Listening Comprehension Resources
Whether you're trying to follow a conversation, understand a movie, or catch every word in a class, strong listening skills make all the difference. On this page, you'll find helpful resources that cater to different learning styles and levels: from interactive apps that turn music and videos into language lessons, to online platforms offering real-life conversations, news segments, and pronunciation practice.
Active Listening
The Art of Active Listening | The Harvard Business Review Guide This video from the Harvard Business Review explains why and how people can be better listeners in interpersonal interactions.
Active Listening Guide The Barnard College guide offers practical strategies for developing empathetic and reflective listening skills, with a focus on fostering inclusive and respectful dialogue. It emphasizes curiosity, emotional awareness, and nonverbal communication to support deeper engagement in academic and interpersonal conversations.
Purdue’s Wilmeth Active Learning Center hosts a webpage featuring a collection of active learning strategies, with a focus on enhancing student engagement through techniques like active listening. These resources are designed to help instructors foster deeper comprehension and participation by encouraging students to listen attentively, reflect on content, and interact meaningfully during class discussions.
Apps
FluentU This app helps learners improve their English listening skills using real-world videos like movie clips and news segments, complete with interactive subtitles and quizzes. It offers a free trial, with full access available through a paid subscription.
LingoClip If you're passionate about music and want to improve your English listening skills, this app is a great choice. Available for free (with optional in-app purchases) on the web, iOS, and Android, it caters to learners of all levels. The app transforms your favorite songs into interactive listening lessons using fill-in-the-blank exercises, making language practice both fun and effective.
Yabla is subscription-based a subscription-based online too. It offers authentic video content—such as TV shows, music, and interviews—with dual-language subtitles and playback controls to support immersive input-based learning. While primarily focused on listening and comprehension, Yabla also includes interactive exercises like “write what you hear” and a speaking game to reinforce pronunciation and active recall.
Online Resources
ELLLO (English Listening Lesson Library Online) This free online platform offers thousands of audio and video lessons designed to enhance English listening skills through real-life conversations and diverse global accents. Each lesson includes transcripts, vocabulary support, and interactive quizzes, making it ideal for learners aiming to improve their comprehension of natural spoken English.
English Daily This AI-powered platform helps learners improve their English through daily listening, speaking, reading, and writing practice. It features TED Talk-based listening exercises, pronunciation feedback, and grammar-checked writing prompts, all designed to build fluency in American English. Accessible online, it’s ideal for learners seeking structured, real-world language practice.
How to Fix Your "I Don't Understand natives" Problem The article explains how narrow listening—a technique developed by linguist Stephen Krashen—can dramatically improve listening comprehension in a foreign language. The method involves repeatedly listening to short recordings of native speakers discussing the same topic, which helps learners recognize vocabulary and understand speech patterns more easily.
POSE (Perception of Spoken English) Test This online tool helps English learners assess their ability to understand spoken English, focusing on sounds, stress, and intonation. If you're accessing it as a guest, be aware that your results won’t be saved once you close the window—so be sure to email or print them for future reference. For ongoing access to your scores, you can sign up for a free account.
Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab This website offers free, interactive listening activities to help English language learners improve their comprehension skills. It features quizzes, real-life conversations, and culture-based videos across various difficulty levels, making it a valuable tool for both learners and educators.
Scripps News This platform offers short, fact-based news videos with transcripts, ideal for advanced English listening practice. You can watch it on the mobile app, website, or streaming platforms. Ideal for advanced English learners, it offers a convenient way to practice understanding American English through real-world content anytime, anywhere.
VOA Learning English This multimedia site offers short, subtitled news videos and MP3s designed for English learners, all free to use and download. It also features a mobile app with tools like a Wordbook to help students learn vocabulary in context.