Learning English – B1/B2 Listening

Can you remember the problems you had when you started learning English?

In this B1/B2 English listening lesson, you will listen to Emily talking about her experiences of learning English.

After you have completed the exercises, read the transcript at the end to check what you heard is correct.

Listen and understand

Answer the questions about how Emily learned English. Check answers when you have finished all of the questions.

What is Emily’s main message about learning English?

That reading is the most important skill

That grammar should come first

That listening is a helpful way to improve

How does Emily feel about learning through listening?

She thinks it’s confusing

She says it’s fun and natural

She prefers using textbooks

What helped Emily feel more confident using English?

Listening and practicing speaking

Memorizing grammar rules

Reading lots of books

Why did Emily find it hard to speak English at first?

She didn’t like speaking to people

People spoke too fast

She was afraid of speaking in public

What problem did Emily have when she tried reading English books?

She didn’t know many words

The books were too boring

She didn’t like reading at all

What advice did the tutor give that changed Emily’s learning?

Speak more and make fewer mistakes

Focus on grammar before listening

Listen more to help speaking and listening later

What kind of listening practice did Emily start doing?

She only watched grammar lessons

She listened to podcasts and videos

She practiced only with music

What made Emily feel better about making mistakes?

Her tutor said mistakes help you learn

She learned from TV shows

She stopped caring about grammar

Train your ear

Listen and complete ONLY the missing words.

It was

If you listening first

I made

Listen can

Dictation and transcript

Listen to the speaker again, and write what you hear. Then check your answers. Pause, replay or restart if you want to.

DRE Dictation

Words and phrases

Here are some useful words and expressions from the text about learning English that you might want to learn and use.

Words

tough (adj) – difficult or hard to do
to keep up (v) – to go as fast as someone or something else
frustrating (adj) – making you feel annoyed because you can’t do something
a tutor (n) – a private teacher who helps you learn
to focus (on something) (v) – to give your full attention to something
a podcast (n) – a recorded talk or show you can listen to online
to notice (v) – to see or become aware of something
vocabulary (n) – the words you know and use in a language
to correct (v) – to show or fix a mistake
advice (n) – ideas or suggestions to help someone decide what to do
naturally (adv) – in a normal or easy way, without forcing it

Phrases

to be honest – I really believe
way too fast – much faster than you can follow
couldn’t keep up – wasn’t able to go as fast as others
kind of impossible – almost impossible
realized I needed help – understood that I needed support
in the wrong way – not using the best method
give it a go – try something new
stuck with it – continued doing something even when it was hard
bit by bit – gradually; slowly over time
made loads of mistakes – made many mistakes
no worries – it’s okay; don’t worry about it
help you learn – make learning easier for you
feel a lot better about (something) – be more confident or relaxed about something
listen as much as you can – listen often or whenever possible
the best way to learn – the most effective method for learning

Grammar from the transcript

This learner story includes several useful grammar examples that you can learn more about:

Present perfect continuous

We use the present perfect continuous for actions that began in the past and continue up to now.

I’ve been learning English for a few years now

Reported / speech (reported statements)

Reported speech is used to report what someone else said in the past. Jade reports statements using direct and indirect patterns:

She told me I was learning English in the wrong way
She said I should start by listening to more English (We could also say, “She told me to start…”)
She said, if you focus on listening first, you’ll find it much easier… (We could also say, “She told me that if I focused on.., I would..”)

First conditional

The first conditional describes likely future results that follow from a real present condition. Emily says:

She said, if you focus on listening first, you’ll find it much easier to speak and listen later on. (Present simple in the first clause and “will” in the second clause.

Verb patterns: verb + -ing

Some verbs like “start” are followed by an -ing verb to describe ongoing or repeated actions. Emily says:

I started listening to short podcasts
I started noticing how people really talk
I made loads of mistakes, but she always corrected them (past simple action + ongoing pattern in context)

Get more free A2, B1 and B2 English listening exercises and lessons here!