Research Guides: ESL052 and ESL053 (Advanced Communication Skills): Authentic listening websites

Authentic listening websites

These resources are authentic English websites. They are entertaining, educational, or fun.

Lyrics Training
Learn English by listening and singing along to real songs. Complete with slang, phrasal verbs, fast English, and poetic meanings. Various languages to practice.
TubeQuizard
Practice grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation while listening and watching YouTube videos. Type the words into blanks as you listen. Four different levels to choose from.
TED Talks
TED talks are short presentations that cover a huge range of topics. Sometimes they are very technical, and other times they are not. If you select a talk that has a speaker that is hard to understand, just select another. Usually there are subtitles and transcripts in various languages.
Woodpecker Watch
400 channels and 160,000 authentic shows and videos from The Ellen Show, TED.com, the Comedy Channel, National Geographic, etcetera. Follow along with subtitles in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Vietnamese, as well as in English. Tap on the subtitle for immediate definitions in the supported languages. Downloadable as an app.