Why is listening so important? Because for successful communication you need to speak and hear. If you understand everything, but do not speak, you can still be perceived as a pleasant conversationalist. But if you only speak and do not understand at all what they are saying to you in English, it is worth improving your listening skill.

It happens like this: you have a vocabulary, you know how to speak (with a teacher in the lesson), you know grammar, but when you encounter a foreigner, you cannot make out a single word. Either his accent is outlandish, or his pronunciation is bad, or the pace of speech borders on the speed of light. You frantically recall a story circulating on social media about a Chinese teacher who taught students a fictitious language for six years. Do not panic, it does not mean at all that you have been taught wrong language It's just that your listening skills are not developed. The ability to perceive English speech by ear also needs to be trained. We offer you a selection of resources for such training.

Level Elementary or A1

You know a few words in English.

Podcast	Description
	A British Council resource for beginners. The good thing is that the announcers speak fluent English, clear diction
	The resource will help you practice pronunciation, improve vocabulary and grammar, listening
	Audio recordings for listening and assignment on various topics
	Podcasts no longer than 10 minutes, the material is dictated very high quality
	Slow reading podcasts suitable for beginners

Level Pre-Intermediate or A2

You understand something in English and can even keep up the conversation.

Podcast	Description
	Learn the pronunciation of native speakers learn idioms and necessary phrases in English
	Classical training course from the Air Force. In the center of the course is a story from dialogues, the development of which is interesting to follow
	The resource contains materials on 8 main topics, having studied which is much easier for you will accept English-language information aurally
	American media resource, where you can find Learning English Broadcast - section for those who have begun to learn English. The speaker has a clear diction and a slow pace of speech.
	On the resource great amount materials from various kinds of pronunciations.

Level Intermediate or B1

You already watch series in English, but so far with subtitles

Podcast	Description
	The resource provides examples American English
	A selection of materials from the Air Force, every podcast no more than 6 minutes
	Luke Thompson - British comedian teacher He discusses interesting topics on his resource. Luke is fun and exciting to listen to, and most importantly, useful.
	Newsletter for everyone who is learning english
	Lots of interesting podcasts in mp3 format

Upper-Intermediate or B2 level

You understand almost everything you hear in English

Level Advanced or C1

You are a Jedi in English but don't want to stop there.

We wish you successful immersion in English! Friends, if you see that there are not enough podcasts and you need to improve your English at school, go to our section and choose the best one for yourself.

So, 6 best sites for listening in English (levelspre— intermediate, intermediate)

Let’s say you’re already good at simple audiobooks and crave variety. Your listening level is not very high yet, but you have already achieved some success, and if not yet, then you will achieve it in the very near future, and then this material will definitely come in handy for you;) What else can you listen to in English besides audiobooks? That's exactly what we're going to talk about today. And we will focus not so much on audio materials in general, but on on sites useful for English learners.

Fortunately, those days when only dull textbooks were at the service of learners of English (German, French, etc.) are long gone. In stores there are a lot of multi-colored books of different formats, thicknesses and colors, a lot of manuals, dictionaries, reference books, audio courses, CDs, etc. Now there is a completely different problem: how to choose the manuals that are right for you from all this variety.

But language learning has changed even more thanks to the Internet. No paper manual by itself will fill your ears with living English, and with its help you will still LEARN language. And the English-language Internet makes it possible for the language get used to and language DIGEST. Feel the difference? It is not far from habituation and assimilation to successful use of the language!

Previously, all those who learned English had almost no opportunity to listen to live English speech. The maximum that was available: hackneyed records in English, English-language music and English speech teacher, who usually did not pull on a "worthy example". 😉 It was also possible to “catch” an English-language radio station, but the sound quality often left much to be desired, so this option was not suitable for beginners, and “advanced” was not always suitable.

But then, as I said, everything magically changed :) Now everyone who learns English and has access to the Internet has superpowers. The days of "slave" dependence on a teacher and worn-out records are over, and finally there is an opportunity to listen to LIVE English.

The modern “beginner Englishman” can be amazingly independent of everyone: from teachers, from textbooks, from a dull school or university English language program ... The only thing you should not refuse under any circumstances (unless you have moved to an English-speaking country) is English-speaking Internet.;) It gives such opportunities that it would be a sin not to use.

