Top 7 sitcoms to improve your English
Get comfortable and turn on the TV! We've picked 7 great sitcoms to help you improve your English. All you have to do is choose where to start!
Sitcoms at a glance
| TV Show | Difficulty Score | CEFR Level | Speaking Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superstore | 4.9/10 | B1 | Fast |
| Modern Family | 4.7/10 | B1 | Extremely fast |
| According to Jim | 4.7/10 | B1 | Fast |
| Friends | 5.0/10 | B1 | Moderate |
| My Name Is Earl | 4.8/10 | B1 | Fast |
| How I Met Your Mother | 6.4/10 | B2 | Very fast |
| Community | 6.2/10 | B2 | Fast |
Why sitcoms are great for learning English
Sitcoms are one of the best types of TV shows for improving your English, especially your listening skills. Because their stories revolve around everyday life, you will hear the kind of English people actually use when talking to friends, spending time with family, or interacting with coworkers. This gives you the chance to learn useful words and expressions while becoming more familiar with how English sounds in everyday conversations.
Another reason why sitcoms are great for English learners is that they're relatively easy to follow. After just a few episodes, you will become familiar with the settings, the characters, and how they interact with each other, making it easier to understand what is happening even when you miss some of the dialogue.
7 Recommended sitcoms
Superstore
B1
A group of employees works at Cloud 9, a large American store, dealing with strange customers, quirky coworkers, and everyday problems at work.
Superstore is a great starting point if you're new to watching sitcoms in English. Most of the show takes place in the same store, so it is easy to get familiar with the setting and the dynamics between the characters. The language is simple and casual, and the characters generally speak at a manageable pace, making the dialogue easier to follow.
Modern Family
B1
Modern Family follows three very different families through the ups and downs of marriage, parenting, and everyday family life.
Modern Family is often considered one of the best shows of all time, and it is also a great choice for improving your English. From school and work to relationships and family life, the show covers a wide range of situations and features characters of different ages, helping you learn all kinds of words and expressions. The language is mostly informal, although the dialogue is often fast and full of jokes. English subtitles can be especially helpful if you have trouble keeping up with the dialogue.
According to Jim
B1
Jim is a lazy, stubborn family man who loves an easy life. He lives with his wife Cheryl and their children, but his crazy ideas and constant attempts to avoid responsibility always get him into trouble.
According to Jim is one of the easier sitcoms to follow in English. Most episodes take place at home and revolve around stereotypical family situations. The conversations are generally straightforward, with common vocabulary and expressions that come up repeatedly throughout the series, making it a great choice for beginners who want to improve their listening skills.
Friends
B1
Six friends live in New York, sharing their lives as they deal with work, dating, and relationships. Between their apartments and Central Perk, the coffee shop where they often meet, they face the challenges of adult life together.
Friends is probably one of the most frequently recommended sitcoms for people who want to learn English through TV shows. The conversations focus on everyday topics, the vocabulary is informal, and the six main characters have personalities that are easy to recognize. The dialogue is generally slower than in many other sitcoms on this list, which is one of the main reasons why Friends is such a good choice for English learners.
My Name Is Earl
B1
Earl is a small-time criminal who decides to change his life after winning the lottery and getting hit by a car. Convinced that karma is responsible for his bad luck, he makes a list of everyone he has hurt and tries to make things right.
My Name Is Earl is a great choice if you want to get familiar with informal American English, full of slang and everyday expressions. Each episode follows Earl as he tries to make up for something he did in the past, so the storylines are usually easy to follow. Although the dialogue isn't too fast, the strong accents and unusual expressions used by some of the people Earl meets can make some parts of the show a little challenging to understand.
How I Met Your Mother
B2
Ted Mosby lives in New York, spends time with his best friends, and is always looking for love. Years later, he tells his children about all the adventures, relationships, and crazy situations that eventually led him to meet their mother.
Like Friends, How I Met Your Mother is often recommended to English learners who want to improve their listening skills. The language is full of idioms, jokes, and informal expressions related to work, relationships, and social life. However, the characters speak very quickly, and the story often jumps back and forth in time. This can make the show more challenging to follow if you're still getting used to spoken English.
Community
B2
Jeff Winger is a lawyer who has to go back to school after losing his law license. He enrolls at Greendale Community College, where he starts a study group with six very different students, leading to unexpected friendships and increasingly ridiculous situations.
Community is an interesting choice if you already have a good understanding of English and want to challenge yourself. The dialogue is fast and full of sarcasm, wordplay, and cultural references. It's not the easiest sitcom to follow, but it can help you better understand humor, irony, and the subtleties of spoken English.
How to learn from TV shows
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Choose a show that suits your level, but above all, one you enjoy
The key to improving your English by watching TV shows is consistency. That is why choosing a show you genuinely enjoy is more important than finding one that's exactly right for your level. If watching an episode every day becomes something you look forward to rather than something you feel you have to do, you're already on the right path.
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Practice active listening, but don't overdo it
You might have heard that you should write down every new word you come across, but in practice, this can quickly become exhausting. If you stop every time you hear an unfamiliar word, a twenty-minute sitcom episode can easily turn into a forty-minute study session. You will end up losing track of the story and, more importantly, stop enjoying the show.
Instead, be selective. Write down expressions that come up frequently, words you cannot figure out from context, or words that are pronounced differently from what you expected. Remember, you will hear thousands of words in a single episode, but you do not need to understand every single one to follow the story. Is it really worth pausing the show just to look up the meaning of a word like “drywall”?
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One step at a time
The final goal is to watch TV shows in English without subtitles, but there is no need to jump straight into it. If you are a beginner, try starting with a show you've already seen in your own language. Since you're already familiar with the characters and their relationships, it will be easier to understand what's going on, even if you miss parts of the dialogue.
You can start by watching with subtitles in your own language, but try not to rely on them for too long. Once you feel ready, switch to English subtitles. This will help you connect what you hear with what you read and gradually become more comfortable with how English sounds in natural conversations.
At this point, you can also try shadowing, a technique where you repeat the characters' lines out loud, trying to imitate their pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. English subtitles can help you keep up, but try to focus on listening rather than reading. You do not need to practice for an entire episode. Even just a few minutes at a time can help improve your listening and pronunciation.
When you feel more confident, try watching a few scenes without subtitles and gradually work your way up to a full episode. It might be difficult at first, but it will get easier with practice. There is no need to rush, what matters is making steady progress while still enjoying the shows you love.