Listening and learning activities for Elementary English learners and teachers
Level 1
A complete set of 200 podcasts
There are more vocabulary activities related to these podcasts on the 'extras' page. Podcasts 1-99 members only.
200 The man who sings to animals. How do animals react to music?
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Did you know that pigs can sing?:
199 In the saddle. Famous horses and races for the Year of the Horse
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Boys and girls on the Shetland ponies:
198 British icons: The London Eye. Climb aboard and see the sights from the sky!
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For your next trip to London:
197 1975. Life was different 50 years ago!
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196 Pins and needles. Jackie talks about her love of sewing
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It's the Great British Sewing Bee!
195 Canada! Just how big is Canada?!
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Fancy a train trip across Canada?
194 Working animals. Some animals have very unusual jobs!
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This podcast goes with this pie video:
193 DIY Xmas. How to avoid shopping for presents this year. >
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192 Surnames. Where do our family names come from?
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How many letters are in your name?
191 The night sky. What does Richard see through his telescope?
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190 Les Jeux Olympiques. Some surprising changes to the Games in Paris
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Is this a sport, or not?:
189 The builders. Who are the workers who built our house?>
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This seems a lot simpler and quicker!
188 British icons: The Thames. Fun facts about London's famous river
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How many bridges can you count?
187 What is a dragon? Jackie and Richard talk about mythical creatures
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Kids welcoming the Year of the Dragon:
186 The nativity scene. Who is there along with Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus?
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This podcast goes with this pie video:
185 The funfair. Jackie and Richard talk about all the fun at the fair
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This podcast goes with this pie video:
184 Cash in the attic. Why do the British love their antiques?
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This guy paid $4.99 for a vase which he can now sell for...?!
183 Adult learning. Is it true you can't teach an old dog new tricks?!
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182 The coronation. We compare the coronations of Elizabeth and Charles
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Highlights of the 1953 coronation (no sound):
181 The Beano. Jackie and Richard remember reading comics
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A Beano from 60 years ago. Is it still fun for a 10 year old today?
180 Joy for all. It's time for the Christmas advert again!
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Don't watch the video before doing the worksheet!
179 Beer'n'pizza. Is this the best food and drink combination?!
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This is what a real pizza looks like:
178 Commuting. Journeys to work: dull, fun or dangerous perhaps?!
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Goodness! Look at these cities at 8am:
177 The river. Join Jackie and Richard on a lovely river walk
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176 Spanish seaside rules. Going to a Spanish beach? There are lots of things you can't do!
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New beach rules in Spain could land tourists with £2,500 fines:
175 British icons: two great British meals. A breakfast and lunch: both famous and delicious!
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Another British classic: bubble and squeak!:
174 The patron saints. We talk about David, Patrick, George and Andrew.
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The rise and fall of St Joan of Arc:
173 From me to you. It's time for the Christmas advert again!
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Don't watch the video before doing the worksheet!
172 Clutter! Why are we throwing all our stuff away?!
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Marie Kondo shows you how to fold your clothes in a tidy way:
171 At the pictures. Jackie and Richard remember the first films they saw at the cinema
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1937:
170 I'm all ears. Don't say Richard has another health problem..?!
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169 Accident prone. Richard needs the first aid box again...
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Mr. Bean needs some first aid training:
168 You are what you wear. Is it strange where we get our clothes from?
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167 Farewell, Philip. Who was the world's most famous husband?
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What a lot of people outside Buckingham Palace!
166 What a whiff! Losing your sense of smell: does it matter?!
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How a dog's nose can find something in the water:
165 Children's stories. Jackie and Richard talk about their favourite books when they were young
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164 The letter. Watch our chosen Christmas advert for 2020. Another tearjerker!
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Don't watch the video before doing the worksheet!
163 Would you like to dance? How keen are we to put our dancing shoes on?!
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I'm sure we could do this, if we practised enough:
162 The trip. Jackie and Richard go on a short road trip
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This podcast goes with this pie video:
161 Hats off! Jackie and Richard talk about what people wear on their heads
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For the next time you're on a camel in the desert:
160 The summer hols. Jackie and Richard look back on their family holidays
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159 Bands of gold. Jackie and Richard talk about the jewellery they wear
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Jewellery for men, yes or no?
