Audio English short stories. Audiobooks in English – are they worth listening to? Choose an accent: British or American

Choose an accent: British or American


Adapted audiobooks divided into British and American. You need to decide in advance what kind of accent you want to develop. Clear, beautiful pronunciation is respect for the language and the interlocutor.

Below are two audio files to help you make your choice.

British accent American accent

Choose the one that is closer to your soul. Don't be afraid to relearn from one accent to another - it won't take long.

By the way, professional Western actors are fluent in both British and American pronunciation. If you dream of conquering Hollywood, develop both. :)

Select a level: from Beginner to Advanced


Adapted audiobooks on English language differentiated by levels. There are six of them:
  1. Beginner (Initial 1)
  2. Elementary (Beginner 2)
  3. Pre-intermediate (Below average)
  4. Intermediate
  5. Upper Intermediate
  6. Advanced
Determining your level is easy. If you understand the content of an audiobook by 80%, this is your level. If it's 100%, take it higher. But don't be a hero. It shouldn't be difficult. Always remember about pleasure, without which any development is torture and a waste time.

How to work with an adapted audiobook


The audiobook includes:
  • Text version of the book. Usually in PDF format
  • Audio version of the book. Usually in MP3 format
The operation scheme is simple.

The main thing is not to overtake the announcer. He is the leader, you are the follower. You read after him.

By working according to this scheme, you are working on three of the four main skills:

  1. Speaking
  2. Listening speech perception (Listening)
  3. Reading
Some texts have a section with questions about the plot of the book. By answering them in writing, you will also work on the fourth skill - Writing.

Additional recommendations:

  • We recommend that you first read the original book in Russian. This will help you understand the plot more deeply. Then work with English version it will be much easier
  • Exercise daily, 30-40 minutes each. If it doesn't seem enough - increase the time, but without sacrificing pleasure
  • Periodically return to audiobooks that you especially liked

Beginners learning English are always advised to read and listen to English as much as possible. The texts posted here are very simple, some are funny and ridiculous, all of them are accompanied by audio with a slow piece, all sounds are very easy to listen to.

How to read and listen in English

These small texts can be read, listened to and repeated out loud at the same time. Do this every day, several times a day, as an exercise, this will help you learn the language on your own without a teacher. You may not like your pronunciation at first. It's okay, this is normal, continue, try to completely copy the announcer.

Speaking out loud allows you to tune your speech apparatus to new language. How do young children learn a language? They repeat after adults. At first they do very poorly, but we enjoy their sounds, encourage them, try to find something similar to the spoken word. The more children repeat, the better they get.

Also in the case of adults - repeat, don’t be lazy. Repeat despite the fact that you have long understood the entire text and have even become quite bored with it. You can Beginners learning English are always advised to read and listen to English as much as possible. others are simple. Achieve automation, customize your speech muscles for English pronunciation.

1. The Flag

Tracy looked at the flag. The flag is red, white and blue. It has 50 stars. White stars on a blue square. The flag has six white stripes. It has seven red stripes. All stripes are horizontal. They are not vertical. The stripes don't go up and down. They go from left to right. Tracy loves her flag. This is the flag of her country. It is a beautiful flag. No other flag has 50 stars. No other flag has 13 stripes.

2. A piece of Paper.

Jimmy threw the piece of paper onto the floor. He bent down and picked it up. He folded a piece of paper in half. He put it on the table. He took the pencil. He wrote a phone number on a piece of paper. He put the pencil on the table. He took the scissors. He picked up a piece of paper. He cut a piece of paper in half. He placed one half of a sheet of paper on the table. He put the other half with the phone number in his shirt pocket. He put the scissors on the table.

3. A Storm.

Laura looked out the window. The storm is approaching. The sky became darker. The wind began to blow. Some trees were bent. Leaves flew through the air. It became cold. She closed all the windows. She went outside. Her car was on the street. She closed the windows in her car. She locked the car. She returned to her house. She turned on the TV. She wanted to see news about the storm. The announcer man said it was a big storm. He said it would rain heavily. He told people to stay home.

4. Cold Weather.

Thomas was not hot. He also didn't feel warm. He was cold. The weather was not hot. The weather was also not warm. The weather was cold. Thomas didn't like being cold. He looked for his jacket. He found his jacket. He put on his jacket. But he was still cold. He looked at the windows. Were all the windows closed? Yes they were closed. They were all closed. None of the windows were open. He looked at the door. The door was not open. It was closed. He was still cold. He looked for a warmer jacket.

5. A Thin Man.

Richard is a light eater. He doesn't eat much. He's not a glutton. He eats a light breakfast, a light lunch, and a light dinner. Richard is not fat. He is thin. He will always be thin because he is an easy eater. He eats a bowl of porridge for breakfast. He eats a bowl of porridge with milk. He eats a sandwich for lunch. Sometimes it's a fish sandwich. He loves fish. He eats rice and vegetables for dinner. All he eats for dinner is rice and vegetables. He will never be fat.

