5 Great Netflix Shows for English Listening Practice
Today’s post is written by Tee Williams from Philadelphia, America. She is a TESOL certified English teacher who currently teaches in one of the top schools in northern Thailand. You can keep up with her travels at onecupoftee.com and on Instagram and Twitter by following @onecupoftee_.
English teachers all over the world will tell you that a great way to practice your English is by watching English television, English movies and listening to English music. Luckily for us, we live in a time where any culture’s media is easily accessible thanks to technology and the internet. I’ve compiled a list of my top five television shows on Netflix to help you better understand and speak American English.
Friends (Age rating: 15+)
This is a show about a group of six friends in their twenties living in New York City and navigating the ups and downs of adulthood.
Why is it a good show to learn English?
The characters aren’t too complex, so the jokes, background stories and plot lines are simple and easy to follow.
Glee (Age rating: 13+)
This is a show about a group of outcast students who join their school’s glee club (show choir) to gain some stability in their lives.
Why is it a good show to learn English?
The actors have clear accents, due in part to mainly being singers for the show. The language they use is easy to understand and pretty basic due to its high school setting.
Full House (Age rating: 10+)
This is a show about a widowed father who enlists the help of his two best friends to raise his three daughters.
Why is it a good show to learn English?
The main characters are a mix of three adults and three children, which helps to give viewers both basic and advanced vocabulary to listen to and practice.
The Big Bang Theory (Age rating: 13+)
This is a show about a group of extremely smart, yet socially awkward physicists live across the hall from a beautiful girl. The story follows how they become best pals due to helping each other out of hilarious predicaments.
Why is it a good show to learn English?
This is definitely for a higher level learner due to the variety of jokes. It provides advanced English vocabulary while also teaching how to pick up on different types of social cues and jokes.
Gossip Girl (Age rating: 15+)
This is a show about a group of wealthy high school students living in New York City and the situations they deal with due to an anonymous blogger who follows their every move.
Why is it a good show to learn English?
The wealthy nature of the main characters brings out a different set of values, beliefs, opinions and views that differ from most shows on television. It provides insight to cultural differences between Americans.
When watching television shows (or movies) that aren’t in your original language remember that subtitles are your friend! Start out by listening to the audio in English and displaying the subtitles in English. If that is too difficult keep the audio in English and use your mother tongue’s subtitles so you can make the connection between what certain words translate to and mean.
Enjoy watching and learning!
Tee from onecupoftee.com
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