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Welcome to our Daily English Listening Practice with this week’s series:
Free Time Vocabulary: Talking about TV in English
Sometimes it’s fun to sit back and binge-watch a few episodes of your favorite show. Do you go out to the movies much? Today we’ll talk about going out to see movies as well as staying in and streaming something at home! This advanced English vocabulary comes with lots of new vocabulary in the English audio clips above.
Please listen to the audio files for explanations.
Transcripts unavailable.
Notes from the Audio Files
Watch a Movie vs Go See a Movie
- Movie theater: US
- go to the movies
- Cinema: UK
- go to the cinema
- Movie-goer: person who likes going to the movies
- Blockbuster: a big popular movie
- Go home and watch a movie vs. go to the movie theater and see a movie
- Triple A: big-budget movie
- Fork out: pay full price
- Full effects: the big screen, the high definition speakers, the animation
- Cinema experience: UK
How to use it:
“Hey, do you want to go see a movie tonight?” – “Sorry, I’m really tired, can we just watch one at home?”
“Let’s go to the movies! We haven’t gone out in forever.”
Cable USA Satellite UK
- Cable TV: TV channels you pay for
- Premium channels: channels you pay extra for: HBO, Starz, specialized channels
- Granny: grandmother
- TV Guide: printed list of TV shows on basic cable
- Builds her evening around: schedules her time based on an event of schedule
- It couldn’t be more different: It’s very different
- Streaming: watching videos online
- Generation gap: a difference between old and new generations
How to use it:
“We get about 900 channels on satellite TV, but I really only watch about 5 of them.”
“I pay for premium cable, because I’m sick of commercials.”
Streaming
- Proper TV: a physical television
- Hooked up the cable: connected the wires
- Cable box: the electronic device that allows you to watch cable
- Hook up the box: connect the box to the wall and TV
- Stream stuff on it: use the television to watch online content from your computer
- Second hand: Previously owned
- Plugged it in: Connected it to a power source
- Was streamed: was downloaded, was online
How to use it:
“When I’m cooking in the kitchen, sometimes I have something streaming on TV in the background.”
“I downloaded a few movies for the trip, but they had Wi-Fi on the plane, so I just streamed last month’s episodes instead.”
Binge-Watch
- Binge watch: to sit and watch TV nonstop
- Autoplay: the next thing plays automatically
- Inadvertently: by accident
- Have it on in the background: the show plays without my full attention
- Uploads the whole series: Provides the entire series
- Binge right through to the end: watch nonstop until the end
- What better to do than: There’s nothing better than
How to use it:
“I love that new series. I totally binged through the new season in, like, 2 days.”
“It’s okay sis, I’ve got it under control, go back to your binge-watching.”
Keeping up with Something
- High quality, big budget
- Sit down and concentrate
- Dropped out of: started watching then stopped
- Couldn’t get into: you tried watching it, but it didn’t keep you interested
- Watch it religiously: watch it every single time, without fail
- Living abroad: Living in another country
- Subscribe to HBO: pay monthly for a premium cable channel
How to use it:
“I haven’t been keeping up with that new show – I really haven’t had the time.”
“I wouldn’t say I watch it religiously, but I do try to keep up with the newest season when I have time.”
Good to see you’re keeping up with your English! Talking about TV is a really popular topic in English, and I’m sure you’ve streamed something on your computer to enjoy at home! If you have any questions about the new vocab or phrases this week, then leave us a comment down below.
Thanks,
Kat and Mark
