The listening process: Bottom-up

This means making as much use as you can of the low level clues. You start by listening for the individual sounds and then you join these sounds together to make syllables and words. These words are then combined together to form phrases, clauses and sentences. Finally the sentences combine together to form texts or conversations.

1. Sounds

Listen to the following English sounds.

2. Syllables

Listen to the following English syllables. Write down what you hear.

3. Words

Listen to the following English words.

4. Numbers

Listen to the following English numbers.

5. Weak forms

Many English grammatical words have weak forms.

6. Phrases 1

Listen to the following English phrases.

7. Phrases 2

The following phrases all include a grammatical word pronounced with its weak form.

8. Sentences

Listen to the following English sentences. Write down what you hear.

9. Texts

Listen to the following English text. Write down what you hear.

10. Intonation

Can you recognise intonation in English?

More Exercises

If you want more practice in identifying sounds and words, try some of the exercises in Listening Comprehension & Note-Taking or General Listening.