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Academic Listening Skills

What is academic listening? Academic listening involves a range of different types of contexts. These are listening to lectures, presentations, seminars, group discussions, teacher tutorials and informal social interactions. Among the four language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) listening comprehension ability is perceived as the most difficult to improve. The most important academic listening skill is the ability to understand the content of a lecture. Academic lecture listening involves a multi-faceted approach of engagement where the listener applies a range of note-taking skills (linear, mind map, tables, Cornell notes system, abbreviations and symbols) and strategies (pre-lecture preparation, awareness of signposting and digression, post-lecture summary) to be able to cope with the intellectual content of the lecture (Wilson, 2022).

TED TALKS: Comprehension Questions

Level: ***** [B2/C1]

A selection of TED Talk lectures ranging from 8 minutes – 20 minutes. The worksheets are open comprehension questions based on key points and supporting details. The sheets also include a section on critical thinking questions. Overall, this will help improve overall academic listening skills. Click here

TED TALKS: Listening Test Questions 10+ minutes

Level: ***** [B2/C1]

10 long (10-14 minute) TED TALK lectures. The worksheets are a variety of question types (true, false, not given / matching ideas / open questions / gap fills / information tables / summaries). The tests are designed to replicate university English programme tests / exams. Click here

TED TALKS: Listening Test Questions 4-6 minutes

Level: ***** [B2/C1]

10 short (4-6 minute) ) TED TALK lectures. The worksheets are a variety of question types (true, false, not given / matching ideas / open questions / gap fills / information tables / summaries). The tests are designed to replicate university English programme tests / exams. Click here

TED Ed Medicine Lectures: Comprehension Questions 4-6 minutes

Level: ***** [B2/C1]

NEW 2023. A selection of short animated mini lectures based around the TED-Ed Medicine website. Each listening is about 4-6 minutes long and includes teacher notes, note-taking outline plans, a question sheet & answers. Students listen and take notes using the outline plan, and then answer the comprehension questions to check their understanding. Click here

Academic Listening Skills: AEUK Tests

Level: ***** [B2/C1/C2]

The tests are recordings of around 10-14 minutes long. The worksheets are a variety of question types (true, false, not given / matching ideas / open questions / gap fills / information tables / summaries). The tests are designed to replicate university English programme tests and exams. Click here

Academic Listening Worksheets

Level: ***** [B2/C1/C2]

Here you will find a whole range of different listening worksheets and videos. These worksheets are on presentations, what is academic English? Tourist attractions in the UK and other helpful videos connected to Academic English. Click here

Mini Lecture Lessons

Level: ***** [B1/B2/C1]

A selection of mini lecture listenings and worksheets. Each listening is about 3-4 minutes long and includes video/mp3, PPT slides, question sheet & a transcript. This is listening note-taking using PPT slides practice and then answering a range of questions (T/F/NG, open answers, table filling, multiple choice). Click here

University Lectures

Level: ***** [C1/C2]

Real academic listening skills for lectures from Stanford / Oxford / Harvard / Yale / NASA / RSA / Edinburgh and Australia. The lectures include PPT and range in times from 40 – 60 minutes. The worksheets are open comprehension questions based on the main ideas and important supporting details. Click here

BBC 6 Minute English

Level: ***** [B1/B2] / Members

Based on a radio show where the presenters discuss a variety of topics. The topic are key news stories and current affairs. The worksheets are usually six comprehension questions based around the key points and include critical thinking. Click here

Academic Listening Skills: Pronunciation

Level: ***** [B1/B2/C1/C2]

The top 60 academic words taken from the Academic Word List [AWL]. There are 10 gap fill activity sheets and 10 full dictation sheets. Listen to the recording and fill in the missing words in each sentence or try to write the whole sentence. This will help improve academic vocabulary and structure. Click here