English listening practice

Listen for a sound, a word or a useful detail. Replay at your own pace, then check the explanation.

Starter, Elementary and Intermediate describe reviewed content and suggested entry points, not your proficiency or certification. Mixed practice can include harder material. Instructions are in English; this is not a complete course from zero.

37 resources

Starter (14)

Short texts, familiar words and a single pattern or listening contrast.

Practice · Starter

English letter names

Hear one of 26 letter names and choose its written letter, with a spelling example.

Topics: Study

Practice · Starter

Minimal pairs

Hear one word from a pair such as bottle and battle, and choose the one you heard.

Topics: Everyday English

Practice · Starter

Phonics patterns

Hear a word and choose the letters that complete its sound-to-spelling pattern.

Topics: Everyday English

Guide · Starter

The two TH sounds: /θ/ and /ð/

Learn how to make the TH sounds in think and this, feel the difference in voicing, and avoid replacing TH with s, t, d or f.

Topics: Everyday English

Guide · Starter

Fourteen or forty? Hear teen and -ty numbers

Tell fourteen from forty using stress, the final n and the ending vowel. Practise teen/-ty numbers alone and inside sentences.

Topics: Time and dates, Shopping, Travel

Guide · Starter

Classroom phrases: ask for the support you need

A useful learner phrase names a specific need: repeat the instruction, explain a word or check an answer. These requests also work in adult courses and workplace training.

Topics: Study

Guide · Starter

English numbers and dates: confirm the format

A number can be a quantity, a price, a time or part of a date. State the context and use an explicit format when writing it down.

Topics: Time and dates, Travel

Guide · Starter

Days, months and time: write a complete detail

A calendar expression is easier to confirm when it includes enough information for the task. Named days and months begin with capital letters in standard English writing.

Topics: Time and dates, Travel

Guide · Starter

Introduce yourself for the situation

A useful introduction gives the other person enough information to begin a conversation. A name and a relevant connection are often enough.

Topics: Everyday English, Work

Guide · Starter

English goodbyes: close the conversation clearly

A goodbye can signal that the exchange is ending, thank the other person and confirm a next step. Match it to the relationship and the situation.

Topics: Everyday English, Work

Guide · Starter

Choose a greeting that fits the moment

A greeting opens an interaction. Choose a neutral, friendly or more formal form according to the relationship and setting, then move to the purpose.

Topics: Everyday English, Work

Guide · Starter

Thank someone for a specific action

A simple thank-you can acknowledge help, time or information. Naming the action often makes the message clearer and more personal.

Topics: Everyday English, Work

Elementary (18)

Connected everyday language, past events and more detailed choices.

Practice · Elementary

Dates by ear

Hear fixed English dates, enter explicit year-first forms and compare ordinal endings.

Topics: Time and dates, Travel

Practice · Elementary

Word stress

Hear a word and click the syllable that carries the stress: PHO-to-graph or pho-TOG-ra-pher?

Topics: Everyday English, Study

Practice · Elementary

Word listening

Hear a useful English word and choose its English definition.

Topics: Everyday English, Work, Food, Home

Practice · Elementary

Listen and repeat

Pause, replay and loop recorded English sentences for independent repetition without a microphone.

Topics: Everyday English, Work, Food, Home, Travel

Practice · Elementary

Number dictation

Hear a number and type it: fourteen or forty? Then prices, times and years the way Americans say them.

Topics: Travel, Shopping, Time and dates

Practice · Elementary

Spelling from sound

Hear a word, type its spelling, then check the definition and an example.

Topics: Everyday English, Work, Food, Home

Practice · Elementary

Airport check-in roleplay

Listen and choose replies from a stated fictional profile, with explanations and retry.

Topics: Travel

Practice · Elementary

Arrival questions roleplay

Listen and choose replies from a stated fictional profile, with explanations and retry.

Topics: Travel

Practice · Elementary

Hotel check-in roleplay

Listen and choose replies from a stated fictional profile, with explanations and retry.

Topics: Travel, Home

Guide · Elementary

Word stress: which syllable stands out?

Find the stressed syllable in English words, read the IPA stress mark, and practise words and word families with clear examples.

Topics: Everyday English

Guide · Elementary

Final -s: cats, dogs and horses

Learn when the English -s ending sounds like /s/, /z/ or /ɪz/, with plurals, present-tense verbs, examples and a self-check.

Topics: Everyday English

Guide · Elementary

Final -ed: worked, played and wanted

Learn the three regular English past-tense -ed sounds: /t/, /d/ and /ɪd/. Practise choosing the sound and counting syllables.

Topics: Everyday English

Guide · Elementary

English phonetics: sounds, symbols and spelling

IPA symbols represent speech sounds more directly than ordinary English spelling. This site uses a bounded General American teaching chart.

Topics: Everyday English, Study

Guide · Elementary

Hard English sounds: practise one contrast in context

A sound is difficult when it overlaps with another category you already use. Begin with a particular contrast rather than treating your accent as a general problem.

Topics: Everyday English, Study

Guide · Elementary

Travel listening: catch the detail you need

A travel conversation often contains a small detail that changes the next action: a number, a time, a name or a yes/no answer. Decide what you are listening for.

Topics: Travel

Guide · Elementary

Tongue twisters: accuracy before speed

A short repeated sound pattern can help you notice a contrast. It is a playful articulation task, not a test of accent quality or overall fluency.

Topics: Everyday English, Study

Guide · Elementary

Apologise, explain briefly and repair the problem

An apology is more useful when it acknowledges a specific problem and says what can happen next. Keep the explanation proportionate to the situation.

Topics: Work, Everyday English

Intermediate (5)

Longer ideas, inference, connected speech and less familiar word patterns.

Practice · Intermediate

Short dictation

Hear a short sentence, type it, and see word by word what you missed.

Topics: Everyday English, Work, Food, Home, Travel

Guide · Intermediate

Connected speech: hear words inside a phrase

English words can sound different when speakers connect them. Stress, reduced vowels and neighboring sounds affect the result; these are not Mandarin tone rules.

Topics: Everyday English

Guide · Intermediate

Same spelling, different pronunciation

Some spellings have different pronunciations for different meanings or grammatical uses. A sentence supplies information that an isolated word cannot.

Topics: Everyday English

Choosing a useful next step

Choose one resource that feels manageable. Read its instructions, try the task and use the explanation to decide what to practise next. Picture-deck labels refer to the first collection; collection numbers are not proficiency levels.

A listening result describes that listening task. It does not measure speaking ability.

Choose a starting point · All practice activities · All short readers · All guides · Guided study paths