There is something unarguably seductive about foreign films. Perhaps it is the iconic Brigitte Bardot-esque heroines of French cinema or the intoxicating, blood-soaked battles of traditional Japanese thrillers. Maybe it is simply the romantic strangeness of a familiar medium being used in an unfamiliar dialect. Regardless, foreign languages are tremendously more intriguing when articulated in such artistic forms, as opposed to watching a professor write conjugations of irregular verbs across a white board. While they have always been successful in spurring interest, the advancement that foreign films have on language acquisition and comprehension is greatly disputed. However, a newly published study from PLOS ONE has gifted the educational world with scientific evidence that proves foreign movies can, in fact, be used as a learning-tool, so long as you follow a few rules.

First, the key lies in the subtitles. This is the most commonly avoided tactic because it immediately dissolves any chance of mindless entertainment. Watching “Elena,”  the Russian crime film directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, with English subtitles will inhibit your opportunity to associate the sound of a word and its spelling. Sure, you will still be hearing the Russian vocabulary, but your eyes will be inadvertently drawn to the English phrases running across the bottom of the screen. In PLOS ONE’s study, which was published in June, three groups of Spanish speaking individuals who were studying English as a second-language gathered to watch a series of British television shows. One group had Spanish subtitles. One group had English subtitles. The last group had no subtitles. The results showed that English subtitles were the most beneficial in improvement of phonological skills, followed by no subtitles. Those who watched the episodes with the subtitles in their native language showed no improvement.

The second rule is maintaining concentration. As you watch the bleak French film “La Haine,” which displays the corruption of France’s class system, there has to be a conscious effort of engagement with each scene. The best way to accomplish this is by watching it in segments. Absorbing a film in one sitting, while attempting to grasp the linguistic variability of each phrase, will exhaust your focus. Next time you’re studying for a vocab quiz in Japanese, take a break every 30 or so minutes and watch a few scenes of “Lady Snowblood,” the Japanese cult classic that inspired Tarantino’s “Kill Bill.” Take notes on the dialogue in each scene. Try to see if you can mimic each declaration Yuki Kashima whispers right before her face is speckled with the blood of her foe.

Finally, you must rewatch. As is true with day-to-day conversations, phrases often need to be repeated in order for us to process each word. Repetition can benefit not only comprehension, but also reiteration. So rewind and rewatch each charged scene of “Gomorrah,” the movie about a deadly crime circle in Southern Italy, so that your comprehension of the dialogue isn’t distracted by the wide stream of slang and profanity. Dissect the Faun’s introduction in Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish masterpiece, “Pan’s Labyrinth,” until you can repeat each of his celestial names. “Soy la montaña, el bosque y la tierra. Soy un…..fauno.”

Even with these guidelines, the films will not lose their allure, their grit or their strangeness. The act of being entertained is merely escalated by the opportunity to simultaneously obtain an edge. After watching “West Beirut,” the 90s drama about Lebanese teenagers, you will notice a newfound sense of calm during your next Arabic class. You will no longer be confounded by the accents and rapid speed. You will find yourself at a great advantage compared to your less cultured peers simply because you succumbed to that charming temptress, foreign cinema.