So, what sites can be useful to "listeners" levelspre— intermediate, intermediate and a little higher? (Let me remind you that this is not the level at which you write grammar tests, but the level at which you are able to listen. We wrote about this here). Below you will find a "basic" list. In subsequent posts, it will be expanded and supplemented, although these six sites, in truth, will last you for a long time. We will take a leisurely walk through each of these resources later. For now, here's some general information:

In the very near future, a similar list for level listeners will appear on Upper— intermediate and Advanced.

Happy listening!-)

What associations do you have with the word "auditing"? Is this something boring from school? A set of complex exercises for ear training? Endless rewinding of a stuck cassette? Listening has changed a long time ago, and we will prove it. In this article, you will learn: the benefits of listening classes, how to properly learn English from audio materials, what types of podcasts are, is there an award for audio series, and where to look for a spoken radio show.

Why you need to do auditing and is it worth it at all

Many English learners complain that they have a hard time understanding native speakers. If your interlocutor's speech is too fast and full of colloquial and dialectal words, how can everyone get the point? Perhaps you were offered a cup of tea, and you took these words for threats. To avoid embarrassment, you need to practice, even if you do not live abroad or do not visit there regularly.

How exactly to practice? There are many videos available on the Internet. But what to do when there is no video sequence and subtitles? We are accustomed to always rely on these helpers. They can also become a crutch, without which you will not understand speech by ear. Therefore, it is so important to train your perception of speech without pictures and text. Such exercises are called listening.

Where in real life can these skills be useful? For example, you will have to chat with a person via Skype without a webcam or by phone. Another case: in the museum you will be offered an audio guide in English, but out of habit you will not understand the speaker. The most simple situation: On your way to work, you'll want to listen to your favorite artist's music or an audiobook in the original language.

If you want to overcome the auditory barrier, practice modern listening. Podcasts, audio series and radio shows in English will help you.

What are the advantages of audio materials in English

1. You get used to how connected English sounds.

To better understand English-speaking people, you need to listen to their conversations more often. To get started, choose short, slow-paced instructional audio recordings. Then move on to audio material from real conversations of native speakers. Thus, you will learn the features of intonation, pronunciation of sounds, placing stress in words, arranging logical pauses.

2. You listen to modern speech

Many of the materials on which we were engaged in listening at school are morally outdated. They play out irrelevant situations. The vocabulary of the characters is too bookish. As a result, we get unnatural dialogues. Modern listening makes it possible to learn an ever-changing living language.

3. You get used to different accents in English

Pronunciation depends on national characteristics. The English of the Hindu, Chinese and French are quite different by ear. Listen to examples:

Resident of India:

Resident of Burkina Faso native language- French):

Spanish resident:

Chinese resident:

You can learn to understand any accent well. Listen and get used to different pronunciation features.

4. You will learn how to use new vocabulary correctly

To vocabulary on new theme firmly entrenched in your mind, it is not enough just to memorize the words. You need to know in what context carriers use them in life. For example, you have mastered. After that, listen to a few podcasts for programmers, so theory is complemented by practice.

5. You learn grammar by doing

Modern listening will teach you to listen to abbreviated grammatical constructions and help you understand the application of rules in context. You can also make sure that native speakers use such a complex tense as past perfect Continuous, or teachers tormented you in vain.

6. You train concentration

In the age of smartphone addiction and tabletization, we are accustomed to perceive information visually. But if you want to improve your concentration, then the best challenge for you will be audio materials in English. This is the double work of the brain: to change the usual information channel for a sound one and to process the speech of a foreigner. The more interesting!

7. You expand your horizons

You can select podcasts, audio series, and radio shows based on your interests. Learn new trend in the profession or a popular slang word - flash in front of friends and colleagues.

8. You study where it suits you.

Whether you're driving, on a treadmill, on a plane or at the beach, you can still keep practicing English. There would be a desire, but ears and equipment will follow.

A moment of wisdom from the character of the film Quentin Tarantino.

You "d be surprised what happens if people just listen... without succumbing to all that pain and anger.

You'd be surprised what happens if people just listen... without giving in to all the pain and anger.

How to learn English from audio materials

1. Choose the right level of engaging material

Has it ever happened to you that someone played a recording from an American comedian's stand-up, and you, understanding at best a couple of words, still politely giggled? It happens with many. Stand-ups are characterized by a lot of slang and complex puns. It is better to put them aside for a while and choose audio materials of your level.

2. Find the best podcast experience for you

You can simply listen to audio recordings in free time or use another tactic:

• Listen to the audio material and try to understand as much information as possible from it. If this is difficult to do, try to capture the main idea of ​​the entry.
• Find the text of the entry, read it and translate all the unfamiliar phrases for you.
• Turn on the audio recording again and try to catch the text you already know by ear.
• Retell what you heard to friends, family or yourself in the mirror, trying to imitate the speaker's speech.

