Robin, Level 2 Listening and Speaking Instructor
Listen up! Many listening students wonder how they can find resources for listening and speaking. For speaking, there is no better practice than speaking with a real person. Remember to speak constantly, to anyone who will talk with you.
However, maybe you just want to practice listening. There is no reason to ever run out of listening resources, and there are three reasons why: N-P-R. NPR means National Public Radio, and is some of the most high quality and realistic listening you could ever hope to find. The three benefits of NPR are: accessibility, variety, and authenticity.
NPR means National Public Radio, and is some of the most high quality and realistic listening you could ever hope to find. You can listen in your car (on your way to school) on the radio at 89.9 FM. The Internet is also available. Go to NPR.org to explore the big website.
Speaking of big, the website has hundreds of options. You can listen to almost any topic you want, including news from your home country. Are you interested in gardening? Maybe you want to hear about a soccer match in England? NPR.org has so many stories to listen to, you will never run out. What’s more, there are often transcripts to each story, which means you can read while you listen.
NPR is not a textbook, which means everything on the website is real. Real English can be difficult to hear sometimes, so it is important to practice whenever you can. NPR gives you chances to hear English from all over the world. You may hear British reporters, Australian interviews, or expert chefs from the American South. Real English is varied, so the variety on NPR is very useful for all learners.
Practicing your listening and speaking is, of course, very important. Knowing which resources to use is sometimes difficult. Many learners want to practice, but don’t know where to go. NPR.org is a useful place to start. Explore the website, listen to the stories, and read along if you can. There’s no reason not to improve!