How to Learn English on Spotify: Podcasts, Audiobooks and Tips for Effective Practice
Thanks to music streaming services like Spotify, you can now listen to any kind of audio content right on your device.
Spotify is available in more than 60 countries and can be used on a computer, smartphone or tablet, which means you can listen anywhere you go.
And if you’re learning English, it can be an excellent tool to improve your skills in a convenient and enjoyable way.
In this article, you’ll learn how to use Spotify to learn English, plus some great podcasts and audiobooks you can listen to today.
Contents
- How to Learn English on Spotify
- The Best Spotify Podcasts to Learn English
- Free English Audiobooks on Spotify
- And One More Thing...
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
How to Learn English on Spotify
View (and sing!) the song lyrics
You can listen to your favorite songs while learning English with their lyrics. To view the lyrics of a song, just tap on the “Now Playing” bar at the bottom when a song is playing. This feature is useful for building your listening and reading comprehension skills, as well as expanding your vocabulary.
In fact, as pointed out in this video, what starts out as just a catchy tune will become English words you’ll remember.
A certain song may get your attention and then get stuck in your head, but it’ll be the lyrics that repeat themselves over and over in your brain. This helps you learn the words to the song and the grammar that goes along with it. Later, you’ll find that you’ll be able to actually use these words and grammar constructions because you’ve heard them so much in a song!
To further enhance your English practice, you can sing the lyrics out loud karaoke-style! If you search the name of a song with the word “karaoke,” you can find songs on Spotify that only include the musical track and let you sing the lyrics.
You can also move your learning past Spotify if you need additional help and use the FluentU program for more involved learning. FluentU’s videos (which include music videos) have subtitles that are interactive, so you can check the meaning of any word in the song as it plays.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Click here to check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
Create playlists
Playlists are lists of audio arranged according to some common theme. You can make playlists of English songs or podcasts based on whether they’re good for listening practice, vocabulary building or some other English learning skill. Just go to your library on Spotify and click on “create new playlist.”
You can build up your playlists by using the Shazam app anytime you hear a song you like. Just have the app listen to a portion of the song and it will tell you the song name, artist and album. If you connect your Spotify and Shazam accounts, you can instantly add new songs you discover on Shazam to your Spotify playlists.
So in case you hear a great English song on the radio or while shopping at a store, you can save it for listening practice later.
Personalize your Spotify experience
Spotify has some great features that allow you to personalize your experience based on your needs and interests. The Daily Mix feature recommends new songs based on what you like and helps you discover new artists. This can help you learn English through music without having to constantly search for new songs.
And if you often find yourself without WiFi or want to save your data usage, you can use Spotify’s download feature. With the Spotify Premium subscription, you can download your favorite audio onto your phone or computer and listen to it without any internet access. This is especially useful when you want to learn while traveling.
If you’re listening with kids or at your workplace, Spotify will tell you when a song or podcast is explicit so you can easily avoid content with curse words or other inappropriate material.
The Best Spotify Podcasts to Learn English
The English We Speak
Level: Beginner
This podcast offers over 200 episodes of around 3 minutes. In each episode, they teach you a “must-have” phrase and feature various conversations using that phrase.
The phrases are explained clearly by the hosts and at least 3 examples are presented in every episode.
The episodes are specifically made for listening practice and busy learners. Since the show is made by the BBC, it features British English. This means that not all the phrases you’ll learn are used by Americans (although many are).
The resource is meant for beginners and provides a great learning resource for learners who don’t know much English yet.
Everyday Language
Level: Beginner to intermediate
This podcast from 2018 is a helpful collection of tips, discussions and explanations of confusing concepts in English. The host also talks about the differences in cultures that are relevant to English learners.
Some episodes are also dedicated to specific English expressions like “the world is your oyster” and “don’t bite off more than you can chew.”
The style of this series is very casual and conversational. The topics are always related to personal experiences and how culture impacts those experiences. It’s a good source for learning informal English.