158 Take a seat. Where do we eat our main meal of the day? What about you?
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157 Belly up. Not the best of weeks for Jackie and Richard; what went wrong?
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For some animals being belly up is not a problem at all!
156 2020: the future? What does the year 2020 look like? Richard has a guess
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The extra worksheet goes with this (strange) song:
155 You are perfect. This year's Christmas advert; try not to cry!
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Don't watch the video before doing the worksheet!
154 Our favourite things. Jackie and Richard talk about the things which are special to them
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The extra worksheet goes with this song:
153 Going to the shops. Jackie and Richard talk about where they do their regular shopping
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Birmingham fruit & veg market (interesting to see so many things sold in plastic bowls):
152 The wedding. Jackie and Richard talk about a family wedding they went to recently
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151 Creepy-crawlies. It's not just the sun we see more of in the summer...
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Bonus for members! Some ways to help the insects:
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How to make a bee hotel:
150 Who is Greta? Just who is the young woman making the headlines?
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Greta speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos:
149 New arrivals. We welcome the baby animals appearing in the countryside this spring.
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Adorable arctic fox cubs:
148 Local beauty spots. There are some lovely places near and far to visit; where do you like to go?
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This podcast goes with this pie video:
147 The market stall. Jackie has a go at having a market stall, how does she get on?
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This podcast goes with this pie video:
146 Come and gone. There are some things which were new in our lives, but are no longer here.
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145 Good morning! Jackie and Richard talk about their morning routine.
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144 Summer jobs. Jackie and Richard talk about the summer jobs they did when they were students.
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Like swimming? Perhaps this is the summer job for you:
143 Sun and sandals. What are Jackie and Richard wearing on their feet right now?
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How to bar lace your trainers:
142 Our sisters. Jackie and Richard both have one sister, listen and find out if they are different to them, or similar
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141 Liverpool the city. There's more to Liverpool than its football clubs, or is there?
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This is Liverpool:
140 It doesn't add up! Which school subject sent Jackie running away from the school gates?
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Children talking about their favourite subjects at school:
139 Home sweet home. Jackie and Richard talk about their home and if they are happy living there
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Look at this tiny house a family are living in:
138 Paddington and the Christmas visitor. Another fun end to the year: watch one of the most popular Christmas adverts in the UK
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Don't watch the video before doing the worksheet!
137 Spooky nights. Watch our video and find out what we traditionally do in Britain for Hallowe'en
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This podcast goes with this pie video:
136 Dream on. Richard talks to Jackie about the dreams he has at night
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The worksheet for this song is on the extras page:
135 Keep left. In the car, on your bike or while walking, road signs are everywhere
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134 Whoops! We all have minor accidents. Listen to Richard talk about something that happened to him
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133 The mighty oak. Jackie and Richard talk about the best known and most loved of Britain's native trees
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The English oak, what's not to like?:
132 The road to nowhere. What's the best way of driving from A to B without getting lost?
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131 Sing, sang, sung. So just how keen are Jackie and Richard on singing? Listen and find out!
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The extra worksheet goes with this song:
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The original Coca-cola advert:
130 All the threes. The 2016 quiz. Can you remember what happened last year better than Richard?
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Now listen to both the questions and Richard's answers:
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129 Stop me and buy one! Jackie and Richard are amazed by the different things that are carried on Vietnamese bicycles
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This podcast goes with this pie video:
128 Feed the world. Here's some things for you to do for World Food Day
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World Food Day 2016:
127 Win a prize! Find out why Di enters so many competitions each year
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126 London's burning. The Great Fire of London was 350 years ago. Watch our video and find out more
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This podcast goes with this pie video:
125 Iceland: the land of fire and ice. Listen to some amazing things about Iceland, including their football team of course!
