TV-shows as a Form of Traveling: What to Watch and How

Many studious English learners believe that if they were to live, say, in Australia or the United States for just a year, the ability to speak English would fall on them like apples on hedgehogs. But just like hedgehogs do not really carry fruits on their quills, English is not a gift that native speakers can bestow upon the zealous cultural explorers. Of course, a year in a foreign country is a life-altering experience on its own; it impacts worldview, changes beliefs, enriches personalities—but does not necessarily summon the ability to converse in a foreign language. During their time abroad, many short-term migrants stick to the small communities of fellow compatriots, work online, and practice English mostly in grocery stores and coffee houses, but ordering a macchiato or announcing a preference for a plastic bag doesn’t exactly improve anyone’s English.

Yes, there are adventurers who come to a foreign land and join book clubs, attend parties, talk to strangers. If they are introverts, they may sit in a cafe and discreetly eavesdrop on the barely discernible conversations locals engage in public spaces; the short-term migrants can accept a flyer on the street and exchange a few words with a leaflet distributor, or they can simply ask a smiling passerby for directions instead of relying on Google maps. It is then, and only then, that their English level begins to shift.

But what do we do if the luxury to put our lives on pause and embark on the uprooting adventure remains within our reach? Apart from hiring a tutor or attending evening classes, we turn to movies and TV-shows—the closest simulation of real life we have at our disposal. Quality television does allow us to live someone else’s life. Even though we know it is a fictionalized character who is doing all the cool tricks and saying all the right words, our mirror neurons do not. These wonderful brain cells fire both when a certain action is performed and when this same action is observed. In other words, they don’t care whether it is you who’s standing on top of the Empire State Building ready to confess your feelings to a lifelong crush, or a protagonist you are looking at—they react in the exact same way. TV-shows, being divided into short episodes tend to be a slightly more digestible food for aspiring bilinguals. This is why watching TV-shows is the number 1 recommendation for mastering English in pretty much any language school around the world. Some shows are the foreign land your mind enters while your body remains at home. And now, it is you who have to decide which type of short-term migrant you want to be—the one who watches the show dubbed; the one who reads the subtitles in her native tongue; the one who always chooses English captions, or the one who’s ready to let go of all the crutches. Here are 10 iconic and accessible TV-shows across all genres that withstood the test of time by immersing and entertaining their global audience—both native speakers and millions of English learners.

Friends (1994-2004)
- Vibe: sitcom, 90s
- Addiction factor: 10/10
- English level prerequisite: A2
Sex and the City (1998-2004)
- Vibe: big city, chicklit
- Addiction factor: 8/10
- English level prerequisite: A2
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
- Vibe: quirky, cozy
- Addiction factor: 10/10
- English level prerequisite: B2
How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)
- Vibe: “Friends,” bros
- Addiction factor: 8/10
- English level prerequisite: B1
Lost (2004-2010)
- Vibe: desert island, time traveling
- Addiction factor: 9/10
- English level: B1
Desperate Housewives (2004-2012)
- Vibe: suburban, family
- Addiction factor: 10/10
- English level prerequisite: B1-B2
Downton Abbey (2010-2015)
- Vibe: historical, monarchy
- Addiction factor: 10/10
- English level prerequisite: C1
Supernatural (2005-2020)
- Vibe: brothers, demons
- Addiction factor: 8/10
- English level prerequisite: B2
Castle (2009-2016)
- Vibe: detective, romance
- Addiction factor: 8/10
- English level prerequisite: B1
Glee (2009–2015)
- Vibe: musical, high-school
- Addiction factor: 9/10
- English level prerequisite: C1

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