This tactic is not as time consuming as it seems. You will spend 15-20 minutes to analyze a five-minute audio material.

3. Understand unfamiliar words and grammatical structures

Work with new material. We met unfamiliar vocabulary, look for it in compatibility dictionaries, new constructions in grammar books. After that, try to make some sentences with them.

4. Make things harder

Let's say you've started to easily understand the speech of the leading entry-level educational podcasts. It's great, but you can't rest on your laurels. Choose more complex materials, throw yourself new challenges. This is how you can progress.

Listen to how the same news sounds, adapted for beginners, intermediate level people and unadapted for advanced level:

First level:

Middle level:

High level:

Modern listening materials

Podcasts

A podcast is one or a whole series of audio files. Educational podcasts cover a wide variety of topics. Author's non-adapted podcasts are devoted to one topic and are released on a regular basis. Listen to the movie podcast trailer to see what we're offering.

Educational podcasts:

• LearnEnglish Podcasts - 10-15 minute podcasts for levels and from the British Council. The site contains materials with simple vocabulary, but a fairly fast pace of speech. Any podcast and transcript (text) can be downloaded for free. Each audio recording is accompanied by a test and several tasks with which you can check how well you understood what you heard. In addition to podcasts on common topics here you will find materials for learning business English.
• Luke's ENGLISH Podcast - podcasts from English teacher and part-time stand-up comedian Luke Thompson. Since 2009, his website has accumulated 490 episodes with transcripts. At the end of each issue you will find a useful vocabulary, sometimes - grammatical constructions from the lesson.
• Voice of America Learning English - American podcasts adapted for language learning. Here you will find the latest political, cultural and scientific news, short stories, the history of the origin of idioms. The pace of the speakers is moderate and will allow you to make out all the words. In addition, the most necessary vocabulary is highlighted in transcripts and placed in a separate list of Words in This Story.
• Business English Pod - Business English podcasts that teach you how to speak on the phone, make presentations, increase sales and more. You can listen to podcasts for free, but for many audio recordings, transcripts, tests, and other materials are available only with the purchase of a subscription.
• Hellenic American Union - themed podcasts with pdf files that you can download freely. Each file contains a transcript, images, a glossary, and key exercises.

Unadapted podcasts:

• BBC Podcasts - Podcasts from 5 to 60 minutes long for level and above. You can download all audio materials for free. But each entry has a kind of expiration date, after which it is removed from the site.
• TED Radio Hour and Ted Talks Daily are projects based on famous conferences and educational videos from TED Talks. Each issue consists of one or more interviews on a common topic.
• iHeartRadio - here you can find thematic podcasts collected from different portals.
• Player FM is a platform that collects podcasts on any topic that you might think of.
• Radio Wolfgang is not just podcasts, but a whole community of people creating a new media format. Participants propose topics of interest to them and choose the best ones by voting. Podcasts are developed on the winning topics. There is a lot of documentary and scientific material, entertainment content and stories of individuals.
• On the Podcast Awards site, you can find the best non-adapted podcasts.

Audio series

In our country, few people know about audio series, but they are extremely popular abroad. Short and long audio dramas, just like their video counterparts, come out for whole seasons and gather a lot of fans. Most of them are freely available. The only but - rare audio serials are supplied with transcripts. Therefore, such materials are usually suitable for students with an Intermediate level and above. Keep in mind that some shows have age and other restrictions. Warnings sound at the beginning of each episode.

Best Audio Dramas:

• Bronzeville is a stylish series about Chicago in the 40s. One of the main roles is voiced by Laurence Fishburne, aka Morpheus from The Matrix. What we have: a specific African-American accent to train your ear and amazing jazz music as a bonus. You can listen to all episodes by following this link. And the trailer for the series.
• Wooden Overcoats is a British Podcast Awards winner, a British series about the rivalry between two undertakers. Almost Bezenchuk and "Nymph", only in the English way. You can listen to the trailer.
• The Once and Future Nerd is an award-winning fantasy television series. The audio drama is interesting in that each release is accompanied by a script in pdf. You can listen to the trailer for the series by clicking on the link.
• Our Fair City is a post-apocalyptic audio drama with short episodes of 10-15 minutes. The creators continue to release new seasons, the first two of them are accompanied by transcripts. As a bonus, comics are included with the series.

