10 Great British TV Shows to Learn English

Here are ten great British TV shows that you can watch to improve your English.

Watching TV shows is a great way to learn English because we get exposure to new and

very interesting vocabulary. We get to hear different accents and we also get a great

opportunity for listening practice. And I think it's really important that you guys

get exposed to modern English. The kind of English that you are going to hear if you

come to visit Britain.

Alright, let's straight to number one.

Number one, The Great British Bake Off. This is a competition in which every week contestants

have baking challenges and they are judged on the quality of the food they make. It's

fun, it's light-hearted and it's very funny. Three reasons that it's a great programme

for you guys to learn English. First of all you have a variety of accents from all around

Britain so that's really interesting to see how people speak in different parts of Britain.

it's a very contemporary show which means that all the contestants and all the people

in the show are using modern English. And because it's a competition they are using

very natural English because they are reacting to things and they are giving their opinions

and they are talking about their feelings. And it's all very natural. So you are going

to be exposed to phrases and vocabulary and utterances that are very natural. It's also

quite an interesting insight into British culture and the kinds of foods that are popular

in Britain and also just where people are from. So you'll get to know people from different

parts of Britain which I think is interesting.

Alright, the next one is Black Mirror. Now this is a science-fiction TV series that looks

at modern society and how technology is used and it's pretty dark but it's also really

exciting. So this is maybe not one for kids, this is probably quite an adult TV series

but it's really good. Now the reasons why I think it's great for learning English well

because it's so well-written there's some fantastic conversations and dialogues that

I think are really worth listening to. I also think that it's a really thought-provoking

TV series. It makes you think about topics to do with technology and the future and with

that there's lots of interesting topic vocabulary. So vocabulary relating to social media and

to technology, you are going to hear a lot of that so if that's something you are interested

in then this is the perfect TV series. Now because each episode is totally different

you are going to get exposed to a variety of accents as well so that's again, a really

big bonus, is the variety of different types of English you are going to hear.

Another cooking programme but this one is different! This is Jamie Oliver. Now Jamie

Oliver is an internationally known British chef who is hugely popular around the world.

Now the reason I think it's great for you guys is, well a couple of things. He speaks

really informally, his English is very informal so you are going to be exposed to a lot of

British slang phrases. Now he's from Essex which is a county to the East of London and

his pronunciation reflects that. So for example he won't pronounce some /t/'s in the middle

of words for example he'll say water instead of water which I also sometimes do. So you

are going to hear that kind of pronunciation which I think is fascinating. You'll also

get a great amount of food vocabulary, you'll get interesting verbs. He also uses interesting

adjectives to describe his food. So there's a variety of interesting English that you

can hear when you are listening to Jamie Oliver. Also you get to learn how to cook some of

the most delicious food so that's kind of cool. Also Jamie Oliver is a really good Ambassador

for Great Britain and British culture so you are going to get a lot of that in his TV shows.

This one is X Factor. Now X Factor is the most popular singing competition I think on

British TV. Now why I think it's so good for learning English is a couple of things. First

of all, for each contestant they always go and tell their story about how they got to

this competition. So where they came from, what they used to do as a job or what they

still do as a job and the story about how they came to X Factor. Now in these stories

you are going to be hearing narrative tenses, lots of past tenses, past perfect, past simple

and that's a really great way to kind of pick up on how to tell a story. How to bring emotion

in to your English as well. Now it is a very emotional TV programme and you are going to

hear lots of natural exchanges between the contestants and the judges so again lots of

natural English, opinion phrases, adjectives. So there a lot of really interesting English

that you are going to hear. Also it's a really insight into British culture so you are going

to hear lots of British music, you'll obviously see the fashion, the clothes of the contestants

and you'll also get again a variety of accents because the competition goes around Britain.

So sometimes they are in Liverpool, sometimes they are in Birmingham, in London so you are

going to hear a variety of accents again. Plus it's quite fun. It is quite a fun show

yeah, I think you might enjoy it. Now just to remind you guys, you can find a lot of

these shows on YouTube. Even if it's not the full episode you'll get clips and I know for

a fact that X Factor has it's own YouTube channel and there are loads of videos on there

that you can watch and follow the show. So you don't need to watch the whole episode

you could just go on YouTube and check out their channel there.

The world's most famous detective Sherlock played by Benedict Cumberbatch. This is a

classic TV series and I'm sure you are probably familiar with it. So what you've got is fantastic

vocabulary and conversations that are really funny so really playful with the language.

You've also got it set in modern London which is fantastic, so you get to see London and

also again a variety of accents because there are different characters coming in so yeah

again, variety of accents that you are going to be exposed to. Plus it's extremely thrilling

so you are going to want to watch not just one episode but another one and another one

and another one. We call this binge watching. If you just keep watching the same TV show

just the next episode and the next episode it's to binge watch. So I'm going to predict

that you will binge watch Sherlock once you start watching it.

Another competition, this time a dancing competition. Strictly Come Dancing. The reasons that I

recommend this one is because A it's really fun. I mean it's just a fun show. If you love

music and you love dancing, you'll love watching it. Secondly once again you've got natural

reactions to the things that are happening in the show. So you'll be exposed to natural

English once again. So whether that's the judges giving their opinions or the contestants

saying how happy they are at doing the dance. Whatever the reaction is you're going to hear

it as being quite natural. Maybe they are going to stumble on their words, maybe they

don't think of the right words, maybe you might even hear some grammatical mistakes

but that's natural English. So that's why I think it's really great for you guys to

watch these kinds of reality TV shows because yeah, you are going to hear really every day

English.

