If you want to help your learners develop their listening skills, this is the perfect place to get started.
The free tools and resources below have been specially selected to help you:
- develop your understanding of listening skills and how you can help your learners develop these skills
- develop your skills in planning and managing lessons to include more listening activities of various types
- help your learners to find ways to improve their listening skills
- prepare learners for listening in the real world
- support learners in preparing for listening tests.
There is no set order for the resources below. Choose what to do according to the time you have and the topics that are most interesting for you.
- Article: A framework for planning a listening skills lesson (10 minutes)
How can you design an effective listening lesson? In this article, Nik Peachey outlines a framework that can be applied to any listening text. It gives ideas for pre- and post-listening activities and also looks at some typical issues that teachers and learners can face.
Read 'A framework for planning a listening skills lesson'
- Article: Listening: Top-down and bottom-up (10 minutes)
There are different ways for learners to listen and understand what they are hearing. This article highlights the different between 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches to listening and how we can help our learners develop the skills needed for both.
Read 'Listening: Top-down and bottom-up'
- Webinar: How can we use technology to make engaging listening activities? (60 minutes)
In this webinar, Chiara Bruzzano looks at research-based evidence of how listening works. She then explores how to critically evaluate listening activities and how to make listening in class more engaging.
As you watch the webinar, make notes: which of these ideas could you use in your classes, and why?
After watching the webinar, share your answer to the discussion question in the comments section below.
If you watch the recording and comment on it, we'll be happy to send you the link to an attendance certificate for the session.
- Video: Assessing listening (4 minutes)
In this short video, Carolyn Westbrook explains the processes involved in listening and gives us her tips to help you prepare listening tests to assess learners.
- Article: Pre-listening activities (10 minutes)
Doing activities before asking learners to listen to something can really help with comprehension. This series of different pre-listening activities can be used with different listening texts.
Read 'Pre-listening activities'
- Lesson plans and activities (50–90 minutes)
This series of ten lesson plans invites learners to think critically and empathetically about different people's experiences. The lessons also contain free audio that provides the opportunity for learners to practise and improve their listening skills. The lesson materials are designed to demonstrate best practice in both teaching listening skills and integrating themes of equality, diversity and inclusion. There are lessons for all levels from beginner to C1.
Explore the lesson plans (from A1 to C2 level) here
Listening activities for songs
Songs can be an engaging way for learners to practise their listening skills. Katherine Bilsborough suggests a series of activities that can be used with any song in your classes.
Activities: Listening activities for songs