There are so many types of accents and different vocabularies in the English language that may vary from the region, city or even country. British English is different from Canadian English, that is different from Australian English and different from the convenient and the most known English, the American one.
So if you are fluent in English but are tired of not understanding different accents, a way to practice, learn more and improve your skills is inserting it in your entertainment area by listening to music, reading books. But if you want to get the accents and learn English from different places, is there a better way to learn than by watching people talking and interacting?
Here are some TV shows that are not American and that will help you understand any accent you want.
- Anne With An E
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Anne With An E is a Canadian TV show, an adaptation from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novel Anne Of Green Gables, produced by CBS and distributed internationally by Netflix. It tells a story about a little orphan called Anne that after many years suffering on the social care system gets sent to two siblings – an older woman and her younger brother, both single. She’ll change their lives and the city she was sent to with her fertile imagination and intellect, as she fights for acceptance and a place in the world.
It has many fans and they enjoy such a loving series. It had three seasons before it was cancelled in 2019, which caused rebellion on the internet by people who did not accept its cancellation. And even though the Canadian accent sounds a lot like the American one, it’s quite different. So while you enjoy something nice and light, you can learn a little more about Canada’s English. The episodes are all available on Netflix for streaming.
- Doctor Who
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The British TV Show has been on air for over 53 years and after 38 seasons, it has conquered many fans around the world – or the universe. Doctor Who is a story about the adventures of a Time Lord (or Lady) called The Doctor who travels through time and space with his time machine called The TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) with a little help from his companions. It’s a pop culture icon, especially in the UK, that has had over thirteen actors in the main role and keeps itself fresh by changing the whole cast and showrunners from time to time.
Watching Doctor Who for practicing might be good because since they are always travelling around Earth, they meet new people with different accents, but mostly British and Scottish ones. Its language is very easy to understand, so if you want to start understanding the British accent, this is the show for you! All the new seasons from 2005 to the present are available on Globoplay for streaming.
- Vikings
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Vikings is a series inspired on the history of the invasions and explorations of Nordic countries and even uses real characters to develop the story – even though they romanticized it a little bit. It tells the story of Ragnar Lothbrok, a legendary Viking, that, with help from his crew and family, ascends from the leader of his band to King of the Viking tribes.
It’s an Irish-Canadian TV show that has many strong and different accents that will help you a lot with practising understanding difficult conversations when you have to. Even though the reason why they speak English in the series is a bit confusing since it’s settled in Nordic countries before colonization, it’s still very interesting for learning. All six seasons are available on Netflix.
- Peaky Blinders
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The Shelby family might be one of the most known families on TV now. Peaky Blinders tells the story of a gangster family, which carries the name of the show, of Irish and Roma origin, active in Birmingham, England. The series is set right after World War I around a criminal organization and is mainly focused on Tommy Shelby, leader of the gang, and his ambitions. The Peaky Blinders work with racecourse bets, cars, properties, drugs, ammunition and guns.
It’s not only rich with historical facts and an exciting story but it has strong accents from Birmingham, sometimes from Ireland and from the many different families such as the Lees (gipsies), the Changrettas and the Sabinis (Italians), the Solomons (Jews), etc. It’s a little difficult to understand what they are saying at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll see how good the show is to help you with difficult and strong accents. The five seasons are available on Netflix for streaming.
- H2O: Just Add Water
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The Australian accent can be quite difficult to understand, sometimes even harder than the strong British ones. So why not start with a TV show that most of you probably know and have watched when you were a little bit younger? H2O: Just Add Water might be a teen show and a little bit dramatic, but you might feel nostalgic to binge watch all three seasons and practice this accent a little bit more.
It tells the story of three friends – Rikki, Emma and Cleo – who find themselves stuck on the mysterious Mako Island, ending up in a pool under a dormant volcano just as a full moon passes right above them. They were rescued and brought back to their normal lives… or at least that’s what they expected. But the three friends turned into mermaids with supernatural power over water, and they are going to have to cope with it while hiding it from everybody else.
- Skins UK
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Okay, Skins might not be one of the best TV shows of all time, but it has a lot of fans – especially the first and the second generation – since the whole cast and story changes after two seasons. But it’s actually a pretty good way to learn English with slang since they use it a lot. And you might actually have a good time with the pretty funny scenes and even cry in some other dramatic ones.
It tells the story of a group of English teenagers from Bristol and shows their anguish and personal issues while they have to deal with some other problems such as race, religion, sexuality, drugs and eating disorders. Each episode tells the story of one character, but together they compose a story that perfectly entwines to close at the last episode. All seven seasons are available on Netflix for streaming.
- Sex Education
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This Netflix Original has many fans around the world and is always a very commented subject on social media. Sex Education is a comedy and drama series that tells the story of Otis Milburn, a teenager who has issues with sex and relationships, and whose mother is a sex therapist, which seems to give him a lot of information to help people with their issues related to sex and romantic relationships. With Maeve Wiley – a badass girl from his school – he opens a clinic for sex education to help other students.
This show is also good to help you with slang and a modern language that younger people are using now. But it’s fresher than Skins, and might be even a little better. It will for sure make you laugh, get involved with the story and learn new things – not only English but maybe some other lessons about relationships and sexuality.
- Instant Hotel
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Who doesn’t love a good old reality show? Especially the ones involving competitions between people. Well, Instant Hotel is the perfect show that you will love to watch. It’s an Australian competition between owners of houses that are rented as ‘Airbnbs’ for the title of the best ‘Instant Hotel’. Each couple rates the house, and their grades are summed up with the program’s official judge.
Reality shows might be one of the best ways to learn English by watching something because it’s easier to understand what’s happening on screen. You don’t need to think too hard about what is in front of you and still learn a new language. And since it’s an Australian program, you can exercise this accent. The two seasons are available on Netflix for streaming.
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The article above was edited by Anna Bastos.
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