Can you learn English by watching TV series? You’ve probably asked yourself this question or even tried to learn English with TV series on your own before. But does that still work If you’re using English for business? I’ve got great news for you. You can learn English while you watch TV series–and learn specific Business English skills too. And I’m going to help you do that today. I’ve got a clip from one of my favorite series for you. I’ll help you with my top 4 tips for learning English with TV series. And, in this clip, you’ll get to watch an entrepreneur pitch–or promote– his business idea. And then you can watch his girlfriend make his pitch even better! So you’ll learn a key business English skill as well.
To see the clip from this episode, be sure to watch this week’s video as well.
Don’t miss my next free, interactive workshop.
You’re serious about improving your English and your business skills. And I’m serious about helping you do that. That’s why I hold workshops every month on business skills you need. Want your exclusive monthly invitation? It’s easy. Just sign up for my newsletter.
What you’ll learn in this article:
1. Learn English with TV series: start with the story.
2. Learn English with TV series: listen for big ideas.
3. Learn English with TV series: listen for details, like expressions you can use.
4. Learn English with TV series: watch and observe communication and business strategies!
5. QUIZ YOURSELF ON TODAY’S LESSON
1. Learn English with TV series: start with the story.
OK, so your goal is to learn English with TV series today–not to just watch a series! I’m going to give you several strategies for understanding series in English AND for improving your business English with them. My first tip for you–as a neurolanguage coach–is this: know the story before you try to understand a clip in more detail.
So what is the story behind this clip?
It’s a clip from one of my favorite Netflix series, Inventing Anna. It’s *based on the *real-life story of a woman who is actually a con artist. She tricked a lot of New Yorkers. They thought she was a wealthy businessperson! And they gave her a lot of money…
In today’s clip, Anna and her boyfriend, Chase are vacationing with friends on a yacht heading to Ibiza. And Chase would really, really like to *pitch or promote his new business idea to Henrick or Hen–who he hopes will invest in his business. What’s the business about? An app that gets data from people’s dreams!
*based on= inspired by
*real-life story=a true story
*pitch =promote an idea, business or next step
Also check out my lesson: Understand an inspiring film for entrepreneurs in English!
2. Learn English with TV series: listen for big ideas.
Great! Now you understand the story and you’re ready to take the next step to learn English with TV series. It’s time to start to understand what the characters are saying.
Give yourself a simple goal at first. See if you can understand the main idea. Watch the first part of the clip (I have it for you in today’s video lesson on how to learn English with series).
Chase is going to pitch his ideas to Hen. Do you think Chase is successful with his pitch?
So, how do you think Chase is doing?
Not so good right? How did you know?
Did you hear Hen say, “What’s a bigger waste of time than sitting around listening to someone tell you about their dreams?”
And the other characters have bad things to say too! Like that guy in the shorts:
“Totally, the worst.” When someone says “Oh that’s the worst.” It means, I really hate when that happens.
And then there’s the woman who says:
“God, Chase is working him so hard on this app of his. He’s so shameless.”
To work someone hard means to try to convince them–and not really in a subtle or conversational way.
And saying someone is shameless is kind of like saying that they should be embarrassed about their behavior–but aren’t. In this case, Chase should be embarrassed about talking about business in a social setting!
Ok, so maybe you didn’t ‘get’ all those expressions I just shared with you. BUT, if you were able to figure out that things were going badly for Chase, you’re on the right track. Remember, you want to learn English with tv series. Not understand 100% of what you learn.
Don’t miss my next free, interactive workshop.
You’re serious about improving your English and your business skills. And I’m serious about helping you do that. That’s why I hold workshops every month on business skills you need. Want your exclusive monthly invitation? It’s easy. Just sign up for my newsletter.
3. Learn English with TV series: listen for details, like expressions you can use.
When you’re watching part of a series or film to improve your business English another great idea is to spend a little extra time focusing on one key moment and learning new expressions. Watch the next few minutes of the clip and see if you can find two expressions:
When you’re watching part of a series or film to improve your business English another great idea is to spend a little extra time focusing on one key moment. In this case, we’ll focus on Anna’s interesting business pitch. Be sure to check out the video to see this clip (and my explanation in detail).
When you watch series to learn English you’ll listen want to learn specific expressions. That’s why in today’s video, I’m asking you to listen for expressions that mean…
- I just have one last thing to say and I’ll stop!
- It’s time to stop talking about work now.
Here’s a short conversation between characters. See if you can find those expressions (but remember, watching the video is best!)
“God, Chase is working him so hard on this app of his. He’s so shameless.”
“He’s just really passionate about it.”
“Sure but we’re on vacation and all.”
“He needs to chill”
“Hen, come on, let’s dance.”
“Just to close the thought…”
“Chase, come on, enough with the shop talk.”
Did you find those expressions?
They could be useful in your next business conversation.
If you want to say that you’ve got just one point to make and then you’re going to stop talking…you could use this line from Chase:
“Just to close the thought”
And if you’d like to move conversation away from business and to a more informal or conversational focus, you could say:
“Enough with the shop talk.”
This means, let’s stop talking about business now. If you’re talking with a business contact and they ask you about your business, for example, “But enough with the shop talk. Tell me about your last vacation.”
It could be a way to show that you are interested in your business contact as a person–and not just because of how they can help you in your business.
Don’t miss my next free, interactive workshop.
You’re serious about improving your English and your business skills. And I’m serious about helping you do that. That’s why I hold workshops every month on business skills you need. Want your exclusive monthly invitation? It’s easy. Just sign up for my newsletter.
4. Learn English with TV series: watch and observe communication and business strategies! (&Your Quiz)
When you want to ‘learn English by Netflix’ as some of my clients say, then I recommend another strategy for making sure you really learn English from TV series you watch. That’s why in today’s video lesson I’m going to ask you to do another kind of targeted listening–or watching! That means you’re going to listen and watch with a specific goal. In this case, can you tell me what’s different or surprising about Anna’s ‘pitch?’ See if you can answer the questions in today’s quiz as you watch the last clip in today’s video lesson.
5. Take the next step for your English and your Business:
QUIZ YOURSELF ON TODAY’S LESSON
Today’s quiz is a little bit different. I’m asking you to make sure you’ve watched the video clip AND try to answer these questions.
What’s Anna’s strategy?
- What’s Anna’s strategy?
- Does she talk a LOT about Chase’s business and how great it is?
- Or does she ask unusual and interesting questions?
Improve your English in the comments:
The best way to become more confident using Business English is to practice!
Here’s your Confidence Challenge for this week:
- Is there a series you love to watch in English?
- Tell us about it in the comments.
Further reading for your business English
Curious to learn more about the topic of the day? I’ve selected this excellent resource for you:
4 Tips for Learning Language through TV and Films. It’s something native speakers of English would read and try out.
Don’t miss my next free, interactive workshop.
You’re serious about improving your English and your business skills. And I’m serious about helping you do that. That’s why I hold workshops every month on business skills you need. Want your exclusive monthly invitation? It’s easy. Just sign up for my newsletter.
More good stuff…
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Here are the answers :
Ok, I think we can all see that Anna has 3 great strategies is: ask great questions.
It’s a very good way to get a business contact’s attention. And even though Anna’s pitch is a little unusual, you can definitely learn something from her strategy today.
Very useful for new learners.