Listening practice

These are the two listening activities on your photocopy:
Global Warming
Hurricane season

Click on "comments" to check your answers.

Environmental problems

Listen to six short news reports about environmental problems.

Click here to listen to a discussion about environmental issues.

Social networking sites

Facebook can be depressing because everyone else's lives are better than yours... But are they really?

1. Staying connected. 
Click here. Listen and take notes. Then listen and read the script.
2. Social media revolution. 
Watch the video and do the activities.

Conditionals

Watch the video and complete the conversation (check your answers in 'comments').




Phoebe: It's my bank.
Monica: What did they do to you?
Phoebe: I'm going through my mail and I open up their ________ (1) statement!
Ross: Easy!
Phoebe: And there's ________ (2) extra dollars in my ________ (3).
Chandler: Oh! Satan's minions at work again...
Phoebe: Yes, 'cause now I have to go down there and deal with them.
Joey: What are you talking about? ________ (4) it!
Phoebe: It's not ________ (5) . I didn't ________ (6) it. If I ________(7) it, it would be like ________ (8)!
Rachel: Yeah!, but if you ________  (9) it, it would be like ________ (10)!
Phoebe: Ok, Ok... Let's say I buy a really great pair of shoes. Do you know what I'd ________ (11) with every step I ________(12)? "Not mine, not mine..." Even if I ________  (13)happy and skipping, I'd ________ (14) "Not, not mine, not, not mine".
Monica: We're with you. We've got it.
Phoebe: Ok. I'd just never ________  ________  ________ ________ (15) it. It would be like this giant "karmic debt"...

Computers and the Internet

1. Click here and learn some vocabulary.
2. Listening activity to practise that vocabulary.
3. The Internet- vocabulary.
4. Listening activity about the vocabulary.
5. More vocabulary.
6. Listen and read a text about computer terms.
7. Read the text and choose the correct tense (past simple or present perfect).

Birthdays

Some vocabulary.
Listening to practise that vocabulary.
A listening about a birthday party.


The story is repeated three times: 1st time, normal reading speed; 2nd time, slower, with pauses for dictation followed by repetition and captions; and 3rd time, normal reading speed, with captions.

Celebrations and festivities

Click here to learn some vocabulary.

Listen and do the activities.

The Edinburgh Festival

Mother's Day 

LISTENING GAP FILL

Mother's Day is an important ________________ world, even though it started in North America and Europe. Not all countries celebrate it ________________, but the most popular day is the second Sunday in May. It is, of course, a day to honour our mothers and make them ________________. A punctuation point about the day is that most countries choose the singular possessive “Mother’s Day”, with the apostrophe before the ‘s’ __________________ family honours their mother, rather than all of the world’s mothers. Young children get especially excited about Mother’s Day and put ________________ making cards and presents for their Mums, or Moms in America. For mothers, ________________ a second birthday.

Mother’s Day in the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, etc. means mothers ________________ day off from housework. It is common for children to cook for their mother ________________ breakfast in bed. She also receives presents, flowers and cards. In America, Mother's Day is ________________ the year for restaurants, as children take their Mums __________________. Americans spend a lot on this day - over $2.5 billion on flowers and $70 million on Mother’s Day cards. In Sweden, people buy small plastic flowers and the money raised ________________ mothers and their children. Many people are against the idea of Mother’s Day as it is upsetting for children (and adults) who have lost their mother. ________________ for them this Mother’s Day.

Click here, check your answers and do more activities.

News stories

Websites to practise:

1. BBC Learning English: short real pieces of news with a summary, some vocabulary and the script.

2. Listen to News: short easy news reports with pre-listening vocabulary, gapfill texts, comprehension questions...

3. News in levels: choose a piece of news and a level (you have the script).

4. VOA: Level Two articles are meant for intermediate learners of American English. Sotries are often more than 500 words and may include audios from newsmakers. There may be a quiz to test your understanding and new words are explained in the Words in This Story area at the bottom of the article (very slow).

5. El País in English

6. Breaking News in English: choose the news story and the level. You have lessons with lots of activities.

The Comeback- a story

Click here and listen to the story. 

A Visitor to The Star- a story

Click here to listen to a story.

A love story

Listen to Carolina talking about her relationship with Enrico.

Family traits

Listen and choose the right adjective.

Try the vocabulary activities.

Listen to Adrienne talking about the different personalities in her family.

Personality traits. Listen.

What is your worst quality?

What are your best qualities?

Important People

Click here to do the listening activity about "Important People". We'll check it in class next week.

A complaint

Click here and do the listening activity. You can read the script here.  

A hotel room

Do this listening activity and learn some vocabulary about hotel rooms.  

You've changed!

Click here to listen to a conversation between two friends who haven't met in a long time.

Indirect Questions

1. Watch a video about indirect questions.

2. Read the grammar explanation and try the exercises at the bottom of the page.

3. Listen to a programme about indirect questions.

Trips

1. A trip to Asia.  2. A trip to Egypt. 
3. Planning a holiday.

My ideal trip

Click here. Listen and read people talking about their ideal trips.

Get that job!

1. Here's a wonderful website with exercises about job search, CVs, cover letters and interviews.

2. Listen to an interview with a recruitment expert, who talks about his experience of reading CVs and offers some good advice on writing them.

3. Click here to listen to a podcast about an odd job interview. 

4. Click here to see the most common questions in job interviews that we saw in class.