With the rise of binge-watching TV series on YouTube, Netflix and several streaming subscription services, chances are you have watched a series yourself. It could be "Friends", "Game of Thrones", "House of Cards" etc. This can actually help you improve your English skills! There are several reasons why watching Friends could make your English better. In this article, you will learn to improve your English using the TV show "Friends." If you watch actively, you can acquire a large number of words, grammar and structures that are applicable in real life. Yes, you can do all that without opening a book. First, let’s get to know the series.
1. What is "Friends" the TV series, anyway?
"Friends" is an extremely popular TV series in the Western part of the world, which includes the U.S and much of Europe. It ran from September 1994 to May 2002. It tells the stories of a friend group of 6, all in their twenties at that time in New York.
We have Ross and Monica Geller, a brother and sister from Long Island; Rachel Green, the daughter of a businessman; Chandler Bing, a white-collar worker with a 9-to-5 job; Chandler's roommate Joey Tribbiani, an aspiring movie star; and finally, Phoebe Buffay, a mysterious singer. The series doesn’t concentrate on any one character but rather explores the journeys of all the characters through their adult lives, from love to work. It does so in a comedic, funny yet emotional way at the same time. Anyone can relate to the characters and their stories.
"Friends" is set in Manhattan, New York in the 1990s. Its dialogues are really witty and easy to understand, even for new English learners. This makes it an excellent choice for practicing English speaking through a TV series.
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2. What can you learn with "Friends"?
2.1. Grammar and Lexical resources
"Friends" is set in a modern New York context. Therefore, the language of the film is very useful. The lines in the film often use simple, but ‘native’ language. Thereby, you can learn and supplement yourself with grammatical structures. Vocabulary with great applications is there to grab too!
2.2. English skills (speaking and listening)
The lines in the film are usually in real life situations. It could be a simple conversation with friends or an interview with the boss. Obviously, when listening to these conversations, you can practice your ability to listen to English. Most of the time, the things you hear are very close to real life.
In addition, the characters in the movie all have their distinct personality traits. For example, Joey is an actor with a charming voice, while Monica is a charismatic chef. You might see yourself in these characters, which can serve as motivation to practice speaking like your favorite one.
2.3. Western culture
According to its producers, "Friends" is a film about “sex, love, career, at a time in life when everything can happen. It also talks about friendship, because when you are single and live in the city, your friends are your family. ”
The TV series shows many scenes of daily life. It could be at a cafe where your group meets or at your friends’ apartments. It even takes you to workplaces and parties, festivals … These are great examples of American everyday life. "Friends" did an excellent job of depicting the lives and behaviors of its characters. It also indirectly reflected social classes in Western society.
3. How to learn English with "Friends"?
Learning to speak English through films is undoubtedly interesting. However, this doesn’t mean you can simply lie down, watch a movie from start to finish, and expect your IELTS score to jump from 4.5 to 6.5 the next day. You will have to spend a lot of time and effort to achieve what you want. If you don’t know how to start, please refer to our suggestion.
- Watch the episode once to get the main content.
- Split an episode into different scenes. This will help you review more thoroughly and avoid skipping parts. Then, select a few of your favorite scenes to learn from.
- Learn piece by piece
- Look up and save new and interesting words or structures.
- Listen and mimic that word. (Structure is also applicable). You can record it to listen to your voice to fix it.
- Review these videos several times to train reflexes. Later, it will become your natural reflex.
You can refer to the article Learn English with Movies: A Complete Guide on eJOY Blog to better understand the suggestions above.
3.1. How to watch "Friends" to learn English?
If your listening skills are not strong enough, don’t hesitate to use subtitles. They will be a great help for you to understand the lines.
You can see "Friends" at some sites like Netflix, iFlix or Hulu. They have copyrighted movies, with subtitles in English and other languages. They can help you understand the content and make learning English easier, including both grammar and vocabulary.
But when watching the movie, it’s inconvenient to constantly pause to write down new words and look them up in the dictionary, right? I’ll share my secret for overcoming this inconvenience. This problem can be solved by installing eJOY extension. To check the meaning, simply click on the word to see the meaning. If you want to save a word, simply click “Save”. You can practice them daily with eJOY’s interesting games.
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To help you begin learning English with "Friends," I’ve selected a number of scenes for you. This should make your learning process a bit more convenient. Pay attention to both the phrases and their uses in contexts I show below.
4. Some great scenes to learn English with "Friends"
4.1. Season 5, Episode 17: Monica and Chandler discussing their relationship
» Freak out
Meaning and usage:
In this scene, Chandler and Monica discuss their relationship. He tells her “You just freaked out about our relationship.”
‘Freak (someone) out’ is a wildly irrational reaction or spell of behaviour. If you freak out, it means you’re very excited or emotional, or you cause someone to be this way.
Example:
- My sister freaked out when she saw the mouse under the table.
- I think our music freaks people out sometimes.
- I wonder what will happen the first time he went onstage. To be honest, I think he will freak out completely before the guests arrive.
» Go out
Meaning and usage:
We use this phrase to describe people having a romantic relationship, esp. one that includes going places together. If you go out with someone, the two of you spend time together socially and have a romantic or sexual relationship.
In this episode, Monica asks Chandler: “You see I’ve always found the men’s bathroom very sexual. Haven’t you?”. Chandler answers Monica: “No. And if I did, I don’t think we’d be going out”.
