Watching films can be a great way for people to learn English. We all have our favourite movie moments and, even as passive viewers, they're probably teaching you more than you realise. Here's a selection of our favourite scenes, along with the reasons why they're educational as well as entertaining.
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We'll start with one of the most famous – and quoted – speeches in cinema. Here, intrepid shark hunter Quint explains that his hatred of sharks stems from experiencing the sinking of the USS Indianapolis warship during World War II, and witnessing his fellow survivors being picked off by sharks.
The scene is based on real events, and the story of its creation is as fascinating as the dialogue itself. Originally conceived by uncredited writer Harold Sackler, the scene was later expanded to 10 pages by director Steven Spielberg’s friend John Milius – before Robert Shaw, the actor playing Quint, did an edit that took the speech down to five pages.
This highlights how impactful language can be even with – and sometimes due to – fewer words, while the story of its creation shows how important it is to review and edit what we write to make it more effective.
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This scene is interesting for two reasons: firstly, it illustrates how tone can dictate the context of speech. The villain, Raoul Silva, introduces himself to James Bond with a story about how, as a child, he used to stay with his grandmother on an island, which he recalls as “a paradise”.
As his speech progresses, however, it takes a more sinister turn as he describes how the island became infested by rats, which he and his grandmother trapped in a barrel. The starving rats resorted to eating each other to survive. The two surviving rats, he suggests, are him and Bond – two men that have been forged by violent lives – effectively demonstrating the illustrative power of metaphors.
Secondly, the scene is notable because Silva's actor, Javier Bardem, is Spanish. Despite having a successful career in Spain, Javier learnt English and soon became a Hollywood star via films like Skyfall and No Country for Old Men. For that reason, he’s definitely an English learning role model.
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This notoriously wordy scene – in which the film’s hero, Neo, meets The Architect of The Matrix – is both an illustration of advanced English and an example of how using complicated words can make your message harder to understand. Using simple language helps ensure clarity and accessibility and reduces misunderstandings.
You may even want to watch the scene with a pad and pen and write down any of the words you don’t understand, so that you can look up their meanings later. Even advanced speakers might not know the meaning of words like "concordantly", "inherent", "eventuality", "anomaly" and "assiduously".
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We end with another monologue that, like Jaws', is among the most powerful in film history. It’s also a great example of how beautifully the English language can conjure up mental imagery. In the scene, Roy Batty – a dying bioengineered "replicant" – tells Deckard (played by Harrison Ford) about the things he has experienced in his life.
These include “attack ships on fire off the Shoulder of Orion” and “C-beams glitter in the dark near Tannhäuser Gate”. And though we never see the places he’s describing, the dialogue evokes some powerful imagery. Additionally, the scene ends with a line that shows how poetic the English language can be: “All these moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.”
As with Jaws, the scene was the subject of numerous re-writes, including one by the Dutch actor who played Roy Batty, Rutger Hauer. Rutger – like Javier Bardem – learned English as a foreign language and therefore is another English learning role model.
Have you considered studying abroad? Moving to Canada to study? With more than 100 world-class universities across the country, there’s good reason to. From coast to coast to coast, it offers many international students a safe and supportive learning environment and the opportunity to work after graduation.
Want to learn more? In this guide, we cover ten things you should know about studying in Canada:
Language skills have become increasingly important in the workplace as the world becomes more globalized and connected. Having the ability to communicate effectively in more than one language is very valuable, and with English being a leading lingua franca for businesses across the world, language skills sit at the heart of business success.
Here we highlight four top reasons why language skills are so valuable in the workplace.
Effective communication is the number one soft skill that employers look for, . Having strong language skills enables better communication with clients and colleagues, and also helps to work effectively with people from different cultures. It builds solid relationships and reduces frustration where customers or colleagues may otherwise feel that they are not understood or listened to.
Having different languages on your CV can really help to stand out among other candidates. For some industries it is essential, such as tourism, where it is necessary to serve clients from different countries, and this is also true where companies serve clients in international markets.
Where businesses are increasingly moving to hybrid working practices that can include teams spread across different countries and timezones, it is also becoming more of an expectation and advantage to be able to connect through a central language, such as English.
Furthermore, having English language skills can provide employees with better networking opportunities, in particular through conferences, trade shows and social media platforms such as LinkedIn.
Learning a language opens you up to understanding more about other countries and cultures and being able to sensitively apply this in your interactions with others. This is critical in today’s diverse workplaces and is also a central part of the DE&I agenda of many companies.
Learning a new language can be a very enriching experience that enhances personal growth and skills development. Language learning doesn't just impact communication skills; it's also been noted that learning a language helps the brain process and remember information more efficiently[1], as well as developing new cognitive and problem-solving skills.
Learning a new language requires discipline, dedication, and patience, which are qualities that can be applied to other areas of work and life.
To summarise, language skills are highly valuable in the workplace and can open up new career opportunities for employees, as well as adding tangible benefits to businesses. Investing in language skills can increase an employee's value, and this can help them succeed in today's ever-evolving work landscape.
Students who are actively involved in deciding what and how they learn are typically more engaged and motivated.
That’s not surprising, because independent learners are extremely focused on their personal learning objectives.
, independent learning is “a process, a method and a philosophy of education whereby a learner acquires knowledge by his or her own efforts and develops the ability for inquiry and critical evaluation."