6. In Love.

Donna loved her husband. Her husband loved Donna. They were in love with each other. She wanted to give him a birthday present. He will be 40 next week. She wants to know what to give him. Maybe give him a watch? Maybe give him a sweater? Maybe give him a new guitar? What should I give him? She asked him what he would like for his birthday. He said he didn't want anything for his birthday. “Oh, you must want something!” she said. “You're right,” he said. "I want your eternal love."

7. Shoes.

Lisa loves to go shopping. Tomorrow she is going to go shopping. She needs a new pair of shoes. She wants to buy a pair of red shoes. She thinks the red shoes are beautiful. She will buy a pair of shoes at shopping center. Lisa usually does her shopping at the mall. The shopping center is just a mile from her home. She just walks to the shopping center. It only takes 20 minutes. Tomorrow she will go to four different shoe stores. Tomorrow is Saturday. The shopping center always has sales on Saturday. If the sale price is good, Lisa will be able to buy two pairs of shoes.

8. To Buy a New Car.

Linda wants to buy a new car. She has an old car. Her old car is a white Honda. Linda wants to buy a new Honda. She wants to buy a new red Honda. She has saved $1000. She uses $1000 to buy a new car. She will give $1000 to the Honda dealer. The Honda dealer will let her sign the contract. The contract will pay her $400 a month for seven years. Her new red Honda will cost Linda a lot of money. But that's okay because Linda makes a lot of money.

9. Washing Hands

Faye went to the bathroom. She turned on cold water. She turned on hot water. Warm water came out of the tap. She put her hands under warm water. She rubbed her hands. She took a piece of white soap. She rubbed the soap with her hands. She put the soap back. She washed her hands for half a minute. Then she rinsed her hands with water. She turned off the hot water. She turned off the cold water. She dried her hands with a towel.

10. Water and an Apple

Susan loves to eat apples. She loves to eat big red apples. She likes to wear a blue hat. She wears a large blue hat on her head. She wears a hat and eats an apple. She drinks water from a white cup. Susan drinks water and eats apples. She doesn't cut the apple with a knife. The knife is sharp. She's just eating an apple. She is holding an apple in her hand. She bites off an apple with her teeth. She licks her lips. She drinks more water. She wipes her mouth with her hand.

A very large selection of similar texts (only without translations) can be read and listened to in English on the website

Adapted audiobooks by level

Adapted audiobooks in English by level (download)

(200-300 keywords)

(300-600 keywords)

(600-1100 keywords)

(1000-1400 keywords);

(1400-1700 keywords);

(1800-2300 keywords);

( 2500-3800 keywords).

Teaching English using audiobooks

1. Listen. The method is suitable for those who have a good level of language: just listen to audiobooks while having fun.

What does following the announcer mean? There are two options here: listen - pause - read. Or: we read along with the speaker at his own pace. Both are very useful.

7. Working with one fragment for 5 days.

In this case, one small fragment of text for 10-15 minutes of reading is listened to 15-25 times, which ensures memorization of not only vocabulary, but also grammatical structures. Subsequently, you will use similar constructions and words, what is called “automatically” in real speech.

Try to choose a fragment of medium difficulty so that it contains enough new words. It will be a shame to listen to a fragment 20 times because of 5 new words.

  • Day one. We listen to the audio, but don’t look at the book. The goal is to catch general meaning. You need to listen to the fragment 3-5 times within one day.
  • Day two. We read to ourselves and listen at the same time. We are trying to guess the meaning of new words. After listening, we check new words in the dictionary. Listen 3-5 times during one day.
  • Day three and four. We read aloud along with the speaker, copying his pronunciation and intonation. Again 3-5 times a day.
  • Day five. We read the book ourselves, trying to remember and repeat the intonation and pronunciation of the speaker. Special attention turn to new words. We do everything again 3-5 times.

The main thing is not to lose interest and motivation. Those who are interested learn faster.

We have previously talked about how you can develop your listening skill: by listening to English radio, visiting speaking clubs, or watching films and TV series in English. Audiobooks also help improve English listening comprehension, and we’ll talk about them today.

Audiobooks in English have a number of advantages that even the most ardent fans of printed publications cannot ignore.

Firstly, An audiobook develops the skill of perceiving English-language information by ear, whereas when reading a regular book, you only remember the alphabetic spelling of words.

Secondly, You can listen to an audiobook in a situation where it is inconvenient for you to read: in transport, doing housework, while walking, etc.

Thirdly, An audiobook allows you to relieve stress from your visual organs. If you often sit at the computer, then it is better to protect your eyesight and listen to some books rather than read.