Example:
- Speaking about this, do you want to go out for a drink after work?
- With regards to this, how long have you been going out with him?
- I mean, what time do you want to go out?
» To tell you the truth
Meaning and usage:
You say ‘to tell you the truth’ or ‘truth to tell’ in order to indicate that you are telling someone something in an open and honest way. Moreover, you do that without trying to hide anything.
In this particular scene, Chandler admits to Monica. In brief, he says “That was really great! But to tell you the truth, I’m more excited about where we are right now.”
Example:
- To tell you the truth, even though I majored in English literature, I’ve never read anything by Hemingway!
- I know I said I wanted to go out to the bars tonight. To tell the truth, I’d rather just stay home and watch a movie.
» All the time
Meaning and usage:
In this scene, Monica asks Chandler: “Wasn’t it a lot more exciting when we were y’know all over each other all the time?
Hence, ‘all the time’ means continuously. To put it briefly, if something happens all the time, it happens continually.
Example:
- First, she just kept on talking and all the time I was thinking I wanted to leave.
- On the whole, I get the two of them mixed up all the time. All in all, they’re so similar.
4.2. Season 5, Episode 12: Chandler’s work party
» By the way
Meaning and usage:
Monica tells Chandler in this segment: “Look at us all dressed up for the big office party! By the way, what are we celebrating?”.
In English, we use ‘by the way’ to introduce a statement or subject that may not be directly related to the subject being discussed.
Example:
- For a start, by the way, my name’s Julie.
- To change the topic, I think we’ve discussed everything we need to. By the way, what time is it?
- By the way, I heard that Phyllis may be moving to Dallas.
» Nice to meet you
Meaning and usage:
Monica greets Chandler’s boss by saying “Hi, nice to meet you!”
People use ‘nice to meet you’ for greeting someone when you meet them for the first time, especially in formal situations. (A work party, for instance.)
Example:
- Tom: Sue, this is my sister, Mary.
Sue: It’s nice to meet you, Mary.
Mary: How are you, Sue? - Bob: I’m Bob. Nice to see you here.
Jane: Nice to meet you, Bob.
» Have you heard about?/Did you hear about?
Meaning and usage:
We use the phrase ‘Have you heard about?/Did you hear about?’ to begin telling something. More often than not, the speakers use this in telling jokes.
Chandler’s boss, Doug, tells a joke: “Say uh, Bing, did you hear about the new law firm we got working for us?”.
Example:
- Sally: Hi, Mary.
Mary: Hi. Have you heard about Tom and Sue?
Sally: No, what happened?
Mary: Thus, I’ll let one of them tell you. - Bob: Hi, Tom. First, what’s new?
Tom: Did you hear that they’re raising taxes again?
Bob: In short, that’s not new.
» Come up with
Meaning and usage:
When being asked about his ‘work laugh’, Chandler advises Monica: “Oh, believe me, to survive this party, you’re gonna have to come up with one too.”
‘Come up with’ is a phrasal verb. We use it to suggest or think of an idea or plan.
Example:
- Hence, we’re in big trouble if we don’t come up with the money by 6 o’clock.
- For that reason, she’s come up with some amazing scheme to double her income.
4.3. Season 3, Episode 15: Chandler and Joey in Xerox
» Come on
Meaning and usage:
In this episode, Chandler bursts out “Come on Chloe! Finish up with your customer first.”
In brief, ‘Come on’ is a phrasal verb. It has many meanings and usages. However, in this particular context, ‘come on’ means telling someone to move or act quickly or more quickly.
Example:
- First of all, come on! In any case, we’re going to be late if you don’t hurry!
- Come on, Helen, you can tell me. Whatever happens, I won’t tell anyone.
» Can I help you?/Could I help you?
Meaning and usage:
We use this phrase when we want to offer for assistance. This often comes from a salesperson.
Example:
- A: “Can I help you?”
B: “Yes, I’m looking for a dress.”
» Have second thoughts
Meaning and usage:
Joey tells the staff of Xerox “Uh, y’know what, we’re having second thoughts about our copying needs.”.
‘Have second thoughts’ means a change in a decision or opinion. Thus, in daily lives, we use ‘have second thoughts’ to change your opinion about something or start to doubt it. Moreover, there is also the phrase ‘without a second thought’. Hence, if you do something without a second thought, you do it acting immediately, without stopping to think:
Example:
- A: “First of all, where’s the bride?”
B: “As a matter of fact, I don’t know. In any case, maybe she had second thoughts about the wedding.”
- I was sure I had seen the rare bird. However, now I’m having second thoughts.
» Crush on
Meaning and usage:
Issac, Xerox’s staff, says: “Chloe, switch with me, there are some guys here that got a crush on you.”
In short, ‘crush on’ indicates a feeling of love and admiration for someone.
Example:
- However, it wasn’t really love. In brief, it was just a schoolgirl crush.
- To summarise, he’s a guy in my class that I’m crushing on.
5. Conclusion
As I have said, just by watching a few short videos, you can already pick up a lot of good grammar and vocabulary, right?
So, let’s learn English with "Friends" using eJOY. You can discover more interesting and useful phrases, and practice your English skills on Netflix, Hulu, or iFlix with the eJOY extension. Please share in the comments below what you love about the movie and what you’ve learned from it!
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