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LEARN more English with movies
Does watching movies help you improve your English?
YESS! It definitely does!
When you watch an English movie you benefit of a great authentic listening exposure.
We already know that Listening is a very important skill that needed in successful communication.
Movies offer us much more than just entertainment.
While enjoying a movie, you immerse yourself in authentic language. You naturally come across English expressions and grammar in context.
Here are some of the English Language Benefits you get while watching movies.
3 BENEFITS of watching English Movies
1. Improved LISTENING Skills
Watching movies is a great way to boost your listening skills.
You will hear English used in a natural way, informal English, slag words and phrases you do not often find in books or dictionaries.
2. Improved SPEAKING Skills
Repeating what you hear helps improving your speaking skills
Choose you favorite lines/sentences/phrases and don’t be shy shadowing the actors.
Shadowing, or echoing, is an imitation technique where one is imitating another speaker, or certain aspects or elements of someone else’s speech.
Shadowing in English is one of the best ways to improve your English speaking skills as it helps improve pronunciation, intonation, , words linking, and vocabulary.
3. Enriched VOCABULARY and GRAMMAR
You can enrich your vocabulary by learning many words, phrases and grammar the way they are used in real life.
No doubt watching movies and films, obviously helps to improve your English.
Now that you saw the benefits of watching English movies let’s see HOW you can get them.
HOW you can learn more English from Movies
1. Focus on movies from one country.
English is spoken in different countries, and each has variations in accents and language use, so it’s better to stick to one area when you’re trying to learn English. Choose the country which interests you most and start with its movies until you become more confident.
2. Choose a movie you enjoy or a movie you already know
When bored it’s difficult to pay attention so choose a movie you like.
If you’re a at an intermediate English level, it’s best to choose a movie you’ve already watched.
Since you already know the plot, you can focus on the language. You can also watch the movie of an English book you’ve read.
You don’t understand everything? Don’t worry. It’s perfectly normal. You don’t need to understand everything from the beginning. Try to get the general meaning when you watch the movie for the first time.
You can work on the details later on, when you re-watch the movie for the second or third time. Pause and replay whenever you find something interesting or if you want to check some something.
3. Start small.
Start with a relatively short movie and avoid any movie that involves a deeper level of understanding of history or culture, as that’s likely going to consume your thoughts and make it harder to focus on the language.
In this regard I highly recommend the short movies on TEDEd or the TED Talks.
All you need to do is to choose a topic you are interested in.
TED Ed https://ed.ted.com/ted_ed_collections
TED Talks https://www.ted.com/talks
4.Break it up.
When working on Language, watching a full movie in English can be overwhelming and frustrating, so it’s better to watch it in smaller bits to avoid getting burned out.
Remember this formula:
1st time – Watch the whole movie with English Subtitle for the general understanding.
2nd time (and 3rd , 4th) break the movie into small parts.
For example, you can set a goal to study a 10-minute segment of your movie per day. Or, translate 15 lines from the movie.
As an example you can check this video from the FluentU English YouTube channel.
It breaks down some of the most iconic lines in the most popular English movies: https://www.youtube.com/@FluentUEnglish
5. Watch it WITH and WITHOUT English Subtitles
When you watch a film for the first time and second time turn on subtitles.
For your third viewing, try turning off subtitles. You’ll already know the story from the first times you watched it, so you can try listening for any words that you looked up last time.
You don’t have to follow along with them word for word, but subtitles can offer great support when you need some additional help understanding what’s going on.
6. Re-Watch, Write down and Mimic
When you re-watch a movie for the 2nd or 3rd time you no longer need to focus on what is happening so you can give more attention to what you hear.It’s now when you can focus more on the language.
Re-watch your favorite films, and replay your favorite scenes. The more you re-watch, the more you can focus on the speech because you already know what is happening in every scene.
Write down your favorite expressions
Keep a movie journal. Pause the video when you hear something that seems useful or interesting and write it down in your movie journal. This way, you’re collecting “authentic” real-life phrases that you can learn, practice and use.
Read aloud the expressions.
Listen to the actors saying them, pause the movie and mimic the way the actors say the lines by repeating them.
