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?
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hi , thanx for this
Hi Leena,
You’re welcome. We hope you find the rest of our site equally useful.
Please visit often; and thanks for your comment and your encouragement.
Hi,i glad to be here!
it’s wonderful!