Fourthly, good audiobooks are recorded by professional actors, which means you can be absolutely sure of the quality of pronunciation and clarity of speech.

Disadvantages of audiobooks in English

Audiobooks form only one skill: listening to English-language information. That is why completely replace printed publications they won't be able to. Regular books allow you to memorize the letter spelling of words. When listening to an audiobook, you will have to adjust to its pace. When reading an ordinary book, you skim or skim through some points, and re-read some paragraphs several times. When listening to an audiobook, you won't have this option. Of course, you can listen to a certain passage again, but the choice of reading pace remains with the creators of the book. In addition, some people do not perceive audiobooks on a subconscious level:
“I don’t like audiobooks: my inner voice I get mad when it’s not him who reads books to me.”

How to choose the right audiobook?

Before downloading an audiobook in English, determine which one you need. The choice will depend not only on your literary preferences, but also on your level of English, as well as on the goals you want to achieve when listening to the work.

You can download audiobooks in English for beginners. If your level of English is not higher than Pre-Intermediate, it is better to start listening short stories and history. In addition, you can download audiobooks in English with translation into Russian. This method will allow you to replenish your vocabulary with new words. If you love fairy tales, we can recommend you download children's books in English.

If you are not confident in your ability to easily perceive English speech by ear, you should not start listening to books in English from classical works: You can download adapted audiobooks in English. Another interesting option for learning English with audiobooks: download audiobooks in English with text. By simultaneously reading and listening to an audiobook, you intuitively connect the lettering of words with their pronunciation, memorize new words, and train reading, listening, and writing skills.

You can also select a book by category:

  • fiction or non-fiction
  • narrator: woman or man
  • American or British English
  • adapted or unadapted literature

Where can I download audiobooks in English?

We offer the TOP 6 best sites through which you can download audiobooks in English absolutely free. If you are interested in questions about where to download audiobooks in English in mp3, where to find audiobooks in English for Android, how to download audiobooks in English for iPhone, you will find the answers on the suggested portals.

We wish you success in learning the language!

Listening to audiobooks - not only important stage in language learning, but also a good idea for while away your free time.

Types of audiobooks

There are two types of audiobooks in English: adapted and original.

Adapted audiobooks– those books that have been simplified for people with a certain set of knowledge. This means that separate vocabulary (on a specific topic) and simple grammatical structures are used. Adapted audiobooks in English help improve your skills in a specific topic. For example, you can go through one topic while learning a language, and then consolidate your knowledge with an adapted book.

Original books are not subject to adaptation, and accordingly, they are harder to perceive, but they help to completely immerse yourself in language environment and demonstrate more complex vocabulary and grammar.

What skills can you gain from auditioning?

Listening to online audiobooks in English is necessary for developing several skills. These include:

  • Replenishment of vocabulary;
  • Familiarization with new grammatical structures or analysis of old ones;
  • Development of speaking skills;
  • Memory training.

Benefits of audiobooks

Audiobooks in English can be used not only by beginners, but also by people with high level language. For effective learning English audiobooks are used in English according to levels, among which everyone can choose the one most suitable for themselves.

It is strongly recommended NOT to use audiobooks, which are easy to read, to learn a language. This will not give any result or progress in knowledge, and therefore it is better to choose more difficult books to progress in your knowledge.

Audiobooks for learning English have many advantages. These include:

  • The skill of perceiving information by ear is developing. If when reading you can only remember the spelling of a word, then when listening you can also become familiar with the pronunciation. For example, you can download an application in which, along with reading the text, you can see the text version in front of you;
  • You can listen to audiobooks in any situation, even on the way somewhere, which significantly saves time. Listening to audiobooks while driving a car is considered optimal;
  • Listening to audiobooks allows you not to strain your eyesight;
  • The speech of those recording audiobooks has a specific accent, different from each other each time, which is incredibly useful when learning a language. An important point is that you need to familiarize yourself with all possible pronunciations so as not to get confused.

Learning English with Audiobooks

Audiobooks in English for beginners will help you immerse yourself in the language environment, and thereby speed up the process of learning the language.

Listening to audiobooks develops the skill of intuitive understanding of language, and if you also work with a database of new words and grammatical structures that you encounter in the book, this will only improve the process of understanding and learning.

Another useful method is when the text is not only listened to at the same time, but is also in front of your eyes.

Conclusions

It is also advised to gradually increase the difficulty level of books, and then gradually move from adapted books to original ones. Often, adapted books are not only simplified by the authors, but also completely retold, which does not allow you to fully enjoy the work and all literary devices author.

The place and time for listening to an audiobook should be as comfortable as possible so that you can concentrate on listening and not be distracted by other factors.

IN this section examples of adapted audio books for learning English are given different levels, which are suitable for both beginners and intermediate learners of English.



Did you like the article? Share with your friends!