These days there are so many options for us to watch TV and practice listening to English. Some students ask me which serials are the best ones to watch to improve their English. The answer to that question is – well – I don’t know! But hear me out…

I like documentaries, very often about things that my family think are really boring, so it’s impossible for me to know what the BEST thing to watch is to improve your English. And that’s because the most important thing is to find something you like. It doesn’t have to be “cultural” or serious. If you don’t enjoy it you won’t continue watching, and the most important thing is to keep doing it. So sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

If you want to study English using serials a little more seriously, here are some ideas of things you can do using a scene from a favourite show:

• Watch with the sound off, no subtitles, and try and guess what they’re saying. Write it down, repeat, then check with the sound on.
• Sound off, subtitles in your own language, also predict what they say.
• Sound off, English subtitles on, and practice speaking the words, for intonation and pronunciation. Repeat work sounds to check it.
• Pause the picture and name everything you see. Go into more detail about where everything is, to practice prepositions.
• Pause at some point, and explain the story from the beginning to that point.
• Pause and predict what you think will happen next.