Download audio story with translation. Adapted audiobooks in English

The method of learning English by listening to audiobooks is no less effective than other basic methods. Don't put audiobooks on the back burner.

If you have at least minimal knowledge of the language, then, by all means, start listening to audiobooks of an initial level of complexity.

There are different types of audiobooks in English:

• Books voiced by native speakers - professionals in their field. This is the best and highest quality version of audiobooks. Text, pronunciation, pace, clear pronunciation, intonation will meet all standards. Undoubtedly, this version of the book for listening will be useful to absolutely everyone. However, there are not so many such books and at the same time they are often paid.
• Books voiced by native speakers. These are collections of audio files that are posted on the Internet by ordinary residents of English-speaking countries. Recordings can be of varying quality, since most often people make them at home, and not in recording studios in a team with masters of this business.

  The main problem may be reading the text by people with different accents, so the same text read by different people will be perceived differently.

  But in free access on the Internet, such books are very popular and it is useful to listen to them in order to get used to and learn to understand live English speech. Choose your favorite books and enjoy and benefit from such listening.

• Books voiced by Russian-speaking experts. These are usually good quality audiobooks that can be used for practice without any fear of learning mistakes or anything like that. But it is still worth remembering that no matter how well a Russian person speaks English, he is not a native speaker of this language. At the initial stage, such books are recommended for mandatory listening to everyone who studies English and wants to achieve results in this difficult task.

  Audio files are recorded in professional recording studios on good equipment, which makes them of high quality. All words are pronounced clearly, distinctly, legibly. The pace is usually a bit slower to make it easier for beginners to make out the words and understand the meaning.

• Books voiced by special programs. Such books are not widely distributed, but they are still found on the Internet. The quality of such recordings is quite good, but it is good for robots, since the text is read unemotionally, at the same pace, with the same intonation. Although all words are pronounced according to the transcription in the dictionary, listening to such audio is very boring.

Why is it better to learn English from audiobooks?

Everyone understands that you need a lot of practice and various kinds of exercises in order to learn English successfully. The most difficult thing is communication and understanding of native speakers.

You can thoroughly learn the rules of grammar, have a huge vocabulary, tell monologues well in English, but at the same time not understand native speakers at all. Live English speech cannot be understood unless you practice listening to it.

When you first hear the speech of a native speaker, you immediately feel the difference from the speech of a Russian-speaking person in English. In order to understand the English, they must be listened to.

Vocabulary expansion

Undoubtedly, when listening to books in English, almost every sentence contains new words or new combinations of already known words. Even if you do not write out words in a separate notebook or notebook, do not look for translations of words in dictionaries, new words will still fall into your passive vocabulary.

Of course, it will be very useful if you immediately transfer such words from passive to active stock, but for this you need to remember it and try to use it in speech in the future, at least until the word moves from short-term memory to long-term memory.

It is not necessary to memorize all unknown words from an audiobook in English, choose only those that you use in your native speech, with which you are used to expressing your thoughts.

If you do not feel the word in Russian, are not used to using it in everyday life, then it is unlikely that it will be useful to you at the initial stage of learning English. Perhaps when you learn a foreign language at a high enough level, you will return to these words.

Studying the grammar of oral speech

English grammar is a very complex aspect, as it has many tenses, turns, structures, constructions and exceptions to all rules.

In English lessons, all the rules and cases in which you need to use this or that tense are analyzed in detail.

But in live speech, we do not always have time to catch exactly what point of the rule a person was guided by, used a certain time, construction.

However, if you listen to similar sentences several times, this will not cause misunderstanding, there will simply be an automatic habit of speaking and hearing just such an option.

When listening to audiobooks in English, inductive learning takes place, that is, one can logically understand the rule from separate similar sentences.

That is, on particular examples, you can build a general rule.

English speech perception

Many argue that without immersion in the language environment it is impossible to learn the language of its native speakers. But where to find so many volunteers-native speakers of English to surround all willing students with them?

Of course, those who have the opportunity to travel will be able to plunge into the English-speaking environment at least for a while. But this is not for everyone.

