learn english movies modern american classics

10 Modern American Classics for Learning English with Movies

Do you like movies?

Who doesn’t, right?


How about learning English with movies and films?

Learn a foreign language with videos

Why Learn English with Movies and Films?

Watching movies in English is an awesome way of improving your English – especially your English speaking and listening skills.

If you’re tired of books and learning difficult grammar and vocabulary, then take a break and watch some classic Hollywood movies. And of course, improve your English at the same time.

  • So, if your teachers, friends or family members ask why you’re watching so many movies instead of reading over your notes you can simply tell them:Movies aren’t usually made for English language learners like yourself. Instead they are made for English speakers. So everything you hear is exactly how it is in reality. It’s fast paced, with realistic native accents.
  • Movies are fun. Watching a movie is a great way to jump into English when you’re too tired to do anything else (like reading).
  • Watching movies in English will also give you cultural insight. You’ll be able to learn more about places you are interested in. If you go there, you’ll not only know English, but also understand the culture and history.
  • If you want something to talk about with your English friends – movies is a great topic. Everyone likes to talk about movies.
  • By listening to the dialogue, you’ll be able to listen to and perfect your English pronunciation…

…so what are you waiting for? Grab your popcorn and your friends and kick back and enjoy an English lesson. (“Kick back” means to lay back and enjoy.)

Tips to Learn English Through Movies and Films


FluentU is perfect for learning from difficult videos like movie trailers. FluentU has great videos for learning English in one convenient place. It also provides a video player designed for learning English. When you review vocab, you do it with video clips. And FluentU remembers your progress and uses it to recommend videos to you. Below are a couple of must-watch movies to help you become more fluent in English…and not to mention a movie buff (movie expert) too!

10 Modern American Classics for Learning English with Movies

1. “The Social Network” (2010)

Learning English with Movies

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield.




Favorite quote: “I invented Facebook!”


2. “The Hangover” (2009)

Learning English with Movies

Starring: Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifiankis.

Story: Four male friends go to Las Vegas for a bachelor party a couple of days before their friend’s wedding. It follows their wild adventures and how they find themselves in a lot of trouble. They find themselves in so much trouble, it’s unsure whether they are going to make it back in time for the wedding or not.

Why it’s a great movie for learning English: First of all it’s hilarious (really funny) and it keeps us interested throughout the movie. Because it’s a comedy and we rely a lot on the visuals to understand, it makes it a lot easier to understand the dialogue between the characters.

All of the characters in “The Hangover” use everyday English, which makes this movie an awesome way of learning modern American slang which will help you fit into everyday life if you’re planning on moving to the United States. You’ll hear common phrases such as “stag party” (bachelor party) and “all-nighter” (staying up all night without sleep).

Favorite quote: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”


3. “The Hunger Games” (2012)

The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth.

Story: This story is set in the future and set in a futuristic nation called Panem. Every year there are two people who are chosen to represent their district in the Hunger Games fight. Those who are chosen are done so by a lottery system. This follows the story of Katniss, a 16-year-old girl, from District 12. It shows her intense training and then how she is suddenly thrown into the fight to represent her area in the 74th annual hunger games.

Why it’s a great movie for learning English: This is a very visual movie and what you miss in the dialogue, you’ll be able to be filled in by the visual action. While the actions are fast, the language is relatively easy to understand unlike other sci-fi and futuristic movies which use complex terms.

The accent is a clean North American one so you’ll have no problem understand what the characters say. The characters don’t speak too fast and it’s fairly easy to understand what’s going on. It’s also an action-filled movie and has an interesting plot, which makes it even better. This movie has something for everyone as it cleverly includes action, romance, comedy and the future all in one movie.

Favorite quote: “Here’s some advice, stay alive!”


4. “Toy Story” (1995)

Learning English with Movies

Starring: Tim Allen and Tom Hanks.

Story: This is an animated (cartoon) movie that follows a young boy called Andy. Andy loves playing in his room with his toys. He especially loves to play with his action figure called Woody. When Andy disappears, the toys come to life. Andy’s mom gives him a new toy for his birthday which is called Buzz Lightyear, which becomes Andy’s new favorite toy to play with.

Woody feels hurt and is jealous of the attention Andy gives his new toy and as a result he tries to get rid of him. However, as the two toys begin to fight they get lost. This story follows their adventure and is full of action and a lot of laughs.

Why it’s a good movie to learn English: Animation movies such as “Toy Story” are usually written for and aimed at a younger audience which means the story and vocabulary used is not complicated. Even though the movie is mainly for kids, it doesn’t feel like it. The director made it attractive for adults too, by including a little bit of adult humor in it.

Favorite quote: “Woody to Buzz Lightyear: This town ain’t big enough for the two of us.”


5. “Cast Away” (2000)

Learning English with Movies

Starring: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt and Chris North.

Story: This is an American adventure drama that follows Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), a systems analyst, who has to travel around the world fixing problems at Fedex centers. Chuck is called up at Christmas time to go to Malaysia on business and is forced to leave his girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt) behind.

His plane hits a terrible storm and it crashes somewhere into the Pacific Ocean. Chuck manages to escape the crashed plane and holds on to a life raft in the cold sea. Eventually he washes up onto a deserted island the next day. The story follows Chuck and his survival on the island and focuses on a ball he calls Wilson.

Every day Chuck talks with the ball (Wilson) to fight his loneliness. Four years later Chuck is still on the island and is fishing off a man-made raft he made with Wilson. Wilson falls into the sea and cannot be rescued leaving Chuck feeling lonely and lost again until he’s rescued by a passing cargo ship. Chuck is taken back home, however, four years later everything has changed and it’s no longer the life he once knew.

