“We have but two ears and one mouth so that we may listen twice as much as we speak.”
– Thomas edison
1. Choose a topic. (Bold Titles:)
2. Choose a source. ~ Example Source Title
3. Click on the title of the source. It is a link to the original website.
Listening for English Learners:
~ News in Slow English
~ VOA Learning English
~ BBC Learning English
~ Oxford Online English
~ Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab
~ ELLLO.org (English Listening Lesson Library Online) – special recommendation from Dr. Erin Noxon!
~ English Central
~ TalkEnglish.com
~ Rong Chang / ESL Fast (DO NOT CLICK ON THE COLORFUL ADS)
Dictations:
~ English Dictation – LEO Network (British English)
~ Dictation Exercises – Learn American English Online
~ Daily Dictation (free, optional subscription to save progress)
Need to practice listening to fast speaking? These websites are made by teachers. Their activities are short but useful.
Exercises for Fast Speech / Rapid Speech / Connected Speech
~ Real English (American English, beginner exercises)
~ Real English for Gamers
~ Helen’s Language Home (British English)
~ English with Jennifer (American English)
~ Playlist: How to Speak English FAST
~ Playlist: Fast English Reductions
~ Comedy History Video 1: History of Japan,
~ Comedy History Video 2: History of the entire world, i guess
Podcasts for English Learners:
~ A Little English (JP)
~ English News Weekly (JP)
~ Hiroshima University English (JP)
~ Aussie English (AUS)
~ BBC 6 Minutes English (UK)
~ BBC: The English We Speak
~ BBC: Dramas for Learning English
~ Simple English News Daily (UK)
~ Coffee Break English (Season 1, Season 2, Season 3) (UK)
~ Luke’s English (UK)
~ Splendid Speaking (UK + international students)
~ Better @ English (audio at the bottom of the page) (USA)
~ Tumble (podcast for kids)
~ Pickle (stories for children)
~ What If World (answers to children’s imaginations)
~ Stories Podcast (children’s stories!) Note: Free version has advertisements. (USA)
~ The Past and the Curious
~ All Ears English (3 categories: English Fluency, IELTS, or Business English) (USA)
~ Joe Lauer’s Best English Podcasts (Hiroshima University)
~ Popular Apple Podcasts in Japan for Language Learning (Chartable)
Advanced Podcasts:
~ Stuff You Should Know
~ English Learning for Curious Minds
~ 60-Second Mind
~ This American Life
~ Crime Junkie (true crimes podcast)
~ Overheard at National Geographic (interviews with National Geographic employees)
~ The Writer’s Voice (The New Yorker Magazine)
~ Comedy Bang! Bang!
~ Storytime with Seth Rogen
~ Freakonomics Radio
Listening to Literature:
~ ESL Bits (Literature)
~ Fable Cottage (Classic Children’s Stories)
~ Storyline Online (Children’s Books)
~ Letters Live (personal letters)
~ Button Poetry (slam poems)
Literature Analysis:
~ Thug Notes (AAVE)
~ Crash Course Literature 1, Literature 2, Literature 3, Literature 4 (Midwest USA Dialect)
~ All Things Classic Literature (Southern England: Home Counties/Oxford Dialect)
Film Analysis:
~ Princess Weekes
~ Cinema Therapy
~ Amanda the Jedi
~ Pop Culture Detective
News:
~ Reuters videos
~ NPR.org (National Public Radio, USA)
~ PBS NewsHour Videos
~ VOA News radio and TV (Voice of America)
~ BBC Radio (British Broadcasting Corporation, UK – station list)
~ RNZ National and International (Radio New Zealand)
(Aggregator sites with many choices:)
~ Radio Australia (choose a broadcasting company)
~ Live radio New Zealand (choose a broadcasting company)
Popular Talk Shows:
U.K.
~ The Graham Norton Show
~ The Jonathan Ross Show
Ireland
~ The Late Late Show
~ Tommy Tiernan Show (some episodes on YouTube)
New Zealand
~ Q&A (Daytime show)
Australia
~ ABC Q&A (Evening show, often politics)
USA
~ The Late Late Show with James Corden
~ The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
~ The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon
Speeches and Academic Lectures:
~ English Speeches by famous people
~ U.S. Presidential Speeches (Miller Center – audio and written scripts)
~ TED.com (Technology, Entertainment, and Design)
~ TED Ed (TED Talks with lessons and activities)
Cultural Comedy Channels:
~ Foil Arms and Hog (Irish Comedy)
~ How to DAD (New Zealand Comedy)
~ Lost in the Pond (UK / USA Comedy/Culture Comparison)
~ Key and Peele (American Comedy)
~ TonyTalks (Short videos!)
~ Caitlin Reilly (Short videos!)
~ Nicque Marina (Short videos!)
Comedy Talk Shows:
~ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Comedic monologues on current events)
~ Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Comedic monologues on current events)
~ Saturday Night Live (Weekly comedy sketches based on current events)
Black Culture/African-American Vernacular English Content
~ F.D. Signifier (Black American Culture)
~ Casual Geographic (Learn about animals!)
~ The StoryTeller (Black British English)
~ Foreign Man in a Foreign Land (Caribbean Culture)
~ Khadija Mbowe (Gambian-Canadian Perspectives)
LBGTQ+ Perspectives
~ The Queer Kiwi (New Zealander)
~ ContraPoints (USA, Philosophy)
~ JammiDodger (UK)
~ Jessica Kellgren-Fozard (UK, Disability)
~ Philosophy Tube (UK, Philosophy)
Culture Debate Shows:
~ Jubilee (contrasting cultural perspectives on current issues)
Movies & TV:
~ PBS Explore
(Paid Streaming Services: Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, YouTube Premium, AppleTV+)
“When you talk, you’re only repeating what you know. If you listen, you may learn something new.”
– dalai lama