Now with over FOUR thousand podcast downloads a day helping B1 and B2 level students pass their Cambridge English exams, IELTS level 4, level 5 and level 6.
Welcome to Practising English! My name is Mike Bilbrough, and I publish podcasts for students of English and design and publish grammar, vocabulary help and exercises for students at intermediate levels. I have been teaching English as a foreign language for nearly thirty years. I have experience of preparing students for the Cambridge (PET FCE, IELTS (levels 4 to 6) and Trinity examinations so I believe I have the skills and knowledge to help you pass these exams through these regular podcasts and online written materials. Practising English is a sister site to English Spanish Link. What's new about Practising English is that all the pages are in English only and I also host my podcasts here at Practising English.
The levels of these podcasts vary from a lower intermediate (A2) to an intermediate level (B1) and up to an upper intermediate level (B2). If you're studying for the IELTS English exam, that's IELTS level 4 to IELTS level 7. In the Cambridge English exams, that's KET, PET (Preliminary) and FCE (First Certificate) and sometimes even useful for C1 level (IELTS 8) when I publish podcasts and exercises on phrasal verbs and other more advanced vocabulary or grammar issues. I'll place the study level of the English material in the heading for each podcast or exercise so you can choose those that are suitable for you.
On the other hand, these English learning podcasts are for all students who just want to improve their general English. Regular listening of content that is comprehensible with some extra words that you previously didn't know will allow you to gradually improve your communicative skills. There are also many podcasts for students studying specifically for the Cambridge or IELTS exams and these may include exam technique help such as how to prepare for the oral exam or even the writing tests. By listening rather than only reading such exam help material will provide you with the tools you need to sit a successful examination as well as develop your listening skills in English.
If you like and need audio content to specifically help with your listening skills in English, I am providing many podcasts with short stories, anecdotes, jokes or extracts from stories. Listening to stories should help you with a wide range of topics and vocabulary and therefore allow you to develop a richer knowledge of the language and learn better pronunciation and intonation. Learn the stories yourself (often funny ones) and tell them to your classmates. As you do so, attempt a similar pronunciation and especially the rhythm and intonation you hear in the recording. This should benefit your speaking skills enormously.
To see the podcast transcripts (the written version of a podcast), click on the link Podcast content and transcripts. This list will give more detail about the language level and the content of every podcast with the most recent at the top. When you click on a podcast from this list, you will be taken to a player where you can listen and read at the same time.
The podcasts for practising your English are released twice a week - on Wednesdays and Fridays. In general, each week there should be a mixture of intermediate (B1) and upper intermediate (B2) levels, so there should be some English practice relevant to your studies every week.
Here are links for you so you can listen to Practising English on your favourite Podcast App. If the App you like isn't in the list, go to the podcast App of your choice and make a search for Practising English.
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Google Podcasts Listen on StitcherNow you can also enjoy listening to English (the podcasts) and studying English grammar and vocabulary at the same time in written explanation pages. Then you will be able to do the hundreds of English practice exercises to improve and test your level.
Good luck with your studies!
M. A. Bilbrough, PhD.
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