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Oh, what a lovely pleasure watching series nowadays is. We all love sitting on the couch and discover what’s happening to the main characters of our favorite series. What we don’t know is that we can use that time to improve our English as well. Well, you weren’t aware of it until now. Yes, there are many series that can help us master the English language. That’s why we decided to bring a list of the best 5 TV shows to improve your English.
TV shows can help to improve English skills in many ways. They are a practical means to get a better pronunciation and vocabulary. As series belong to a particular geographical zone, we can practice dialects and accents as well. They are also a perfect way to incorporate daily constructions.
But, hold your horses for a second! We need to set something clear. Watching series is not an English course. It is something you usually do to relax from a hard day’s work or study. What I mean by this is that you don’t need to start watching a series just because it’s beneficial for your English. Of course, go on and try any of them out. But it’s not a mandatory study. As I like to call it, this is “passive training” (pending license, don’t you even dare).
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This passive learning technique relates to other articles you may have read on this website. The idea is to adjust all of your daily tasks, both obligations and those that are merely recreational, to make them somehow beneficial to your English learning. When choosing a TV show, in this particular case, you would prefer watching one that has a clear accent, for example. Or you can also check its production and learn about the dialect that characters will use.
When we decided to do research and decide which were the best 5 TV shows to improve your English skills, we evaluated several factors. Of course, a series is something you must enjoy. But, still, other things make it worthy enough to compliment your language skills. The main idea is that you can understand what people say, how they apply it, and incorporate these constructions and pronunciation into your way of speaking. So, let’s take a look at them!
“Friends” was one of the most famous TV shows of all time. It was on air between September 1994 and May 2004. But, no matter how old you may think it is, people are still looking for ways of watching their episodes. The story is simple and to the point. Six friends, Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, and Joey, deal with everyday problems. These include love affairs, their jobs, and their personal lives between them and other people.
“Friends” is a great sitcom you can watch to improve your English skills. They all have crystal clear accents when speaking. This fact makes it very easy to understand. Besides, it is full of word puns that you can use. As most of the events involve personal life issues, their language is not technical. If you haven’t watched it yet, then it’s your lifetime chance to do so. But if you have, this is an excellent opportunity to do it differently.
Yes! “The Simpsons” is a great way to practise your English! Why? Because it’s a cartoon, mainly! Even though we can debate on what matters the episodes deal with, these animated figures aim at the whole family. And to do so, they must use easy English. This family of five has been on air since 1989 and continues to bring new adventures! Follow Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie Simpson and learn about what they need to face.
As we mentioned before, “The Simpsons” is excellent material to improve your English skills. No lip-reading is possible with cartoons, so pronunciation must be clear enough for you to understand what they say. This TV show includes vocabulary about life, education, politics, professions, religion, and many more topics you face every day. An opportunity you can’t miss if you want to learn while enjoying your favorite series.
“How I Met Your Mother” has also been called “the modern time ‘Friends.’” Mainly because these five friends generally gather in the same place to talk about their problems. Ted, one of the main characters, tells the story is in the third person. As he does his best to meet the woman of his life, he also introduces events that he and his friends have to face. It’s an entertaining sitcom full of funny moments that will surely give you something to talk about with friends or family.
“How I Met Your Mother” is full of useful material for you to improve your English skills. The characters in the show are constantly repeating some of their inside jokes. You can even learn some Canadian English if you pay attention to the jokes aimed at Robin! They also invent some phrases, which is very helpful for you to understand how word puns work in English. A must-see if you want to learn while having fun.
“That’s 70’s Show” is a time capsule on your couch. As the name reads, this sitcom takes us to 1970’s America. Eric Forman, his family, and friends get into all types of trouble while dealing with different events of their lives. A great way of having fun while learning some of the background historical events that happened at those times in the country. Red Forman, Eric’s father, is the best depiction of how tradition and values were like back then.
Besides dealing with teenagers’ everyday problems, “That 70s Show” is also great for improving your English skills because they use young people’s slang. Despite how old they may be, many expressions are still present nowadays, and you can get a lot of vocabulary out of it. As a plus, you will meet Fez, their Latin American friend. The sitcom emphasizes his accent, so you would like to improve your pronunciation and make a difference!
If you are an advanced learner, then “House of Cards” may be the most suitable TV show for you to improve your English skills. You will meet Frank Underwood, a politician that doesn’t care what the necessary means are as long as they get him to his desired destination: power. These involve corruption, love affairs, alliances, and dirty alliances that he and his crew use to get what they want. Interesting as it sounds, it may also be a little shocking.
“House of Cards” implemented a resource that makes it a great tool to improve your English skills. Frank tends to have monologues with you, the viewer. With his face to the front of the camera, he speaks his mind. Besides, the characters hold conversations in dark and quiet places, making it very easy to understand. Vocabulary may be too technical for a new learner, so we recommend having some knowledge before watching it.
So, this is our selection of TV shows that will be very helpful if you want to learn while having fun with them. As you watch them, we recommend you switch subtitles to English, too. That way, you can get some help by reading if you don’t understand a word a character says. But always remember to enjoy while doing so! We hope that you can benefit from it. Remember to subscribe to our newsletter to learn more tips to master the English language. Thanks for reading!
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