• MarsCorp is a comedy series about the Red Planet. Twelve episodes of 40-45 minutes.

• We're alive is one of the best survival horror series. Over 60 million downloads, awards for best production, screenplay and acting. You can listen to the trailer.
• The Truth - short novels 10-20 minutes long from theater figures from New York. The audio drama has been around for 20 years. You can listen to the trailer for the series by clicking on the link.

Audio series selections:

• Check out the Audio Verse Awards website for a list of the best audio dramas from the past year.
• On Twitter, the hashtag #AudioDramaSunday is responsible for a selection of the most notable audio series.
• You can select a series based on a short trailer on the Audio Drama Production Podcast.
• Look for news, teasers and short reviews of serial novelties at Audiotainment News.
• You will find quite a lot of audio dramas on the already familiar Player FM.

radio show

Radio broadcasts are not only a source of new music. There are many worthy author's talk shows on foreign radio channels. Professional journalists with good diction create high-quality content that is convenient for learning spoken English. As with audio dramas, radio shows rarely contain transcripts, so this type of modern listening is suitable for Intermediate level and higher.

Top radio stations:

• BBC Radio is a British radio station for everyone who learns English. Here you will find a variety of gear for every taste. BBC Radio 4 is a separate product of the BBC, aimed not at broadcasting music, but at discussing the broadest topics: food, travel, book reviews, etc. BBC Ulster (Ulster is a city in Northern Ireland) and other local divisions of the BBC will give you an idea of ​​the dialects of the English language. The Irish differ from the English in a specific pronunciation, their dialect is quite difficult to understand out of habit. But the presenters, as professionals in their field, speak better than most citizens, so we advise you to train on their radio show.
• Bloomberg Radio is an American business radio station. The best portal for learning English about business and finance. 2700 journalists from 120 countries select the latest materials for you 24/7. You can select and listen to the program in the Shows tab.
• ABC Radio is an Australian radio station with programs divided into categories: news, community affairs, entertainment, culture, science, etc. Each episode lasts from 6 minutes to one hour, contains interviews with different personalities and the presenter's point of view on the issue. is a popular American radio show with transcripts. Each issue is dedicated to a specific topic. It is revealed with the help of different stories and situations that happened to real people in real world. our online English school.

On the this moment there are already a great many different audio courses designed to be listened to in the car.

Leaving aside the question of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of this technique, we have compiled for you a selection of several such audio materials. Listen and improve your English on the way to work.

Before you download this or that course, we highly recommend that you at least briefly understand what English audio courses are in a car, what you can expect from them, and what you should not.

Let's start with the fact that, in our opinion, such audio courses will never be able to replace full training English language. Let's be honest, in our teaching practice we have not yet met a single person who would learn to speak English only by listening to such courses in the car on the way to work.

"Classes" in English according to this method are severely limited by several obvious factors.

Firstly, due to objective reasons, you cannot concentrate 100% on learning English, because forced to drive a car in parallel, assess the situation on the roads, etc. Therefore, from time to time you will be forced to “get out” of the process for a couple of minutes and then return to the material you listened to again.

Secondly, by doing this, you activate only one of several channels for perceiving information, namely, the auditory one. That is, even when you hear a word, you don’t know how it is spelled, you don’t see its transcription, and you probably won’t be able to write it on paper without errors later. This no longer allows us to talk about an adequate process of learning a language.

Let it not seem to you that we are only opponents of such courses. It must be admitted that the methodology of English courses in a car has its undeniable advantages:

1) You can listen to the material every day for at least 30-60 minutes, without additional organization of time for classes. It's objectively convenient.

2) Listening to the material several times in the car, you willy-nilly begin to memorize it. The material is, as it were, recorded in the subcortex of your brain.

Practice shows that the most effective result from such courses can be obtained in addition to basic English education at a language school or with a teacher (such training should be basic anyway!).

That is, going through a topic with a teacher, you then fix it by listening in the car. In this case, with a certain system of training, a good result is guaranteed.

Here is a selection of some of these courses that can help you learn the language. Go ahead, try it, download it to your flash drives, listen. Perhaps for you it will become an indispensable support in English classes.

1) 1C. Driving English (audio course)

1C English driving - Part 1

1C - English driving - Part 2

Recently we wrote about the best sites for listening in English, who have not read it yet, we advise you to read: 6 Best Sites for English Listening. Today we will add another wonderful site to this list. It is also great for those who do tasks in listening, ranging from levelelementary, including levelspre— intermediate, intermediate. There are materials for the level upper— intermediate.

