Tips to learn English with movies
Are you ready to learn English in an easy way?
After reading our article about Good Movies for Learning English, are you ready to take your English to next level?Before you start, we would like to introduce you some techniques which you can apply when learning English through watching movies!
- Select an interesting movie and a move that matches your current English level
I remember when I was young, I had to watch hours and hours of really boring movies like “Romeo and Juliet” and “Roman Holiday” at school in order to learn English. Well, I don’t exactly hate the movies, they are not bad but I just didn’t feel excited at all when watching them. Because of that, I highly recommend you choose movies you like. Or you can simply choose an actor or actress you love, then check out all the movies they have taken part in. Meanwhile, select a movie that matches your current English level. If you try to watch something like “Romeo and Juliet”, you will be very confused. English Literature is very difficult to understand on screen, even for advanced English learners.
- Try to watch without subtitles first
I know it can be really challenging and frustrating to watch a film in a foreign language without subtitles. But it’s also the quickest way to improve your English listening skills. One of my friends spent her entire summer at home watching English movies without subtitles, and her English has hugely improved after that. She even got 9 in her IELTS listening! So here’s my recommendation. When you watch a film for the first time, just turn off subtitles. If you really can’t get the meaning of the film (it’s absolutely normal, don’t be discouraged), just play the movie again and again. And it’s okay to miss words…just let it go, that’s okay! Don’t make yourself feel bad…watching films is supposed to be fun, and learning English is fun as well!
- Find the script and read out loud
After watching and listening to each movie, it’s time to do some learning exercises! Sometimes, you might hear something really cool in the movie. For example, some short phrases or meaningful lines. If you like how they sound, it really helps to repeat them! Just find out the sentences you love and repeat them. After saying it out loud a while, you will be able to remember it for a longer time! It’s a great and enjoyable exercise — it can also help you sound more native and natural when speaking English.
What are your English learning goals? Tell us by leaving a comment! And if you want to brush up your English step-by-step with teachers from accredited language schools, don’t miss the chance to book a free trial lesson now via FluentUp!