LearnEnglish Podcasts

Listen to the British Council’s most popular English language podcasts in LearnEnglish Podcasts.

Improve your listening, reading and understanding of general and business English – any time, anywhere. LearnEnglish Podcasts has lots of special features that make learning English fun.

Podcasts are downloadable any time, so you can access the content offline. Then, when you have finished with an episode, you can delete it to make space on your phone.

LearnEnglish Podcasts – key features

New podcasts are added every week, so you never run out of things to listen to. We have podcasts on a range of topics, from language learning tips to information about the world, so there is something for everyone.
Downloadable episodes mean you can listen offline. But don’t worry, when you have done with an episode you can delete it, so it doesn’t use up space on your phone.
Interactive audio scripts allow you to repeat hard-to-hear phrases or new vocabulary easily. Plus, pitch control means you can slow down the audio speed if the speaker is a bit difficult to understand.
Background playing means that you can listen to the audio while the screen is off, which means you can slip your phone in your pocket and listen to podcasts on the go.
Enjoy simple exercises for every episode of content, with a progress screen so that you can track your progress.
Share what you’re watching and listening to through Facebook, Twitter and email with integrated social media sharing. Celebrate your progress with your friends.

Go to Google Play

Go to App Store

Will you upload new episodes?

Hi essamalrawi,

We aren't planning to make any new episodes at the moment. But if you enjoyed the podcasts, you may also be interested in Writing home (linked), an audio series with 20 episodes and an an engaging story. I hope you enjoy it.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Hi, can you recommend a series for A2 level?

Hello Gamini,

Series 3 and 4 of the LearnEnglish podcasts are easier than series 1 and 2, and it's not necessary to listen to series 1 and 2 first. That would be my first recommendation.

If that's too challenging, I'd recommend Starting Out, which is available in the LearnEnglish Videos app and on the LearnEnglish website.

Please let us know if that doesn't work for you so we can help you find something else.

All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Hello
Before starting to listen to the podcasts, I would like to know levels of them. Which series is proper for which level? How can I learn a series' level?

Hello ertu...,

All four series are at the B1 level, but I think series 3 and 4 are a little easier than the first two. There are also more episodes in series 3 and 4, and they are shorter.

I'd encourage you to listen to one from series 1 and another one from series 3 and then choose the one that suits you best. They do come in order, but it's not really necessary to listen to them in order. There is a story that develops from the beginning to the end, but there's also a lot of other interesting topics and activities that can be done in any order.

Just so you know, all of the episodes are also available on the website.

Hope you enjoy them!

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/general-english/audio-series/po…

Hello, I want listen to this podcast on the Android app but I can find series 4 only by search Ravi keyword. Can you guys help me the keyword in order to find all the series of this podcast. Sorry for my bad English and thank you so much.

Hello taitanlam666,

I'm sorry that's not working for you like it should.

Have you tried scrolling down to the bottom of the home screen in the app? As far as I know, all four series should be visible there.

If that doesn't work for you, could you please tell us what device you are using and send us a screenshot? You can do this on our Contact us page. Please mention my name in your message so that it gets to me.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, I wanted to know if this application is compatible with windows, thanks

Hello khrys79,

I'm afraid it is only available for Android and iOS. Sorry!

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, I wanted to know if this application can be used by people of beginner level A1? or only for intermediate and advanced?

Hi Angie_Vergara,

This app doesn't have any podcasts specifically for A1-level learners, but it does have four series of elementary podcasts (A2 level) which they may like to try.

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

If the application connects to Google Translator, it is very good to see the translation of words

Why some of the podcasts that are in the application do not exist in the site?

Thank you. ;)

Hi, This such a great application. I learned and am still leaning a lot of English from it. I just can't wait for the update that allows using the background playing. Another thing is if you could add an option to autoplay/repeat the episodes and autoplay the next one that would be fantastic. Thank you

This app is such a great app ever. But I wanna talk about a small problem. I need a button that can help us replay audio continuously.

Hi Khoagia, Thank you for your suggestion. I will pass your comment to our app manager. If you have any other suggestions in the future, please feel free to let us know at learnenglish.mobile@britishcouncil.org. Your feedback is very important to us. :) Elise LearnEnglish Mobile team

Hi . It is a great application . But ,it has two problems : 1;my phone found 8 problem into application,this cause of be my phone warm 2;has advertise and why the first level in the end Thanks to salve the problem

Hi Yuosof, Thank you for your comment. We are sorry LearnEnglish Podcasts is not working properly for you. Could you please forward the issue to us at learnenglish.mobile@britishcouncil.org? In your email, please include your device model and OS version. We will do our best to assist further. Thank you! Elise LearnEnglish Mobile team

Recently I hear that the number of people who listen to Podcast and radio is increasing due to COVID-19! Thank you for your great support! :)

Hi Rafaela, Thank you for your comment. Yes, that is true that we are getting more listeners to our podcasts during the Covid-19 pandemic. We have just finished two series for 'LearnEnglish from Home' and we are going to start a new series 'A better world' very soon. You can listen to preview for the new series in our app. We hope you will find it interesting. Elise LearnEnglish Mobile team

Hi Elise Can't wait! Let us know the new series! ;)

I am unable to download audios in app since yesterday. Requesting your assistance, to solve the issue. Thank you

Hello aswathyraj,

As Elise explains in her response to Adriano (just below), we have been having trouble with our server these days, and I expect this is why you haven't been able to download any audio.

