Listening Skills

What you will find here

This unit page brings together listening practice and listening theory. The quizzes are the practice side. Some are short dialogues, such as Shopping for clothes – Listening exercises and Listening: Olga and Tanya. Others use songs, like AEF 2. Song "Blue As Your Eyes" by Scouting For Girls, where you spot the extra word in the lyrics. There is also Listening Activity: Smartphone Reviews, a fill-in-the-gaps task.

Where to start

1. Begin with a short, everyday quiz such as LISTENING TEST, where you listen to two friends planning a cinema trip.
2. Move to B2-Listening Practice for gap-fill listening with more detail.
3. Try A lecture about an experiment when you want longer, more academic input.
4. Finish with English Test - C1 Level to see how you cope at a higher level.

Using quizzes and mind maps together

The mind maps explain how listening works and how to get better at it. Look for Processes Involved in Listening, WHAT MAKES LISTENING DIFFICULT and Microskills of Listening Comprehension. Read one map first, then take a quiz and notice which strategy helped. After the quiz, go back to the map and note what you missed.

If you are preparing for an exam, the page also lists maps on the listening part of CAE, plus notes on B1 exam listening parts and a note called Listenings para el FCE. Quizzes such as KET Practice - Test 1 Part 3a, Movers Test 6 - Listening - Part 1 and Flyers Test 6 - Listening - Part 3 give a feel for exam-style tasks.

Where it sits

Listening Skills belongs to the Communication Skills strand of English language. Flashcard decks such as Listening vocabulary and Strategies for listening help you hold on to words and techniques between quizzes.

Ready to begin? Choose one quiz that matches your level, listen without pausing, and then check what you caught.