You can even act out the scenes. Speaking in front of a mirror helps you become more aware of the way your face muscle, mouth, tongue and teeth move when producing and connecting the words.
7. Reinforce what you have learned from English books/ lessons
While watching movies you can remember lots of new words and grammar through watching movies. Remembering and repeating help us fixate the language in our brain. Practice make better!
Uttering, saying the phrases out loud help you activating the language you know: getting it out from your brain to your tongue. From knowing to speaking naturally!!!
8. Use this Workbook to keep a movie Journal
Make a habit of keeping a Movie Journal where you write down everything you learned, liked or disliked.
*A study in .19 Mar 2021, suggests that writing things down on paper is associated with more brain activation in multiple areas and better memory recall. Therefore better English Learning.
WHAT Movies to watch (for better English)
Now that we saw the Benefits and HOW to get them, let’s see WHAT movies to watch.
Remember!
Watching what you are interested in is key to learning English from movies.
Learning a language is much easier when you’re enjoying yourself.
Ask yourself these Questions:
‘What am I interested in?’
Is it Science, Culture, History, The Universe…
‘What kind of movies do I like?’
Action, adventure, comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, musicals, mystery, romance, science fiction, sports, thriller, and Western…
‘What actors do I like?’
‘Which accent do I feel more attracted to? Which accent do I want to copy?’
Answering these questions help you choose the movies that help YOU the most.
British Accent Movies:
The Queen (2006) – Keeping the royal theme, you can learn some seriously refined British English accents.
The King’s Speech (2010) – Quite conveniently, this film focuses on England’s King George, who had to overcome a speech impediment to deliver a speech to the British people – so it’s not only entertaining but there’s actually a whole pronunciation lesson in there too.
American Accent Movies
The Hunger Games (2012) – Easy-to-understand American accent
Men in Black (1997) – English in Men in Black really easy to understand
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) it is very inspiring and full of great English expressions for a job interview and not only!
You can alo check these Lessons on YouTube:
Learn English with Movies | Will Smith – The Pursuit of Happyness
Learn English for Business with WILL SMITH | The Pursuit of Happyness
Mixed Accent Movies
Notting Hill (1999) – romantic comedy – you’re not sure whether to learn British or American English, this movie offers both in one perfect romantic comedy package. Set in London, it follows a nerdy bookshop owner who falls in love with an American movie star.
High rated IMDb Movies
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) – IMDb rate 9.3
– a drama movie based on the novel of Stephen King.
The movie is about a banker sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary for the murder despite his claims of innocence. The banker finds a friend in prison and journeys through the path of decency and redemption.
Black Swan (2010) – IMDb rate 8.0
– a psychological horror film that revolves around the drama behind the New York City Ballet Company.
The Green Mile – IMDb rate 8.6
– a drama film based on Stephen King’s 1996 novel of the same name. The movie revolves around death row prison guards whose lives have been changed after witnessing supernatural events from a prisoner with a mysterious gift.
Forrest Gump (1994) – IMDb rate 8.8
– revolves around Forrest Gump, an Alabama man with an IQ of 75. Gump is a kind-hearted man who gets to witness several defining historical events in the 20th-century United States like the presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal.
The Intern (2015) – IMDb rate 7.1
– follows the life of a 70-year older adult whose wife just died and wanted a fresh look at life. After deciding that retirement was not for him, he took up a job in one of Brooklyn’s start-up companies as their intern.
The Theory of Everything (2014) – IMDb rate 7.7
– a biographical film about the life, work, and relationships of famous theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. The movie talks about how his muscles started to fail in the middle of his research; and how his wife played a role in fulfilling his life’s work.
Cast Away (2000) – IMDb rate 7.8
– is about an international shipping company worker who was trapped alone on an uninhabited island after his plane crashed. The movie focuses on his attempts to survive, stay sane and get back home.
Little Women (2019) – IMDb rate 7.8
– a film about four young sisters and their journey through life and their struggle to live it on their terms. It is based mainly on the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott.
Silver Linings Playbook – IMDb rate 7.7
is the film adaptation of Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel of the same name. The film uncovers the complicated relationship of two broken people who are both struggling to lose their loved ones.
