<p>YouTube has long been more than just a collection of funny cat videos, with loads of helpful channels which can help you brush up on anything from your fitness to your cooking. One interesting trend in particular is the growing number of videos aimed at helping people learn a new language.</p>
<p>Exposing yourself to a native speaker is a fantastic way to improve your English proficiency, as anyone who has watched English TV shows and films to help them learn can tell you. By watching these videos, it’s possible to get a sense for how speakers’ mouths move and how conversations are structured, things which you can’t learn from just a textbook. Given this, it’s no surprise that YouTube is proving to be particularly handy for language learners, as you can rewind to go over something you didn’t quite understand.</p>
<p>If English isn’t your first language and you’d like to perfect your skills in grammar, pronunciation and your accent, perhaps in preparation for studying abroad in an English-speaking country, here are some excellent YouTubers you should be watching.</p>
English with Lucy
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<p>English With Lucy is run by Lucy Earl, who works as a professional English language teacher as well as a vlogger. Lucy has more than 880,000 subscribers at the time of writing, with an audience stretching as far as South America, Indonesia and India, and she says she aims to teach beautiful British English.</p>
<p>Helpful videos from Lucy include advice on<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTHSFxja2zY&" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"> how to stop translating in your head</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nh0osOwuSk" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">common words people pronounce incorrectly</a>, and the meaning behind some of the weird and wonderful <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGZBF3unpxg" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">idioms and expressions</a> you’ll hear on a regular basis in the UK. Lucy also takes the time to write out subtitles for many of her videos, making learning English through her channel even more of a breeze. </p>
Being British: Joel & Lia
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<p>Ever wondered how you’re actually meant to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6-pgSs2TFM" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">pronounce Tube station names</a> like Marylebone or Leicester Square? Or what the various <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1j4m-DCPrU" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">regional accents</a> you’ll encounter throughout the UK sound like? Friends Joel and Lia make chatty, informal videos on British culture and British language, with recent videos on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQukZq2EJ6w" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">how tipping compares</a> in the UK compared to the US, and what the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hT4Rwhc6xY" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">British healthcare system</a> is like.</p>
<p>Their channel is ideal if you’re heading to the UK to study and want to get an idea of what you should expect.</p>
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