Audio recordings for learning English. The best audiobooks in English plus teacher recommendations

Here you can download free programs for studying in English. Programs for learning grammar, memorizing words, etc.

Computer programs:

Memorizing words

Memory program English words, using associative pictures.

WordsTeacher 1.0

The WordsTeacher program is designed for learning foreign words, phrases, short expressions, without interrupting the process of working on the computer.

Association 1.0

A program for memorizing foreign words using the method of phonetic associations. Allows you to easily find associative keys to foreign words using a dictionary of 90,000 words of the Russian language.

BX Language acquisition

The BX Language acquisition program is designed for learning foreign words.

English Grammar

Another great program for learning English grammar. Thanks to the presence of a Russian thematic index, the textbook will not only teach you to understand English, but will also help you express your thoughts in English.

ETrainer 4800

Trainer-examiner of English language skills. Tasks are given to translate sentences and a grade is given. You can set the number of tasks in the exam, limit the thinking time, and also keep a detailed protocol.

ETrainer 5000

Mini version. Trainer-examiner of English language skills. Tasks are given to translate sentences and a grade is given. You can set the number of tasks in the exam, limit the thinking time, and also keep a detailed protocol.

FVords 1.11.22

Program for students of English and German: Longman tips, tests, dictionaries for originals, parallel texts, prompter mode, settings, search, printing, statistics and much more.
The “download” link is a distribution package of the program without a database (the necessary databases will need to be downloaded separately. By the way, the program databases are constantly being updated.

Grammar

A program for learning English grammar. The grammar in it is given using examples from spoken language, which significantly replenishes vocabulary trainee. The abundance of examples and illustrations for them helps to remember and better understand certain grammatical structures.

Repeng - English Tutor

A program for training your vocabulary. Working with the program is carried out by selecting the correct translation option from several proposed ones.

Word Translation Trainer WTT 1.15

Designed for learning the spelling of words in English. Testing is carried out in both directions using statistics on the success of the translation of a particular word.

Sentence Exerciser

You can really improve your English level by solving many different grammar problems.

Android Applications:

English with Lingualeo

Free English classes
- Suitable for any level of language proficiency
- Practical exercises
- Thematic courses
- English language practice: text, audio and video materials
- Possibility of learning English offline
- Automatic synchronization with the web version of the service
- Prompt technical support

Develop your listening comprehension of English, replenish lexicon, improve your reading and writing skills in one application! Useful for those who know the alphabet and basic vocabulary.

The Teacher Method is a program for sequential learning of English: from beginner to advanced. Watch and listen to the teachers' explanations, take training after each lesson and an exam after each topic.

The app includes over 200 spoken English lessons, which includes the following:

Listening to improve your listening comprehension
- Questions to help you understand better English speech
- Conversation practice feature to improve your speaking
- Conversation recording tool to track your progress

A polyglot is a simple and quick way learn English.

In just a few minutes a day you will learn how to write sentences in English.

We have specially optimized the lessons for mobile devices. Information is given in a compressed form, then, through repeated repetition, it is consolidated in memory.

In a short time you will learn how to build correctly simple expressions in English, without noticing it, learn a lot of new English words.

Greetings my most wonderful readers.

You have no idea how frustrating it sometimes is for me to hear that students do not pay enough attention to developing their listening comprehension skills. Of course, this is not so important when applying. What about in life?

But still, I am sure that most of you are among those who do not neglect this part of training. And for you I have crazy interesting topic- audiobooks in English for beginners. Files for downloading several of them and tips for working are below.

What to listen to?

Well, I have books for you from private collections that I'm sure you'll love. You can download your mp3 and start listening now.

In the archive you will find 4 folders with my favorite works: "Alice in Wonderland", "Aladdin", "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Princess Diaries". All except Alice are given with texts.

You've probably heard more than once about English language courses using Ilona Davydova's method. Now you can listen to her quality courses in audio format for a very affordable price. For example, here is one of the disks ( Spoken everyday English. Course 1. Disc 1. In the city ), a fragment of which you can listen to right now. You can buy these useful courses (or other audio and electronic literature) on the website Litres. There I often listen to and read books myself when I am on the road or doing household chores. Very comfortably!

