system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: Kids should watch cartoons in a foreign language so they can learn it without effort.

I am part of a minority in my country, which means that my native language is not the official one. However, you do have a right to an education in your native language. So from kindergarten to university, you are taught all the subjects in your own language, if you want to. The only caveat is that the official language of the country is not being taught as a foreign language, everyone has to study the same material and take the same tests at the end of the year.

Usually, kids who grew up in cities have an easy time adjusting to this requirement as they grew up using both languages at least to some extent (they tend to have a more mixed population while rural areas tend to be either or). In contrast, those in rural villages have a really hard time when they eventually come to the city for school as they lived their entire lives never having to use the other language. I had classmates in high school who could barely introduce themselves using the official language, let alone conduct literary analysis on a novel written 150 years ago. Sadly it was basically impossible for them to catch up.

I grew up in a small town, but we lived in a bad neighborhood so I was never allowed to just hang out with the other kids. Therefore, I met all my friends in kindergarten (and later school), Sunday school, or through my parent’s friends who all spoke the same language. However, the cartoon channels on tv were in the official language, so that’s what I grew up watching. By the time I went to school I understood mostly everything and by middle school, I was pretty much fluent even though I basically never had to use the language. In high school, I was scoring better on tests than native speakers and I don’t remember ever having to actively learn the language. Although, I will say that my accent never went completely away.

Therefore, I think children should be watching cartoons in a foreign language because they will pick up on it fairly easily. 

Also, it doesn’t matter if only one language is used in their country or if they speak the native language. For example, a child from Germany could watch cartoons in English. I think ideally the parents (or someone else the child interacts with at least semi-regularly) would also speak the language so they can ask questions or get familiarized with it in other contexts as well. However, I don’t consider it a requirement as even if the child won’t learn the language perfectly on their own, it will be familiar enough that they’ll have a huge head start once they start learning it in school.
gpt
Gaining familiarity with a language at a young age doesn't mean you can learn it without effort. It can complement formal or informal learning, but the effect will vary widely depending on the kid, and in the best of cases will be just a marginal help. 

So, at the end it's basically a gamble, and you still have to have them learn the language through other methods.