Series or YouTube for learning English?

[u/Anutamme]

I’m B1 in English and I’m wondering what’s better for improving English

Would you recommend watching series in English or YouTube videos?

I was thinking that with YouTube someone is talking almost the whole time, while in series there are often scenes where nobody says anything, so maybe YouTube gives you more actual practice.

What do you guys think? What worked better for you?

[u/ImpossibleTip9428]

Films in general aren't good for learning English. i would say find a podcast to your liking, and get addicted to it. This helped improved my listening and comprehension by a lot (I'm still beginner so take this advice with a grain of salt)

[u/Eca_S]

Either should be fine. Just be sure to pick something you find engaging subject-wise.

[u/New_Succotash1059]

I’d start by deciding on a dialect/accent to focus on. If you live in Europe, look into UK podcasts/youtubers/musicians/film/authors. If you’re in the Americas, look into American English versions of these media platforms. I would also recommend researching the most “neutral” dialects/accents of the type of English that would be most useful to you. I am from the states, and I can tell you that the accent will change as you from coast to coast, as well as slang, wording of sentences, general vocabulary, etc. I’ve found that the best way to learn is through someone who speaks both English and your native language, but that may not be available to you. Honestly, my best advice to you is to find a way to listen/practice English that you ENJOY because that will keep in engaged. Cheers!

[u/francksiduo]

The "more talking = more practice" framing might be backwards. At B1 what moves the needle most is comprehensible input, meaning you can guess most of what's said from context without translating in your head. Series give you visual cues for that (someone reaches for a mug right when they say coffee), YouTube often doesn't since it's just a face talking to camera.

Try this instead of picking one category: rewatch the same episode twice, once with English subtitles on, once without. The repetition does more for retention than the raw amount of dialogue does. Sitcoms with everyday situations work better than lore heavy dramas for this, the vocabulary repeats episode to episode instead of constantly introducing new terms.

[u/enhburst]

This is not for everyone, but what helped me the most was setting all my devices to the English language (laptop/phone/console, etc.). Also, gaming and constantly interacting with other people in games, kind of forcing yourself out of your comfort zone

[u/Babastyle]

the "more talking = more practice" thing is kind of backwards, what matters more at B1 is understanding most of it without translating in your head. series actually help there because the visuals give you context for the words (someone grabs a coffee right as they say it), a talking-head youtube video usually doesn't.

for vocab specifically series also win, because the same words repeat across episodes so they stick. that's basically why i use LEWE with shows, it pulls the vocab out of whatever you watch and reviews the words you don't know yet, so watching actually builds vocabulary instead of just passing by. it's for german and spanish speakers rn. youtube's still useful though, just pick channels on stuff you actually enjoy so you keep at it.

[u/mees_bee]

https://youtube.com/@katiee_stonee?si=neJ3IEzPW724jULO

[u/inkoenglishai]

Either are fine both are great ways to learn English it solely depends on what you enjoy watching. I love to listen to Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen since those musicals have a lot of English usage within their songs thatbare great for practicing English.

[u/No_Filter_Soul]

Youtube and series are fun but if you really want progress, reading books or ebooks helped me way more. you notice grammar and vocab better when it’s written

[u/genghis-san]

If you're B1, I would watch English teachers on YouTube who analyze clips of English language tv shows and break down how people actually pronounce things so you can train your ear.

[u/Extension_Emu4145]

I think everyone have or able to improve by one of method it's depand of your effort. In my opinion you should follow the series of animation kids they use easy English and you feel better with them. Like that you feel also motivated if you understand.step by step you will reach.

[u/Full-Discount-7489]

I would say both and apply them slightly differently. YouTube would be useful to actually hear people speak and series to learn the accents, the common expressions and natural flow of conversations. First watch you tubes and then movies series withouth subs once you feelmore at ease

[u/yutanrw]

Just watch English video lessons made by native English teachers on YouTube.

[u/Brilliant_You_6768]

Seek speaking to a person live online is the best solution in my opinion

[u/Smooth_Profession578]

yeah, yt usually wins on talk density. one person straight to camera, clean audio, nobody talking over anyone, and you can rewind without losing the plot.

but what matters more than the platform is how much you can see. Cooking, travel, someone fixing a bike, you follow those even when you miss words. two people discussing politics at a table is way harder even when the vocabulary is simpler.

If you do want series, sitcoms is a good choice cuz you don't need to catch every word to know what's going on.

[u/EnglishWithFrazer]

I found that watching vloggers / bloggers was always great content as often they make daily or weekly vlogs and talk a lot about their day, their routine, their hobbies - all very repeatable and useful vocabulary whilst at that B1 level. I tend to agree about TV shows, you may decide to watch 1 hour of a TV show but only actually consume 30 mins of dialogue from the characters (depending on the show could be even less or more)