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Mon 25 Aug, 2003 05:11 pm
Does Watching TV improve your skill in Writing,Reading,Listening,UNderstanding,Comprehending and such?
Well, it often helps people learn the language of whatever's being spoken onscreen. Due to the visual nature of TV, it can really help, because words and pictures are organized together. Plus, there's a great deal of repetition (on commercials, for example), which is another learning technique.
As for writing, I seriously doubt it helps at all, as you don't use the skill to watch TV.
Reading? Listening? I think it depends on what you watch. Jumpy programs (think MTV) aren't going to improve your listening skills. Programs without the written word aren't going to help you with reading. You can turn on captioning on most new TVs, that should help with reading, but keep in mind that a lot of captioning is wrong, because the typists are often doing it on the fly, and even for taped programs there doesn't seem to be great quality control.
As for understanding and comprehending, again I think it depends on what you watch. Reruns of "The Brady Bunch" probably aren't going to help you in either area, but watching the international news on BBC America will give you a view of the world that the mainstream American press doesn't give.