English TV shows, like the BBC sitcom Detectorists, are a great way to study English and have fun at the same time. If you watch English TV series or movies regularly, you will improve you listening skill as well as learn natural English phrases and expressions. Also, you can learn a lot about the culture. Nowadays, it is easy to watch TV shows regularly on streaming services like Netflix or Disney+, of even free on YouTube and similar websites.
Reading the English TV show script to improve the learning effect
You can boost the English learning from watching English TV shows easily by reading it before you watch it. But how can you do this? The written form of the dialogs is called a script, or with some information about the scenes, a screenplay. And you can find nearly all scripts free on the internet! First, you write the title, season, episode and the word “script” into the search bar and hit the search button. You will probably find more than one site with the script of the TV series you want to watch!
An example: my favorite TV series “Detectorists”
Let me give an example. I will look for the script of the English TV show “Detectorists” shown by the BBC from 2014. I learned about the show by reading an article on the BBC web page. It is a very charming TV series about British hobbyists (おたく) who like to search for treasure with metal detectors on their weekends. Usually, they only find old nails and things like that. I watched it on YouTube. Do not expect any action or that a lot of things happen, as it is an every day life’s drama!
Finding and studying English with a script
Next, I type “detectorists season 1 episode 1 script” into the search bar and hit the enter button. Luckily, there is the original BBC shooting script online in PDF, ready to print it out. It is 35 pages long. The short length is the advantage of a TV series to a movie, which could be nearly 200 pages long. Only 35 pages is much easier to read in short time if you want to use it to learn English. I would print the script out. Then you can read about five minutes of the English sitcom, looking up words and phrases you do not understand. After that, watch the TV show once (or a couple of times) and enjoy it!
Would I recommend the TV show Detectorists for learning English?
For higher level students, I think it is a good choice because it shows every day life in England. But sorry, for beginners in English, I would not recommend this English TV series because it uses a very local accent from the southeast of England. This British accent is not so easy to understand. The characters also use some words and expressions special to British English. So, the TV show would be a really good choice for advanced learners who want to learn more about local dialects and colloquial expressions. Also, it would be perfect for learners who plan to study abroad in the southeast of England and need to prepare for the real English spoken in that part. Finally, the language used might be interesting for natives from other countries who are interested in British dialects. For me, I really enjoyed it, the show and the language!
Do not miss the chance to study English in a fun way!
If you want to start to study English with TV series, please choose an English series that you are interested in and that you can find easily. Studying English may be your aim, but do not forget to enjoy doing so! Having fun will make it easy to continue your studies. In the best case, you learn English and do not even feel like you are studying!
More blogs with this topic:
The Top 10 TV Shows to Learn Conversational English (from 2021)
I like ‘Detectorists’ very much. Good to hear that some of your higher level students enjoy it too.
Wow, that’s really cool. Thanks for sharing this information!