12 Best Movies To Learn English

Watching movies will make learning a new language simple. Here, we’ve brought you the best movies to learn English seamlessly. With or without subtitles, these English movies are easy to understand in terms of their words and pronunciation in dialogues. And these movies are popular for their stories and characters, in addition to entertainment. Thus, for grammar and vocabulary-building, start watching these films and become a fluent native speaker.   

Table of Contents

12 Best Movies To Learn English

1. Jurassic Park (1993)
2. The King’s Speech (2010)
3. Men in Black (1997)
4. Toy Story (1995)
5. The Social Network (2010)
6. Forrest Gump (1994)
7. Pulp Fiction (1994)
8. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
9. 12 Angry Men (1957)
10. Harry Potter Series (2001 - 2011)
11. The Hangover (2009)
12. Notting Hill (1999)

Other Popular English Movies You Must Consider Watching

1. Jurassic Park (1993)

English Level: Medium

Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi

Jurassic Park is about an expedition on an island, where humans meet cloned dinosaurs and their life-threatening journey. This movie is perfect for learning scientific English words and slightly complicated language terms and sentences related to Science.

Being one of the best science fiction (Sci-Fi) movies of all time, Jurassic Park won 3 Oscars. The director, Steven Spielberg, narrates the evolution of dinosaurs in the simplest way through cartoons. So, to describe a scientific event, you can use vocabulary from this movie. 

2. The King’s Speech (2010)

English Level: High

Genre: Biography/Drama/History

The King’s Speech is about England’s King George VI, who overcomes stammering with the help of a speech therapist. This movie is recommended for learning the British accent, pronunciation and different words related to the British empire, speaking disorders, etc.

Based on a true story, “The King’s Speech” won 4 Oscars. The director, Tom Hooper, well-crafted the script that highlights the speech impediment while delivering a speech to the British people.

 3. Men in Black (1997)

English Level: Medium

Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy

Men in Black is about two secret agents who hunt aliens on Earth. This movie uses various jargons that are easy to understand. After watching this movie, you will learn new words about extraterrestrial objects, aliens, weapons and secret services. 

The movie Men in Black (MIB), starring famous actors like Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, has won one Oscar award. The director, Barry Sonnenfeld, and the comic writer, Lowell Cunningham, curated in such a way that this film is fun-loaded throughout.

4. Toy Story (1995)

English Level: Low

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy

For animation movie lovers, the best way to learn English is by watching "Toy Story." It’s an animated (cartoon) film about the rivalry between a cowboy doll and a spaceman toy. Here, the sentence structures are easy to grasp. If it’s fast, you can pause and replay.

The director, John Lasseter, keeping children in mind, used simple vocabulary and a storyline. But, some humour is there to satisfy adult audiences. If you’re at a beginner’s level, watch this movie and understand the language through their common expressions.

 5. The Social Network (2010)

English Level: Medium

Genre: Biography/Drama

The Social Network is a biopic of Mark Zuckerberg of how he came up with the social networking site, called Facebook. This movie is important because it uses many technical words from social media, marketing, business strategies, and so on. 

The director of this Oscar-winning film, David Fincher, gave attention to details from the book “The Accidental Billionaires,” by Aaron Sorkin. He also brilliantly showcased the sophisticated court terms in simple language, allowing any English learner to understand.

6. Forrest Gump (1994)

English Level: Medium

Genre: Drama/Romance

Forrest Gump is about a man’s journey, whose only desire is to reunite with his childhood girlfriend. The best part of this movie is, Forrest speaks slowly and steadily. So you can listen closely and learn the American accent. 

If you’re at an advanced level, you must watch this movie to use short forms while speaking. For example, “ain’t” is a short form of “are not.” Interestingly, Tom Hanks won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Robert Zemeckis, the director, won an Oscar for Best Director for this movie. 

7. Pulp Fiction (1994)

English Level: High

Genre: Crime/Drama

Pulp Fiction is about four interconnected stories involving two hitmen, a boxer, a gangster with his wife, and diner bandits using violence and redemption. This movie is famous for colloquialisms, which are not for everyday conversations. Its nonlinear storytelling may confuse you when you watch it for the first time.   

Quentin Tarantino, the director of this film, gave his best writings and stunned the audience. If you’re a mid-level learner, watch this movie to learn some mean or sensitive words like “yakking away.” However, please don’t use it.

8. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

English Level: High

Genre: Drama

The Shawshank Redemption is about two convicts in prison becoming friends and seeking consolation. This movie mainly covers courts, jail scenes and how a person attains wisdom. They have used common words along with idioms and phrases in American slang.

Being ranked #1 in IMDB, this movie immerses you in deep thinking. The director, Frank Darabont, scripted the scenes perfectly and gave explanations for each legal term like “rehabilitated,” “parole,” etc. Thus, ensuring everyone is clear. 

9. 12 Angry Men (1957)

English Level: Medium

Genre: Crime/Drama

12 Angry Men is about 12 jurors discussing the causes of a murder crime, considering evidence carefully. It is a must-watch for all English learners as it describes a crime scene using time & date. If you watch closely, you will learn how to use prepositions correctly.

The movie is directed by Sidney Lumet, who kept the audience on the edge of their seats. He used the actual law terms to make it real. To increase vocabulary, you can note down the legal words and use them while speaking and writing.

