikipedia in German. Can  

you understand the plot without looking up  any words? If so, you should be good to go.  

If not, make note of the words you don’t know  and make a list. Maybe add related words once  

you find out what those other words are. If  you followed my recommendation of getting  

the book “Mastering German Vocabulary:  A Thematic Approach”, you can look up  

the topic of the film and see what recommended  vocabulary it suggests to go with that topic.

Whatever you are watching, don't just watch  it. You should take notes along the way.  

With each viewing take notes on vocabulary  and phrasing that you want to learn.  

If something stands out with grammar that  you don't understand, find out more about  

that topic. You can google the sentence or  part of the sentence that you don’t know why  

it did what it did. Maybe you saw something  that looked dative, but you don’t know why  

it is dative. You can look on Stack Exchange.  (https://german.stackexchange.com/) I find a  

lot of answers to random grammar questions  there and the users are very knowledgeable.

Take notes on new words you want to be able to  use later. Use your notes to make flashcards  

to help you practice the vocabulary.  It is also helpful to write sentences  

on your flashcards so you see the usage in  context. You can always start by writing  

down the phrase and then looking up  the parts later when you have time or  

it is more convenient to search for things. Don’t be afraid to pause the video, movie or  

TV show. You are using it as an educational tool  and this is often necessary so you can take notes,  

jot down something you didn’t understand  or even to let your brain have a break  

so you can go get more ice cream. This is also a  great way for you to practice your pronunciation.  

When you hear something that you might want  to add to your list, try saying it out loud  

as you write it down on your vocab list. Never just watch a video once. Normal people  

can’t memorize an entire movie or TV show in  one viewing. While this isn’t really our goal,  

there is definitely something that you will  pick up on the second or third viewing that  

you didn’t on the first. First watch it without  any subtitles. This will be your true test of your  

listening comprehension and it will also allow  you to actually appreciate what you are watching  

for the art that it is. Next watch it again with  German subtitles. This will help you pick up on  

those words you weren’t quite sure of or you  thought it was this when it was really that.  

For the third viewing watch it with your  native language subtitles. This will help  

you check your comprehension and make sure  you didn’t mistake anything in the video.

I’m not going to give you specific recommendations  for what to watch in this video, but I will give  

this one tip. Watch things you have already seen  in English. This will supersede the comprehension  

of your first viewing. You already know the  content of the movie. You can use this to build  

your German vocabulary before watching it in  German. You already know what they are saying,  

so you can translate in your head instead of  relying on the subtitles. Obviously you liked  

the film well enough when you watched it in  English, so when you watch it in German you  

will be entertained and this is often important  for keeping your interest on the topic at hand. 

My last tip for you is specific to Netflix. There  is a Google Chrome extension called “Language  

Learning with Netflix”. It is probably one of  the best extensions ever made besides AdBlock.  

It allows you to watch Netflix films with two  sets of subtitles at the same time. You can set  

it to pause at the end of each line of subtitles.  Click on a word to see the dictionary entry for  

it. If you right click on a word, you can save  it for later. You can even slow down the speed of  

the video. Seriously. This is a game changer for  language learners who want to learn via Netflix.

Now that you know how to watch videos to learn  German, write your recommendations in the comments  

for TV shows, movies and YouTube videos/series to  watch. I look forward to reading your suggestions.  

Das ist alles für heute. Danke fürs  Zuschauen. Bis zum nächsten Mal. Tschüss.