How to Use Audacity for Creating Endless Listening Lessons

Hi! In this lesson, we're going to explore how you can use Audacity to create an endless supply of listening lessons. These lessons can range from vocabulary and grammar to reading—truly, the sky's the limit. Let's start with a very basic listening activity using a document we already made in Canva.

This simple activity focuses on clothing. I'll talk about various clothing items in English, but you can do this in your language or in English. It's a fun and interactive way to create a listening task. You can discuss the items, and then the student would listen to the audio and answer questions like: Does the person like it? Do they have it? Do they not have it?

Getting Started with Your First Task

Usually, I recommend talking for one to two minutes and speaking naturally without scripting everything out. Writing out a script is often a waste of time and can make your speech sound less natural. When you talk, you naturally add pauses and use simpler grammar and vocabulary. In contrast, reading from a script can make you speak faster and use more complex language. So, it's better to speak naturally.

For this task, I’m not going to follow a specific order. I'll try to cover all items, but if I miss one or two, that's fine. The goal is to have a nice listening activity.

Recording Your Lesson

To start, set up your mic, hit record, and you're ready to go. Here we go—wish me luck!

Example Recording: My Clothing in Thailand

Right now, I am living in Thailand, so I need clothes for warm weather. I have many t-shirts—actually, I have too many and need to throw some away. I have some jeans, two pairs that I wear often. I also have five pairs of shorts. I like my shorts, but I want to buy some swim shorts as I don't have any swim trunks.

I have running shoes that I use daily for running in the park. I don't have any boots since I don't need them here, but I do have plenty of socks—probably too many. I don't have a hat, which I need to buy to protect my eyes from the bright sun.

I have a jacket from when I flew to Thailand from the U.S. because it was cold, but I never wear it here. I also have a belt, but I need a new one because I'm losing weight, and the old belt is too big.

And that's it! Those are the clothes I have in Thailand.

Final Steps: Editing and Exporting

Once you're done, stop the recording. You can usually do this in one take. If needed, you can edit the audio by deleting sections, amplifying it, or trimming it. However, for basic activities like this, one take is often sufficient.

After recording, compress the audio into one section, listen to it again if necessary, and export it as an MP3 file. Give your file a name, like "clothes," and save it. You can skip adding meta information.

And voila! Now you have your audio to go with your worksheet, ready to be used with students.

Tips for Creating More Lessons

It's very easy to create these listening activities for different topics. Just think of a list of things you want to talk about and start recording. This method is a great way to create simple yet effective listening assignments or vocabulary exercises, and it helps you practice using different technologies.

Good Luck and Happy Teaching!

I hope you try this yourself. Creating these resources can be very rewarding. If you make a worksheet, please share it with me—I'd love to see your work. Thanks!