English videos

American English comes from a variety of sources, including British English. In college, I had to read a lot of Shakespeare and other writers of the time, and it is difficult to understand all the words and the ways in which they are used, but worth it because it increases your vocabulary and many of them are still used today.

Ever wondered what The Three Little Pigs would sound like if it had been written by Shakespeare? John Branyon shows you in this very funny retelling of this fairy tale – watch it and see what you think

***Shakespeare had a working vocabulary of 54,000 words! Today in the U.S., we have a working vocabulary of 3,000 words! So Shakespeare and the British people of his class back then knew over 50,000 more words than we do! How many of these words did you understand? Look them up if you don’t know them, and comment here below.

~~~~

Are you just beginning to learn English? If that is where you are starting, then I think music is a great way to learn another language, especially if you can see the words and listen to them at the same time.

This is a beautiful song sung by Lea Salonga, called “On My Own”, from the famous play Les Miserables. In the play, she is Cosette, and is in love with a man she can never be with. She is an amazing, passionate singer, and conveys the message of the song well. This is the English version of the French song on the “French videos” page. The words are here so you can listen word for word and learn the English version.

Here is Jamie Pugh, from Britain’s Got Talent, singing the most touching song that is sung in this musical – “Bring Him Home”. It is about Marius, the man that Cosette loves, who is wounded in battle. Her father, Jean Valjean, sings this in the play, and Jamie does an amazing job here! See the reaction of the crowd and Simon – he is even impressed.

God on high
Hear my prayer
In my need
You have always been there
He is young
He’s afraid
Let him rest
Heaven blessed
If I die, let me die
Let him live
Bring him home
Bring him home!

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And for something completely AMERICAN – this is from “Grease” – the American classic from the late 70′s about Danny and Sandy, which takes place in 1959 (the end of the 50′s). They meet and have a summer romance. When the summer comes to an end, Sandy, who is going back to Australia, is sad that they may never meet again, but Danny tells her that their love is “only the beginning”. They do meet again when Sandy stays in America and enrolls in Danny’s high school and this is where the movie takes place.

If you are new to English – how much of this do you understand? Tell me below…