English Listening Practice
Train your ear on real English — listen sentence by sentence, slow it down, and test yourself with dictation. Thousands of YouTube videos, every level, free.
Start listening — it's freeMost people plateau in listening because they only ever hear the gist — real English is full of linked sounds, weak forms and words that blur together at speed. TryShadowing fixes that by letting you work on real speech in tiny, repeatable pieces. Play one sentence, replay it, slow it to 0.75×, then switch to dictation and type exactly what you hear. The moment you see which words you missed, your ear starts to sharpen. Practise with talks, lessons and everyday conversations from YouTube — the accents and pace you'll meet in real life — and level up from slow, clear beginner clips to fast native speech at your own pace. It pairs naturally with shadowing, so the words you learn to hear become words you can also say.
How to practise listening
Break real speech into single lines so nothing rushes past you.
Repeat any line and drop the speed to 0.75× to catch every sound.
Type what you hear and get scored — the fastest way to find your gaps.
Beginner-friendly listening lessons
Listening practice FAQ
Practise little and often with real speech, not slowed-down textbook audio. On TryShadowing you listen one sentence at a time, replay as needed, and test yourself with dictation — typing what you hear so you notice the words you miss.
Yes. Listen to thousands of real YouTube videos and practise for free, no sign-up required to start.
Because it forces you to catch every word, not just the gist. Writing what you hear exposes weak forms, linking and sounds you usually skip — then you can replay and fix them.
Any. Filter to beginner (A2) clips with clear, slower speech, then work up to natural-speed talks and conversations.
Then practise speaking and dictation, or browse beginner (A2) lessons.