A lot of students ask me if learning English with movies, TV, and music is effective. Heres what ii think.... Learning English with movies has some advantages: Its fun and different from regular studying Youll develop your listening ability by hearing English spoken at normal speed Because of the greater exposure to spoken English, your pronunciation and the flow of your speaking will also become more natural It can be more memorable, since you learn words and expressions in the context of the movie However, there are some major disadvantages, too: Sometimes the dialogue is so fast that its hard to understand anything, and this can be frustrating Watching movies is very time-consuming, especially if you need to watch some parts several times to understand better Movies and music use a LOT of slang and idiomatic expressions, which can leave you completely lost! Music is especially difficult, because song lyrics may use poetic expressions, the meaning of which even native speakers debate. So what do I recommend? I think learning English with movies/TV is great - but not as the ONLY method. It should be part of your general study (which also includes reading, grammar, exercises, etc.) To get the most benefit out of movies/TV shows in English, I suggest: Watching a movie you enjoy and youre already familiar with, because youve seen it in your native language. This will help you focus more on the English itself, since you already know the general story Watch in English with English subtitles! This has two benefits: it helps prevent you from getting completely lost if there was a part you didnt understand by listening, and also it will help you better associate the pronunciation with the written forms of the words In YouTube, if a film doesnt have subtitles, look for the CC button which can allow you to turn on automatic subtitles. This feature doesnt always give perfect captions, but theyre better than nothing and they certainly can help....
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 14:31:16 +0000
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