Free English listening tests, audio files, and matching printable worksheets from 123 Listening - a collaborative project between MES English and Dream English.
Free Listening Tests
28 topics with 4-5 downloadable audio files each. Every topic has multiple worksheet formats - from simple picture choice for beginners to writing exercises for more advanced students. Mix and match audio and worksheets to suit your class.
Listening Worksheet Makers
Five worksheet templates with thousands of images across dozens of topics. Use your own listening script to match any lesson plan, or pair them with the free audio files from this site. Great for LOTE teachers too - Spanish, French, German and more.
Why image-based listening worksheets?
Consider this listening question: "This is an animal that lives in Africa. It has a long neck and long legs." A student hears it, pictures a giraffe immediately, and knows the answer - but when asked to write it, they can't spell the word yet. They mark it wrong. The teacher marks it wrong. But the student understood perfectly.
That's the problem 123 Listening was built to solve. When students can point to, circle, or draw a line to the correct picture, a teacher can see clearly that the student understood - and that spelling is simply a separate skill to work on later. The listening comprehension is there. It just needed a way to show itself.
This matters most with young learners, mixed-ability classes, and any student whose writing skills are still catching up to their listening and speaking. Image-based worksheets give every student a fair chance to show what they actually heard and understood.
How the difficulty levels work
Every worksheet on this site is designed so the image choice does the heavy lifting - not writing ability. Difficulty is controlled by how many choices the student has and whether writing is required.
Choose from 2 pictures. The smallest possible choice set - ideal for very young learners or first exposure to a topic. No writing.
Choose from 3 pictures, or connect a picture to a number from a field of 13. More choices means less guessing. Still no writing required.
Choose the correct picture and write the answer. Students who can identify the right picture but struggle to spell the word can still show their comprehension - and the gap between the two skills becomes visible.
Write the answer with no picture clues at all. The ultimate goal - when a student can hear, understand, and produce the written form independently.
Dream English offers free mp3 downloads with chants and songs for children, lesson and game ideas, and CDs packed with great songs for young learners. All the audio on 123 Listening was recorded by Matt at Dream English.
The listening scripts and worksheets on 123 Listening were built around vocabulary sets from MES English. Visit MES English for matching resources: free printable flashcards, game cards, bingo cards, worksheets, crosswords, word searches, and language games!
