How to put your feet up, grab your popcorn and TOTALLY UPGRADE YOUR ENGLISH with movies

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Most of us love movies, whether you go out to the cinema with friends or buy the DVD and watch it at home, it’s a great way to relax.

But the question is…can it also be useful for building your English skills? Yes it can. Of course that’s only if you are watching an ‘English speaking’ movie!

The main reason why watching movies is good for your English development is that you get to see ‘real-life’ English in action and you get to increase your vocabulary.  But how is the best way to use it so that you learn the most?

Here are some ideas:

1. Choose movies that you have already seen. If you know the film, you will be able to spend more time listening to the language and practicing it. I have friends who have memorized every word in their favourite movie and watch it again and again just so they can call out the lines before the person on the movie speaks! I guess everybody has their own way of having fun……

 

2. Choose movies that don’t have much dialogue. This way you will have plenty of time to understand the speaking while the action is going on. Action movies are really good for this!

 

3. Turn on the English subtitles. If you are watching something in your own language, make sure you get a copy with the English written at the bottom of the screen, it will help you to read and connect the meaning to the speaking.

 

4. Turn OFF the Arabic subtitles. If you are watching the English film with your own language subtitles, turn them off and watch and listen in English for a while until you feel you need more information, then you can pause and replay it later with the subtitles to help you.

 

5. Create a notebook with new vocabulary. When you hear or read a word or phrase you don’t know, copy it down and check with a dictionary or ask you teacher later.

If you try these things for a few weeks, you will be surprised how much faster you can pick up the language.

 

DID YOU KNOW:        Some people watch up to 20 films a week. That’s up to 80 a month. How many do you watch a week?

Links:

• Learn English through movies
• Learn English through movies
• Teach English through movies
• How movies can help you learn the English language