{"id":46446,"date":"2014-11-12T20:30:54","date_gmt":"2014-11-13T01:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/?p=46446"},"modified":"2025-05-26T10:23:06","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T14:23:06","slug":"esl-listening-advanced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/esl-listening-advanced\/","title":{"rendered":"3 ESL Listening Activities for Advanced Students"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Want to reward hard-working English students with some fun listening activities?<\/p>\n<p>It can be hard to find <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/esl-speaking-activities-for-adults\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">classroom activities<\/a> that will both engage and educate advanced students who are well past grasping the basics, as advanced ESL students need to be drawn into the material in a way that is completely different than with beginners.<\/p>\n<p>When planning listening lessons, try using some of these ESL listening activities for advanced students to keep them interested and on their toes.<\/p>\n<p>[fluentu-toc skip=3]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>1. Musical ESL Listening Activities<\/h2>\n<p>English songs can be used in several different ways when attempting to create a useful advanced listening activity. The first step is to choose an appropriate song.<\/p>\n<p>Often oldies are some of the best choices given their complex lyrics, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/learn-english-with-songs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">some more modern songs can be used as well.<\/a> When picking a song to use in class, consider what language point you are seeking to work on and go from there.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/schools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FluentU&#8217;s<\/a> library offers plenty of music videos (and more) that are perfect for any level of English learner. Students can watch these clips with interactive subtitles, so they&#8217;ll be able to click on any words they don&#8217;t know to read the definition.<p><strong>FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p> \r\n<p>You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/fluentu-learn-language-videos\/id917892175\">the iOS app<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.fluentflix.fluentu&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=US\">Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p><i><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\r\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/SimpleText.jpg\" alt=\"FluentU Ad\" \/>\r\n  <p style=\"text-align: center\">\r\n    <button class=\"btn-blue\" style=\"border: none;font-size: 18px;text-align: center;padding: 0.75rem 1.5rem;cursor: pointer\">\r\n      Try FluentU for FREE!\r\n    <\/button>\r\n  <\/p>\r\n<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n<h3>Fill in the Blanks Activity<\/h3>\n<p>This Fill in the Blanks activity is great for getting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">advanced students<\/a> to challenge their listening skills.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to work on general comprehension, pick something with a story like <em>Bohemian Rhapsody<\/em>, <em>Someone Like You<\/em>, <em>Blackbird<\/em>\u00a0or <em>Hallelujah<\/em>. If you want to work on different grammar points, try <em>Yesterday<\/em>\u00a0for different past tenses or <em>I Wish I Were in Love Again<\/em>\u00a0for the English subjunctive.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prepare lyrics sheets with <strong>blanks for the students to fill in the correct words.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Start the class by playing the song. Pick <strong>a general comprehension question<\/strong> before you do so. Try something like: &#8220;Who do you think the singer is singing to?&#8221; &#8220;Is the song meant to be funny?&#8221; Discuss the song with the class to get things moving.<\/li>\n<li>Next, pass out your prepared lyrics sheets and play the song again, asking students to <strong>fill in the blanks as they go.<\/strong> You may want to play the song several times.<\/li>\n<li>Go through the answers as a class.<\/li>\n<li>As an extension, you can then ask them to <strong>create their own version of the song<\/strong> by replacing the blanked-out term with another term of their choice, or even to <strong>write a new stanza<\/strong> of the song.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>2. Listening to News Radio<\/h2>\n<p>Listening to songs is just one way to use outside resources to create listening activities for advanced students. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/english\/blog\/learn-english-radio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">News radio can be another useful tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Use a news podcast, so that you can play it several times for students. News podcasts are available via a number of channels, including the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/podcasts\/genre\/news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BBC<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/rss\/podcast\/podcast_directory.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Once you have picked the news show or story you would like your students to listen to, <strong>isolate a short portion &#8212; about 2-3 minutes<\/strong> and no more than 5 minutes is more than sufficient for an in-class listening essay.<\/li>\n<li>Start things off by asking <strong>a general comprehension question<\/strong>, such as: &#8220;What country is the journalist reporting from?&#8221; or &#8220;Is this a political, cultural or local news story?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Next, pass around <strong>a sheet of questions<\/strong> that you will have prepared ahead of time. Make sure that the questions are in the order that their answers appear in the listening portion. <strong>Questions should be multiple choice, yes\/no or short answer questions.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Allow students two listens before asking them to check their answers with their neighbors and finally as a group.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>3. Dictations<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/dictation-in-english-online\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dictations are most useful<\/a> when they juxtapose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/english-homophones\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">homophones<\/a>. This lets teachers judge two things: (1) if the student knows the meaning of what he or she is listening to and (2) if the student knows how to properly spell different homophones.<\/p>\n<p>Dictations can be given in tandem with a lesson on homophones to judge if students have acquired the proper homophone spellings.<\/p>\n<p>Poems are useful thanks to their rhyming schemes, and they can be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/esl-poems-for-adults\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a great way to introduce students to poets<\/a> from Dr. Seuss to Emily Dickinson.<\/p>\n<p>When using dictation activities, there are a few things to keep in mind:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dictations do not work when they contain <strong>too many words that a student is unfamiliar with.<\/strong> If a dictation contains one or two of these words, it is appropriate to write them on the board so that students can copy them down correctly.<\/li>\n<li>To properly give a dictation, the <strong>text should be read three times:<\/strong> once at a slow but natural pace, once very slowly and once again at a slow but natural pace so that students can check their work. Students should be told not to write during the first reading, as this portion of the dictation is intended to make sure that students understand what they are hearing.<\/li>\n<li>When testing a dictation, ask individual students to come up and<strong> write one sentence or line on the board.<\/strong> Other students can correct this line until the class comes up with an appropriate and correct version of the original text.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>correct original text should always be copied down by the students<\/strong> at the end of the lesson.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>These are just a few great ways to get your advanced ESL students interested in listening comprehension lessons. Consider building upon these techniques to create your own unique lessons!<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>And One More Thing...<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\nIf you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials<\/a>, as you can see here:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1990\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1990\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1990\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-5.png\" alt=\"learn-english-with-videos\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1990\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.<\/p><\/div>\r\n<p>\r\nThe 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.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1991\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1991\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1991\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-2.png\" alt=\"learn-english-with-subtitled-television-show-clips\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1991\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.<\/p><\/div>\r\n<p>\r\nFor example, when you tap on the word \"searching,\" you see this:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1959\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1959\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1959 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-6.png\" alt=\"learn-conversational-english-with-interactive-captioned-dialogue\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1959\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>\r\nLearn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you\u2019re learning.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1996\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1996\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1996 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-7.png\" alt=\"practice-english-with-adaptive-quizzes\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1996\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Learn more.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n<p>\r\nThe best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you\u2019re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words\u2014and reminds you when it\u2019s time to review what you\u2019ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nStart using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want to reward hard-working English students with some fun listening activities? It can be hard to find classroom activities that will both engage and educate advanced students who are well&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":249050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"3 ESL Listening Activities for Advanced Students | FluentU English Educator Blog","description":"Looking for ESL listening activities for advanced students? Read this guide to find out some fun and effective ways you can help your advanced ESL students develop their listening skills even further. These simple, fun and challenging activities will keep listening comprehension practice interesting!"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[246,248],"tags":[],"coauthors":[275],"class_list":["post-46446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-educator-english","category-english-teaching-activities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46446"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253895,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46446\/revisions\/253895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46446"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=46446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}