We're very sorry for the inconvenience. Please try again soon and if you're still having trouble in 24 hours, please feel free to let us know again.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Aswathy, I'm happy to tell you that we've identified the problem on our servers, and have fixed it, and everything is now working fine. Thank you so much for your patience in this, and apologies for the inconvenience of not being able to listen to any podcasts for the last few days. Enjoy your listening practice again, and do listen out for our new series A Better World, which will start next week. All the very best, and sorry again for the problem. Elise LearnEnglish Mobile team

Hello. I can't download it the episodes from the Learn English podcasts app. Some information about myself: - Name of app: Learn English Podcasts - App Version: 3.8.2.6.1 - Phone model: Motorola Moto G6 play - System: Android 9

Hi Adriano, Thank you so much for letting us know about this. We are currently experiencing a problem with our servers, and are working to fix it. We'll let you now as soon as it's fixed. Many thanks for your patience, and apologies for the inconvenience. Elise LearnEnglish Mobile team

Hi Adriano, I'm happy to tell you that we've identified the problem on our servers, and have fixed it, and everything is now working fine. Thank you so much for your patience in this, and apologies for the inconvenience of not being able to listen to any podcasts for the last few days. Enjoy your listening practice again, and do listen out for our new series A Better World, which will start next week. All the very best, and sorry again for the problem. Elise LearnEnglish Mobile team

Hi, I'm new here. I've listened to "Elementary podcasts" and they're great, thank you very much. But I'm not sure this podcast is the correct one I was looking for, because: 1) the little photo of the podcast in here (in this web page) is different from the one of the App I have downloaded on my iPhone; 2) there are only 3 episodes available; 3) the recordings are very old (they say: Julay 2008). Is there something better I could do? Thank you Claudio, from Rome

Hi, it's me again. Sorry, I found out that I was listening to very old registrations and I've now discovered the new podcasts. They are excellent, and I'm going to enjoy myself, thank you

Hi Claudio 10, thank you for your review and also thank you for letting us know you found the new podcasts. In our LearnEnglish Podcasts app, we update the content regularly. We have recently finished a podcasts series called 'LearnEnglish from Home series 2', which you will find it on the top of the list in the home page of our app. If you have any questions, please feel free to let us know at learnenglish.mobile@britishcouncil.org. Thank you! :)

Thank you for your help guys!

Hi Rafaela, thank you very much for your comment. We hope you enjoy listening to our podcasts. :) Elise

Hi im Mansoor from pakistan, i wanna know which series is best for ielts listening?

Hi Mansoor,

Have you tried visiting the IELTS section of our site? You can find it here:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/IELTS

You'll find some courses for IELTS preparation there - both paid and free.

You should also visit our dedicated IELTS site, which has a huge amount of information and many preparation materials, including practice exams and sample answers. You can find that here:

https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/

Be sure to visit the section on preparation.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi l’m Aisha I really enjoy listening to podcast and l would like to comment to the podcast and participate but i don’t know how? Please if you can help me how where i can listen to know or daily podcast and how to write a comment to them.

Hello Aisha_3

In LearnEnglish from home, I believe they do ask for input from users if that interests you. Do they not mention an email address in the podcast?

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Perfect.

The podcasts are excellent. I ve listened to them in my car when I conmute to work. It would fantastic that the other tools like Audio zone could be included in them.

Hello Silvia Mabel,

Thank you for the comment. It's nice to know our podcasts are helping people.

Thanks also for your suggestion. I don't know when the app might be updated but suggestions are always welcome.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Which series is suitable for upper intermediate level ?

Hello Saraaaa11

Of our podcasts, I'd recommend Series 1 and 2, though you might find them a little bit easy. If video is a possibility, our video series Word on the Street and Britain is GREAT are good choices for the upper intermediate level. Finally, I'd also recommend the Audio zone, which has audio mostly at this level as well, and our Listening skills at the B2 level.

Best wishes

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

It is an excellent tool , I use it with my students.

Hello, I am Riham from Syria. I have been listening to your series of learnEnglish podcasts since 2016. They were my escape from the heavy stressors of our war. My speaking skill has improved significantly by listening to your podcasts. I would like to suggest that if you could produce series of IELTS speaking simulation covering the common topics. This would help millions of English learners. Best, Riham

Hello Riham

Thanks for your suggestion. I wanted to mention a few IELTS preparation resources that might help you. The first is TakeIELTS, where you can find loads of information as well as free practice materials and links to apps as well as online courses all designed to help you get the highest score you can on the IELTS. There is also the Understanding IELTS course, which is free and runs periodically year-round. There are also several videos with tips on how to prepare for different parts of the IELTS on the British Council Teacher Trainer channel.

I hope that some of these resources can help you.

Thanks also for telling us about your experience -- we're so glad that the podcasts have helped you so much!

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Riham,

Thank you for your comment and continuous support to LearnEnglish Podcasts. We are glad to know you enjoy listening to the podcasts.

Thank you for your suggestion as well. I will pass your comment to our App Manager.

We hope you continue enjoy listening to our podcasts. If you have any further questions or suggestions, feel free to let us know at learnenglish.mobile@britishcouncil.org.

Best wishes,
Elise
The LearnEnglish Mobile Team

Hi Elise, Thank you for your response! I am really enjoying the writing home episodes as I am grasping new vocabulary. Best, Riham

I ’ve just downloaded this App, once I open it, it gets crashed.

Hi Shimooo,

Thank you for your comment and we are sorry that LearnEnglish Podcasts is not working properly for you.
Could you forward the issue to learnenglish.mobile@britishcouncil.org? In the email, please include your device model, OS version and app version. We will do our best to assist further.

Best wishes,
Elise
The LearnEnglish Mobile Team

LearnEnglish Podcasts

LearnEnglish Podcasts – key features

Online courses