Some of you might know how much I love watching tv series and how strongly I suggest them to friends who ask me about fun and engaging ways to improve their English. Learning a language ( not necessarily English) is not easy. It requires constant dedication and daily efforts. Learning a language is not just going through a bunch of grammar exercises; it is not just about a list of vocabulary. Learning a language means much more.
As teachers of English we all know very well that the language knowledge shifts from one ability to the other, depending on the situation we find ourselves in. Being competent in a language means mastering all the four abilities related to language learning: reading, writing, speaking and listening.
We all have probably spent many of our school years on reading and writing, as that was and unfortunately that is what students spend most of their school time doing. We spent hours on grammar exercises, hours learning the phrasal verbs by heart, hours trying to remember all the grammar rules but does that mean we learnt English? Do we feel confident when we go abroad or do we still need to bring that grammar book and vocabulary book with us?
I am a teacher so I am blaming myselft too for this "not so good" learning outcomes. In my own defense I will say that what students do at school is not enough, what we can do with them and for them at school is not enough. Think about it. How many hours a day do they ( or do we) spend listening, speaking, writing and reading their mother language? And how many hours do they spend listening, speaking, writing and reading in English? The gap between those two examples is what makes the difference.
That is why I think one of the best and most effective ways of learning a language is self-teaching or, to make it easier, self help. In addition to all the (wonderful) grammar rules and exercises we need to listen to more English language. In order for this to become a habit, a fun and (almost) daily routine we need to make it interesting and engaging.
That's where the Tv series come to help!
Here’s why I strongly recommend watching TV series with subtitles ( or no subtitles) to any student.
- You don’t have to keep getting to know new characters and new plotlines as it is with films. The background knowledge of the story helps you deduce meaning from context more easily.
- Words, phrases and grammatical structures often repeat themselves in a TV series.
- Reading subtitles does help one’s listening skills. One is able to not only hear the words and phrases but also make the connection between how it’s said and how it’s written. After some time, the brain starts to associate the way things are pronounced and the individual words that actually make up the utterance.
- We often use prediction stages when providing receptive skills practice in the classroom mainly because the very act of predicting helps better understanding of the text, regardless of whether our predictions are right or wrong. We predict the end of the story as we read the beginning of it. We predict the end of a sentence before we finish it. We predict the other half of a collocation before seeing it. And this is a skill that everyone uses subconsciously in our L1.
- There’s nothing like getting addicted to a good series. You will soon forget that you’re doing it to improve your English and become genuinely interested in the storyline. This interest motivates you and propels you to watch one episode after another as the excitement builds. Before you know it, you’ll have had hundreds of hours of listening/reading practice, alongside being exposed to hundreds of lexicogrammatical structures. That’s more exposure than any English course can provide.
Here are my top 3 criteria when picking a TV series.
- Go for something that doesn’t feature too many social or romantic scenarios because they tend to be heavily laden with phrasal verbs, colloquialisms and slang.
- If you want to go for a comedy series, ensure that the comedy doesn’t depend too heavily on witticisms, plays on words or cultural references.
- More important than the first 2 criteria is this: Ensure it’s a genre you love. Motivation rules.
These are some of the Tv series that I watched ( some). I am really addicted to them!
- THE TUDORS
- DOWNTOWN ABBEY
- SPARTACUS BLOOD AND SAND
- ER
- GREY'S ANATOMY
- THE L WORD
- MISTRESSES
- DEVIOUS MAIDS
- ARMY WIVES
- BATES MOTEL
- BIG BANG THEORY
- CALIFORNICATION
- THE WALKING DEAD
- GOSSIP GIRL
- HOUSE OF CARDS
- HYSTERIA
- MASTERS OF SEX
- MAD MEN
- NASHVILLE
- REIGN
- BLUE BLOODS
- SALEM
- THE SECRET CIRCLE
- THE CLIENT LIST
- THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB
- DONNIE LOVES JENNY
- THE WAHLBURGERS
- THE VAMPIRE DIARIES
- THE ORIGINALS
- TRUE BLOOD
SERIE TV SUB ITA
ORORO TV
NETFLIX
Let me know!
Thank you,
Miss Alex
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