TV Shows to Binge Watch in English Whilst Under Quarantine
Thanks to the current quarantine we now you have plenty of time to watch all the tv we want! Luckily for us watching tv series in English can be a great way to improve both your vocabulary and pronunciation.
We thought that we would compile some of our favourite tv shows for you to watch in English. However, before we go through our recommendations there are some things to remember:
If you are new to watching Tv in English I would recommend starting with shorter episodes (- 30 mins.) I would also recommend watching with English subtitles turned on as this will make it easier to follow.
Another thing you can do is to try watching something that you have already seen before in English. Tv shows like The Simpsons and Friends are great for this because they are very easy to rewatch.
You can also download the Language Learning With Netflix chrome extension. This is a great tool that allows you to play subtitles in 2 different languages simultaneously. You also have the option to slow down the speed if you are finding it difficult to understand everything.
The last thing to mention would be to make sure you are enjoying what you are watching. If you are watching something you find boring you will most likely lose motivation and stop watching.
Sex Education
This is a great show which can be found on Netflix. The series follows a group of high school students and their love lives.
The episodes are usually around 40 minutes so it may be a bit of a challenge for lower levels. That said, for more advanced speakers this is a great show to learn new colloquial vocabulary.
Reality TV
Reality Tv is an excellent way to familiarize yourself with more colloquial vocabulary as it is unscripted.
Find a reality tv series based on something that you are interested in. For example if you are interested in cooking you could watch Masterchef or Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares.
Luther
This is a great British detective show which you can find on Netflix. The show stars Idris Elba as a Police detective. The show is very gritty and has a lot of action.
Lower levels may struggle with the episode length and mixture of accents. On the other hand, this is a great show to get yourself accustomed to the many different UK accents.
The IT Crowd
This show is perfect for lower levels as the episodes are only 20-25 mins. The laugh track also makes it easier to follow the jokes as well.
The IT crowd follows an IT department in at a large corporation. Not only is it easy to watch but it’s also hilarious! The show features a mixture of accents as one of the main characters is Irish but it should still be pretty easy to follow.
The Last Kingdom
This show is most certainly for higher levels as it has a lot of difficult vocabulary and background noise. That said, if you are up to the challenge the show is very entertaining and interesting.
The Last Kingdom is all about the wars and tensions surrounding the birth of England as a nation so History fanatics will find it very interesting!
The Office (UK & US):
There are many different versions of the Office from all over the world (there is even a Spanish language version from Chile!) However the most popular versions are the English and American versions. The Office follows the day to day lives of a group of workers who work in a typical modern offic.
Both the UK and USA versions are very good, however they are very different from each other. The US version would perhaps be a better starting point for lower levels as the humour is more universal and the characters are easier to understand.
Personally I prefer the original UK version, however the humour is a lot more ‘British’ meaning that non Brits may find some of the jokes difficult to understand. I would also say that the characters are slightly more difficult to understand as the way they speak is more ‘realistic.’ That said if you are looking for a challenge it is a fantastic tv programme and one of my all time favourites!
I'm Alan Partridge
One of my all time favourite comedy tv shows. I’m Alan Partridge is perfect for lower levels wanting to start watching tv in English. The episodes are short (under 30 minutes) and it’s very easy to watch. There are not many characters so you can get used to the different accents fairly quickly. The main character is also very easy to understand and uses a lot of everyday vocabulary.
I’m Alan Partridge follows an ex television presenter now presenting on a local radio station in Norwich desperately trying to reclaim his fame. The humour of the show is quite English, however the laugh track should make the jokes easier to follow. Give it a watch and you will see why this show is one of my all time favourites.