Intermediate learners can learn a lot about the details of English culture and daily life. Beginners can focus more on the episodes that deal with vocabulary and phrases.
English at Home Is Fun
Level: Beginner to intermediate
This show is hosted by Michael, Naho and Noriko. Michael is an English teacher in the U.S. and Noriko teaches English in Japan. Naho is the nine-year-old daughter of Noriko who’s quite fluent in English.
Each episode is a casual discussion about festivals, games, food, books and learning tips. Sometimes other English teachers also join these hosts.
The podcast is a great resource for learning slang and casual English. It also focuses a lot on cultural learning, so if you’re interested in American or Japanese culture, you’ll love this show!
Most episodes are 10 or 15 minutes long and use quite simple vocabulary.
Learning English Meditation
Level: Beginner to intermediate
Learning English Meditation is a series of English-language podcasts that are designed to be low-stress. The series has different parts for learning idioms, phrasal verbs, grammar and more.
You can use this resource in many ways, such as by writing your own sentences using the idioms and phrasal verbs or repeating after the speaker to practice pronunciation.
Don’t forget to write down any words you don’t understand and search for their meaning online or with a good English dictionary app.
Learning English doesn’t have to be a stressful experience with a podcast like this! The audio has soothing background music that helps you calm down and focus on the words.
The Living in English 365 Podcast
Level: Beginner to intermediate
English is famous for confusing pronunciation. There are so many words that are pronounced differently than they’re spelled. This podcast will help you learn some basic tips to make you a better English speaker.
Hosted by Ashley Rhone, the podcast often talks about American culture and the experience of being a teacher in the U.S. For instance, she talks about when is it okay to hug a person in America. She also talks about the various ways Americans greet each other.
The episodes are around 10 minutes long and are ideal for beginner to intermediate learners.
Grammar Girl
Level: Beginner to advanced
As the name suggests, this podcast deals with everything related to English grammar. It will clear up confusing grammar concepts and help you improve your writing.
It also talks about how to improve your communication style. For instance, in one episode, the host explains when adverbs are good to use and which adverbs are useless.
The show also has special portions for grammar and interesting English facts, like why spelling contests are called “spelling bees.”
Overall, Grammar Girl has something for every learner regardless of level. But intermediate learners will benefit the most from this show.
Plain English
Level: Intermediate
This is a famous podcast that teaches new English words and phrases and talks about current events. Every episode covers one news story and one new word or phrase.
The host speaks in a steady and slow voice so that learners are able to follow what’s being said. Moreover, the Plain English website also has the written version of each episode (also called a transcript). So learners can practice listening and reading at the same time!
The podcast is best for students and people who are interested in what’s happening in the world. But since the episodes are about 20 minutes long, they might be a little overwhelming for beginners.
Premier Skills English
Level: Intermediate
If you’re an English learner who loves soccer (or football if you’re outside the U.S.), then you’ll want to check out this podcast from the British Council and Premier League.
Each episode talks about the soccer/football matches of the latest Premier League competition. Plus, they regularly explain the English phrases and words they use.
Some episodes are focused more on certain skills like speaking, listening, grammar and vocabulary. These episodes also use conversations about soccer/football as examples to explain the topics.
The podcast is in British English. It’s a great listening practice resource for everyone as the conversations are natural and they focus on words and phrases every English speaker uses in their daily life.
English Language Course
Level: Intermediate to advanced
This short course is a quick summary of English punctuation rules. It’s best for learners who already have a good knowledge of English vocabulary and speaking but still struggle with grammar.
It’s also a good option for learners who are able to speak and listen well but have just started to read and write in English.
The course is a great example of academic or formal English. It’s really helpful for all those learners who are learning English to study at an English university. In addition to punctuation, this course can also be seen as an introduction to formal English speaking.
The Language Learning Show
Level: Intermediate to advanced
The Language Learning Show is a more general podcast meant for all language learners. But since the podcast is in English, it’s most relevant to English speakers.
