TV shows or TV programs and the news?

[Voytek]

Do you, guys, think that it's better to watch TV where they speak your TL very fast or it's better to watch TV show with "silence gaps" and where they speak slower, you encounter quotidian dialogues and can see real life grammar in action?

[aokoye]

Do you, guys, think that it's better to watch TV where they speak your TL very fast or it's better to watch TV show with "silence gaps" and where they speak slower, you encounter quotidian dialogues and can see real life grammar in action?

I think it's better to watch something that you actually want to watch. For me that means the news or documentaries/non-fictional TV shows. I'm not actually quite sure why everyday (quotidian - that's the first I've seen that word...) dialogues and "real life grammar in action" would be unique to fictional tv shows. If anything watching a well made documentary would get you closer to language as it's used in everyday life than a fictional show.

[aokoye]

As for 'quotidian', i thought you'd thrown a mis-spelt French word in and thought that was odd. Turns out it exists in English too. Who'da thunk !

I'm assuming it's borrowed in from Latin (potentially via French - I'm slightly too lazy to look that bit up).
edit: apparently I'm not too lazy - it's partially borrowed from Latin and partially from French. Thank you OED for confirming our suspicions.

[aaleks]

My answer will be: watch all you want . I myself watch mostly TV series and sometimes the news. There was a time when I've just turned on a news channel and listened to it in the background. Now I rarely do something like this.
I wouldn't say that in TV shows they speak slowly. I could easy follow a story of a documentary film when the speech of TV shows and even news was still difficult for me to understand. One of the reasons why it happened is because the speech in documentary films and news (no matter how fast they speak) is more articulate and clear than in TV shows.

[Cavesa]

Why not both?

Watch everything you want. Just like with reading, we need to consume huge amounts of content in order to really improve. In one Super Challenge (or whatever big enough "goal"), there is time for various genres of movies, tv shows, documentaries, and lots of other stuff.

I wouldn't say tv shows are slow and with gaps. Doctor Who, Sherlock, Engrenages, Kaamelott, and many other tv series belong to the definitely fast and difficult stuff. Get used to tv shows like this, and vast majority of other spoken media will feel easy.

[DangerDave2010]

As a beginner you it best focus on a single show that feels easy, than move on to the next and to the next. As you advance, you will want to add diversity, following a mix of genres.

[-JM-]

Do not feel like you need to watch the news in order to improve your English. I watched tons of TV shows while learning English because I love watching them, not in order to learn something. Now when I want to watch the news, I watch the news and I have no hardship in understanding.

You can check out Gilmore Girls. They talk, they talk some more and more, they never stop. I also recommend The Big Bang Theory if you are into science, House M.D. if you are into medicine and The Good Wife if you are into law. You'll learn lots of good vocabulary.