English films can help your spoken English in many ways and vocabulary is just one of those areas. Films are really a series of dialogues set in different situations. Even a short segment (part) of a film can help you improve your vocabulary a great deal. We can illustrate (show you) this by taking a segment from a fairly entertaining romantic film called, “The Holiday” (2006). It’s a film set in both the US and the UK, and stars leading Hollywood actors including Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black. Cameron Diaz and Jack Black speak with an American accent, while Kate Winslet and Jude Law speak in a British accent. The film is set during the Christmas holiday period, so you can also see some Christmas decorations and celebrations common to this time of the year as part of the film.

In this particular segment, Kate Winslet acts as ‘Iris’, a young woman from the UK, holidaying in Los Angeles in the US. An older actor by the name of Eli Wallach, plays the role of ‘Arthur’, a retired Hollywood film writer.

Here’s just a 2 minute segment of the film! Note how much you can learn from just 2 minutes…

“The Holiday” 2006 – Part of the film’s script

This scene begins with Iris driving down a fairly empty road and sees an old man looking lost with his walking frame…

Iris: Oh, no, is he lost?

(Iris parks her car and gets out of it. She walks towards the old man.)

Iris: Excuse me.

(She pauses)

Iris: Hello. Can I offer you a lift home?

Arthur: Why? You know where I live?

Iris: I believe I do, yes.

Arthur: Good. Then that makes one of us.

(They both get in the car and Iris drives him to his home. Then they enter the compound where Arthur’s home is…)

Iris: Your house is lovely.

(Iris parks the car near Arthur’s home)

Arthur: I’ve lived here 47 years. Back then, there were only six houses on this block. Every year, they tear another one down… …not that I blame them. They weren’t that great to begin with. But that’s how I got confused. I didn’t recognize one house.

Iris: That would be confusing.

Arthur: What part of England are you from?

Iris: Surrey.

Arthur: Cary Grant was from Surrey.

Iris: That’s right, he was. How did you know that?

Arthur: Oh, he told me once. Well, I thank you very much, young lady.

(Arthur finds it difficult to get out of the car. He can’t undo the seat belt or
open the door.)

Iris: Let me help you with that.

Arthur: Okay.

(She unfastens his seat belt)

Arthur: er… Thank you.

(She comes around to his side of the car and opens the door for him)

Iris: There you go.

(Arthur gets out of the car)

Arthur: Well, this was some meet-cute.

Iris: – Sorry?

(They both start walking towards his home)

Arthur: It’s how two characters meet… …in a movie. Say a man and a woman… …both need something to sleep in. And they both go to the same men’s pajama department.

Iris: Right.

Arthur: And the man says to the salesman: “I just need bottoms.” The woman says, “I just need a top.” They look at each other, and that’s the “meet-cute.”

Iris: Oh, I see.

Arthur: Of course, this isn’t quite that cute, but…

Iris: So you’re in the film business?

Arthur: Was. Yes, yes, I was. I was a writer.

(They reach Arthur’s home. Arthur gets frustrated at being unable to open his front door)

Arthur: I could be here till tomorrow.

Iris: Oh, here. Let me.

(She opens his door)

Arthur: Thank you.

(They enter his home. Iris eyes all his film trophies and awards, including an Oscar)

Iris: Oh, my God.

Arthur: Well, goodbye, then.

Iris: I enjoyed our meet-cute.

Arthur: Well, thank you. Thank you for rescuing me.

Iris: It’s a pleasure. Absolutely.

(Iris happens to see the half-eaten meal and feels sorry for the lonely old man)

You know, I hope you don’t find this strange… …but I’ve just arrived here, and, well, I don’t really know anyone. And I was thinking of going out for dinner tonight. Well, if you’re not busy, would you like to join me?

Arthur: Busy? Honey, I haven’t been busy since 1978.

Some vocabulary you can learn from this film…

Offering help

1. Can I offer you a lift home? – You can change this question to suit your situation. Example: Can I offer you a drink? (To a guest in your home)

2. Let me help you with that.

3. Oh here. Let me. – These 2 sentences are shortened from, “Oh here, give it to me.” and “Let me help you.”

Another way of saying “I think so”

4. I believe I do, yes.

Humorous sentences

5. That makes one of us – the usual saying is, “That makes 2 of us” – which means, I think or feel the same as you. Example: When your friend says, “I’m hungry”, you could say, “That makes 2 of us”. When you say that, it means that you also feel hungry.

In this situation, Arthur is using some humour by saying “That makes one of us” – he means that he doesn’t know the way (he is lost).

6. I could be here till tomorrow – This is a way of saying that it is going to take you a long time to do whatever you are doing – you can also use it in the same way or use it by changing it a little. Example: “I could be here till next week”

7. Busy? Honey, I haven’t been busy since 1978 – Here, he’s saying in a humorous way that he has a lot of free time – you can change this sentence a little and use it to suit your situation. Be careful using the word ‘Honey’, as it is not appropriate to use in many situations. Arthur is able to use the word because he’s much older than Iris. Example: “Busy? I haven’t been busy since I started college!”

Another way of saying “Where do you come from?”

8. What part of England are you from? – you can change this sentence to suit your situation. Example: What part of Australia are you from? or What part of Beijing are you from? Of course this is not the end of the list of sentences and words you can learn from this film segment – it’s just a good start. As you can see from just 2 minutes from this film, you can learn so much vocabulary from watching a good film. Keep checking our site for lists of recommended films to watch, just like the one we’ve already put up about ‘films set in a college or high school’. If you can actually watch this segment of the film, you’ll be able to understand everything so much better. Well, did you learn from this article?

There have been many films made over the years that are set in a high school or college environment. Some are rather boring, while others in this genre are quite interesting and entertaining, and can be of great benefit to the spoken English learner.
We have listed below a few of the films we feel come under the ‘interesting and entertaining’ category. They are not listed in any particular order (click the links to find out more):

1. Princess Diaries 1 2001

A high school girl learns that she’s actually a princess! In this entertaining filmit is interesting to note the difference between the American accent of Anne Hathaway and the British accent of Julie Andrews. There is a Princess Diaries 2 but it’s not as good as the first. However, you might want to watch the second one to find out how the story ends. Starring: Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews

2. Freaky Friday 2003

An interesting film following the idea of what might happen if a mother and daughter swap bodies. Music is huge in this film and most of it is performed by Lindsay Logan herself. A very entertaining film in many ways, and a must see for music fans. Starring: Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis

3. Cinderella Story 2004

A modern day Cinderella story set in high school, that you will find quite entertaining. Starring: Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray

4. Raise Your Voice 2004

This film is set in a summer school of music and is quite an interesting story. Again, it’s another music themed film for the music lovers. Starring: Hilary Duff and Oliver James.

5. The Prince and Me 2004

This is a film about a hardworking college girl falling in love with a prince from a European Royal family. The film provides a good opportunity to hear both American and British accents together in the one offering. If you like romantic, college based films, then you’d really like this film. Starring: Julia Styles and Luke Mably

6. First Daughter

Set in a famous university in the US, this film revolves around the life of the only daughter of the President of the United States. It shows the difficult life led by the First Daughter as she tries to balance her life between being a famous person and being a student at university. There’s plenty of romance as well as providing interesting information about college life in America. Starring: Katie Holmes and Marc Blucas

We know that there are many other interesting films in High school and college settings. If you know of any, why not add them to this list? It would be really useful for others to know about. We’ll post an updated list, giving credit to you for your recommendations.