It’s hosted by Azren, a language teacher who speaks five languages. He talks about tips and tricks for learning new languages, as well as the issues and challenges that most learners face.
For instance, in the episode “Why Some People Progress and Others Don’t,” he talks about the mindset required to successfully learn new languages. He also talks about his own life in that episode and what challenges he is facing.
The Actual Fluency Podcast
Level: Advanced
Just like the previous podcast, this show talks about language learning in general. Every episode is an interview with a language learning expert. The conversations usually are about the things required to become fluent in a language.
The topics include motivation, techniques, habits, culture, traveling and even psychology! Some episodes also talk about specific countries like Spain and Indonesia and the challenges of learning English in those countries.
Since the episodes are often an hour long, it might be hard for lower-level learners to focus on the content. But for more advanced learners, it’s a great way to learn about how to achieve fluency while practicing your English listening skills.
The Fluent Show
Level: Advanced
“The Fluent Show” is hosted by Kerstin Cable and it talks about all the aspects of becoming fluent in several languages.
The show covers a diverse range of topics. You can learn about tools you can use to improve your skills, listen to question and answer sessions, learn how to motivate yourself, discover how culture affects your learning and listen to interviews with language experts.
With 240 episodes, you can find one (or a few) for whatever type of support you need in your language-learning process. And most episodes will serve you in various ways, such as interviews that expose you to natural conversation while teaching you about the best ways to learn a new language.
Free English Audiobooks on Spotify
Kids’ Audiobooks
Level: Beginner to intermediate
This collection of audiobooks retells the stories of famous animated kids’ movies. It includes the fairy tales of “Cinderella” and “Peter Pan,” the myth of Hercules and more recent movies like “Monsters, Inc.” and “Finding Nemo.”
Most of the audiobooks are pretty short (around 15 minutes long) and many of the movies have been translated into several languages, so you may already be familiar with them. That makes it easier to keep track of what is happening.
For listening practice, pause the audiobook after some sentences and try to repeat what you just heard. Or you can also write down some of the difficult words as a vocabulary-building exercise.
Self-improvement Audiobooks
Level: Intermediate to advanced
Self-improvement books are meant to help you improve your life and overcome difficulties. They can help you develop skills that can be used in many areas of your life.
This collection includes many classic books such as “Think and Grow Rich” and “The Art of War.” Each chapter of a book has a separate recording, which makes it ideal for listening practice.
Since a lot of the books have to do with achieving financial or career success, this collection is especially useful for learners who want to go into business or who want to improve their careers.
Horror and Sci-fi Audiobooks
Level: Advanced
Do you love stories about ghosts and monsters? Or do you prefer tales about the distant future in space and other planets?
This collection has all the stories you can imagine about these strange things. It has stories by the most famous sci-fi and fiction writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, Isaac Asimov, Kurt Vonnegut, George Orwell and others.
For listening practice, learners should listen to the short stories in this collection like “The Quince Tree” or “A Hunger Artist.” Since these stories are some of the most famous ones in the world, you can also discuss them with native English speakers.
Classic Audiobooks
Level: Advanced
This collection includes the most famous and fondly remembered stories in English. You’ll find classic novels like “Dracula,” “Moby Dick,” “The Invisible Man” and “1984.”
This collection is for advanced learners since the language of these stories is quite different from today’s English. However, you’ll learn complex sentence structures, descriptive adjectives and other language concepts you can put to use in your daily English.
Many of these novels, such as “The Great Gatsby” and “The Secret Garden” have been made into movies so you can listen to them first and then see them come alive on the screen, or vice versa.
Now that you know how to learn English on Spotify, you can take advantage of its large and diverse online library!
Whether you choose to learn English with music, podcasts or audiobooks, you’ll find that Spotify is a fantastic resource to support your studies.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing...
If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials, as you can see here:
If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.
The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.
FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.
For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:
FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.
FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.
The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.
Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or from the Google Play store.
