Have you ever tried watching a movie or TV show in English, but you don't understand what is happening and you find it, really frustrating and I imagine you really wish you could just sit down, watch a TV show in English, and firstly, understand everything. but also just sit there and enjoy it.
If this is you, if you have felt frustrated when watching TV, English.
This episode is really going to help you.
So it's gonna give you the tools and the knowledge and resources that you need in order to enjoy watching TV in English and also in order to learn English through TV.
So this is fun, it's practical, and it's effective, whether you're watching TV for enjoyment or for serious learning.
And at the end of the episode, I have a question for you that I really want you to answer because it's going to help you and it's going to help other learners too.
The first section of this podcast episode is all about finding the right TV shows and movies.
Now, this is super important because the main idea is this.
If the TV show that you're watching is too difficult, you won't learn much.
And also if it's too difficult, You're going to feel bad about your English learning and you won't learn the English you need to know.
Here are some common problems that a lot of learners face.
They say things like, I watch TV shows, but I only understand a tiny bit of what they say.
Or the fast conversations and the slang make it impossible to follow the story.
What's interesting is this. English native speakers and people who have a high level also sometimes find it difficult to understand what they're watching.
A very common example is this. Imagine an American person and they watch a TV show that comes from the UK.
A lot of the time, the references, the humour, the slang even just the basic language is difficult for them to understand.
So a common issue is or something that is going to help you with your mentality is knowing that this happens to everyone as well.
There are TV shows I watch and I don't understand what they're saying.
For example, I've watched the show Severance And sometimes I rewind it to try and understand what was said because The dialogue is low, you don't always hear what they're saying or what they're saying is quite complex.
And the issue is, if the TV show is too difficult, like I said before, you won't want to keep watching.
It just doesn't feel good. If you don't understand what's happening, you think, oh my English is terrible, I can't understand everything.
But be honest with yourself with the level you're at so that you can find those TV shows that are really gonna benefit you.
Now you might be asking, well, how do I do that?
Which TV shows should I watch? Well, it's important to think about it this way.
Watch something that you can more or less understand no matter what that is.
So, for example, you might watch something that you've already seen in your native language.
If you've already seen a TV show in your native language, you understand what's happening, the context, what people say, what the characters are like.
And if you already know the story, it's a lot easier to follow in English.
Maybe it's based on a book that you've read as well.
And then you can also think about choosing TV shows that... are quite simple in the dialogue and they're not too complex.
You might also think about watching TV shows made for younger audiences as well. because most of the family-friendly shows have clearer pronunciation and simpler vocabulary. but they also use everyday English so you can learn English too.
A TV show that people always talk about is Friends.
Friends. With Ross and Rachel and everyone else.
This has everyday English and casual conversations and also another one is The Simpsons. which is a fun way to learn slang and culture.
And it also has everyday English in there too.
And I'll leave a link to an article that talks about the different TV shows that are good for English learners, so you can start there.
Now, before we talk about a really powerful method that will help you improve your speaking and your listening, let's talk about subtitles.
Because a lot of learners ask, should I use subtitles when watching English TV?
The answer is yes, but there are ways to do this.
The research says from what I have seen that turning on English subtitles improves comprehension listening and vocabulary learning.
So there was a study done that showed that this improves all of these areas.
Because when you read and hear the words at the same time, your brain processes them better.
Now, I also made a video on how to read for fluency and I'll leave a link to that in the description. where I talk about a reading method and how you can read and listen at the same time.
This is similar here. You're turning on subtitles and you're reading and listening.
So the best way to use subtitles here is to start with the English subtitles because your brain connects the words you hear with the words you see.
And then what you can do is watch the episode again and then take the subtitles away.
So maybe you repeat the episode twice, the first time with subtitles and the second time without subtitles.
And also do you turn on subtitles in your own language?
Now in section four, We'll also talk about what you can do with these subtitles to learn English.
Many years ago, I came across a blog where somebody talked about how they learned a language to a high level by repeating after people on TV, okay?
And that's what we're going to talk about next.
Because listening to real spoken English is hard.
And native speakers talk fast. They use slang and they connect words together.
So they might say something like, I really want to go now.
I really want to go now. Where they're saying, I really want to go now, but it's quick. and the saying, I really wanna go now.
Now, one of the best ways to train your listening, to train your ears, is to use the pause and repeat method.
Because when you repeat something, you internalize it and you remember it a lot better.
Now, the method works like this. When you're watching TV in English, watch a scene normally, so watch the TV show normally, and then, When you want to do this, pause after someone has said something Repeat what the actor has said and then check your pronunciation.