Great sites for online audiobooks

Of course, now it’s not always so necessary to download audiobooks. You can simply listen to them online. I have for you my personal top sites that you can use to improve your audio perception.

http://www.loyalbooks.com- one of the best foreign sites that have collected an excellent collection of a wide variety of books. From adventure stories to science fiction and romance novels. Whatever you want, you will see on the pages of this site.

http://www.storynory.com/- a very interesting site where you can listen not only famous stories, but also little known stories people from all over the world.

http://www.librivox.org- a site created exclusively by volunteers who, out of the kindness of their hearts, share entries. Moreover, among the catalog you can see those that are not so easy to find.

Why do this?

Let's be honest, you can't expect your foreign language It will get better solely on knowledge. So, listening gives you not only new vocabulary, but also improves your perception oral speech, thereby making it more diverse, lively and interesting.

How to use it?

Of course, you can’t just take an audio recording and dump it on your head. Need to see her prepare. I have some tips for you that I hope will help you.

Choose according to your level.

This learning option will be incredibly useful for learning a language. Already owning basic knowledge You can confidently listen to adapted recordings and study from them. Moreover, on initial stage I don’t just recommend, but insist that you listen to the adapted recordings.

No need to look for translated records.

Yes, it would be much easier to download the recording with translation. But in this case, you slow yourself down, because you will concentrate less on the speech and wait more for the subsequent translation.

Choose for the soul.

Now you can download your favorite works for free. Choose the ones you already like. Or those that you have been dreaming of reading for a long time. You won't believe it, but you'll understand O most of the text, if the book is incredibly interesting to you.

Well, have you already chosen the first books you will listen to? Share in the comments which ones. Maybe I’ll take something to note as well.

And remember, my dears, that with me you can improve your English step by step. Subscribe to my blog's newsletter and receive regular portions of useful information.

See you again, my dears.

“Unread books know how to take revenge,” wrote Ray Bradbury. But how to modern man With the frenzied pace of life, why not create “avengers” for yourself? There is a solution - listen to audiobooks, and if you also do this in English, you will get double the benefits. We will tell you how to learn English from audiobooks, why you need to listen to them and how to work with them. And at the end of the article you will find links to 7 excellent sites with audiobooks in English for children and adults.

What audiobook to listen to in English

If you don't know English high level, then not all books will be equally useful. Let's see what materials you can find on the Internet and what audiobook to listen to in English. Types of audiobooks:

1. By type of recitation

Books narrated by a professional speaker (native English speaker) - such books are ideal for those who want to listen to competent English speech and learn to speak like a native speaker. If you are going to repeat words after the announcer, learn correct intonation and correct pronunciation, then this type is “shown” to you. Books read by a professional speaker are universal material that is suitable for any listening purpose. They have only one drawback - they are not easy to find in the public domain.
Books narrated ordinary people(native speakers of English) - such books are well suited for people with a knowledge level and above. If you want to get used to different accents in English and want to improve your listening comprehension, choose these books. The most important advantage of this type of audiobooks in English is that they are easy to find in the public domain. However, if your level of knowledge is below average, then it will be difficult to perceive the speech of native speakers. In addition, the audio track is most often recorded in a normal home environment, so the sound quality leaves much to be desired.
Books narrated by Russian-speaking teachers or linguists are another good option for people with a low level of knowledge. Audio is usually recorded in professional studios, all words are pronounced clearly, it will be easy for you to understand them. On the other hand, the intonation and pronunciation of a Russian-speaking speaker are still slightly different from the intonation and pronunciation of a native speaker.
Books created using special computer programs(Text-To-Speech) is not the best option for learning English from audiobooks. The program is not able to voice the text in such a way as to produce natural, coherent speech with the intonation characteristic of native speakers.

