A combination of passive and active listening builds foreign language skills, no matter your age. As someone that used to teach English as a foreign language, I can assure you that the students that sat down with Marvel movies, the NBA, or even the news had much more natural English than their mostly grammar lesson counterparts. Unfortunately, getting a constant stream of foreign language content is not as easy as you would expect in the digital age.
Now, you can upgrade your TV into a language learning tool with the help of Dish TV. How? Getting a Dish International plan and pumping quality foreign language content throughout your household for you to hear as you go about your day. Just tap the button below to see Dish International plans, often providing up to 20 channels for $20 or less per month, or keep reading to see some pro tips.
What you can see (and hear) on Dish International
So, what Dish International plan is best for you? That depends on the language you’re studying:
Spanish — Spanish is so popular it isn’t included in Dish International. Check out instead.
If you’re a beginner or trying to help out family, figuring out the right Chinese content can be troublesome. Here are some hints:
- If you study Mandarin using Simplified Chinese (If you recognize 个, that’s you.) go for the Mandarin: Great Wall TV (20 channels, $15/month). Most of the programming will have Chinese subtitles as well, helping along your reading.
- If you study Mandarin using Traditional Chinese (If you recognize 個, that’s you.) go for Taiwanese Elite (6 channels, $20/month) for everything from politics to TV dramas.
- If you study Cantonese then you’ll want Cantonese: Jadeworld (6 channels, $30/month) instead.
French: Bouquet — (8 channels, $20/month) Of the two French plans, we recommend this one more as it has children’s programming alongside news and dramas. This package includes TV5 Monde programming, which will expose you to accents all across the Francophone world.
German: Mega — (3 channels, $20/month) From talk shows to children’s programming, the Euronews, My German TV, and My German TV+ will provide a great entry into the real German world.
Hindi: Movie — (4 channels, $20/month) Let’s face it, you’re probably studying Hindi to watch Bollywood movies anyhow, so why not have four channels worth to constantly increase your Hindi exposure at home? There are a ton of Hindi packages but this one also has the advantage of being the cheapest.
Portuguese: Brazil Clube — (10 channels, $30/month) Between telenovels and Series A soccer, you’ll have plenty to enjoy.
In fact, there are so many other languages and locations that we can’t cover them all. Everything from Urdu to Hebrew is covered. So, if you want to commit to hearing your target language every day, tap the button below to check out the many great Dish International plans. They’re all quite affordable and are a great part of a balanced language study plan.
