(coughs) Oh dear.

Hi guys, welcome back to English with Max. In this video I'm going to talk to you

about movies that could help you improve your English, particularly your listening

skills. This sentence is actually from a movie, and if you know which movie that

is, you're amazing and I think you and I would get along. If you know which movie

it is, write it in the comments. I was actually going to do one video on movies

and TV shows, but when I was preparing the notes I realised that it was going

to be very long. So I'm going to do two videos: one on movies and one on TV shows.

First of all, don't forget to click the red subscribe button if you haven't yet

subscribed to my channel, and remember that you need to click the little bell

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also follow me on social media. I have Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

I would also like to remind you that I've started making short pronunciation

videos for Instagram and Facebook. Okay, let's get started. I actually wanted to

start by mentioning that there are some people who say that watching movies or

TV shows isn't the best way to improve your English listening. Firstly, you can't

do something else at the same time, and secondly there are lots of moments in

movies where no one's talking. I agree with that, but if you enjoy watching

movies or TV shows, and you find it useful, then I think you should do it.

People learn in different ways. Likewise whether you want to watch with subtitles

or without subtitles is your choice, and it will depend on your level.

If you, say, find it very easy watching with subtitles,

then maybe you should try it without. I'd also like to say that I personally

believe that TV shows are better than movies for learning English, but I'll

explain why in the next video. Firstly, let's talk about movies. Just so

you know, you can also use the word "film". "Film" is more commonly used in the UK.

In the US and Australia we use "movie" more often, but you can use either word. When

we talk about film festivals, however, we have to say "film festival". I've never

heard "movie festival". In this video I don't want to give you a list of movies.

I don't think that's very useful because your English is not going to improve

very much if you just go and watch five to ten movies that I recommend.

In addition, movies that I like won't necessarily be movies that you like.

As I've said in other videos, an important part of successful language learning is

staying interested - not getting bored, in other words. Plus there are a lot of

movies to choose from. So what I'm going to do is give you guidelines for looking

for movies. I will, however, also put a list of movies in the description in

case you really have no idea what to watch. In my video on TV shows I will

give you some more concrete recommendations, because I think it's a

bit more difficult to find English-language TV shows that are right for you.

When I say guidelines, I'm basically

going to tell you which types of movies are generally easier to understand.

I know it's good to challenge yourself, but unless you have a very advanced level,

a lot of movies are probably just going to frustrate you and make you sad.

So, which movies are easier? Firstly, normally dramas are easier to

understand than comedies. That's because comedies often have puns

and cultural references, which aren't always easy for non-native speakers to

understand. I remember going to the cinema in France

and understanding basically everything until there was a joke. Everybody else

laughed - not me. This is just a generalisation, though. Some comedies

aren't too difficult to understand. Newer movies also tend to be easier than

older movies. This is a big generalisation, but because language

evolves and changes over time, the language in, for example, old

black-and-white films tends to be a bit different to modern-day English. Secondly,

and I know this sounds a little silly, but sound quality is also a lot better

than it used to be. Movies with regional accents are also obviously harder.

For example, The Full Monty, which is set in Sheffield, England.

Or Dallas Buyers Club, which is set in Dallas. The Scottish accent is also

famously considered to be a difficult accent. Even I have to sometimes watch

Scottish movies with subtitles. I normally find Irish accents a little

easier, but I do remember watching one movie that I found very difficult to

understand. I've also been told that the Australian film Animal Kingdom is quite

difficult. In Australia we don't really have regional accents, at least not to

the same extent as in the UK and the US, but some people have quite strong

accents. That's a topic for another video. It's definitely good to get used to

different accents, as I've said before, but if you're

watching something with the aim of improving your English, it's not very

useful if you barely understand anything. And to finish up, science fiction and

fantasy films are also often quite difficult. Normally because of vocabulary.

Often they're using words that aren't even English. So in summary, the easier

movies are normally dramas, that aren't too old, that don't have strong regional

accents, and are not science fiction or fantasy. If you want to watch some movies

in English, but you're not sure what to watch, I sometimes just go on Wikipedia

and I look for movies that have won Oscars.

There are also YouTube channels that have lots of trailers.

I'll put some links in the description. If you have a streaming service such as

Netflix or Amazon Prime, then you probably already know that it's quite

easy to search for films on those platforms. And they also often make

suggestions based on what you've already watched. As I said there will be a list

of movies in the description. They're not necessarily the BEST movies in the

world, but I think that they're relatively decent and not super

difficult to understand. Remember, though, that it's OK to watch movies that aren't

considered very good. I've personally watched lots of movies

that many people would probably label as crap. But the most important thing is

that you find them entertaining.

Do you watch movies to work on your English?

Let me know in the comments. And it would also be nice to know what your favourite

movies are. Please hit the thumbs up if you liked this video, and don't forget to

share it with your friends.

See you next time.