Studying English is usually tricky and tiresome.
This is because there are millions of grammatical rules, exceptions to the rules, types of speeches, phrasal verbs, pronunciations, idioms, phonetics, and accents.
After a time learning English becomes a task to work upon, and over time it becomes boring.
So how can we avoid sleeping in all boring grammar lectures?
There’s a fantastic solution to it.
Today you will get to know how you can make use of all those brilliant Hollywood entertainments.
Contents
How can subtitles help you?
It is usually said that watching movies, different videos, television series, and listening to English songs will help you improve your basic skills like speaking and listening in English.
Subtitles (in English, of course) are the best way to learn by listening.
It helps you understand clearly what is happening in the movie scene or television show.
Which will help you enhance your vocabulary and give you knowledge of grammatical errors that you might make.
Suppose you can’t understand the meaning of a specific word, expression or phrase.
In that case, you should always pause and check the meaning of unfamiliar words or expressions in a dictionary or online.
Try to form some sentences with them and try to use them in further speeches when you get the hang of it.
How is playback speed critical?
One very advisable and effective technique is to slow down the speed of any video you are watching, and by this, I mean to reduce the playback speed.
If you’re watching something on Youtube or streaming Netflix, and you slow it down by 10% you will be surprised at how simple it is to understand the dialogue and the movie as a whole.
Anyone who learns a second language is, at some point, frustrated by how fast native speakers talk.
Interest is the key
The other very important thing is to watch something that you find interesting.
If you start with some recommended or famous series, show or movie but find it boring, skip it.
Please don’t waste your time on it as there are many others out there.
You got so many different shows and genres among which you can choose from.
You won’t learn English by forcing yourself to watch things that aren’t of your vibe.
Our brain can remember information better only if it is necessary, interesting or beneficial to us.
If you are a new English speaker, choose those series that have simple storylines and use easy everyday words.
Don’t start with shows like Suits, The Big Bang Theory or Supernaturals. Try out simple sitcoms like Friends and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
Watch movies and talk shows that you have already seen in your language (which are not difficult to understand).
It may also benefit your reading comprehension skills to watch a show like that with English subtitles.
Try to read subtitles out loud as it may help you build your speaking skills as well.
Also, give importance to understanding the accents. You can watch various shows as many of the shows have mixed casts from different parts of the world.
Some are from England and hence have that authentic British accent, and some find effortless English good and hence have an American accent.
Even if you cannot develop the accent you like, you should try to pronounce words like that and at least you will be able to understand the same quickly.
Here is a list of the most popular series, shows and movies.
These are available on various online platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hotstar. Choose the genres according to your interest.
Some English Web Series suggestions:
- Friends
- Vikings
- Sherlock
- Emily in Paris
- Lucifer
- The Walking Dead
- Sex Education
- Breaking Bad
- Modern love
- The Vampire Diaries
- The Originals
- The Big Bang Theory
- Supernatural
- Suits
- Young Sheldon
- The Marvellous Mrs Maisel
- Riverdale
- 13 Reasons why
- The office
- Modern Family
- Mr Robot
- How I met your Mother
Some English Talk Shows:
- The Oprah Winfrey Show
- The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon
- The Jimmy Kimmel Show
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
- The Late Late Show with James Corden
- The Ellen Show
Some English Movies suggestions:
- Devil wears Prada
- Inception
- Wonder woman
- Interstellar
- Inception
- Pursuit of Happyness
- Gravity
- Sherlock Holmes
- Titanic
- The Justice League
- The perfect Date
- The Sleepover
- Lion King
- Bird Box
- Murder Mystery
- David Copperfield
Final Thoughts
You can find all of these talk shows on YouTube. Sign up to watch new episodes if you wish.
Use English language TV series and talk shows to break up the boredom of studying from textbooks.
All the best!
If you want to improve your communication, public speaking, business English & other soft skills that are needed for today’s workplace.