10. Harry Potter Series (2001 - 2011)

English Level: Medium

Genre: Adventure/Famliy/Fantasy

Harry Potter is a sci-fi movie series that showcases Harry Potter, a wizard, embarking on magical adventures at Hogwarts. The first two parts are exclusively for kids, as the dialogue is slow and fewer characters are involved. Moreover, lots of magic vocabulary is used.  

The director, Chris Columbus, used many exact words from the books, like ‘muggle,’ to describe someone unable to do magic. So, to learn basic English and all the new words in the movies, read J.K. Rowling’s books simultaneously.

11. The Hangover (2009)

English Level: Medium

Genre: Comedy

The Hangover movie is about four male friends heading to Las Vegas to celebrate a bachelor’s party. This movie is sought-after for its humour and fun way of learning English. Listening to each dialogue, you will know how sounds in words vary in connected speech. 

Todd Phillips, the director, takes the audience through surprises, especially with Mike Tyson. To make the conversations easy to understand, he used common phrases like “stag party” (bachelor party), “all-nighter” (staying awake throughout the night), etc.

12. Notting Hill (1999)

English Level: Medium

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance

Notting Hill is about an ordinary British bookshop owner who falls in love with a famous American actress and faces ups and downs in their relationship. This movie has comedy, emotional and romantic words. And it has American and British English. You can feel the difference in terms of words and pronunciation.

The director, Roger Michell, clearly depicted how a Hollywood celebrity is surrounded by the media's attention and its repercussions on her relationship. So, the movie is lovely to watch and understand their different cultures.

Other Popular English Movies You Must Consider Watching

Here is a list of popular English movies you must consider watching to learn more about the English language. It exposes you to the real-life language, visual context and different English accents and dialects. It includes more classics from the 90s and early 20s.

• The Hunger Games (2012 - 2015)
• The Pursuit of Happiness (2006)
• Clueless (1995)
• The Avengers (2012 - 2019)
• Before Sunrise (1995)
• The Graduate (1967)
• Black Swan (2010)
• Tangled (2010)
• Twilight (2008 - 2012)
• When Harry Met Sally (1989)

How to Talk or Describe a Movie in English

After watching these movies, if you want to talk about or describe them in English, you can use the words given below. It helps you to explain or convey the meaning easily.

Film Genre & Other Words	Meaning	Examples
Action	A film having many fight scenes - martial arts, guns, etc.	The Dark Knight is an action movie.
Comedy	A film filled with jokes and entertainment.	Jackie chan does comedy in his action stunts.
Sci-Fi	Science Fiction is shortly called ‘Sci-Fi.’ It’s about robots, aliens, etc.	Terminator is a sci-fi movie.
Rom-Com	It simply means romantic comedy.	Hitch is a classic rom-com movie.
Documentary	It’s interpreting factual information in a movie for education or entertainment.	Many documentary movies came regarding WWII.
Mockumentary	It is a mock or joke documentary about something that does not exist.	Spinal Tap is a mockumentary
Animation	These are cartoon films come in 2D, 3D or 4D	The Lion King is a movie with the latest animation.
Whodunnit	It’s a short form of ‘Who has done it?”	This word is probably seen in Sherlock Holmes. To find out the criminal, the actor says ‘whodunnit’
Cast	All actors and actresses in a film.	Inception had a really good cast.
Character	One of the people in a film.	The Godfather was my favourite character.
Plot/Storyline	The story of a movie.	Christopher Nolan follows a different storyline.
Scene	A small portion of the film.	I like action and comedy scenes in films.
Cinema	It is known as the pictures in different slangs.	Watch cinema in big theatres.
Cheesy/corny	A movie that is easy to predict or poor.	‘Jaws’ is a cheesy film.

Conclusion

Non-native English speakers who aspire to travel to English-speaking countries like the US or Canada must be proficient at least in listening and speaking. If you take our 12 “best movies to learn English,” you can improve your listening and speaking skills. These English movies showcase the culture and style, other than vocabulary and grammar, so use them efficiently. All the best. 

FAQs

1. Which movie is best to improve English?

The best movie to improve your English is Forrest Gump because the dialogues are slow and easy to understand. Tom Hanks, in the lead role, used simple sentences for his character and made the audience engaged through his performance. 

2. Can I learn English by watching movies?

Yes. You can learn English easily by watching movies. You can listen to the dialogue and follow the subtitles. It helps you to recognize each word and its pronunciation. Once you’re familiar with words, you can ignore the subtitles and focus on the context and conversation.

3. What should I watch to be fluent in English?

In order to attain fluency in English, you should watch the following series:

• Stranger Things
• The Defenders
• Blackadder
• The Thin Blue Line
• 13 Reasons Why
• Ozark
• The Crown

4. Can I improve my English by watching series?

Yes indeed. Many non-native English speakers have improved their English language skills by watching TV series. It includes listening and speaking. However, if whatever they have learnt is put into practice, they can improve their reading and writing skills too.

5. Which web series is best for learning English?

The best web series for learning English would be Friends. It’s available on Netflix. There are 10 seasons with 236 episodes. This American sitcom is world-famous across all age groups. It’s the best series to learn English because it has all kinds of emotions. The dialogues are based on day-to-day activities. On top of that, it teaches how to express yourself.

6. What are the effective tips to learn English through movies?   

The effective tips to learn English through movies are:

1. Select interesting movies
2. Filter movies that has difficult genres or stories
3. Target to understand at least 60% of the English
4. If you couldn’t follow, pause and repeat
5. Use subtitles only if necessary
6. Ask doubts to friends, others (if any)