Why this is a great movie for learning English: Most of the dialogue in this movie is a monologue (one person speaking). There are no complicated relationships or turnovers between different characters which makes this movie very easy to follow. Tom Hanks is also known for his clear and slow voice, which is perfect for any English learner to understand.

Favorite quote: Chuck (Hanks) to Wilson (the ball): “Don’t worry Wilson. I’ll do the paddling. You just hang on.”


6. “(500) Days of Summer” (2009)

Learning English with Movies

Starring: Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Story: This is not your typical love story. On January 8, a young architect called Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel). He almost falls in love with her right away, and over the next few months they spend a lot of time together. Then hang out a lot even though Summer tells him she doesn’t believe in love.

Despite how much time they spend together, Summer doesn’t feel the same about Tom. This story shows how Tom loves Summer but she doesn’t feel the same. A couple of years later they meet again and she explains that he was right about the idea of love and that she has met someone.

Why this is a great movie to learn English: The English is very simple to understand it’s a narrative from one person’s perspective so it’s easy to follow. It’s not your typical love story and it catches the audience’s interest from the beginning.

Favorite quote: Tom: “Either she’s an evil, emotionless miserable human being, or…she’s a robot.”


7. “Twilight” (2008)

Twilight  New Moon

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

Story: Bella Swan, a teenager, has always been different from other teenagers. She never cared about being a part of the cool group of girls. When her mom remarries, Bella chooses to live with her dad in a small town in Washington. It’s a boring rainy town and nothing interesting ever happens until she meets a mysterious and very good-looking guy called Edward Cullen.

Edward is like no other guy she’s ever met–he’s handsome, intelligent and witty. He’s different because he’s a vampire and hasn’t aged since 1918. Bella and Edward fall in love and it’s like a modern day story of Romeo and Juliet and forbidden love.

Why this is a great movie for learning English: This movie is aimed at teenage and young adult audiences and uses everyday English. The language is typically American and the accents of the characters are clear and easy to understand. This movie is based on author Stephanie Myer’s series and if you’ve already read the popular series in your own language then you’re going to understand the movie plot even more.

Favorite quotes: Edward to Bella: “You’re my life now.”


8. “The Break-up” (2006)

Learning English with Movies

Starring: Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn.

Story: Gary (Vince Vaughn) and Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) meet at a Chicago Cubs game. They’re attracted to each other immediately and Brooke loves Gary’s humor. They begin dating and soon buy a condo together. Gary is a bus tour operator and Brooke manages an art gallery. Their backgrounds are very different, and after living together they find out that they have different interests.

They decide to break up, but they can’t agree on what to do with their condo. They decide to live together as roommates. Gary goes back to living like a single guy, throwing parties and inviting women around to the home. This breaks Brooke’s heart (makes her sad) even more. Brooke decides to quit her job and travel around Europe. On her return, Gary understands the mistakes he’s made and tries to win back her heart. This is a story full of laughs which the whole audience will enjoy.

Why this movie is great to learn English: This movie is full of everyday slang language which is used in many social situations. You’ll learn language related to communicating with a partner and also some common lines used in an argument. It’s a funny movie that is easy to understand and the humor that’s used is simple and clear which will allow even non-native English speakers to understand the inside jokes.

Favorite quote: Gary to Brooke: “Is that how you want to play it Brooke? Because I can play it like that. I can play it like Lionel Richie, all night long.”


10. Forrest Gump (1994)

Learning English with Movies

Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise and Sally Field.

Story: Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) is waiting at a bus stop where he begins telling his past story to some strangers waiting for the bus. His sad story begins with him as a child when he had a problem with his legs and had to wear braces. He suffered a lot from other kids bullying (making fun of him) him.

Finally he meets Jenny as a young girl (Robin Wright). He falls in love with Jenny and they become the best of friends. One day while he’s running away from the kids bullying him, his leg brace breaks. He suddenly discovers he’s very fast at running, which wins him a scholarship to college (even though he’s not very smart).

After graduating from college he signs up for the war and heads to Vietnam to fight. There he saves many friends’ lives and he’s awarded a medal of bravery. At the same time Jenny is having problems back home. She has become a drug addict and is very sick. When Forrest returns he meets Jenny again and asks her to marry him, but she says no. Forrest is so upset he goes for a run. His run turns into a marathon and lasts three years.

Why this is a great movie to learn English: This is a perfect movie to learn English as the speech is slow due to Forrest Gump’s mental problems. The language is simple and uncomplicated and it’s really easy to follow. It will also teach you some important parts of U.S. history and culture.

You’ll learn about the United States’s involvement in the Vietnam War and the popular hippy movement in the ’60s. This is a favorite movie among many people around the world and if you ever get into a conversation where you’re discussing movies, this is a great one to talk about as almost everyone has seen it.

Favorite quote: Forrest Gump to a stranger at the bus stop: “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.”

These are just a few of many great movies to watch to help you learn English. So, now you don’t need an excuse to watch a movie or two – you want to perfect your English even more! Get comfortable, make some popcorn and begin a movie marathon to learn real life English. And if you liked this post, you might also like our post about learning English through songs and music!


Oh, and One More Thing…

If you like learning English through movies, you should also check out the FluentU app. Like the website, the FluentU app lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials, as you can see here:

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best English apps

FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.


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FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.



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Experience English immersion online!

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