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Watch some of the many things you can see and do in Iceland:
124 Breakfast. We talk about what we eat for the most important meal of the day. What do you have?
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123 Chalk and cheese. Our two dogs, Jussi and Betty, are very different. Watch our video and find out how
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This podcast goes with this pie video:
122 Chinese New Year. Decorations, dragons and dancers - welcome to Chinatown!
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Jackie and Richard enjoyed Chinese New Year in Bangkok:
121 Toys, toys, toys. Which are the most popular UK toys over the last 50 years?
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120 City life. For UN World Cities day Jackie and Richard talk about cities far and wide
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► Transcript (pdf 53KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 94KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 78KB)
119 The delivery van. So many things can be delivered straight to your house, you don't need to go shopping!
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► Transcript (pdf 53KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 147KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 70KB)
How about this instead of a delivery van:
118 Portugal: all year round. We talk about the interesting places to visit in Portugal every season of the year
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► Transcript (pdf 57KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 176KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 74KB)
Come and visit Portugal:
117 Why yoga? World Yoga Day is 21 June so we talk to Jim about why he does yoga everyday
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► Transcript (pdf 52KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 151KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 84KB)
Yoga isn't so successful when you have pets:
116 Thanks for the memory. How good are Richard and Jackie about remembering things? How good are you?!
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► Transcript (pdf 52KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 125KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 83KB)
115 Wild orchids. Jackie and Richard show you the wonderful wild flowers growing near their home
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► Transcript (pdf 50KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 215KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 176KB)
This podcast goes with this pie video:
114 Hot wok! part 1. Two videos from Ken Hom to celebrate Chinese New Year this month
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► Transcript (pdf 48KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 106KB)
This podcast goes with this video:
114 Hot wok! part 2. How to use chopsticks.
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► Transcript (pdf 42KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 91KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 169KB)
This podcast goes with this video:
113 The 2014 quiz. Once again Jackie tests Richard on events from last year, can you do better than him?
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► Transcript (pdf 49KB)
Now listen to both the questions and Richard's answers:
► Download (2.03MB, 4min 27sec)
► Transcript (pdf 55KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 94KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 69KB)
112 Thanksgiving... and Black Friday: Richard talks about his time in the United States
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► Transcript (pdf 53KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 90KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 78KB)
111 The fall. Winter, spring, summer and now autumn; it's the cold but colourful season
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► Transcript (pdf 49KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 193KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 82KB)
The best thing about autumn in the UK is playing a game of conkers:
110 Nice holiday? Jackie and Richard talk about their last holiday, and now you can talk about yours!
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► Transcript (pdf 53KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 120KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 92KB)
109 Bad habits. What bad habits do Richard and Jackie have? Listen and find out!
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► Transcript (pdf 47KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 77KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 66KB)
108 Can you swim? Jump in the water and listen to Jackie and Richard talk about learning to swim
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► Transcript (pdf 53KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 106KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 115KB)
These animals can swim, can you?
107 Brazil: not just a country. One country, two trees and lots of interesting facts!
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► Transcript (pdf 53KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 115KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 98KB)
The Agouti and the Brazil Nut:
106 The Merry Month of May. Lots of information about the year's prettiest month - it's not just about flowers!
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► Transcript (pdf 57KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 90KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 86KB)
105 The Easter egg. There's more to Easter eggs than just eating them, listen and find out!
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► Transcript (pdf 49KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 131KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 74KB)
How to make a strange, glowing Easter egg:
104 Dear diary. There are some good reasons for writing a diary about your everyday life
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► Transcript (pdf 52KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 83KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 122KB)
103 Paintings not photos. Join the pie team in putting something more artistic on Facebook
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► Transcript (pdf 53KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 208KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 106KB)
Watch the great Henri Matisse at work:
102 A poem for Christmas. The pie team want you to celebrate the festive season with poetry
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► Transcript (pdf 45KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 152KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 147KB)
101 Figgy pudding. Hear about some Christmas meals eaten in different parts of the world, mmm!
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► Transcript (pdf 57KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 74KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 168KB)
Oh, bring us some figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer:
100 Bonfire Night. Richard explains the reason behind this traditional November event
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► Transcript (pdf 46KB)
► Worksheet & Answers (pdf 61KB)
► Vocabulary tasks (pdf 228KB)
This podcast goes with this pie video:
As you know, Richard, I use your work every single day with students from age 12 to 75 yrs old! I haven't found anyone else who produces the same quality of work that you and Jackie do; teachers really don't need to look any further than your site, everything is there that we need. 