2. By complexity

Children's fairy tales and stories are the simplest material that adults should not neglect. Children's books, as a rule, are read by professional speakers at a measured pace. At the same time, the texts are also easy to understand due to the vocabulary: children's books use a limited set of the most frequently used words.
Audiobooks with supporting text - good material for those who find it difficult to understand foreign speech by ear: you can listen to a book and follow the text with your eyes. In addition, such materials are convenient to use if you are going to learn new words: you can see their spelling in the text.
Standard audiobooks - materials for people with Intermediate level and higher. These are common notes for native speakers, so they are not always easy to understand. On the other hand, you can easily find lyrics to almost any audio on the Internet, and this will help you understand the book.

In addition, we recommend trying to listen to an audiobook, the text of which you have read more than once in Russian. Surely every person has favorite piece English speaking author. If you remember the Russian language very well, then it will be easier for you to understand the audio recording in English.

The benefits of audiobooks in English

One of the most difficult skills when learning English is listening comprehension. To learn to understand foreigners, you need to listen to them often. Therefore, if you do not live abroad and do not communicate with native speakers every day, you need to look for available methods listening training. The best assistants in this matter are podcasts and audiobooks. Read about it. Now let’s find out why learning English from audiobooks is useful:

1. You improve your listening comprehension of English speech

This main reason, according to which audiobooks in English are very popular among students. The more we listen, the faster we get used to foreign speech and begin to understand it. And if you take into account the fact that most free audiobooks are voiced by native speakers who are not professional speakers, then you can also listen to people with different pronunciations. Some will lisp, some will slur their sounds, some will speak too quickly - this is great training for your listening skills.

2. You get used to the sound of coherent speech.

The announcers do not pause between words and pronounce each phrase with natural intonation. You will gradually get used to live speech, and subsequently it will be easy for you to understand what the foreign interlocutor is saying.

3. You learn new words and phrases in context.

If the words are from podcasts or educational texts We are sometimes too lazy to find and learn that unfamiliar word playing important role, will definitely make you want to know what it’s about we're talking about. Words that are important for understanding the meaning will be easy to remember because you learn them in context and understand how they are used.

4. You listen and remember how grammar is used in real speech

In theory, you understand perfectly well when to use Present Perfect, but when it comes to using this tense in speech, you get confused and don't know if it is appropriate to use it? Listening to audiobooks in English will help you understand how any grammatical construction on practice. If you not just passively listen to the recording, but also think about how this or that tense is used, you will understand the principle of English grammar not in theory, but in practice.

5. You study English where it is convenient for you

Audiobooks in English are portable educational materials. You can take them with you anywhere by downloading them to your smartphone or tablet. So if you're not interested in listening to others on your way to work, listen to an audiobook. Find out how else you can use your gadget for learning from the article “”.

6. You are developing

Those same unread books that could take revenge on you now pose no danger, because you will listen to them. If it is not always possible to devote time to reading, then even the most busy man. Moreover, you can read not only fiction, but also professional books or books on self-development, then you will also engage in self-education without wasting a minute of your free time on it.

7. You enjoy studying

We all understand that we need to “accustom” ourselves to the sound of foreign speech, but not everyone likes podcasts. Some people are not interested in them. Audiobooks are no less addictive than coffee in the morning. If you choose interesting book, you will be carried away by the plot so quickly that you will look forward to listening to the next excerpt of your favorite work.

How to listen to audiobooks in English correctly

You can just listen to an audiobook and enjoy it, it's suitable for those who understands English well by ear. What should those who find it difficult to understand English do? There is a technique for them that, if used regularly, will help significantly improve their listening skills. How to do it? Use a simple technique:

Listen to a short excerpt from a book, for example, take one chapter. It's okay if you don't understand every word; at this stage, try to grasp the general meaning of what was said.
Take the text of the book and turn on the recording. Listen to the speaker and at the same time follow the text with your eyes. Don't focus on unfamiliar words, try to guess their meanings from the context.
If you want to expand your vocabulary, then highlight words you don’t know in the text with a marker, then write them out of the text and learn them.
The next day after learning new words, listen to the audio recording of the chapter again, do not use the text, try to understand as much information as possible by ear.
Do you want to improve your pronunciation along with your favorite book? Then listen to the speaker and repeat the text after him, trying to copy all the sounds and intonation of a native speaker. If you decide to use this technique, you need to find an audio recording read by a professional speaker with the correct pronunciation.

