(This page may contain affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
Want to improve your English in an easy and enjoyable way?
Listen to audiobook versions of popular bestsellers, classic novels, or nonfiction!
Top 10 Reasons Why Audiobooks Can Help You Enhance Your English:
1. Audiobooks are read not simply by native speakers of English, but by professional narrators and trained actors. These individuals enunciate English words clearly and correctly. Listening to excellent spoken English in this way will embed in your mind the proper pronunciation of English words.
2. Audiobooks can help improve your comprehension and vocabulary. You can pause it anytime you like to look up a word you don’t know.
3. Audiobooks are super-convenient. You can listen while you’re driving, on transit, jogging or exercising, doing housework, during break from school or work, or before bed. You can take it at your own pace and stop mid-paragraph if you need to pivot to some other task.
4. You can repeat a section of the audiobook anytime you want. It would be embarrassing to ask a human to keep repeating a sentence until you’ve understood all the words correctly, but you can do so as many times as you need to with an audiobook.
5. You can choose an audiobook that’s read in whichever accent you prefer, British or American English. You can also select the gender of the narrator.
6. You can pick whatever topic you like. Perhaps you’re very interested in sports, history, or biographies: listening to books on topics you’re already keen on will engage you.
7. You can determine the level that’s right for you. If classic literature like Charles Dickens is not quite your speed, pick a popular novel in an easy-to-read style like the horror novels of Stephen King, or a mystery by Agatha Christie.
Or, if you’re not quite there yet in your English proficiency, choose a high-interest novel for young adults like The Hunger Games or the Harry Potter series.
If you’re truly a beginner, children’s books might be better for you, even if you’re an adult: their vocabulary and syntax are much simpler. You could try fairy tales or classics for young readers.
8. There’s a huge range of audiobooks available, and something to fit everyone’s interest and reading level.
Audible, owned by Amazon, is one of largest audiobook websites. There’s also Apple Books, Google Play Audiobooks, Audiobooks.com, Kobo Audiobooks, and many others.
9. There are audiobook options to fit every budget. If you prefer getting your audiobooks for free, try your local library, Overdrive, Hoopla, or LibriVox.
10. If you have the book form as well, you can read along as you listen to the audiobook version. You can stop anytime and practice your pronunciation. Reading and listening at the same time is an excellent way to improve your English comprehension (see tip on this subject under Closed Captioning).
Photo credits:
Photo 1: Image by sindrehsoereide from Pixabay
Photo 2: Image by PourquoiPas from Pixabay