During our Skype English classes, one thing many of our students ask us is: “How can I learn English outside of my lesson hours?” One of the activities we recommend at Break Into English (http://englishclassviaskype.com/) is learning English by watching movies and series. It is a very good way to learn the language while doing something entertaining. Plus, English students can take advantage of the fact that the mecca of the film industry is in Hollywood. That gives them an endless number of quality movies and series to choose from.
How learning English by watching movies and series can be effective
Movies and series help students improve their English in many different ways:
- First, they improve the students’ listening comprehension. By watching many movies and series, students will slowly learn how to link certain sounds to certain words, to use contractions, and to know when one word stops and the next begins.
- Also, movies and series allow students to get a lot of correct English sentences into their heads. Then, by watching the same scenes several times over, they can practice repeating these sentences until they get them right.
- Thirdly, students learn the idiomatic expressions of native speakers, something they would not be able to do by reading books or articles. This is very important because spoken English is often the aspect that students most want to improve.
Use English Subtitles to Learn Even More
The only inconvenient of watching movies or series in English is that native speakers tend to speak fast and sometimes with an accent that is difficult to understand. It can be a very challenging listening and pronunciation exercise, given that even native speakers sometimes have problems understanding certain dialogues! This is why we recommend that our students use subtitles and a dictionary when watching a movie or a series. This makes the process a whole lot more enjoyable and productive. There’s no point in watching movies or series if you understand only a fraction of what is being said.
Other important listening exercises when watching movies or series
Of course, there are many other listening exercises that can be done apart from watching movies and series. Newscasts, podcasts, and interviews for example. To get an idea of the kind of exercises we offer at Break Into English during our English classes online (General English and Business English lessons), go visit our website at the following page: http://englishclassviaskype.com/videos/.[/text_output][/vc_column][/vc_row]