Common English expressions

• Let's split the bill
  A suggestion for paying for a meal at a restaurant.
• To read between the lines
  This is more than just reading.
• Once in a blue moon
  To talk about how often something happens.

Stories

• The Blue Diamond
  Listen to and read a Sherlock Holmes story, especially adapted for elementary level learners.
• Robinson Crusoe
  Listen to and read the story of Robinson Crusoe, especially adapted for elementary level learners.
• The House on the Hill
  A love story written especially for elementary learners by Elizabeth Laird.
• The Gift of the Magi
  A classic Christmastime story by O. Henry.
• Moby Dick
  Listen to and read the famous story about the white whale.

Games

• The Great Fire of London
  Play a game based on the Great Fire of London in 1666.
• Which animal is it?
  Can you ask the questions and guess which animal it is?
• The clothes game
  Follow the instructions and dress the people.
• Coconut vowels
  Place the correct vowels in the coconuts.

People

• Facts about only children
  What do you think children with no brothers or sisters are like?
• Saint George's Day
  Saint George is the patron saint of England and many other countries, but who was he?
• Martin Luther King
  Watch a short video on the life of Dr Martin Luther King.

Festivals

• Chinese Moon Festival
  Watch a video about the origin of the Chinese Moon festival.
• Guy Fawkes Bonfire Festival in Lewes
  The Wall Street Journal reports on the celebrations, which are too popular.

Nature

• The winter solstice
  What is the winter solstice?
• The kingfisher and the bullet train
  A short video giving an example of how people get ideas from nature.

Environment

• Heatwaves
  What is considered a heatwave in the UK?
• Bike lanes
  Is lockdown the opportunity of a lifetime for bike lanes?

Culture

• Beethoven's ninth symphony
  We're celebrating 250 years since Beethoven was born. Watch a short video to explain why his ninth symphony is so popular.

Places

• A village in the Grand Canyon
  Listen to the leader of a tribe that lives in the Grand Canyon.

Business

• Job interview advice
  How to prepare for a job interview.

Language

• New words
  How do they decide what new words to put in a dictionary?

Politics

• UK parliament structure
  Find out how the UK parliament works.

Adverts

• Learning English
  Do you think this is a good reason to learn English?

Food

• A picture quiz about food idioms
  Have a look at this video and see if you know the expressions.
• Lunch delivery in Mumbai
  Find out how people get their midday meal in Mumbai.

Common English expressions

• To call something off
  Find out what "we called off the meeting" means.
• To be in mint condition
  Should you buy a car if it is in mint condition?
• Let's not go there
  Let's not go where, exactly?

Puzzles

• 10 detective riddles only the most attentive 1% can solve
  Can you solve the riddles?
• Jail-break riddle
  Can you see how the bank robber can escape from jail?

Stories

• Robin Hood
  Listen to and read the famous story of Robin Hood.
• Pride and Prejudice
  Listen to and read the famous story by Jane Austen.

Places

• Inside the White House
  A guided tour of the American president's residence, with the voice of Obama.
• The beginnings of Las Vegas
  The first part of a documentary about Las Vegas and how it began.
• Svalbard
  What's it like to live in the most northern town in the world?

Science and technology

• Cakes in space
  How to measure weights in space.
• Why the moon landings were real
  See the evidence to support the facts about the moon landing.
• Multitasking
  Is it good to do several things at the same time?
• The winter solstice
  Solstice: The Earth is reaching the turning point.
• How the Internet works
  We use it every day but do we know how it works?
• Leap year
  What is a leap year and why do we have them?
• Apollo 13
  In April 1970, Apollo 13 was on its way to the moon when disaster struck. Watch a video about what happened.

Environment

• How do hurricanes form?
  It's the time of year when hurricanes form in the Atlantic Ocean. How does it happen?

Health

• Sleep better
  What is deep sleep? Watch a talk about how you can sleep better.
• Soap and viruses
  We are told to wash our hands as often as we can. Why?

Festivals

• Thanksgiving
  An alternative look at the American national holiday.

Business

• Train your kids for the workplace
  Things to help your children prepare for the world of work.

Culture

• The cover of Abbey Road
  In August 1969, in just 11 minutes, pop history was made.

News

• Extreme weather and climate change
  News from the BBC about the connection between extreme weather and climate change.
• News bulletin from the Voice of America
  Recent news items about climate change protests, President Trump, the Nobel prize and Navratri.

Food

• 10 best food hacks
  Ten tips to make cooking easier.
• How to make bread
  Follow these instructions to make a delicious loaf of bread.

Common English expressions

• That rings a bell
  Mr Ramsey? That rings a bell.
• Money doesn't grow on trees
  Maybe your parents told you that money doesn't grow on trees.
• Off the top of my head
  Making an estimated guess.

Stories

• The War of the Worlds
  Listen to this classic science fiction story by H.G. Wells.

Games

• Forgotten Island
  Play a game that helps scientists with their research. You will need to create an account to play.