Shutter Island – IMDb rate 8.2
– a thriller film based on the 2003 novel by Dennis Lehane. Its storyline revolves around a psychiatric facility for the criminally insane after one patient goes missing.
The Dark Knight (2008) – IMDb rate 9.0
– a superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman and his fight against injustice and violence. The movie is a classic battle between the protagonist and the villain, Joker, who attempts to propagate chaos and havoc on the people of Gotham.
American Sniper (2014) – IMDb rate 7.3
– a movie about the real-life of Chris Kyle; a US soldier sent to Iraq to fight for the country after the September 11 attacks. The movie’s plot showed his early beginnings as a sniper while hunting deer with his dad, his time on the battleground, and his struggles.
The Fault In Our Stars – IMDb rate 7.7
– a movie based on John Green’s novel of the same name. It explores the lives of two teenagers, both ridden with cancer, who fall in love with life and with each other.
The Boy In Striped Pyjamas(2008) – IMDb rate 7.7
– a historical tragedy film set in the World War II timeline and explores the horrors of the Holocaust and the Nazi concentration camp. Its storyline revolves around two young boys, one on each side of the camp fence, who develop an innocent but highly forbidden friendship.
Gone Girl (2014) – IMDb rate 8.1
– an American psychological thriller that is all about vengeance in relationships. The storyline moves around a man who becomes a prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance – who also has some dark secrets to hide.
The Notebook (2004) – IMDb rate 7.8
– a classic romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The story is about a couple who have different statuses in life but are deeply and passionately in love with each other despite the odds.
The Father (2020) – IMDb rate 8.2
– a drama film based on Florian Zeller’s 2012 play Le Père. It follows the story of a man and his journey through aging, highlighting his doubts, his mind, and his connection with his daughter.
Joker (2019) – IMDb rate 8.4
– a psychological thriller based on the life of the fictional villain from the Batman series. It revolves around a mentally troubled comedian whose life took a downward spiral after a series of unfortunate events.
Skyfall – IMDb rate 7.8
– a spy film that is one of the movies in the James Bond series. The film revolves around a fictional M16 agent who is tasked to track and hunt down the threat to the institution despite personal costs.
Great Gatsby (2013) – IMDb rate 7.2
a film is the movie adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel in 1925 of the same name. The story is about a man who is a writer and a trader who is drawn to the millionaire lifestyle.
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) – IMDb rate 7.1
– a romantic comedy film set in Somerset. On five different occasions, the main protagonist – which is a bachelor – is starting to realize that he may just be falling in love.
The Social Network (2010) – IMDb rate 7.8
– a film about the life of the social media giant Facebook and the drama behind its creation. The movie shows how Facebook and its current founder as we know it survived various challenges and multiple lawsuits upon its creation.
Good Will Hunting (1997) – IMDb rate 8.3
– a psychological drama film about self-love and discovery. The movie’s main character is a janitor with an incredible talent in math who goes through therapy sessions to set the direction of his life.
Memento (2000) – IMDb rate 8.4
– a psychological thriller about a man who attempts to find out who his wife’s killer is. However, the man is unable to form new memories and has short-term memory loss every fifteen minutes.
500 Days of Summer (2009) – IMDb rate 7.7
– a romantic drama film that talks about the lives of two people as they fall in and out of love with each other. The film follows a non-linear narrative structure.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) – IMDb rate 7.7
– a film adaptation of Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel of the same name. It revolves around the story of an FBI trainee who is hunting a serial killer, but in the process, would need help from a shady character to fulfill her mission.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)– IMDb rate 8.6
– a war film that shows a graphic depiction of the events in World War II. The movie is centered on the efforts of a US Army Rangers Team to look for a paratrooper whose three other brothers have been killed in action.
You can fid a list of IMDb Top 250 Movies HERE
Free App/Website to Practice English Phrases from movies
Voscreen is a free app to learn and improve English. Watch video clips from movies, documentaries, music videos and cartoons to improve your English.
In a nutshell (Conclusions)
Movies offer you a great source of Authentic English language in context. While enjoying your movie you can observe how words and phrases are used in certain situations.
Thus you are expanding your vocabulary and improving your pronunciation in natural and enjoyable way
Movies are a great additional English learning source.
Happy watching and learning!