This is about British Council website, more precisely - in its section for learners of English. Here's the link: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en(will open in a new tab or window). By the way, there is also a separate section for those who are preparing for IELTS, but more on that below.

What is good about this site? What useful materials can be found there? That's what we'll talk about today. But first - about the language itself, in which the site "speaks". This is mainly British English, plus some audio material, where the speakers are “non-local people”, that is, regional accents (from Far East before South America and Australia). But the classic British version of English clearly dominates the site. Therefore, those who need just such an "English" - pay special attention;)

Most audio clips have lyrics. This allows you to use the materials as you please: even with text, even without it, or - alternating different options. In addition, many audio clips have special tasks. They check the understanding of the text and help memorize words, phrases.

Now - about the sections of the site.

Large section - Listen& watch Just what you need for listening practice. The materials there are very diverse:

• Elementary Podcasts- audio materials specifically for the elementary level. The program has existed since April 2008, every month a new audio clip is added there. You can listen online and perform exercises and tasks directly on the site, or download audio in mp3 format. There you can also view or download the script (text) for the audio clip (you need to use the "Instructions & downloads" link just below the window with the player.
• Big City small World- "soap opera" in audio format. The style of speech is colloquial, several easy-to-remember characters, each episode is about 5-8 minutes long. There are tasks and text for each series.
• Word on the Street everyday English in different everyday situations. The difference from the two previous programs: there is not only audio, but also video (usually 3-4 minutes). Heroes move to different areas of London and other English cities. The text is not for all videos, but for most. Plus tasks.
• Magazine – articles on a variety of topics read by speakers. Themes are very different, from Halloween and rainforests to social problems. The duration of the sound is on average from 3 to 7 minutes. The language is literary (magazine, book), the type of audio clip is most often a monologue. Suitable for listening levels from approx. intermediate and higher.
• Stories& Poems is a very useful section. English poetry (for example, Kipling's poems) sounds rather unusual for beginners: different rhythms and intonations are very well felt, this is an excellent exercise. Well, you'll also enjoy it, of course.
• talk about- monologues of the most different people on a variety of topics. There is a lot of English with regional accents (immigrants from China, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, etc.). No need to be afraid to "pick up" the wrong or "inauthentic" pronunciation. Firstly, you will listen to different materials, and not just this rubric, so you don’t have to worry about pronunciation. Secondly, listening skills develop well if you often listen to a wide variety of English speech: the ear will quickly learn to distinguish between accents and catch the general. Thirdly, it is interesting and useful to listen to how your “colleagues” speak English, who also learn this language, just like you.
• Overcooked, How to…, UK Culture- the rest of the headings of this large section. We will not describe them in detail, be sure to look there yourself.

Another fairly large section - business & work– excellent materials, very useful for developing listening skills. The main difference from the section Listen& watch in that the topics here are mainly related to work, career, professions, business communication etc. The vocabulary here is more diverse and "adult". For level Upper— intermediate will be just right, you can try on intermediate if you have a good vocabulary(I remind you, I mean listening levels, not your grammar-reading-speech levels, these are not the same - see below). FAQ). The section has sections:

• Professionals Podcasts- everything that is written above about the section itself fully applies to the rubric. Speech - monologues or dialogues, the level of complexity is suitable for listening levels intermediate, Upper— intermediate.
• You’ re hired- business English. Topic - hiring, selection of candidates for the company. The videos are short (audio + video), there are scripts and tasks.
• business Magazine- there are no materials for listening, only texts (articles on the topic of career, professional growth, etc.). They differ from ordinary unadapted articles in magazines and websites by a slightly more “strict” vocabulary, well, and special assignments, certainly.

And a quick run through the other sections of the site for English learners.

Useful section Grammar & Vocabulary– not so much for listening, but for Grammar and your Vocabulary 😉

Chapter Fun & Games- yes, there is such a thing. There are collected useful for students English games, jokes and other entertainment.

Chapter IELTS- the name speaks for itself. The section is relatively new, while there are few materials there. But new ones are gradually being added, so if you are going to take this exam, look, just in case, there too. Now the section already contains unequivocally useful materials about the features of forms for listening (listening) on IELTS.

I think this brief "excursion" is enough to orient in general terms. Along the way, you will probably come across other interesting materials on the British Council website (for example, there is a special section for children, a section for English teachers, etc.)