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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Any good movies for studying English?
A good movie for improving listening skills by watching segments a few times over, and follow along with the subtitles.
I know of 'Meet Joe Black' because the English used, and Brad Pitt's character speaks rather slow and clear, so it is easier to follow for some students.
Thanks
11 years 30 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
I do not recommend movies for learning English. Consider this - I'm a native English speaker and half the time I can't quite make out what was said. American films will use a lot of pop-culture or culturally specific 'catch-phrases', far too many films have poor audio quality.
IF you can find a good film like Meet Joe Black (careful dialogue, mostly proper and well-spoken English) then I still think turning on subtitles might be more helpful?
What I would recommend? Cartoons. The actors cannot rely on anything but their voices and they must speak clearly. You can still have the issue of pop-culture, deliberately difficult accents or expressions,
but,
You have a better chance of actually hearing the words pronounced properly.
So many students have told me they get very frustrated (quickly) when watching Hollywood movies doesn't work for them. But good to see a recommendation that might work.
Choose any cartoon or something light and basic aimed at kids. Cars or Ants work well from what I am told.
I hold regular movie classes and it makes sense to me to use movies the students are already familiar with like Titanic or Shrek. I always go through whichever segment I choose to show and make a note of vocabulary or phrases, ect, that I can predict will cause comprehension problems with the students. These we preview before watching, along with a list of questions for students to answer after.
I do not recommend movies for learning English. Consider this - I'm a native English speaker and half the time I can't quite make out what was said. American films will use a lot of pop-culture or culturally specific 'catch-phrases', far too many films have poor audio quality.
IF you can find a good film like Meet Joe Black (careful dialogue, mostly proper and well-spoken English) then I still think turning on subtitles might be more helpful?
What I would recommend? Cartoons. The actors cannot rely on anything but their voices and they must speak clearly. You can still have the issue of pop-culture, deliberately difficult accents or expressions,
but,
You have a better chance of actually hearing the words pronounced properly.
So many students have told me they get very frustrated (quickly) when watching Hollywood movies doesn't work for them. But good to see a recommendation that might work.
I recommend old movies like from 1940-1960; Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock era.
The actors for the most part were classic theater trained and typically spoke in Trans-Atlantic accents. Also the dialogue doesn't include as many idioms, expressions and pop-culture references as modern movies. The Wizard of Oz & Gone with the Wind are a good start.
Cartoons, like the other guys said, are good too. You know they're going to be specifically dubbed for the purpose of being understood by all ages which means even pacing, clear enunciation and proper tone throughout.
you can watch movies but,you can also practice your English if you would listen to English news like BBC,ABC,FOX,CNN you can watch documentaries they use formal English and you can get lot of knowledge from them too
My adult and university students love a tv show named Extra English. It's a British program you can download easily. Simple English is used and there are English subtitles too!!
Old movies are probably the best as MarkFerrer said, otherwise avoid American ones and go for English movies or sit-coms (but avoid stand up comedians unless you go back to very old stuff like "The Secret Policeman's Ball"). I consider myself fluent but still have nightmares about the time I went with a friend from Scotland to watch "The gift" here in Rome... didn't understand a single word Keanu Reeves said. Ok, he was playing the redneck so I guess it made things even harder.
my friend's visa was expired for over 5 months. tried going to hong kong. They arrested him. He had to pay 20,000rmb and stay in jail for 20 days. he did say jail helped him learn some chinese.
markferrer:
Um, I'm guessing this was the answer to a different question. Haha
Toy Story 1
Toy Story 2
Ice Age 1
Ice Age 2
Ice Age 3
Ice Age 4
Shrek, 1-4
most BBC period dramas are good - clearly spoken english and good stories.
the main thing is watch a genre you are interested in seeing many time over and over.
Hachiko, for kids and adults. There are also great worksheets online about the movies.
I got you
https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTUwODM0OTY4.html?spm=a2h0k.11417342.sore...
With Chinese subtitles
Classic Disney films like Beauty and the Beast are your best bet.