Neighbours... making noise in the pool.
Okay. (coughs) Oh dear. Hi guys, welcome back to English with Max.
In this video I'm going to talk to you about movies that could help you improve
your English, particularly your listening skills. This sentence is actually from a
movie, and if you know which movie that is, you're amazing and I think you and I
would get along. If you know which movie it is, write it in the comments. I was
actually going to do one video on movies and TV shows, but when I was preparing
the notes I realised that it was going to be very long. So I'm going to do two
videos: one on movies and one on TV shows. First of all, don't forget to click the
red subscribe button if you haven't yet subscribed to my channel, and remember
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Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I would also like to remind you that
I've started making short pronunciation videos for Instagram and Facebook. Okay,
let's get started. I actually wanted to start by mentioning that there are some
people who say that watching movies or TV shows isn't the best way to improve
your English listening. Firstly, you can't do something else at the same time, and
secondly there are lots of moments in movies where no one's talking. I agree
with that, but if you enjoy watching movies or TV shows, and you find it
useful, then I think you should do it. People learn in different ways. Likewise
whether you want to watch with subtitles or without subtitles is your choice, and
it will depend on your level. If you, say, find it very easy
watching with subtitles, then maybe you should try it without. I'd
also like to say that I personally believe that TV shows are better than
movies for learning English, but I'll explain why in the next video.
Firstly, let's talk about movies. Just so you know, you can also use the word "film".
"Film" is more commonly used in the UK. In the US and Australia we use "movie" more
often, but you can use either word. When we talk about film festivals, however, we
have to say "film festival". I've never heard "movie festival". In this video I
don't want to give you a list of movies. I don't think that's very useful because
your English is not going to improve very much if you just go and watch five
to ten movies that I recommend. In addition, movies that I like won't
necessarily be movies that you like. As I've said in other videos, an important
part of successful language learning is staying interested - not getting bored,
in other words. Plus there are a lot of movies to choose from. So what I'm going
to do is give you guidelines for looking for movies. I will, however, also put a
list of movies in the description in case you really have no idea what to
watch. In my video on TV shows I will give you some more concrete
recommendations, because I think it's a bit more difficult to find English-language
TV shows that are right for you. When I say guidelines, I'm basically going to tell you which types of movies
are generally easier to understand. I know it's good to challenge yourself, but
unless you have a very advanced level, a lot of movies are probably just going to
frustrate you and make you sad. So, which movies are easier?
Firstly, normally dramas are easier to understand than comedies.
That's because comedies often have puns and cultural references, which aren't
always easy for non-native speakers to understand. I remember going to the
cinema in France and understanding basically everything
until there was a joke. Everybody else laughed - not me. This is just a
generalisation, though. Some comedies aren't too difficult to understand.
Newer movies also tend to be easier than older movies. This is a big
generalisation, but because language evolves and changes over time, the
language in, for example, old black-and-white films tends to be a bit
different to modern-day English. Secondly, and I know this sounds a little silly,
but sound quality is also a lot better than it used to be. Movies with regional
accents are also obviously harder. For example, The Full Monty,
which is set in Sheffield, England. Or Dallas Buyers Club, which is set in
Dallas. The Scottish accent is also famously considered to be a difficult
accent. Even I have to sometimes watch Scottish movies with subtitles. I
normally find Irish accents a little easier, but I do remember watching one
movie that I found very difficult to understand. I've also been told that the
Australian film Animal Kingdom is quite difficult. In Australia we don't really
have regional accents, at least not to the same extent as in the UK and the US,
but some people have quite strong accents. That's a topic for another video.
It's definitely good to get used to different accents, as I've said before,
but if you're watching something with the aim of
improving your English, it's not very useful if you barely understand anything.
And to finish up, science fiction and fantasy films are also often quite
difficult. Normally because of vocabulary. Often they're using words that aren't
even English. So in summary, the easier movies are normally dramas, that aren't too
old, that don't have strong regional accents, and are not science fiction or
fantasy. If you want to watch some movies in English, but you're not sure what to
watch, I sometimes just go on Wikipedia and I look for movies that have won
Oscars. There are also YouTube channels that
have lots of trailers. I'll put some links in the description.
If you have a streaming service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, then you
probably already know that it's quite easy to search for films on those
platforms. And they also often make suggestions based on what you've already
watched. As I said there will be a list of movies in the description. They're
not necessarily the BEST movies in the world, but I think that they're
relatively decent and not super difficult to understand. Remember, though,
that it's OK to watch movies that aren't considered very good.
I've personally watched lots of movies that many people would probably label as
crap. But the most important thing is that you find them entertaining. Do you watch movies to work on your English? Let me know in the comments. And it would
also be nice to know what your favourite movies are. Please hit the thumbs up if
you liked this video, and don't forget to share it with your friends. See you next time.
