Watching English language films/movies and television programmes is an excellent way to practise your listening skills and pick up new words and phrases.
It means you can expose yourself to different accents and ways of speaking, without having to travel to dozens of countries. Plus, it helps to build your understanding of other cultures and countries, and provides examples of how vocabulary is really used by native English speakers in context, rather than in textbooks.
However, you do need to be smart about how you learn English from what you see on screen. For example, are characters using slang? Is some of the language outdated? Can you tell when people are making jokes or being serious? All of these things will affect your understanding as well as how you use English vocabulary yourself.
Here are ten tips to help you get the most out of movies and TV programs that you use to learn English.
-
Focus On More Recent Movies
There are many, many classic English language films that are well worth watching for their own sake. However, if you’re watching them to improve your English, it will be much more helpful to choose movies from the past few years, that are set In the modern day. This will give you a good idea of the kind of language people use today! After all, it won’t help you on your next trip to Australia if you start talking like a 1970s New York gangster or a 16th Century English Queen.
-
Watch it with Subtitles
Watching movies with the English subtitles switched on can make comprehension much easier. Seeing the words appear on the screen means that you have two different ways of identifying the vocabulary you’re hearing and can be a great way to get used to the pronunciation of words you’ve only ever seen written down.
-
… And Without
Real life doesn’t come with subtitles, so to get really fluent, you will eventually need to be able to understand what is being said without help! Once you’ve watched a film once with the subtitles, re-watch it again without them. This time, really focus on your listening skills.
-
Pick Out New Vocabulary
Unlike real life conversations, the great thing about watching a film is that you can pause and replay anything you don’t understand! Keep a dictionary handy, make a note of new words and practise repeating phrases out loud to improve your pronunciation. But remember that the most important thing is that you get the general meaning of what is being said. If you stop to look up every single word, you’ll quickly get bored of the movie.
-
Be Aware of the Type of Language That’s Being Used
People use different types of language in different situations. Words and phrases that you hear used by teenagers in a movie might not be appropriate in a formal context with your boss, so keep the context in mind while you’re watching the film. Also, there are some amazing TV programmes and movies about communities that use very specific slang, which you’re unlikely to hear used anywhere else. For example, language used in a show like the The Wire can be tough for anyone who’s not from Baltimore to understand, even if they’re a native English speaker.
-
Pick Films You Really Want to Watch
Obviously you will find it much, much easier to pick up new words and phrases if you’re really paying attention to the film. Of course, you’ll have to focus, but don’t force yourself to sit through a film that would put you to sleep in your own language. It makes sense to choose movies that you find interesting and enjoyable, with stories that keep you entertained!
What’s your favourite English language movie? Let us know in the comments section below!
The post 6 Tips for Learning English from TV and Movies appeared first on Eurocentres Blog.