Where to download audiobooks in English: 7 best sites

Children's audiobooks

Storynory.com is a site with children's stories in English. Ideal for those who have poor listening comprehension of English: a native speaker with clear diction recites simple children's stories. The text of the recording is located right there, and all audio files can be downloaded for free.
Bookbox.com is a site with children's fairy tales. There are no texts for the recordings, and there is also the possibility of listening online. But you can download any audio story for free and listen to it free time. The text uses simple vocabulary that you can easily understand.

Audiobooks with texts

Etc.usf.edu is one of the most convenient sites for working with audiobooks. Each work is conveniently divided into chapters, and the audio recordings are accompanied by text. You can listen to audio and follow the text on the site, or you can download Mp3 recordings and text from PDF format. It should be noted that audio recordings are presented in professional quality, so you may not need the text.
Nikolledoolin.com is a resource with a small selection of audiobooks, but all of them have text, so it’s convenient to work with if it’s still difficult for you to understand an audio recording without text.

Audiobooks in English of different genres

Librivox.org is a resource thanks to which there are more and more free audiobooks in English every day. After following the link, you will see two buttons: Volunteer and Catalog. The Volunteer button will take you to a page for volunteers - people who read books in English and post them on this site. The Catalog button will take you to the book catalog. You can easily find the audio recording you need using the site search. Any book can be listened to online or downloaded for free.
Loyalbooks.com is a resource where you can find more than 7,000 free audiobooks in English. All audio files are conveniently divided into chapters, you can listen to them online or download. Most of the recordings are read by professional speakers, the sound quality is good, so it will be easy for you to understand the words.
Thoughtaudio.com is a site with free audiobooks in English. Entries are presented in good quality, are divided into chapters of the book, they can be downloaded for free or listened to directly on the website.

Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled “This could change your life”.

Books can be dangerous. The best ones should come with a warning: “This book can change your life.”

Helen Exley

We hope you will use our tips on how to learn English from audiobooks. In this article we presented 7 great resources, and in a future article we will tell you about 10 more cool sites with free audiobooks. Want to be the first to know about them? Then subscribe and receive valuable advice from our teachers and useful links once a week!

On this moment There are already a great variety of different audio courses designed for listening in the car.

Leaving aside the question of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of this technique, we have made for you a selection of several similar audio materials. Listen and improve your English on the way to work.

Before downloading this or that course, we highly recommend that you at least briefly understand what audio English courses in the car are, what you can expect from them, and what you shouldn’t.

Let's start with the fact that, in our opinion, such audio courses can never replace full-fledged English language training. Let's be honest that in our teaching practice We have not yet met a single person who learned to speak English only by listening to such courses in the car on the way to work.

“Learning” English using this method is severely limited by several obvious factors.

Firstly, due to objective reasons, you cannot concentrate 100% on learning English, because... forced to simultaneously drive a car, assess the situation on the roads, etc. Therefore, from time to time you will be forced to “step out” from the process for a couple of minutes and then return to the listened material again.

Secondly, by doing this you activate only one of several channels of information perception, namely the auditory one. That is, even when you hear a word, you don’t know how it’s spelled, you don’t see its transcription, and you probably won’t be able to write it on paper without errors. This no longer allows us to talk about an adequate process of language learning.

Let it not seem to you that we are only opponents of such courses. It must be admitted that the method of English courses in a car also has its undeniable advantages:

1) You can listen to the material every day for at least 30-60 minutes, without additional organization time for classes. It's objectively convenient

2) Listening to the material several times in the car, you willy-nilly begin to remember it. The material is, as it were, recorded in the subcortex of your brain.

Practice shows that the most effective results from such courses can be obtained in addition to basic English training in language school or with a teacher (such training should be the main one in any case!).

That is, when you go over a topic with a teacher, you then reinforce it by listening to it in the car. In this case, when specific system classes, a good result is guaranteed.

Here is a selection of some similar courses that can help you master the language. Go ahead, try it, download it to your flash drive, listen. Perhaps this will become an indispensable support for you when studying English.

1) 1C. English while driving (audio course)

1C English while driving - Part 1

1C - English while driving - Part 2