Would you like to improve your English listening skills? With all the technology that we have at our fingertips nowadays, it’s easier than ever to find ways to practise with English learning apps!

Listening apps can help you learn in all sorts of ways, from practising for listening exams, to expanding vocabulary, improving your pronunciation, and preparing you for real-life conversations.

Thanks to smartphones there are lots of opportunities for listening practice whenever and wherever you want – on public transport, out for a walk or doing chores around the house. We’re lucky to have so many options, but sometimes it can be overwhelming knowing where to start!

To help you decide, we’ve compiled a list of the best apps to improve listening skills.

 

1. British Council LearnEnglish Podcasts

 

British Council’s free LearnEnglish podcasts cover a range of topics, from learning languages to world information. There are new podcasts every week, so you’ll always find something to listen to!

A great thing about these podcasts is that you can download them whenever you want and access them offline. Do you prefer to have your phone in your pocket while you go for a walk? No problem – you can listen with the screen turned off.

If the speaker is too fast, you can change the audio speed to suit your level. You can also check vocabulary or phrases you didn’t catch with the interactive audio scripts. Each episode has simple exercises to test yourself on what you’ve heard, and you can track your progress on the progress screen.

 

GREAT FOR: listening to podcasts on the go

Download it on Play Store or App Store

 

2. BBC Learning English

 

The free BBC Learning English app combines its famous lessons and presenters all in one place. With new lessons every day, you’re guaranteed to find plenty of content in this app! What’s more, it’s easy to make it part of your daily life with downloadable audios and the option to listen with your screen turned off.

It’s up to you to decide whether to listen with or without transcripts and subtitles, and you can test yourself with quizzes after!

You can use the ‘My Learning’ area to save your favourite series and programmes. Just take a look at the wide variety available!

  • English My Way
  • British Chat
  • The English We Speak
  • 6 Minute English
  • English at Work
  • English in a Minute
  • The award-winning Tim’s Pronunciation Workshop
  • LingoHack
  • News Review
 

 

GREAT FOR: a wide variety of programmes

Download it on Play Store or App Store

 

3. PORO: English Speaking and Listening

 

PORO’s free app is suitable for all learners, from beginners to advanced. It has over 750 audios with common conversations and a variety of topics. You can learn everything from greetings, introductions and small talk to more serious business conversations.

Choose to follow the audio with highlighted sentences, and show or hide the transcript and translation modes according to your needs and preferences. You can click on individual sentences to hear them again and practise your intonation and pronunciation.

If you’d like to listen while driving or travelling, you can select the Playlist mode. The app also has stories, games and news stories from Voice of America, a famous American news channel.

 

GREAT FOR: expanding everyday vocabulary

Download it on Play Store or App Store

 

4. Wannalisn

 

Wannalisn is a free app which uses short videos from popular films, series and songs. Practise your listening and pronunciation skills with real conversations and common words and idioms.

This app is entertaining and helps you learn via popular culture. You can listen to natural British and American accents and test yourself with fun exercises like guessing the meaning, filling in the gaps and selecting the correct words or sounds.

 

GREAT FOR: edutainment (education + entertainment)

Download it on Play Store or App Store

 

5. Miracle FunBox: English Listening and Speaking

 

This app from Miracle FunBox is ideal for improving both your listening and speaking skills. There are thousands of conversations and stories with audios and transcripts. As well as improving your listening skills, they are designed to help you with pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.

Speaking of vocabulary, the app is focused on common words for English exams like IELTS and TOEFL. Hundreds of English listening tests will improve your listening and help you accumulate necessary vocabulary.

There’s space for some fun too, with games for sentence building, vocabulary and word chains. The lessons are available offline and you can bookmark your favourites.

 

GREAT FOR: practising exam listening

Download it on Play Store

 

English learning apps

 

We hope our list of listening apps was helpful! Would you like to find more apps to improve your English? Check out the lists we’ve prepared for learning English, improving speaking skills, learning grammar, learning vocabulary and improving your listening skills at home.

If you’re looking to learn English in Barcelona, get in touch with us to find out more about our courses!

Glossary for Language Learners

 

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

at our fingertips (exp): convenient and easy to find.

chores (n): a job or piece of work that is boring or unpleasant, but needs to be done regularly.

overwhelming (adj): too much to handle.

pocket (n): an area inside or outside your clothing to keep things in.

on the go (exp): busy and active.

up to you (exp): your decision/responsibility.

highlighted (adj): drawing attention to something to make it more noticeable.

edutainment (n): entertaining and educational at the same time.

speaking of (exp): related to the subject being discussed.

Key

adj = adjective

exp = expression

n = noun

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