100 Ways to Improve Your English — Podcasts - The English Blog If you’re not familiar with podcasts, here’s a definition : "a podcast is a digital audio recording, usually part of a themed series, that can be downloaded from a website to a media player or computer". I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts on my iPod when I’m at home doing the dishes, on the bus or train, or just out walking. My favourite podcasts would probably not be suitable for most learners of English (except those at a very advanced level), but the good news is that there are dozens of podcasts available specifically for learning English — and they’re a wonderful way to improve your listening skills. Here are some of the very best … TIPSubscribe to you favourite podcasts using iTunes or another service to make sure you don't miss any episodes. You can find out how to do that here.
Active Listening - Communication Skills Training from MindTools.com Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness, and on the quality of your relationships with others. For instance: We listen to obtain information. Given all the listening that we do, you would think we'd be good at it! Turn it around and it reveals that when you are receiving directions or being presented with information, you aren't hearing the whole message either. Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. Click here to view a transcript of this video. Tip: Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. About Active Listening The way to improve your listening skills is to practice "active listening." In order to do this you must pay attention to the other person very carefully. You cannot allow yourself to become distracted by whatever else may be going on around you, or by forming counter arguments while the other person is still speaking. Get the Free Newsletter
11 things you never knew about elephants | LearnEnglish Teens | British Council 11 things you never knew about elephants There are only two types of elephants, African and Asian.Female Asian elephants don't have tusks.Elephants can be left-tusked or right-tusked, like being left- or right-handed.A newborn elephant weighs more than 200 pounds. That's about 30 human babies.Elephants have eyelashes.The African elephant is the world's largest land animal.Adult elephants cannot jump.They don't like bees.An elephant's trunk has more muscles than the whole human body put together.Elephants can get sunburnt. How amazing are these animals? 11 things you never knew about elephants There are only two types of elephants, African and Asian.Female Asian elephants don't have tusks.Elephants can be left-tusked or right-tusked, like being left- or right-handed.A newborn elephant weighs more than 200 pounds. How amazing are these animals?
Some interesting resources for listening at basic levels | English in Soria VOA news: News in easy American English, with transcripts.ESL Lab: An interesting site with a lot of listening exercises.YouTube SpeakOut videos, e.g. Enjoy them, and please tell me if I could add any to this list! Like this: Like Loading... Listening Comprehension – Toilet Training the Cat – Stuart McLean – The Cansw... Last year, Canada lost a national treasure – Stuart McLean. He began his radio program The Vinyl Cafe in 1994, and to date has recorded more than 400 stories on CBC radio (Canadian Broadcast Company). It got to be so popular that he traveled throughout small town Canada with musical acts and shared his stories about Dave, Morley, Sam and Stephanie on the Vinyl Cafe with that old radio voice that captivated so many. Now, thanks to the wonder of Spotfiy – The Vinyl Cafe, I get to sit in my kitchen every Sunday morning with my coffee and become entranced once more… now it is even more special because sometimes my 8 year old daughter sits with me too. The Vinyl Cafe is perfect for higher level listening comprehension exercises. It is also one of those “I have nothing planned – PANIC!!” So here you go – Toilet Training the Cat .
Listening and Speaking Listening & Speaking Start Reading for Children (1) Simple present tense, 50-word passages for children to start reading and listeningStart Reading for Children (2) 50-word passages for kids to improve English through reading and listeningStart Reading for Children (3) 100-word passages to improve children's reading and listeningEnglish Level 1 Simple present tense, 50 words per passage with audio and exercises for English beginnersEnglish Level 2 Short passages with audio and exercises for English beginnersEnglish Level 3 Short essays for English beginners to improve reading and listeningEnglish Level 4 More short essays for beginners to improve reading and listeningEnglish Level 5 200-word essays for English beginners to transition to intermediate levelEnglish Level 6 250-word essays for English beginners to transition to intermediate level American Songs Conversations Free ESL Software Online Radio News BBC World News BBC's international radio. Online Videos Conversation Questions
10 Best Free Listening Websites with Quizzes to Practise for Listening Exams So what do you do to practise listening for exams? Growing up, I never had the opportunity to do any extra practice to improve my listening skills. We didn’t have the Internet and the thousand possibilities it offers to learners of any language nowadays. The teachers had an old tape player that sometimes stopped and started on its own and old tapes that ended up sounding distorted and most of the times unlistenable so if you wanted to get better at listening, you just listened to the radio and struggled to understand the lyrics and sing along. Not that I ever complained. So, exams are just around the corner and I know you’re beginning to freak out. These are, in my opinion, the best sites with quizzes to practise listening comprehension. Check also:
Listening Exercises