Why You CAN'T Understand TV and Movies in English WITHOUT Subtitles

Have you ever felt like movies and TV shows in English seem to be  spoken in a different language that is not English? Maybe by now you have already mastered  having everyday conversations with people, but put on Netflix and then there you go. It feels  like everything you hear is gibberish.

By the way, gibberish is a word that you can use to  refer to something that is inaudible, incomprehensible. It's just blah, blah,  blah, blah, blah. This is gibberish.

Do you feel like this when you watch movies in  English or TV shows in English? Well, you are not alone. In today's episode, I want to explain  to you why this happens, why you feel like, while you can understand maybe some teachers, some  podcasts, when it comes to movies and TV shows in particular, it seems almost impossible  to understand them.

And more importantly, I want to give you some tips and some guidance on  what you can do to finally start fixing this and depend less and less on subtitles. Hey  guys, how's it going? Thiago here and welcome to another episode of the podcast. 

So I want to start by talking about this disconnect that we all feel at some point  as learners when it comes to English in movies and TV series. Think about maybe  when you were studying English at school. Do you remember the type of English that you used  to hear at school?

Or even nowadays on YouTube, if you follow my channel here, you know  that I speak a certain way. After all, I am a teacher. If you follow other English  teachers here on YouTube, other English teaching podcasts, you might realize that the  sentences are usually neat.

know, we teachers, we speak in a clear way most of the time, not too  fast, not too slow. We speak at a regular pace. It feels comfortable.

It feels easy  to understand this. Right. I mean, I get comments like this all the time here on  my channel, how people can understand according to to what they say.

Ninety percent of what I say,  ninety five percent of what I say. Right. Because, as a teacher, I tend to speak a certain  way that is a little bit more clear, slowly paced, that kind of thing.

But there is a  disconnect when you turn on Netflix, Amazon Prime. and you put on a movie or a TV show,  suddenly it feels like the actors there are not speaking English, they're speaking  something else. It all happens so fast that it's almost impossible to understand what  they're saying.

Not only about the speed, but they might use a lot of slang as  well, a lot of words and expressions that maybe you have never heard in  your life before. That happens a lot. And even mumbling.

Some actors might just be  mumbling in those scenes. When you mumble, you don't articulate your mouth as well. You  don't articulate the words, the sounds as much as you should.

This is more like mumbling when you  don't move your mouth so much, you know? So this could definitely be a factor in preventing you  from better understanding this type of medium. A great analogy for this that  I like to tell people about is learning to drive.

Imagine you are  learning to drive in a parking lot, an empty parking lot. That is one experience. But  imagine you are thrown into the heavy traffic of the big city and I have to drive in the  middle of the traffic during rush hour.

there is this disconnect, right? Maybe driving  in an empty parking lot or in a peaceful, quiet neighborhood is one thing. Now, driving during  rush hour in the middle of the traffic in the big city is another thing entirely.

So when you listen  to me, for example, to other English teachers here on YouTube, you might have this feeling  that, this is easy. I understand these people. I understand these teachers.

Yeah, amazing.  It feels like driving in the parking lot, right? But then when you watch  those actors in movies and series, speaking that way is like you are in the rush  hour, right?

So I know there is this disconnect, OK? The key point here that you have to remember  is that native speakers, especially in that type of media, movies, TV shows, they connect  words when they speak, they drop sounds and They also use expressions and words that  you have probably never heard before. Okay.

So let's jump in the culprit. Let's talk  about, let's identify the main culprit in this situation. A culprit is someone who  is responsible for something.

It's like, who is the guilty one? Who is the guilty  party here? I can't understand movies and TV shows.

Who is to blame? You  know, so who are the culprits? Let's say the first culprit, the first enemy,  let's say the first villain that you have to go up against is pronunciation and connected  speech.

All right. I talk about this all the time here on the channel. Talking about connected  speech a little bit.

Native speakers of English. Especially in media such as movies and TV  series, they use a lot of connected speech. And a connected speech is basically the art,  I call, of cutting sounds, reducing sounds, and joining sounds in a sentence.

All right? Let  me give you some examples here. Instead of, do not know, you hear quite often, in media, I don't  know.

I don't know. I don't know. don't know.

don't know. I don't know. Really fast.

Really  reduced. I don't know. Instead of, I do not know.

Instead of what are you doing? Many times you  hear what you're doing. Hey, what you're doing, what you're doing over there.

All right. It's  not what are you doing? What about this one?

I really like this one. Check it out. I got  to go to the drugstore and buy some pills.

Let me say that again. I got to go to the  drugstore and buy some pills. So it's not.

I got to go or I have got to go to the drugstore.  It's more like I got to go to I got to go to yeah I got to go to the drugstore and buy some  pills. That's what you hear.

