Why Watching Movies Alone Won’t Help You Learn English

Watching movies and TV shows in English can help you improve the way you speak and understand the language. Hearing people use the language in its most current form will help you become familiar with idioms, English slang, even pronunciation.

But many people don’t know that in order to learn English, it’s not enough to watch movies and TV. English goes way beyond the idioms, colloquialisms, and slang – and that’s something that you can learn only through formal English lessons.

English in its written form is more complicated.

You can’t learn the technical aspects of written English from watching movies and TV shows. Some movie characters even speak in fragments – or incomplete sentences – which should always be avoided in written language, unless you are trying to achieve a certain effect.

Movies will never teach you about antecedents. An antecedent is usually a word or phrase that gives its meaning to a pro-form, which in turn takes its meaning from the antecedent. Take the following sentence for example:

“The students were late because a road accident held them up.”

In the above sentence, them means students.

There are more complicated rules for antecedents and pronouns, which movies and TV shows cannot teach.

Movie dialogue can be incorrect.

An actor might be playing the role of a foreigner who doesn’t speak English very well. For example, if the character comes from France or Spain, his sentences will be constructed incorrectly as follows:

Incorrect:

“Is my first time here.”

Correct::

“It is my first time here.”

An actor may also portray the role of an uneducated person. The character can use incorrect syntax, vulgar words, and rude expressions—which if used in a real-life professional setting can cost you your job.

Learn proper English from books, newspapers—and in school.

Proper English can be found in books and newspapers, which are produced by writers and editors that take great care to eliminate all mistakes in language, syntax, and grammar. But the best way to learn English is by enrolling in an English school with experienced, certified teachers.

Click here to enrol now www.eslgi.com

About ESL Global Institute

ESL Global Institute (ESLGI) is an English Language Institute where classes are taught by professionals with diverse expertise from different fields such as business and the academe. ESLGI believes that communication is integral to the immigrant’s journey into the United States and offers English classes for beginners, intermediate, and advanced adult students. ESLGI helps its students gain more confidence in the English language so they can perform better at school or in the workplace.

Ask a question

Send us a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Ask a question

Send us a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

First Name is required
Program is required
Email is required
Telephone is required
Message is required
*No free classes. Classes starting From $20/ hour.