Now this last part, checking your pronunciation, might mean recording yourself. and listening to yourself again.
I think this step is optional. Sometimes people can understand how they're saying something by just listening themselves.
But again, those steps are to pause after a sentence and repeat what the actor has said.
So listen and repeat. This helps because it improves your pronunciation by copying English speakers.
It also helps you remember phrases by saying them out loud. and it trains your brain to understand English at full speed.
And many professional actors train their accents by listening to English speakers and repeating exactly what they hear.
Now, I have this method and I talk about it a lot on this channel, but I'll leave a link to the full method here in the description. on YouTube, or if you're listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you are.
And that's a good stage to say, if you're listening on Apple or Spotify, then definitely search for To Fluency on YouTube.
And if you're watching on YouTube and you think, oh, I can listen to a podcast, go to Apple or Spotify.
So give this a try, repeat what you hear, and let me know how it goes.
Okay, so far we've talked about how to find TV shows and movies that are perfect for you.
We've also talked about how to use English subtitles and we've just talked about the pause and repeat method.
Next, we're going to talk about the spaced repetition software method for better memory. before talking about something that's really important as well.
Now, Watching TV can help you learn new vocabulary, but sometimes you learn something and then you think, ah, I've forgotten that.
I've forgotten that. That's just gone out of my memory.
But how can you remember those words and phrases?
Well, one of the most powerful ways to do this is spaced repetition software. something like Anki.
Now, stay with me because this is important and also know there'll be a link to this method in the description too.
So what is Spaced Repetition Software or SRS?
It's basically smart flashcards. And instead of repeating words randomly, repeating sentences randomly, SRS shows you words right before you forget them in the most efficient way.
So, we can use this method with learning English through TV by doing the following.
We can find the transcript of a TV show.
So let's say you're watching Friends, search for Friends episode 2, season 1, transcript.
Find that transcript. Then all of the sentences that you find useful, you can add them to Anki and then you can review them when you need to using this software.
Now this is going to be really useful because instead of just learning it and forgetting it, it gives you the ability for software to do all of the work for you all you have to do is go into the software and use it.
So an example in the TV show Friends, someone might say, I'd love to go to Dubai.
I'd love to go to the party. You can, while watching TV, pause it or after the episode, find the transcripts and find that sentence. and then simply add it to your flashcards and practice.
Now you can also add in the audio clip, obviously from the episode is difficult to do, but you can find it where it automatically gives you the audio into the flashcard.
Now, step five, the next part of this episode is fun.
This is the fun part. Because let's say you think, okay, I wanna watch TV in English, but I don't really want to do the listen and repeat method.
I don't want to... take these flashcards.
That's okay, those things are optional and it depends how much you want to specifically learn from those episodes versus just watching TV for natural input.
If this is you, this part is really important.
This part you're going to enjoy. So, the last step here is to do something called binge watching.
Binge watching. And this just means watching lots of episodes in a row.
And this is actually really useful for learning English.
Because TV shows are repetitive in their language.
Characters use the same expressions again and again.
Going back to friends, Joey often says, how you doing?
How you doing? over and over and over again.
Characters use the same vocabulary. Characters use the same type of accent as well and speaking style.
So, when you binge watch these episodes, you get used to the characters' accents and you get used to their speaking styles.
This is important because that makes it a lot easier to understand.
And also, you're going to hear the same phrases again and again and again. so that they become more natural.
The more you watch the easier it becomes.
So binge watching is an important part of this.
This is the part where you're going to get lots of natural repetition And it's how you're going to start getting used to the way characters speak so you understand more and more.
So if this sounds good for you, find TV shows that have lots of seasons so that you can watch that show again and again and again.
And if you want to make it easier, watch a show that you've already seen in your native language.
So if you've seen, let's say, How I Met Your Mother, which is a TV show, in your native language, and it has lots and lots of episodes, and you like it, you enjoy it, then consider binge watching.
Binge watching in English. So my question for you is, what TV show are you going to watch next?
Or what TV show have you seen recently that you think is perfect for English learners? leave a comment below.
That's going to help other learners too and it gets you to practice your writing.
It gives you writing practice and also allows you to talk about your favourite TV show.
I'll leave links and notes in the description so then you can get a summary of this podcast episode and put it into practice.
And then also be sure to watch another episode or another video if you're on YouTube and continue learning with me.
Thank you for being here. Like the video, share it with a friend and subscribe if you're new.
Bye for now.