To simulate such a useful environment in any way, it is necessary to listen to at least the recordings made by the British. And that's what audiobooks are. Listening regularly to the speech of the English, you can develop good listening and speech recognition skills in English.

You can study anytime and anywhere

The availability of methods of teaching English with the help of audiobooks is a very attractive advantage. Most people have mp3 players, phones that support audio playback, tablets, and other modern devices.

To start listening to audiobooks, you only need access to the Internet to listen online or download your favorite book. You can use audiobooks to learn English at any convenient time and in any place convenient for you.

Someone spends a break at work in such a useful way, someone listens to books on the way home in public transport, someone out of habit from childhood listens before going to bed, and someone audiobooks help to relax and distract from problems.

There would be a desire to listen to audiobooks in English, but you can always find the time and place for this.

How to choose the right audiobooks for beginners?

• The main rule that should be followed when choosing an audiobook is that you should like the book!!!

The book should bring you, first of all, pleasure. Perhaps it will be your favorite book that you have repeatedly re-read in Russian, or a book that your friends have long recommended you read, but you never got to it.

The main thing is that it arouses your interest and desire to learn its content, a new sound in English.

• The book should correspond to your level of knowledge of English.

Countless disputes go on the topic: Is it better to listen to adapted books or originals? Of course, listening to the originals is very useful. But will a beginner in English learning be able to listen to and understand Shakespeare in the original and will it bring him as much benefit as the adapted text? ..

For beginners, it is still better to choose what will, as they say, be tough. Therefore, select a book of the right level from the total number of adapted audiobooks and combine pleasant listening with useful.

• The book should be of the volume that you can master.

You should not choose a book that you will listen to for three years, and at the end you will not be able to remember how it all began.

If you do not have a lot of free time to listen to audiobooks, then it is better to choose a short story that you listen to in a few days or a week, but at the same time you will not forget anything and get good motivation.

Pride at having beaten an audiobook will motivate you to listen to another one.

Where can I find audiobooks for beginners in English online?

There are a huge number of audiobooks in English on the Internet of different levels and quality, so for any such request, any search engine will give you, if not thousands, then at least hundreds or dozens of useful sites with audiobooks.

Beginners to learn English are always advised to read and listen in English as much as possible. The texts posted here are very simple, some funny and ridiculous, they are all accompanied by audio with a slow work, all sounds are heard very well.

How to read and listen in English

These small texts can be read, listened to and repeated aloud at the same time. Do this daily several times a day, as exercises, this will help in self-learning the language without a teacher. You may not like your pronunciation at first. It's okay, this is normal, go ahead, try to completely copy the announcer.

Speaking aloud allows you to tune your vocal apparatus to a new language. How do young children learn language? They imitate adults. At first they are really bad at it, but we rejoice at 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, do not be lazy. Repeat despite the fact that you have understood the entire text for a long time and even managed to get bored with it. You can Beginners to learn English are always advised to read and listen in English as much as possible. others are simple. Achieve automatism, tune your speech muscles to 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. This is a beautiful flag. No other flag has 50 stars. No other flag has 13 stripes.

2. A piece of Paper.

Jimmy dropped the piece of paper on the floor. He bent down and picked it up. He folded the paper in half. He put it on the table. He took a pencil. He wrote the 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 laid one half 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. Storm.

Laura looked out the window. The storm is coming. The sky got 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 outside. 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 the news about the storm. The announcer man said it was a big storm. He said it would rain heavily. He told people to stay at home.

4. Cold weather.

Thomas was not hot. He also wasn't 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 a jacket. But he was still cold. He looked at the windows. Were all windows closed? Yes, they were closed. All of them were closed. None of the windows were open. He looked at the door. The door was not open. She 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 is 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 a light 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 get him a new guitar? What to 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 red shoes are beautiful. She will buy a pair of shoes at the mall. Lisa usually does her shopping at the mall. The mall is only a mile from her home. She just walks to the mall. It only takes 20 minutes. Tomorrow she goes to four different shoe stores. Tomorrow is Saturday. The mall 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 saved up $1,000. She uses $1,000 to buy a new car. She will give $1,000 to the Honda dealer. The Honda dealer will let her sign the contract. Under the contract, she will pay $400 per 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 the cold water. She turned on the hot water. Warm water came out of the tap. She put her hands under the warm water. She rubbed her hands. She took a bar of white soap. She rubbed the soap with her hands. She put the soap back. She washed her hands for half a minute. She then 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 likes 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 does not cut an apple with a knife. The knife is sharp. She just eats an apple. She is holding an apple in her hand. She bites the 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

