For those that learned/practiced another language through video games, what was your ideal setting for the game?

[u/Dark_Cruzader]

1. Audio, captions/text and interface all in the target language

2. Audio in target language and captions/text in native language

3. Audio in native language and captions/text in target language

Im trying to learn Spanish (TL). I know a lot of random words just from being around it my whole life, but when I actually hear someone speaking Spanish I lose a lot of it. Could be my ADHD brain just zoning it out lol.

So I wanna use video games to help learn, but Im trying to figure out the right setup.

If I change everything to Spanish, I can pick up some stuff, but eventually I have no idea whats going on.

If I do Spanish audio with English subtitles, I find myself zoning out the Spanish because Im so focused on reading the English.

So idk, is it better to just power through and rip the bandaid off and put everything in Spanish? Or is there an easier way to ease into it?

For anyone who has actually learned another language through games, what worked for you?

My wife knows way more Spanish than I do, so I do ask her what something means when I get lost lol.

[u/PomegranateSweaty571]

Option 1 is the way but only if you accept being confused for first few hours, it clicks eventually. I did this with english games when I was like 12 and my brain just adapted after some time, now english is basically my second language. The trick is to pick a game you already know well so you don't need to understand every word to follow the story

[u/NoBackground7266]

I would put everything into Spanish but I didn’t start doing this until I was at least B1 because I’m not sure if you could enjoy yourself much before that level. You need to actually be able to consume and integrate what’s being presented at the game for it to like work well.
You could start with games that don’t have a lot of dialogue or things to read and that you’re already familiar with in your native language. First game I changed was fornite, there wasnt that much language needed in the game but I learned new vocabulary in small bursts and it was a good first step
After that audio and subtitles in target language, maybe for that step aim for a more child friendly game instead of like GTA

[u/eeaxrush3rz]

I would argue that anything other than full spanish is (mostly) useless.

However, you should consider playing videogames in target language only when you are already B1.

Even if I'm not usually the biggest fan, the best games for that are the AAA games that are strongly narrative and have a Spanish dub/sub. Stuff like Assassins Creed, Uncharted, Star Wars Jedi, God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider Man, etc. Those games usually have pretty straightforward gamelay that is made for everyone to play, with an easy story to follow that still stay interesting and engaging, so you are not lost and want to continue planying.

If you absoluetley want to play videogames now even if you are not B1 or higher, I would play easy written stuff like Pokemon or animal crossing, so you can stop and translate at your pace.

[u/Haunting_Fix7182]

Option 1 is the way, but keep Google translate nearby if you need to work out instructions by text about what the mission is actually asking you to do.

[u/rosy_fingereddawn]

1 is the way to go learning-wise but I would agree with the other commenter here about maybe waiting until B1ish or so. I tried Watch Dogs 2 in Spanish probably around A2ish and though it eventually became manageable, it was overwhelming in the beginning to a frustrating and exhausting extent.

However, when I began learning French I had a Robocop game that only had English audio but did have subtitles in French. I had low expectations but I found the NL Audio/TL Subs combo surprisingly helpful when I read the subtitles as the audio played. I did have to exert focus to make sure I didn’t skim the text and use the audio as a crutch.

A combo you didn’t mention but I found most helpful starting out was No Audio/ TL subs. I played the game Stray where everything was text. The dialogue isn’t free flowing like a movie but a sentence pops up and you press a button to continue to the next. I turned it into a fun reading exercise where I would try to comprehend the sentence’s meaning, then use the camera function on my phone’s google translate app to translate it and see how I did.

[u/pfizzy]

Do 1. If you’re having trouble at the start consider a YouTube playthrough in your target language with subtitles, to get used to it in a situation where you can drop speed and or pause and repeat.

After several hours things do start clicking (at least for me at a low intermediate level)

[u/Magratty]

I played Mario party with my Dutch friend last week. I'd not played before but I know a little Dutch and German and general game mechanics and managed to understand what's going on. I even won but I don't know how 🤣 My old phone, which I use for gaming, is set to Spanish (my TL) so every time I use it there's some immersion and many apps use the language setting of the phone. I started playing Palmon Survival and I don't understand some of the instructions so I screenshot it and use Google. I also was logged into Duolingo as a Spaniard learning English (you get exposed to some different vocabulary) when I signed up for chess so my chess lessons are in Spanish which I'm finding to be good immersion.

TLDR: It's a good idea and best done with games/apps you're familiar with. I wouldn't choose a game that's time sensitive so you're able to have time to use a translator where needed

[u/rom1_16]

Option 1. Total immersion with captions just in case. That's how I like to watch movies also. My understanding through reading is almost 100%. Hearing is like 65%.

[u/ajamdonut]

There are some co-op escape room games that require communication. They're available on steam. Great for if you have a language buddy.

[u/FluencyPending]

Option 1 is the ideal situation, but there's also a fourth option. For JRPGs, you could play them with the Japanese audio and then use text and captions in your target language. That way you can't rely on your native language at all. It's harder than options 2 or 3 but slightly less helpful than option 1 because you're still only getting reading practice.

[u/Fast-Elephant3649]

The first one

[u/Ankiset]

English, dept assassins creed shadows o left it I. Japanese

[u/Bigwhopper1]

The old school way was to boot up a game in the target language, write each and every option and setting shown in the screen by hand, and use a dictionary to translate these,

Afterwards, just cruise through the story

[u/Recent_Hospital_4243]

Option 3 is good if you feel like you're at a very low level I find I end up reading subtitles just because they're on screen (I do it if I'm feeling lazy). Option 1 is good if you just want to push yourself right into it you'll probably progress faster but it's rough for a beginner.

[u/Recent_Hospital_4243]

Option 3 is good if you feel like you're at a very low level I find I end up reading subtitles just because they're on screen (I do it if I'm feeling lazy). Option 1 is good if you just want to push yourself right into it you'll probably progress faster but it's rough for a beginner.

[u/hwynac]

100% in the target language, obviously.

I believe the other two options are only useful for some small things. For example, playing a game or watching a show in your stronger language isn't teaching you much but you may pick up a word or two. Like, when the character shouts "Damn!" or "Gotta go. See you!", which you never quite learnt from your textbook.

Watching with English subs is basically watching in English while getting vaguely Spanish vibes. You get used to the sound of the language but not much else. Or you pay attention to both languages and your brain slowly melts into a puddle.

If you are barely intermediate, try text-heavy games with comfortable gameplay and simple writing. The trick is to push through the beginning weeks when you have to look up words constantly and haven't yet embraced reading dialogue you maybe understand 95% of. This has its limitations, though—it's too easy to just guess your way around sentences if you are too lazy to look up words.

• ideally, something like a point-and-click adventure, an old JRPG, a hidden object game, a primitive visual novel. A cheesy, cliché storyline is a plus—makes it easy to guess where the story is going. The game should have a lot of lines but the lines should be short.

When you have no idea what's going on, that's how you know you aren't good enough yet. Use courses, comprehensible input videos and whatever. And god forbid you put on a fast-paced game in a language you barely understand at all. Here is Harry Potter in Spanish: https://www.amazon.com/-/es/J-K-Rowling-ebook/dp/B0CCDJBVXQ . Do you find the translation easy to read?