Ok this is the first comedy programme I'm recommending. Now generally i don't recommend

watching comedy in another language because comedy is a really cultural thing and I think

so much of what one culture finds funny, another perhaps won't do. However, having said that

I think Peep Show is, it's a really good programme for a number of reasons. First of all, it

is funny, I think it is funny and I think that humour can translate, you know, to different

cultures. The idea is that it's two men in their thirties that live together and they

have very different personalities and it's their lives and how they interact with the

world. They get into all kinds of adventures and mishaps, it's the relationships they have

with other people and yeah it's a good programme. The English that you'll hear is pretty clear.

I mean they are very clear in the way that they speak so that's really good. I think

you'll be able to understand them pretty well. The vocabulary that they use it's contemporary,

it's modern English. Now it can be a little bit rude so you want to be careful if you

are watching it with children you maybe want to think about that. But yeah, it's very clear

English and it's very modern and contemporary English as well. And I think it's quite funny,

maybe you'll disagree with me, I don't know, check it out. It's on YouTube, it's on Netflix.

It's from Channel 4 so yeah check it out, see what you think. It also kind of shows

the boring side of living in London. They live in a London suburb and their lives are

pretty boring so it's kind of interesting to see that side of Britain as well. Britain

and London isn't just Big Ben and Tower Bridge, it can be boring suburban lives as well.

The complete opposite to Peep Show is Downton Abbey. Downton Abbey is hugely popular around

the world. I'm sure you have seen it or probably heard of it at least. So Downton Abbey is

set in the early 1900s. It's a historical drama, so it's the life of this aristocratic

family in their home and then it's kind of compared. So you have this aristocratic family,

a very rich family living upstairs and then the servants living downstairs. So you have

these two different worlds and how they interact. It's obviously not contemporary English so

in that respect some of the vocabulary and the way they speak maybe isn't how we speak

now. However, it is a really interesting show and you're going to get lots of interesting

dialogue, conversations and again a variety of accents you'll hear as well. So I think

it's worth watching and certainly it's a very popular TV programme so even if you just watch

it because you love it, more than anything else then that's perfect.

This one is a personal favourite of mine Planet Earth. Now specifically I want to talk about

the narrator of Planet Earth David Attenborough, or sorry Sir David Attenborough. Now he is

considered in Britain to be a national treasure. He is someone that everybody respects and

everybody loves. I've been listening to his voice every since I was a child, he narrates,

well he has narrated every wildlife programme I've ever listened to and his voice is so

comforting and soothing. It's like the grandfather that you never had. Now Planet Earth is, I

think, one of the greatest TV programmes of all time. And it looks at different aspects

of the world and the nature that lives in each one so it could be the jungle, the desert,

the seas. And David Attenborough, sorry Sir David Attenborough narrates the stories of

these places just absolutely beautifully. His vocabulary is incredible. The way he delivers

his sentences are so clear and it's with such grace and charm about them. Yeah, it's worth

watching Planet Earth just to listen to David Attenborough. Now I think the vocabulary can

be quite difficult sometimes so subtitles are a really good idea and you don't need

to understand every word with this because he uses a lot of technical vocabulary to do

with the animals and to do with wildlife. I don't understand a lot of them but that

doesn't matter, that's not what we are doing. We are matching some of the most incredible

sort of cinematography with his voice and the way he speaks. And I think that's worth

watching just in itself.

And my final one. Now I've given you a variety of TV programmes. We've had reality TV programmes,

we've had natural history programmes, we've had comedy. This last one is a bit different.

It's two programmes that I want to kind of talk about and you can choose which one you

prefer. One is Made in Chelsea and the other one is The Only Way is Essex. Now these are

structured reality shows so they are presented as being reality but they're not. Why do I

think these are really interesting for you guys to watch? A couple of reasons. First

of all you have Made in Chelsea which is a group of young, beautiful rich people in West

London. And then with The Only Way is Essex you have a group of young, good-looking people

from Essex, which is, as I said before, to the East of London. And they are very different

social groups so that's a really interesting thing to begin with. Is that you are going

to get an interesting insight into British culture and these different types of people.

Also you're going to get really fascinating vocabulary. So the difference of vocabulary

they use, it's very modern but it's not something you are going to find in your English language

course book. So I think that's great, to expose you to really fascinating vocabulary, phrases,

idioms, slang, all that kind of stuff, it's going to be there. You're also going to get

very different accents. So over in Chelsea you're going to get very posh, received pronunciation,

very very, almost upper class accents. In Essex, in The Only Way is Essex you're going

to get Essex accents which is very different. So the variety is fascinating to watch. So

I think it's an interesting way to look at British culture and the language as well,

in two very different shows. Now, I'm going to say now I don't watch ether of them but

I know that if I did start watching one of them I might get a little bit addicted. So

that's maybe why i don't watch it so i don't get addicted to them.

Alright, so those are ten of the best British TV shows that you can watch to help you learn

English. Now of course there are so many more. I've left out so many TV shows that you could

watch and of course I've left out all the American ones. There are some amazing American

TV programmes that I think would be fantastic to learn English. Obviously I've just focused

on the British ones today because I teach British English but I think I will try and

do an American English one as well at some point because there's so much great TV to

learn from. If you have enjoyed this video guys please give it a big thumbs up, share

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word and help as many people as possible to learn English. Thank you so much for watching

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Subscribe so you don't miss any of them. This is Tom, the Chief Dreamer, saying goodbye!