MOVIE: “Voicemails for Isabelle”
– C1-C2 (intermediate to advanced) –
Practice Your Listening Comprehension
Practice Your Reading Comprehension
“Voicemails for Isabelle” is an original screenplay written for Netflix that is captivating not only for its beautiful story and credible acting, but also for its hilariously specific humour.
The movie is about a grieving twenty-something (Zoey Deutch) living in San Francisco who makes ends meet working as a chef-in-training under a wicked boss (Nick Offerman). As a way to cope with life’s difficulties, she vents about her problems in voicemails for her late sister, which unbeknownst to her are being sent to a Texan (Nick Robinson) who cannot help but be charmed by her quirky personality. Such sets up for a heartfelt and humourous love story between sisters, with the Self, and finally with a romantic partner.
WHAT TO LEARN
While watching “Voicemails for Isabelle,” there are a variety of English language elements that learners can practice and improve, including:
listening comprehension
reading comprehension (with subtitles)
US English
American accents
a British accent
a LOT of US culture references!
witty humour
present simple
present perfect
past simple
imperative
future tense
multiple uses of the verb, “can,” in context
informal language
descriptive language
precise language
question structures
adjectives
negation
gerund (VERB-ing)
comparison structures
contractions
connected speech
vocabulary related to:
food
phones
memories
dreams
advice
relationships (e.g., siblings, friendship, coworkers, dating, marriage, etc.)
feelings and emotions (e.g., regret, grief, disbelief, embarrassment, excitement, amusement, anger, confusion, love, etc.)
and so much more…!
