Are movies useful as supplement to learning English?

Question

Hello
Are movies useful as supplemental material for people learning English?

Has anyone seen lists of movies especially good for this purpose ... English spoken slowly, cultural issues presented, etc.
Thanks for any suggestions.
L Mehl

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Are movies useful as supplemental material for people learning English?[/nq]
As a student I could say definitely yes.
I read the book first and I picked out expressions and words I thought they would be useful to remember and practice. Then I saw the movie, first time with subtitles. It was not too difficult because I had the background of the book. I have seen already the move more than 10 times. I've got a lot of practice in pronunciacion, intonation... I don't know... way of speak.

About the movie, I think the most important thing is that it should be a movie you really like, to be able to see it as many times as you need.

I have practiced this way with Harry Potter first and second books and movies.
Only with movies:
"About a boy" is a movie I like because they use everyday vocabulary, I think, and also, because the kid uses a lot of tag questions... In written English there is no problem, but speaking... They speak normal, it means for us (students) fast :-), but it is ok.
"Chicken run" is a beautiful movie. As it is intended for kids, the vocabulary is easy and they don't speak too fast...

I hope it helps you.
Irma.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Are movies useful as supplemental material for people learning English?[/nq]
They are useful as listening exercises, especially if you have some sort of accompanying material (questions, discussion, etc.).

DVDs are great for learning languages much more useful than videocassettes, for many reasons.
[nq:1]Has anyone seen lists of movies especially good for this purpose ... English spoken slowly, cultural issues presented, etc.[/nq]
I'm not sure that English spoken slowly is very useful, because people in real life do not speak slowly.

Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

Usenet · Answer

L Mehl > misc.education.language.english
in
[nq:1]English spoken slowly,[/nq]
Not a movie. News. The "Special English" section in the Voice of American TV/Radio site.
http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/index.cfm
They speak slowly and use a simplified language.
That might be useful if you are a beginner.
If you are not a beginner, you will get bored soon, as it's too slow and easy, so it won't be really useful, I guess.
In that case, I would suggest that you watch the VOA daily NewsLine.

http://www.voanews.com/real/voa/english/nnow/engl2000b.ram (broadband webcast)
http://www.voanews.com/real/voa/english/nnow/engl1930v.ram (56K webcast)
It's mainly international news, very interesting in my view, reporters speak clearly but are not artificially easy.

Enrico C

Usenet · Answer

Irma > misc.education.language.english
in
[nq:2]Are movies useful as supplemental material for people learning English?[/nq]
[nq:1]As a student I could say definitely yes.[/nq]
And I definitely agree with Irma

I think that's an effective and pleasant way.
Maybe it's effective just becauseit's pleasant

BTW, Films and TV shows as a way to learn English is just the topic of a new message board (Films & TV) in the (T)EFL online communities http://groups.msn.com/TEFL
[nq:1]I have practiced this way with Harry Potter first and second books and movies.[/nq]
I liked the first one, not the second. Not too difficult to understand, anyway.
Another nice, easy film (mostly British RP pronunciation, I would say) is "Love Actually".

Enrico C - not a native speaker

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Another nice, easy film (mostly British RP pronunciation, I would say) is "Love Actually".[/nq]
Hi Enrico,
Thanks a lot!!! This will be my next movie, it seems to be great! All of them very good actors and actresses. I didn't know the movie... I will buy it.. They say soon will be in DVD.
You know, Contrary to Mexico, German cinemas only broadcast movies translated into German. I think there is just one or two cinemas where you can watch movies with its original sound, but they are not near my village. It is really a pitty, I think.
The only thing I can be proud of is that I went to the "English Theatre" in Hamburg. It was fascinating. I thought I couldn't understand anything and to my surprise I did. Well... Ok... not 100% but enough to understand what was all about.
Thanks for your suggestion. :-)
Irma

Usenet · Answer

Irma > misc.education.language.english
in
[nq:2]Another nice, easy film (mostly British RP pronunciation, I would say) is "Love Actually".[/nq]
[nq:1]Hi Enrico, Thanks a lot!!! This will be my next movie, it seems to be great! All of them very good actors and actresses. I didn't know the movie... I will buy it.. They say soon will be in DVD.[/nq]
It already is

Look for it on www.play.com, for instance. But, maybe you meant for rental.
[nq:1]You know, Contrary to Mexico, German cinemas only broadcast movies translated into German. I think there is just one or two cinemas where you can watch movies with its original sound, but they are not near my village.[/nq]
Same as in Italy.
[nq:1]Thanks for your suggestion. :-)[/nq]
De nada :-)
Let us know how you liked / understood it!
Another good film that's not very difficult, in my opinion, is "The Talented Mr. Ripley".
Then, if you are going to be an English teacher, seeing "My Fair Lady" is almost compulsory

(T)EFL online communities
http://groups.msn.com/TEFL

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Another nice, easy film (mostly British RP pronunciation, I would say) is "Love Actually".[/nq]
[nq:1]Hi Enrico, Thanks a lot!!! This will be my next movie, it seems to be great! All of them very ... watch movies with its original sound, but they are not near my village. It is really a pitty, I think.[/nq]
Hi Irma
That's a shame, because subtitles are a really good way of using movies to improve your knowledge of a language. I try to watch French movies (French is my first L2) as much as possible, and subtitles are great - you try to follow the film, but if you miss a bit, you can glance at the subtitles - and often when you see the translation you realise what the orignal dialogue meant.
Django

Usenet · Answer

I think films are certainly useful. You can use them to improve your listening skills, knowledge of real spoken language (including slang), and understanding of the culture of the country in which it was made.

You may be interested to see this section of my website, where I give some explanatory notes about some films which are related to Britain in some way: http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Britain/Films.htm
Regards
Mark
UK Student Life: http://www.ukstudentlife.com

Usenet · Answer

...
[nq:1]Hello Are movies useful as supplemental material for people learning English? Has anyone seen lists of movies especially good for this purpose ... English spoken slowly, cultural issues presented, etc. Thanks for any suggestions. L Mehl[/nq]
you could find yourself some carton movies in which enlish is spoken slowly,

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]You may be interested to see this section of my website, where I give some explanatory notes about some films which are related to Britain in some way: http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Britain/Films.htm Regards[/nq]
Congratulations! :-)
Your site is really nice.. Very easy and lots of information. I liked the Film and Literature sections. I just have a question: Philip Pullman and Ken Follett are not among the modern British writers... May I ask you why? Sorry for the question, and please don't get me wrong, but I like very much Follett and I expected his name in the list.
Thanks.
Irma

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