This exciting moment of triumph for the student, when, using the recently learned vocabulary while communicating with a foreigner, comes the realization that he was understood. A word is, first of all, a set of sounds. In order to speak freely with people, you need not only to be able to speak, but also to listen effectively. How to achieve this, you ask. Audiobooks in English online will come to the rescue. Find the best of them!

Fortunately, there are many entertaining resources and services on the Internet for listening to audio online. But first, we suggest finding out what cool goodies audiobooks in English offer for beginners:

• First, they help overcome the problem of transcribing words and determining meaning. Visual and auditory information acquisition contributes to better vocabulary recognition and fluency, an increase in vocabulary and, in general, the development of speech understanding skills.
• Secondly, when listening to audio books in English, the student concentrates on the meaning of words and expressions based on the context and a certain situational model of the text, and not on the recognition of individual lexical units. Thus, the learning process becomes more efficient, and the assimilation of new material is easier and faster.
• Thirdly, it is of course self-esteem. Audiobooks help to get rid of frustration, and also have a beneficial effect on self-confidence. Since listening to such books is not only a pleasant pastime, but also an activity that is specifically aimed at the student's independent work.
• And finally, the last, but not least, fourth fact: books in audio format instill interest in the literature and culture of the language being studied, broaden horizons and influence the worldview. This is a key factor in achieving your life goals in the future.

Online audiobooks in English

pros: an electronic resource offers audio books combined with text in English and with translation into Russian, which will make it easier and more efficient to listen to English speech. The content mainly consists of the works of British classics and includes the following famous poets and novelists: Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jane Austen, Arthur Conan Doyle, O. Henry and others.

Minuses: primitive interface and inconvenient search bar.

pros: one of the best free resources for educational and cultural purposes. The site brings together content from all over the web, including a wonderful collection of audiobooks (primarily classics) that you can listen to online or download in your preferred audio format for later use. English audiobooks are sorted by genre: fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Authors' names are listed in alphabetical order.

Minuses: unremarkable site design, search criteria for the desired book are located on the right side of the home page.

pros: one of the first and largest projects to find English audiobooks for beginners to listen to online. The site offers an extensive collection of books with two types of dubbing: machine-made and from a native speaker. However, it is best not to resort to the first option if possible. Who enjoys listening to Jack London's "Call of the Wild" voiced over by Siri's emotionless question-and-answer system, right? Lists of books are sorted by author's surname, title of work and language.

Minuses: small font, red shades are used in the design of links, because of which the eyes get tired.

pros: a decent collection of non-fiction and fiction with the ability to download from the site for only $9/mo. By subscribing, you get access to all audio materials of the site. Listen to English audiobooks online or on the go with the Scribd app for Android and iOS. In addition, Scribd makes it easy to find what you're looking for, either through the search bar at the top of the page or by selecting one of the categories: topics, bestsellers, New York Times recommendations, and literary award winners.

Minuses: Compared to other paid resources, the content is limited.

pros: A minimalist, black-and-white site, sponsored by the Florida Methodological Education Center, features free English audiobooks for beginners (with text) that can be browsed by author, title, genre, selection, and even vocabulary. It will appeal to those who need audiobooks in English for beginners. Most of the audio in English can be downloaded in mp3 format or as excerpts from specific chapters.

Minuses: You have to scale the page due to the small font.

pros: a store where you can find audiobooks in English online. Every month the catalog is replenished with thousands of titles. Download audiobooks in mp3 or segmented files of the desired chapters in m4b and listen to them on the website or on any device that has the Downpour app installed (supported for Android, iOS and Windows Phone). The data is automatically saved and synced across devices, so you can play or listen to English audiobooks for as long as you want. The service works like an online store: buy books or subscribe for $13/month.