I got to go in. I got to go to bed. OK.

How about this  one. I'm going to stop by and say hello. I'm going to stop by and say hello. 

Instead of I'm going to stop by and say hello. I'm not saying I'm going  to stop by. I'm not even saying I'm gonna stop by.

I'm saying I'm gonna stop by.  I'm gonna stop by. I'm gonna stop by.

Yeah, sure. I'm going to stop by and say hello.  This is more the type of English you hear.

in movies and TV series. Sentences  with lots of connected speech in them. So the words blend.

They  make some sounds even disappear and vanish altogether. And it all happens  at lightning speed. That's another key point.

Because, even myself right now, as I'm  giving you these examples of connected speech, Yes, I am using connected speech in these  examples, like I'm going to stop by or I got to go to the drugstore, but I'm not speaking  as fast as you hear some actors speaking. Now, pick this, pick what I'm telling you,  what I'm showing to you right now. This the same sound and double or triple  the speed.

I just said I got to go to the drugstore. OK, now triple the speed on that  sentence. That's the typical type of English.

you hear actors using, like a  lightning speed. Okay. So this is definitely one culprit.

right.  Pronunciation, more specifically, connected speech. Okay.

That's why, guys,  I have my pronunciation course, by the way. If you have never heard of my pronunciation  course, this is a course I have where I teach you the main sounds of the English language  and also the main connected speech patterns. that you hear native speakers in movies and TV  series using.

Why is it important for you to know this? Because the more you learn about  these patterns, because they are patterns, they happen quite often, the more you are  aware of them, and the more you practice them, the better it is for you to recognize them  when you hear the actors using them in that type of media. And if you are able to not  only recognize these patterns in listening, but also apply some of these patterns in your own speech, you're going to sound much more  fluid, much more clear, much more natural.

OK, so I would like to invite you to learn more  about my pronunciation course. This is a course that is ongoing and evolving. You know,  there are already some really cool lessons there that you can start watching right away.

OK,  but I'm constantly updating the course with new lessons on different sounds, different  patterns. So I'm constantly updating it. So.

With one single payment, you have access to  the materials indefinitely. Okay. So don't worry because the course doesn't expire with one  payment.

You can have access to this material and the future updates. So do check it out because  you know, learning more about connected speech is definitely something that's going to help  you better understand movies and TV shows. Okay.

But aside from the connected speech  and the pronunciation aspects here, Another reason why it's difficult, another  villain, another culprit here, is the vocabulary that is used in movies and TV series. Many times  in movies and TV shows, you hear lots of idioms, a lot of slang. For example, spill the  beans, piece of cake, break a leg.

These are colorful phrases. They add flavor to your  conversations, but they can also leave us learners Confused, right? Like what?

Spill the beans.  What is that? Spill the beans.

By the way, to spill the beans is to reveal information that  you are not supposed to reveal. You spill the beans. But you see, there is also the vocabulary  component.

One reason why you cannot understand might be because of the vocabulary used.  So that's why it's important for you to be consuming content in English constantly.  And also important for you to be constantly improving your vocabulary range, the number of  words and expressions you know and understand in English.

On top of that, we can also add  the phrasal verbs. For example, run into, look up to, put up with. These can also  be confusing.

One thing that I find very interesting about phrasal verbs, is the fact that  if you look at the phrasal verbs word for word, You realize that the words themselves  are very basic. For example, look up to look up to the individual words here are  super basic. OK, look up to.

But the secret is knowing the combination, knowing the  meaning that these three words together. Carrie. So when you look up to  someone, you admire that person.

But you see, as a learner, you might be hoping  or expecting to hear in a movie, admire. yeah, I really admire my friend. But many times you  don't hear admire, you're going to hear look up to.

yeah, my friend is great. I really look up to  him. OK.

Or run into. To run into someone means to meet someone unexpectedly. But chances are  in a movie or TV show, you're not going to hear An actor going, yeah, I unexpectedly met  my friend last night.

They don't talk like that. Another culprit, another villain, yeah,  that usually prevents you from understanding movies and TV series without subtitles.  But let me just add a little parentheses here and let me also add another point here  that might make you feel more at ease and not be so harsh on yourself.

Because guys,  there is also the sound mix of the movie and of the TV series. The sound mix, you the way  that they record the audio, the dialogue in those productions. OK.

For example, one thing that is  very common in movie production is the dynamics in audio, you know, because in  a movie, for example, you have the dialogue that is one type of audio  track, right? But you also have noises like car explosions, bombs, guns firing, and  other type of sounds and noises. So in order to create more dynamics between the dialogue and  these explosions, sounds, usually what they do is they compress the dialogue track quite  a lot sometimes.

