When we return to work after a vacation, we often come back with a long list of resolutions — like joining the gym, quitting smoking, or finally learning English.

If improving your English is one of your goals for 2025, remember that learning doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, studies show that our brains learn better when we’re engaged and excited.

Watching movies is a fantastic way to improve your English — just like TV series, YouTube videos, or even songs.

It’s not all about dull textbooks or endless hours memorizing irregular verbs and phrasal verbs.

However, if you want to truly learn English through movies, simply sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn won’t be enough.

Your success will depend on whether you develop an effective method for practicing English while watching films.

Advantages of learning English with movies

  • You'll improve your English while having fun.
  • You'll adapt your listening to your native language.
  • You can expand your English vocabulary.

Once you've been watching movies in their original versions for a while, it won't be a struggle and you'll even start to enjoy it.

At some point, you'll start to notice that dubbed movies sound very artificial: it's much more exciting to hear the actor's real voice.

English Papora is as fun as watching your favorite movie

An entertaining method, designed to help you have a good time while learning to speak, listen, and write a new language.

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What is the method that will help you learn English by watching movies?

Nowadays, there are no excuses for not having enough time or money to watch movies in their original language. Even with a regular TV remote control, we can watch any movie that's being shown in English, obviously if it's American or English, but almost all movies are.

Identify your English level to choose the right movie

The first step before deciding how to apply the method is to be clear about your current English level.

  • If you have a minimal level, meaning you don't know any English or can only say "hello" and a few other words, then you need to watch children's movies to learn English. You should choose videos with very simple vocabulary and where the characters speak slowly. To make it more fun, you can watch a Disney classic that brings back fond memories, or if you watch the movies with your nephews or your children, they'll be very grateful while you both improve your English.
  • If you’re at a low-intermediate level — meaning you can manage many common phrases but your skills are still below the First Certificate level — it’s best to start with romantic comedies or light comedy films. These movies typically use simple vocabulary and feature everyday conversations that are easy to follow, while still being entertaining to watch.

Define your main needs to choose the best way to watch movies

  • If you want to improve your listening skills, it's important to watch movies without subtitles, even if it's a struggle. If you find your English level isn't allowing you to understand anything, choose a scene from a movie and watch it several times until you begin to understand what's being said, or you can even watch it first in Spanish and then in English several times.
  • If your priority is expanding your vocabulary, but you're already comfortable with listening skills, then add English subtitles so you can discover some new words. It's a good idea to write down the new words or idioms you learn each time you watch movies in English in a notebook or on your phone. Set a goal each time to ensure you're making progress. For example, you can decide to write down ten new words in each movie. If you watch one each day, by the end of the week you'll have written down 70, which is a good number to help you improve your English. By the end of the year, you could know 3,360 words!
  • If you're looking to improve your speaking or grammar, it's better to use a different approach, such as an English-learning book or a good course.

The best channels to find free English movies

  • Ororo: This is an online platform accessible from your computer or phone and is completely free. You can only watch a limited number of minutes per day, but the quality of the movies is very good, and you can add subtitles.
  • Netflix: If you're not satisfied with the movies on TV, Netflix has a huge range of films of all genres and for all tastes. Grab your remote, enjoy, and learn English while you're at it!

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