Want to practise your listening skills, but not sure where to start? Here are my top picks for websites where you can practise listening for free.
This is the educational department of the TED organisation. They have created a lot of mini lessons themselves based on their own materials, and have also created mini lessons based on video from other producers such as ASAP Science, The Brain Scoop and The Atlantic. They have done the hard work for you, curating a fantastic collection of short videos on a huge range of topics. you are sure to find something to pique your interest.
Another advantage to this site is the quiz that accompanies almost every video and the “Dig Deeper” section which gives more resources to explore on the topic of the video. This is my number one suggestion for a website to practise your listening skills.
Six Minute English from the BBC is designed for intermediate students. This is a podcast series released once a week and it deals with a huge variety of topics. From climate change to tecnology, from business to food, you are guaranteed to find something to spark your interest. Before you listen, check out the vocabulary section that preteaches new and complex words which appear in the audio. They also provide a transcript for you to follow along with. I also recommend exploring the rest of BBC learning English, in particular News In Review, which summarises a key news story from the week.
Time for some fun! This website challenges your listening skills through music. Choose your favourite song, choose a level and try to complete the missing words either by typing or choosing from one of the options given. You can make this as easy or as difficult as you like by choosing the level and compete to get the highest score possible.
Want quizzes to check your understanding? This is the site for you. Designed for beginners to upper intermediate students, this website is based around videos with short comprehension quizzes that can be completed quickly so you can sneak in a little practise into your busy schedule.
An old school technique, dictation is a good way to check your listening skills. Choose from 3 levels and dictation lengths to really challenge yourself. The rest of the website serves as a great resource for grammar explanations and tips to improve different skills.
Movie buffs, this one’s for you! Practise your English through movies and TV clips. Speechyard has a variety of exercises to put your skills to the test, as well as clips with interactive subtitles that you can click for the translation. With so much material available, you are bound to find something to spark an interest
These sites provide a good start for where to practise English listening online. There are many others out there, so go, explore and enjoy your English practice! Want to find out why English speakers are so hard to understand? Start with this post here.
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