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Hello everyone and welcome back to English with Lucy.
As requested and as promised here is, finally,
my lesson on the top TV shows that you can use to
learn British English.
I have got lots of recommendations
that are suitable for everyone.
And I'm going to work through them,
starting with programmes that are suitable for beginners,
moving to pre-intermediate, intermediate and then advanced.
Now I know that a lot of you
are hoping to use TV shows
in order to improve your fluency, your vocabulary,
your pronunciation, your listening skills.
Honestly watching TV shows in a second language
can work magic on your language skills.
However, it can be really, really stressful,
trying to find the right one for you.
Because you've got to get that mix
of something that you're interested in,
something that is at your level,
and something that is going to provide educational value.
Now another really frustrating point is,
when you finally find a TV show
that you would like to watch,
that you think will help you
and it's blocked in your country.
It's so annoying.
I really enjoy watching programmes in Spanish
and I find it really frustrating trying to
gain access to websites that are blocked in my country.
Well, a lot of you aren't based in the UK,
so how are you going to gain access
to these British TV shows?
Well, I highly recommend NordVPN.
Which is the sponsor of today's video.
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So, by using NordVPN you can unlock access
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That is nothing when you consider all of the benefits
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And you can also get an additional month free,
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The link and the code are in the description box.
Right, let's get started with the list
of TV shows that you can use in order to learn
and improve your British English.
Right, let's start with the beginners.
So, for people who are just starting to learn English,
or maybe people who've been learning English for a while
but are really struggling with their listening,
because listening is incredibly difficult.
It's a skill that some people are naturally good at,
but most people find very, very challenging.
Now, I've been teaching for many years
and when I come across beginners
or people who are really struggling
with their listening skills,
I recommend children's TV shows.
But you have to be really, really careful
because so many children's TV shows
are dumbed down, in order to entertain children.
And there aren't so many high quality
children's TV shows, where the characters speak well,
with good pronunciation
and they don't put on a stupid baby voice.
One programme that I think is excellent
for improving your English,
if you are a beginner, is Peppa Pig.
Now, if you have children,
you will probably know about Peppa Pig,
but it is a British TV show.
It's been translated into so many languages
across the globe.
It's about a little piglet who goes around
solving problems and causing problems.
And she speaks with a British accent.
She speaks quite clearly, but the best part is,
they cover the basics of English.
It's written in simple English, simple tenses,
and they cover the basic vocabulary
because they are hoping to teach a child its' first words.
Well, it's sometimes the same situation for us
when we're learning our second language.
- No George, I'm playing with Suzy.
You have to play somewhere else.
- Another cartoon I can recommend is, Sarah and Duck.
This is another children's cartoon
that actually now has quite a strong adult following
cause it is very entertaining actually.
I look forward to having a child so that I can
watch these programmes with them.
It's about a little girl, a little British girl,
who is best friends with a duck.
And it is quite funny and it focuses on problem solving.
- [Voice over] It's a bit early for bed isn't it?
- No, It's so tomorrow gets here quicker.
- [Voice over] Oh.
- All of the information for these programmes
will be in the description box,
I'll show you where you can watch them.
The next one is another one produced by the BBC,
it's Katie Morag.
And this one I've mentioned
because it's the Scottish accent.
It's about a little girl who lives
on a fictional Scottish island,
but it's not a cartoon, it is a real girl.
Now the Scottish accent, in my opinion,
is absolutely gorgeous, I love it.
And I know that it's a very desirable place,
so on the off chance that you are hoping to visit Scotland
or you just particularly like that accent,
this is a fantastic TV show.
And as I've said many times before,
it's really important to understand
and to listen to, a variety of accents.
The Scottish accent is considered to be fairly difficult,
so it's best to start
with a children's TV version of that accent.
- [Katie] And everyone looks out for me
when I'm out and about, having my adventures.
- Right, let's move on to pre-intermediate.
So we've covered the basics with children's TV programmes,
where they cover basic vocabulary
and they use simple grammar.
Now let's go a step higher to pre-intermediate.
What I recommend for my pre-intermediate students,
is nature programmes.
And there is one man in particular who I recommend.
I absolutely love him.
The nation adores him, he is David Attenborough.
This man is a national treasure.
He's a broadcaster, a natural historian,
he used to work for the BBC,
quite high up in the BBC.
And he is amazing and speaks with such
a beautiful RP accent.
He speaks quite slowly and he uses a variety
of adjectives as well,
which is perfect for pre-intermediate students.
And he has done so many BBC series' on nature.
Recent one's have been Blue Planet,
all about the sea.
Planet Earth, which is about the globe as a whole.
Frozen Planet, which is about the colder
parts of our world.
And a really good documentary called,
A Plastic Ocean, where he talks about the pollution
of plastic in the seas.
Now, I recommend his programmes
if you want to learn new vocabulary,
if you're interested in the environment
and in animals,
and if you also want to watch something quite relaxing.
It can be quite stressful
to try and listen to English,
but if you just relax, watch nature,
and listen to this man's beautiful voice and accent,
it shouldn't be an arduous task.
- The tropics, as a naturalist,
I yearn to see it and I had already
manned programmes with people from London Zoo.
- Right, let's move on to intermediate.
And what I recommend to my intermediate students,
is cooking programmes.
And I recommend that they follow