At the start of 2018, when I sent a question out to my Leo Listeners in my weekly email (Want to get these emails? Sign up here) one of you asked this question:

“ How do I use what I learn while listening to movies and TV shows in real life?”

And went on to clarify:  

“When you aren’t trying to understand movies just for the sake of it, but you want to speak or write better, understand natives and know what to do when you don’t understand.”

For me, Trisha’s answers that question in today’s interview where she talks about using your journal to engage with what you’re watching and improve your English thanks to your creativity.

Watch the video:

You’ll discover:

• What goes down over at Vagabond English and in the Vagabond English book club – one of the most enjoyable online communities I’m a part of
• How to get more out of what you watch by journaling
• What you must do to get started journaling for language development
• How to use scenes your favourite films or series plus your journal to enrich your English
• The impact of writing in your journal and using your creativity on your memory
• Why new language sticks in your brain through creative writing
• Why this method works well for introverts
• How to develop your cultural awareness through films
• How to use prediction to help you understand better
• How to come at a clip from different angles
• The whole industry that’s built up around predicting what’s going to happen in one epic fantasy series. If you’re a TV series fan, I’m sure you can guess which one.
• The best social media tip for learning a language
• Why there’s no right way to journal about what you watch in English
• Why you need to agree with your goals – I love this last tip

Links or resources we mention in this video plus a bunch of other useful ones:

Trisha’s website: https://www.vagabondenglish.com/

Trisha’s free short story series email course: https://www.vagabondenglish.com/short-story-series

Link to Trisha’s guest post on my blog about using books and plays to help you better understand films based on literature without subtitles: https://leo-listening.com/read-the-book-watch-the-film-turn-off-the-subtitles/

The Vagabond English book club on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/285363415218843/

My Subtitle Freedom Club on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/subtitlefreedomclub/

The roundup post I contributed to on Trisha’s site:  https://www.vagabondenglish.com/blog/read-books-transform-english-5-experts

The roundup post she contributed to on my site on Christmas movies: https://leo-listening.com/christmas-movies-english-learners/

Groups where you could chat about films in English that I’m a part of on Facebook:

Talking Films: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1312249418838377/

We Love Movies and TV Shows: https://www.facebook.com/groups/923717667642020/