To start understanding the news in English, don’t try to translate every sentence. First, listen to the headlines, note the words you recognize and try to work out the topics. You can then listen to a passage again and check what you remember. This approach is based on an activity suggested by the British Council; adapt the length and number of listens to your goal and the content you choose.
Why listen to the news in English?
The news is one possible resource for practising listening comprehension: it gives you a specific topic to follow, such as an event or a piece of news from the day. To make listening useful, choose a clear task. For example, try to understand the general topic, pick out one piece of information or sum up a story in a few words. You don’t need to aim for complete understanding the first time you listen.
Difficulty depends on more than your knowledge of vocabulary. The Council of Europe notes that listening comprehension is linked, among other things, to the type of speech, the listener, the context and the purpose of listening. Length, speed, repeated listens and accent can also affect how difficult a task is. These factors are a reason to adapt the exercise rather than decide, after a difficult passage, that the news isn’t right for you.
Start with the headlines, not every detail
The British Council describes an activity that involves listening to headlines, noting recognized words and summarizing the stories. You can use it as your first exercise. Play a news bulletin or an excerpt without stopping every time you hear a word. Note just a few words or expressions you recognized, then make a guess about the topic of each headline.
At this stage, your summary can be very simple: “an election,” “the weather” or “a new measure.” This is a suggested approach, not a level test. If you don’t understand a headline, move on to the next one and come back to it on another listen. The aim is to keep listening focused on a practical task, rather than turn the bulletin into a word-for-word translation exercise.
Also, avoid trying to write down every unfamiliar word. As a practical tip, limit your notes to words that seem useful for identifying the topic. This leaves you more room to follow the general thread and check your guesses after listening.
Listen again with a specific question in mind
After the first listen, choose one passage to listen to again. Before playing it, decide what you’re looking for: the topic, a particular piece of information or the words you missed. A specific question gives your second listen a clear purpose. You can then compare what you guessed with what you understand now.
If the passage is still difficult, change the exercise: choose a shorter excerpt, focus on the general topic or listen again. The Council of Europe notes that length, speed, repeated listens and accent can affect how difficult a task is. It makes sense to adapt the task to the excerpt rather than always using the same way of listening.
When a transcript is available, use it after trying to listen first. Look for the words or expressions that help make sense of the passage, then play the audio again if it helps you check your understanding.
A short, regular routine
To build a habit, make each session a simple series of steps you can repeat: listen to the headlines, note a few words, sum up a story, then listen to a passage again. You can keep track of the topics or questions in a notebook without trying to measure your progress with numbers. This routine is just a suggestion: choose a length and pace that fit into your daily life.
You can also vary the purpose of each listen. One day, focus only on identifying the general topic; another time, choose one detail to pick out. The Council of Europe notes that the purpose of listening is one of the factors linked to comprehension. A modest, clear goal can help you know what to do while listening to an excerpt, even if you don’t understand everything.
Try this during your next listening session
- Choose a news bulletin in English and listen to its headlines once without trying to understand everything.
- Note a few words or expressions you recognized. Based on these clues, write a possible topic for each headline in your own language.
- Listen to one headline again, focusing on a single question: what is the topic, or what specific piece of information can you pick out?
- Compare your guess with what you understand after listening. If a transcript is available, read it afterwards to check the words you missed.
- Try again with a new listening goal, such as identifying the general topic rather than a detail.
Listen with Slow English FM
Slow English FM is a free web radio station in accessible English, spoken at a measured pace. Its continuous live stream features news, stories, weather and English-learning segments, with music breaks. The scripts and voices are AI-generated from cited sources. You can listen live, follow the synchronized text when available, or revisit a program using the replays, transcripts and sources. On a phone, the text appears above the player so you can follow the words as you listen.
Listen to Slow English FM →Sources and writing
- Ten activities to practise listening fluency in the English classroom — British Council
- Listening comprehension — Conseil de l’Europe
Guide written with AI assistance and automatically checked against our editorial standards. The exercises are practice suggestions, with no guarantee of results.