Learning English » Using Movies to learn English http://www.learning-english.ca Learn English Online Thu, 27 May 2010 21:04:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=3937 en hourly 1 Movies and Videos Can Help an ESL Student http://www.learning-english.ca/movies-and-videos-can-help-an-esl-student/ http://www.learning-english.ca/movies-and-videos-can-help-an-esl-student/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:04:17 +0000 admin http://www.learning-english.ca/?p=217 Learning another language can sometimes be daunting especially if you don’t feel confident about speaking to strangers because you are afraid you will say the wrong thing and embarrass yourself – or even worse insult someone! Learning English is no exception but people of all ages have found that watching movies and videos can help.

Movies in particular are telling us a story in pictures and words – and sometimes actions speak louder than words – making it very clear what is happening even if you don’t completely understand what is being said. Obviously movies that have subtitles in your native language will make it easy for you to understand – but it also defeats the purpose of learning English.

The best thing to do is go online or rent a movie and just keep repeating scenes and watching carefully to see body movements and actions which sometimes say it all without a word being uttered. Body language speaks volumes so you can easily tell if someone is angry or is in love by the way they act and the movements they make. Listening is the key to this -listening carefully to understand the nuances and together with the actions you can make sense of what is going on.

Generally music videos can help as well because they have put together a video that puts their words into dancing or other emotions making it easier to know what they are saying in the songs. The key is to improve your comprehension by improving your listening abilities so that after awhile you will be very adept at improving your English.

The best part of watching movies or videos is you can be entertained at the same time that you are learning making each lesson easier and more fun!

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]]> http://www.learning-english.ca/movies-and-videos-can-help-an-esl-student/feed/ 0 Is it a good Idea to Learn English through Movies? http://www.learning-english.ca/is-it-a-good-idea-to-learn-english-through-movies/ http://www.learning-english.ca/is-it-a-good-idea-to-learn-english-through-movies/#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:35:34 +0000 admin http://www.learning-english.ca/?p=90 Who does not enjoy a good movie? Movies are an excellent way to get a view into the ideas, myths and values of the culture they represent and while they seem the perfect way to learn English, learners must be made aware of the pitfalls they represent.

Almost all ESL learners feel that watching English movies is a practical and enjoyable tool for learning the language and improving their language skills. Many watch English movies either via television or through DVD rentals on a daily basis. This practice has the advantage of presenting a ‘living language’ to learners, a language that is ‘up-to-date’ with the latest idioms and slang usage. But it is this very factor that can be a disadvantage to some ESL students.

The majority of dialogue found in movies uses non-standard usage and diction, which can easily frustrate a beginner student. If the student is learning the correct phonetics and pronunciation in the classroom and then listens to the average movie they can quickly become confused or pick up bad habits. Depending on the type of movie, the amount of cultural deviation from the English ‘norm’ might be severe enough to be unintelligible (try understanding the diction of ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’)! It is also important to understand the English country the movie is targeted towards. A UK English movie is quite different from an American or Australian film.

A good rule of thumb is to start with a DVD movie that the learner is already familiar with, say one from their own country of origin (if available) then activate the ‘subtitle’ function set to ‘English’. This will allow the student to see how their language translates into written English. Next they should chose a movie with a quite theme (such as a ‘love’ story) and avoid the car chases and explosions (these movies are usually full of slang and curses).

Learning English by watching movies in the language can be a fun and enjoyable way to help learn the language but should only be used as an ancillary tool by those who already have a grasp of English and is definitely NOT for beginners.

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