The best speaking students I’ve ever had in English are the ones who watch series in English and sing along to songs in English. Without a doubt, these are the best ways you can improve ANY language. Not only does it help you with your listening skills, but it can also enrich your vocabulary and your ability to speak the language.
The most important thing is to watch everything in their original versions. DO NOT WATCH DUBBED CONTENT. That is literally the worst thing you can do as a language learner. Even if you don’t understand what they are saying. You can always use subtitles as a guide.
This is how I got to fluency in Spanish, I binge-watched Spanish Netflix series such as La casa de papel, Las chicas del cable, Élite, you name it.
So here’s my list of the best Netflix series to watch in English. I organised them into levels A2-C2. But only take it as a guide. Obviously, language is fluid and flexible and a programme cannot be restricted to a certain level unless it is actually meant for teaching English. So
Level A2+
Fuller House
- Ideal for beginners of English or at least beginners of watching English series.
- The language seen is used everyday life.
- The actors don’t have strong accents and they don’t speak too quickly.
- The plot is quite easy to follow so it’s not necessary to understand every single word to understand what is going on.
Level B1+
Sex Education
- You can get practice listening to British accents.
- Their dialogues are easy enough to understand.
- It uses everyday language which can help you with informal registers
Level B2+
You
- Dialogues are more advanced and the protagonist from time to time, speaks in a more formal language.
- However, it also uses everyday language which can help you with informal registers.
Orange Is The New Black
- Dialogues are more advanced and there is a mix of registers, from informal to informal, a lot of slang, colloquial and vulgar language.
Level C1+
Black Mirror
- This is a very interesting series with loads of mysterious and mind-boggling stories with futuristic and sci-fi themes.
- Each episode is a new story.
The language is very advanced and the plot is quite challenging to follow, even if English is your native language!