So it becomes really low. in terms of volume for you to hear  it, you know, so that you have this, this feeling of when there's a car explosion, the  explosion has to be louder than the dialogue. Got it?

And I've experienced that many times  here at home when I'm watching something, especially at night, you know, when I'm watching  something at night here, I usually don't watch it with the volume on the TV too loud because, know,  I don't want to disrupt my neighborhood, you know. So what happens is if there's only dialogue  going on, it's very hard to hear the dialogue because the volume is just too low. So  I usually have to turn up the volume in order to have something more audible for me  to actually see what the actors are saying.

But the minute there is music, you know,  playing or an explosion or a sound like that, it becomes way too loud. Then I have to turn down  the volume. Have you experienced this?

Like. . .

When there's only dialogue, you have  to turn it up. When there's cars, explosions and music going on, you have to  turn it down. This is the dynamic.

So this can also be one reason why you feel like you  can't understand movies without subtitles. It might not be related to your English level, to  your knowledge of connected speech vocabulary. It might just be.

The way they mix the sound in those  productions, so don't feel too bad, OK, because. The truth is guys that even I myself, if I'm  watching something that is a little bit more complex or it's late at night, I don't want to  watch it with a high volume on the TV. I'm going to use the subtitles.

And I have no shame, no  shame, excuse me. I have no shame to say this, you know? Yes, I am able to watch it without  subtitles.

I don't need them. But depending on what I'm watching, you know, or on how low or loud  the TV volume is. Yes, I'm going to use it.

OK. So don't feel too bad about this. But  the other points that I mentioned, definitely they are factors. 

so pronunciation, knowledge, connected speech, knowledge and vocabulary,  idioms, slang and phrasal verbs. OK, all right. So now that we have identified  the culprits or the villains, right.

What is the solution here? How can you start to  fix this and how can you start to to depend? less and less on subtitles.

It's important that  you reframe the way you think about this because you might be trying to catch every single word  you hear, but that's not the right mindset. It's not about understanding every word. So be okay  with that.

Be at peace with this. Don't try to understand every single word. Even native  speakers, they don't do that, you know?

They don't catch every word either. And I have  met also many native speakers who actually use subtitles. When they watch their movies and TV  shows, because remember, sometimes the way the actors speak might not be the most clear way. 

There is the sound mix that I just mentioned, you know, so your goal here is to train your ear  to recognize key information, even if some bits. are missed. So it's okay if you don't understand  every single word, but you got to be training yourself to get main pieces of information.

Okay.  So do devote time to improve your pronunciation in English to learn more about pronunciation.  But here's the thing.

Pronunciation is not only about individual sounds, it's also about  recognizing rhythm, stress, intonation. Okay. The stress of the words.

This is a really  important topic for you to also focus on. OK, because. If you place the stress on a  word in the wrong place, the word sounds completely different and completely wrong. 

OK, so word stress and sentence stress. Is also very important for you to pay attention  to. OK.

Now, what else can you do to start? depending less and less on subtitles.  You can practice shadowing or mimicking, right?

So when you shadow some media, for  example, you imitate, you repeat out loud what you're hearing. And you also try to shadow  or to copy the feeling the actor is using there, the intonation. If the actor is angry, you also  try to sound angry when you say that.

the actor is afraid, you also try to sound afraid when you  say that. This is shadowing. Mimicking is the same thing, but usually there's a delay there. 

You can pause the movie, for example, and it can play it back. You can listen, it can repeat.  OK, so shadowing and mimicking, these are great exercises, great strategies and techniques you can  use to improve your overall speech.

OK, because If you can start bringing your speaking,  your speech in English, you know, closer and closer to that type of speaking  that you hear in the movies and TV series, the easier it will be for you to start  understanding those actors without the subtitles. OK, because another reason why it might  be difficult for you to understand right now is because you might be speaking English in a very  different way. Maybe the complete opposite way.

to that type of English that you hear in the  medium. OK. One specific.

Point or topic when it comes to pronunciation for you to study about  is also the minimal pairs. Minimal pairs are words in English that they they sound different,  but the difference is in just one sound. And English is full of words like that, that  the difference between one word and the next It's just one sound.

We call these minimal pairs.  And they can be confusing. So you also have to take time to learn them.

Some examples here of  minimal pairs. have berry and very. The only difference here is the B and the V.

Berry,  very. Or, day, they. Free, three.

You see? The difference between these words is  just one sound. Dare, there.

Got it? So, make sure you also become familiar with  these minimal pairs in English because many times the difference in pronunciation  between the words is one sound and it's a very subtle difference. So you've got  to train your ears to also identify those subtle differences.