Minuses: paid resource.

pros: The site has a diverse collection of audiobooks in English, over 30,000, but unfortunately not all of them are free. However, by clicking on the "Free Stuff" tab at the top of the homepage, you have access to a fairly extensive selection of free audiobooks. There you can find the right book by genre, popularity and format. Also, the site allows you to use the advanced search option, which includes the following options: category, subcategory, publisher name, edition number, publication date, etc. Every month, the library gives users access to an audiobook that the editors think is worth checking out. All information is on the left side of the site.

Minuses: There is no audiobook cover preview function. Website design - for an amateur.

pros: Another free alternative with access to classic audiobooks. The site's simple design and bookshelf-like interface make it easy to find material by title, popularity, year of publication, and user rating. Want to listen to James Joyce's Ulysses or inspiring Broadway musicals? No problem! Download the desired chapters or entire works from the site. The selected mp3 files are automatically downloaded as zip archives.

Minuses: in general, the site is designed for students with a high level of language proficiency.

pros: A collection of original classic fairy tales and short stories intended for children or those new to learning English. The site currently offers several hundred audiobooks to choose from, with at least one new piece published every week. An HTML5 player is used to play the audio file, which allows you to listen to audio books in English on almost any smartphone, tablet or browser.

Minuses: The design uses a weird font - it takes some time to get used to. Not suitable for advanced students.

Conclusion

English-language audiobooks allow students to learn a foreign language in a fun and effective way. Moreover, they affect self-esteem and create a situation in which the student, relying on independent work, gradually but surely moves towards success. If you have never listened to an audiobook, we highly recommend that you do. You will be pleasantly surprised! And just in case, we warn you that you can easily become addicted to them. So, be careful! ;-)

Learn English fun and easy!

Big and friendly family EnglishDom

Choose an accent: British or American

Adapted audiobooks are divided into British and American. You need to decide in advance which accent you want to develop in yourself. A clear beautiful pronunciation is respect for the language and for 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 want to conquer Hollywood, develop both. :)

Choose a level: from Beginner to Advanced

Adapted audiobooks in English are distinguished by levels. There are six of them:

1. Beginner (Beginner 1)
2. Elementary (Beginner 2)
3. Pre-intermediate (Below average)
4. Intermediate (Medium)
5. Upper Intermediate (Above average)
6. Advanced (Advanced)

Determining your level is easy. If you understand the content of an audiobook by 80%, then this is your level. If it's 100% - take it higher. But don't be heroic. It shouldn't be difficult. Always remember about pleasure, without which any development is torment and a waste of 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 scheme of work is simple.

Most importantly, do not overtake the announcer. He is the leader, you are the follower. Read after him.

In this pattern, you develop three of the four core skills:

1. Oral speech (Speaking)
2. Listening to speech
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 advise you to read the original book in Russian first. This will help you understand the story deeper. After that it will be much easier to work with the English version
• Practice daily, for 30-40 minutes. If it seems a little - increase the time, but without sacrificing pleasure
• Periodically return to audiobooks that you particularly enjoyed.

Learning a foreign language quickly from scratch is not just learning the basics of grammar and words from a list, first of all, it is practice. Beginners to learn English from scratch on a regular basis need not only to actively expand their vocabulary, but to constantly use the acquired knowledge in practice, turning it into a skill. That is why audiobooks in English, their analysis and reading are the most important means of effective learning for beginners.

Basically, audiobooks are needed so that the user, in fact, reads himself. And in this they are indispensable. The student listens to how the speaker reads a fragment of the text, and then reads the same segment independently. And in order not to forget what you have learned, you need to train almost every day.

In reading audiobooks, as in any other activity, you need to move from simple to complex. The first audio books in English can and should be for children - fairy tales, rhymes, songs. A professional native speaker slowly, as for children, pronounces the text. This is what you need at the initial stage of learning a foreign language.

How to learn English with the help of audiobooks?

The Ugly Duckling in English - Disney