Netflix: the most suitable streaming service for learning English?

Topic: Why Netflix is the most suitable streaming service for learning English.
(Compared with Amazon Prime and Hulu)

(Updated : 2020/12/27)

Hi, there. Kinkajuu here.
This New Year (2021/1/1) is the second one for me after coming back from New Zealand.
I think I’ll spend part of the holiday watching Netflix with my partner, Dekana

Do you use any subscription service?
Subscription services are a system where you can pay monthly to watch movies, drama and some special videos from the website and / or its app.

Using subscription services is a very good way to learn English because it’s useful to watch movies and tv shows in their native language.
If you watch movies and or tv shows, you will experience the following benefits:

• Listening to English words and pronunciation made by native speakers
• Learning how to use words in the right context
• Seeing culture differences through television

It can be hard to stay motivated when just starting to learn English.
If you know enjoyable ways to learn English, you can more easily pass through that difficult period.

I use Netflix to learn English while also being entertained, and I can suggest that method of studying.

I chose Netflix for learning English instead of some other services because Netflix has:

• Widespread English subtitles
• Repeat function which has an easy keybind
• A cheap price tag

Now, I will examine why Netflix is the best subscription service for learning English.
Let’s go over each of the major services.
I’ll compare Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu how they are good for learning English.

	fee	Free trial	English subtitles	Rewind 10 sec
Amazon prime	$12.99 per month	30days	None	None
Netflix	$8.99 per month	None	Available. If you use Google Chrome, you’ll be able to view subtitles from multiple languages at a time (LLN)	Available (from keyboard and click)
Hulu	$5.99 per month	Yes Depends on the course	Available	Available (from keyboard and click)

Amazon Prime

• $12.99 per month
• Free trial: 30days
• English subtitles: None
• Rewind 10 sec: None

It’s one of the most famous services and has many titles.

However, not all titles can be watched with just the monthly fee. Some movies cost extra.
Also, users can use Prime Reading. It is a mini-sized service of Kindle unlimited. Users can see just 0.52% of the content available with Kindle unlimited service. Users have to pay more if they want to be able to read freely.

Not having English subtitles is not good for learning English, I’m guessing.

Hulu

• $5.99 per month
• Free trial: depends on the plan that you choose
• English subtitles: Available  
• Rewind 10 sec: Available (from keyboard and click)

Hulu has English subtitles so it’s easy to understand movies and tv shows.

Also, you can rewind the videos 10 seconds with a single key.
One key point is the price. Hulu’s monthly fee is $5.99, which is cheaper than Netflix by $3. But Hulu does not have an LLN feature like Netflix, which is unfortunate.

Netflix

• $8.99 per month
• Free trial: None
• English subtitle: Available. If you use Google Chrome, you’ll be able to activate LLN
• Rewind 10 sec: Available (from keyboard and click)

The best point of Netflix is that it has no additional fees. Plus, it has lots of movies and tv shows with English subtitles.

You can rewind 10 seconds by pressing “Shift + ←,” or of course by using a mouse.
The main negative point it does not have a free trial, but at least it’s quite easy to cancel the service. Ease of use is one of the big draws of Netflix.

If you use Netflix from the PC, you can follow the below steps to cancel the service.

1. Click the “…” in the upper-right corner of the screen
2. Settings -> Account -> Details -> Cancel Membership

LLN (Language Learning with Netflix)

LLN is a Google Chrome extension for subtitle. Users can read two languages’ subtitles at the same time.
For example, you can show English and Japanese at the same time.
You can install the extension from the Chrome webstore.

Being able to see English and your native language is a very useful feature for learning English.

So, I chose Netflix for learning English. Non-English learners might have other subscriptions to choose from. However, if you are an English learner, Netflix is the best overall streaming service to subscribe to.