Places

• 258 years of the British Museum
  The past and present of the British Museum.
• 96 million black balls on the Los Angeles Reservoir
  Why are all these black balls on the reservoir?

Culture

• Spam
  What happens if you reply to spam emails?
• Vending machines in Japan
  Why are there so many vending machines in Japan?
• One-shot film
  Tricks filmmakers use to make a film appear to be shot in one single take, like in the recent release 1917.

People

• Swap a paper clip for a house
  Would you swap a paper clip for a house? Meet a man who did.
• Derren Brown
  Watch a video about a famous British illusionist and how he tricks people.

Health

• Face masks
  What do face masks do and how effective are they?

Entertainment

• Orson Welles's War of the Worlds
  Watch a video about the original "fake news".

History

• Bastille day
  July 14th is Bastille day in France. What is the history behind this celebration?

Business

• Setting up a business
  Find out how the UK government’s New Enterprise Allowance helped somebody start a new business.

Science and technology

• Water
  Water — the strangest thing in the universe.
• The orbiting earth
  Earth's motion around the Sun is not as simple as you thought.
• Life on Mars?
  Your kids might live on Mars. Here's how they'll survive.

News

• A BBC report on deforestation and planting forests
  Can planting new forests make up for deforestation?
• A Voice of America report on the presidential election
  Are the two main political parties still supported by the same kinds of people as in the past?

Food

• Aquaponics
  Watch a video about a new method of growing food.
• Food that fools you
  10 tricks advertisers use to manipulate photos.

General news

• C-SPAN
  Videos, articles and podcasts related to American politics and public affairs.
• BBC News Channel
  Short video reports of the news, updated daily.
• Voice of America
  American and international news and current affairs in English.

Videos and music

• New Musical Express
  A British-based website featuring videos and articles about the latest in music.
• Rolling Stone
  A US-based website featuring videos and articles about the latest in music.

Podcasts

• Children’s books about animals
  What happens when children read books about animals drinking tea?
• Podcasts in English
  Short podcasts designed for elementary students.
• VOA Learning English
  American and international news and current affairs in simplified English.

Festivals

• Harvest moon
  What is the harvest moon? Listen and find out.

Food

• World Food Day
  A short podcast about World Food Day.
• Rooftop farming
  Listen to a short news story about new ways to increase food production in Singapore.

Culture

• Getting married in a pandemic.
  COVID-19 has changed how we do a lot of things, including how we get married.
• Face masks
  Everybody is wearing face masks and now they are being made by fashion designers.
• Internet — good or bad?
  Is the Internet a good or a bad thing?
• Our house
  Listen to a song about a house.

Science and technology

• Aliens
  Hear how Nasa is searching for intelligent alien life.
• What's a planet?
  A short explanation of what is and what isn't a planet.

News

• 6 Minute English
  Short news discussions for learners of English.
• BBC Learning English
  Authentic listening material for learners of English, with transcripts and a glossary.
• VOA Learning English
  American and international news and current affairs in simplified English.

Stories

• The mystery of Manor Hall
  Read and listen to a story.

Food

• Photo-friendly food
  Some secrets used to make food look good in photographs.
• Growing food in space
  Can we grow our own food in space?

Games

• Game
  Listen to the word and see if you can spell it.

Health

• Online symptom checkers
  Many people are consulting online symptom checkers, but how effective are they?

Work

• No more bosses
  Are bosses really necessary in companies?

People

• How people learn English
  Listen to various English language learners sharing their experiences of learning English.

Culture

• Keep calm and carry on
  A phrase that decorates T-shirts, coffee cups and posters. But where does it come from?

Science and technology

• The man who invented the mobile phone
  Listen to a teenager interviewing the man who invented the mobile phone.

Podcasts

• Babysitting
  Stories of babysitters.
• The Mars experiment
  Listen to the first episode of a podcast about people preparing for the first trip to Mars.

Sport

• Adventures in Guam: The 2022 World Cup journey begins
  Listen to a report about Guam's attempt to win the World Cup in Qatar 2022.

Science and technology

• The kingfisher and the bullet train
  Listen to a radio programme explaining how nature inspires engineers.
• Sat-nav
  Are sat-navs changing our brains?

History

• Hong Kong
  Learn about the history of Hong Kong.

People

• John Lennon
  October 2020 would have seen John Lennon's 80th birthday. Listen to a radio programme discussing his life.
• Chinese computing
  How do Chinese speakers use a qwerty keyboard?

Food

• Yeasts
  In this episode, host Chris Nuttall-Smith goes on a journey deep into the secret life of yeast.

Culture

• David Bowie, jazz and the unplayable piano
  Sometimes limiting possibilities can result in a more innovative outcome.
• A history of the world in 100 objects
  A radio programme about objects that have changed the way we live. This episode examines the bird-shaped pestle.
• Liar, liar, liar
  Why do people tell lies? Listen to a radio programme about dishonesty.

Audio books

Podcasts

News

Websites of general interest:

General news

Radio selection