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
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also follow me on social media. I have 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.