So if you do this, you know, if you take time to learn more about  connected speech, practice connected speech, learn more about pronunciation, individual  sounds of English, word stress, intonation, minimal pairs. And if you also take the time to  apply shadowing and mimicking, yeah, you repeat out loud what you hear. I guarantee that with  time, your speaking skills will become better.

You will have better pronunciation, clearer  pronunciation. And for the topic of the video today, you will start to understand movies  and TV series much more easily with time. But remember that this is like a muscle  that you have to develop and grow.

OK, the more you practice, the stronger  your listening comprehension gets. So it does take time. Now that you know the  topics you have to learn about and study, start studying about these things, start learning  about these things, and be patient because it will take some time for your ears to become accustomed  to this.

Again, I want to invite you to check out my pronunciation course. My pronunciation  course can be a great ally in this case, can be a good friend for you in this case.  But now before we wrap up today's episode, It's time for the learner's corner. 

And for the learner's corner today, I have one email to read for you and one  comment here from YouTube. So first of all, I got an email here from Susan. And Susan says,  Dear Thiago, I hope this message finds you well.

My name is Susan and I have a question. I am  struggling to remember words without any context. Is this normal or am I the only one experiencing  this?

look forward to hearing from you. Best regards, Susan. Susan, thank you so much for  sending your question and for writing.

I have to point out the phrase you use here. I look  forward to hearing from you. Great job.

Some learners might forget to place the ing  at the end of the verb here after look forward to and then you hear something  like I look forward to hear from you. but this is not correct. So you were really  precise here in using the ING.

So great job. I look forward to hearing from you about your  question. Yes, it's normal.

And I would also say that it might not be the best way. Actually, it's  not the best way for you to improve vocabulary, like trying to memorize words without any context.  think the best thing you can do, Susan, is always Practice vocabulary in context.

Don't  focus on learning or memorizing the meaning to individual words and expressions  but Write down the sentences where you see those words being used in and pay attention  to the context Let me give you an example here. Let's pick the phrasal verb to hit it off  Okay to hit it off with someone One approach is trying to learn or memorize the isolated meaning.  Okay, so to hit it off with someone means to start liking someone right away.

It's when you  meet someone for the first time and in the first minutes talking to that person,  you develop a very good relationship, very good rapport, and you say you hit it  off with that person. This is one approach. Can it work?

Yes, it can work. But you see how  troublesome it is? I think it's much better for you to just focus on the context and using that  in sentences.

For example, I went to a party last night and I met this person and this person was  so nice to talk to. We hit it off right away. You see, if you memorize the context and the  situation like that, it might be easier for you to grasp the meaning, you know, of  that phrasal verb.

Because I many times, guys, that's all you need. You know, you  just need the context and to grasp the meaning of that phrase. You don't have  to learn how to explain that unless you are a teacher.

You know, as a teacher,  I have to come up with ways to explain vocabulary like I just did with hit it off.  But if you don't intend to be a teacher, you know, maybe you don't have to worry  about that so much like the isolated meaning of words or how to explain words.  Just make sure you understand the meaning inside the context.

And I think it's going to  be much easier for you to internalize it. OK. And now I have another comment to feature  here, which is a comment from Alessandro.

Hey Alessandro, how's it going? Alessandro is a  member of my private community and you know he shares a lot of cool stuff there and lately,  actually recently, he left a comment here in one of my latest videos saying a very  focused and visual lesson. It really helps in understanding pronunciation difficulties.

I also  want to emphasize how much a pronunciation course with detailed connected speech analysis and  exercises is helping me. Thank you, Thiago. So, yes, I forgot to tell you that Alessandro has  also bought my pronunciation course and he's been enjoying it.

So, Alessandro, thank you so much for  the nice comment, for being an ongoing supporter of my work here on YouTube, and also for being a  member of the community. And guys, do it just like Alessandro. You know, check out the pronunciation  course.

I'm sure it will help you a ton. when it comes to learning connected speech and  the sounds of the English language. Okay.

Now, before I leave you, I'm going to remind you  that if you want to leave me or send me an audio message, you can do so on this link,  speakpipe. com/englishwiththiago. That is speakpipe.

com/englishwiththiago. Send me a 90 second message there in audio and I'll be happy to  feature your message here in the show. Or if you prefer, can do it just like Susan and send me an email at hello.

teachertiago@gmail. com. hello.

teachthiago@gmail. com. Guys, I'm Tiago, I'm signing off.

Thank you so much for listening. Remember  to subscribe to the channel here on YouTube, leave me a like and also leave me a comment.  Maybe if you want to share more about your struggles with pronunciation, with  understanding movies and TV series.

Make sure you leave me a comment, leave me  a five star review as well on Spotify and Apple podcasts. And I'll be talking to you  very soon in the upcoming episode. Bye bye.