Listening in English
Listening to native English speakers can be challenging in many ways. English is an official language in over 75 countries and non-sovereign entities around the world, such as Canada, Singapore, and Nigeria. It is used as the “de facto” (by practice) language in many other countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.
With English spoken by so many people, with so many different dialects and accents, it’s no wonder that listening to English can be frustrating sometimes!
My advice to you is to learn by listening to an accent you can understand with little difficulty. As you improve, try listening to accents of English speakers around the globe, especially from the area where you live or would like to live.
Conversational English
Having a casual conversation in English can be very different than reading grammatically correct English from a book. Like most languages, English contains many idioms and expressions you would never learn just by reading. That’s why listening practice is so important!
Here’s the Good News!
Generally speaking, most people only use about 2,000 words in everyday speech. You don’t need to be a walking English dictionary to have a conversation with someone! Here’s a link to a list of the 2,000 most common words in English, from WordReference.com. But don’t worry! You probably already know many of these words, such as “sister” and “morning,” as well as many of the words we use to give sentences structure – words like “and” and “or.”
How To Use These Lessons
In this section of the website, you will find listening exercises separated into levels – Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. However, even if you are a Beginner, you can try an Intermediate lesson, and if you are an Advanced speaker, a Beginner lesson may help if you need to review the basics.
Easy English Listening
Listening practice is very important. For this reason, there is also a separate section of Easy English Listening exercises for you. These exercises are short passages from the CEV (Contemporary English Version) of the Bible. They are read for you very clearly and more slowly than normal.
Listen to them again and again, until you are familiar with them. Then, download the PDF so you can read as you listen. Remember, practice makes perfect!
The Self-Study Lessons Series
Each Listening Exercise is also the first part of the Self-Study Lessons series. At the bottom of each Listening Exercise, you will find a link to the Reading Exercise, which is part two of each lesson in the Self-Study Series.
I want you to be able to study in the way that works best for you. There are two ways you can study:
- Do all the Listening Exercises by themselves, if you need extra help with listening.
- If you want to do the complete Self-Study Lesson, follow the links at the end of the Listening Exercise to progress to the Reading Exercise, then the Vocabulary Exercise, and the rest of the 7 lessons in the Self-Study path.
Ready to start?
Listening is an essential skill that you can develop with practice. These lessons can be one of many ways you can hear English spoken.