Listening is a very under taught skill by almost every teacher. It really should be a focus and is such an important part of language learning. I’ve written a popular post offering a lot of suggestions on how to do this – however I can’t think of anything easier than using EnglishCentral‘s “hidden challenge” function.

With the new player (it isn’t out yet, you are getting a sneak peak!), you can make a listening cloze easily and simply. The words and blanks are very clear. Play several times and students write down the words missing. (the teacher should just copy and paste the transcript from the main video detail page to get the answers). Check afterwards by deselecting the hidden challenge from the top of the player.

That’s it, simple as pie and with the great variety of videos on EnglishCentral, an instant lesson and sure to be instant hit with your students. They can even “speak” the videos afterwards. Either at home or at school.

Happy Listening!