Student Union
- By Charles Fern
Students Learn English from 'Friends' on American TV
To some, watching television as a source of entertainment rots the brain and idles one's intelligence.
But besides being an entertainment medium, it is a very popular tool among English-language learners, according to studies.
Eighty-two percent of English learners polled by Kaplan International Colleges in 2012 said watching television helped them acquire the language.
Twenty-six percent of the participants said the popular situation comedy (or sitcom), Friends, helped them the most of any series in understanding the language.
Friends is a series about a group of attractive young Americans at home, at work and hanging out at their favorite coffee shop, Central Perk. ("Perk" is a nickname for percolating or brewing coffee. The coffee shop is near New York City's famed Central Park.)
In another study, almost 58 percent of English learners surveyed in 2015 by Pearson English, an education publisher, reported that they used movies and TV shows to help them. In that survey, 24 percent said the Netflix series House of Cards, a political drama about a U.S. congressman who stops at nothing to become president, helped improve their English skills the most.
Learning English by watching programs with English subtitles is another favorite of language learners. Sixty Spanish students who watched an episode of Downton Abbey — a popular historical drama set on a massive estate in the English countryside — learned more English by watching with English subtitles than without, according to a study published in scientific journal PLOS One in 2016.
English is the most studied language in 116 countries, according to Duolingo, a language-learning app. The app is used in more than 300,000 classrooms, according to spokesperson Michaela Kron in Pittsburgh.
Other television programs that helped non-native English speakers learn the language included The Simpsons, an animated comedy, How I Met Your Mother, about a group of friends in New York City looking back on their lives, and Breaking Bad, about a teacher turned methamphetamine dealer in New Mexico.
In the Kaplan study, many of those who found Friends helpful in their study of English said they were more likely to want to travel to the United States to continue learning the language.
Anne-Caroline Verret started watching American programming in the fifth grade at home in Haiti.
"I would mostly watch the Disney Channel like every Saturday, like the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and I would always have the subtitles," said Verret. "So around fifth grade is when I really started picking it up."
Verret came to the U.S. after an earthquake in 2010 devastated her country. Understanding English made the transition easier for her.
"Honestly, I feel like it helped me a great, like, greatly because I came to the U.S. a year later due to the earthquake," she said. "I was in sixth grade, and I fully understood my teachers. I fully understood when what people were speaking to me. I could answer, I had a little accent, you know, obviously, but still, I was very surprised at how much I picked up."
While she had English lessons at school, Verret said she found that watching television and reading books helped her more. She continued to pick up on the language in school in the U.S.
While the U.S. does not have an official language, English is the primary language in the country and in more than 50 countries, reports the CIA World Factbook.
Also, U.S. employers can legally require their employees to speak English.
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
- By VOA News
STEM, business top subjects for international students
The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.
STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)
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Safety and visa difficulties among misconceptions about US colleges
U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.
Read the full story here. (January 2025)
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Work opportunities help draw international students to US schools
US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)
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British student talks about her culture shock in Ohio
A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.
Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.
Read the full story here. (December 2024)
