A large part of Plain English lessons are Stories or Expressions:
Stories are approximately 15-minute audio lessons about current events and trending topics. Explore the full history of Stories here.
Expressions are approximately 10-minute audio lessons showing you how to use a common English expression or phrasal verb. Explore the dictionary of Expressions here.
You may be familiar with the Stories and Expressions because you listened to the podcast, watched a video on YouTube, or discovered them on PlainEnglish.com
✅ The fast audio is available at the Plus+ level. The learning speed audio is available to any registered member.
Audio lessons in two speeds
Each Story and Expression is an audio lesson with a transcript, quiz, exercises, and practice opportunities.
The audio is available in two speeds:
Learning speed goes a little slower than a native-speaker, with extra spacing in between each words so English learners can understand as much as possible.
Full speed goes at exactly the speed, cadence, and delivery we would use if speaking to another English speaker.
The full speed version is about 25% faster than the learning speed version.
👉 Good to know: The two audio streams are two separate, human recordings. We do not use AI or other computerized programs to modify the sound of the audio, apart from normal enhancements.
Where to find the audios
Audio lessons are available in several places:
At PlainEnglish.com on the page with the transcript and exercises
Learning speed audio is available in any public podcast directory like Spotify, YouTube, PocketCasts, Apple Podcasts, and others
The fast audio can be installed on any podcast app that allows custom RSS feeds (Apple Podcasts, Pocketcasts)
At PlainEnglish.com
You can play the audio from the main Story or Expression page at PlainEnglish.com.
First, choose a Story (click here to choose one) or an Expression (click here).
Find the section called "Listen" and you will see two tabs:
Choose the tab with the speed you'd like to listen to. Press the green play button (▶️) to listen to the audio.
💡 Tip: Many listeners switch between the slow and fast versions. They listen to the slow version first to understand the content. They listen to the fast version second to see how much they can understand.
Learning speed in public podcast apps
The learning speed audio publicly available for anyone to listen to, without any type of registration or password.
Here are links to the most popular podcast sources:
Full-speed audio in podcast apps
The full-speed audio is available to members of the Plus+ membership.
Members can request a private RSS feed (link) from their dashboards. After you request the link, you'll get an email with the private RSS feed. You can paste that into any podcast app that accepts RSS feeds. The most popular apps are:
Apple Podcasts
PocketCasts
Castbox
Overcast
Why have two speeds?
Your goal as an English learner may be to understand English as it is really spoken -- and that is at full speed. So why do we offer audio at a slower speed?
Accessibility: English learners at the high-beginner to low-intermediate level often get discouraged because full-speed audio goes too fast for them to understand anything at all. As a result, they give up and don't listen to anything. Slower-speed audio helps train your ear to recognize sounds, patterns, and words. You'll be motivated to continue as you enjoy the reward of understanding.
Concentration: English learners often find they can understand full-speed English only when they are paying full attention. However, they enjoy listening at slower speed to fill other moments during the day, such as commuting, exercising, or doing work around the house. At these times when they can't devote their full attention, the slow audio helps keep them on track.
Temporary step: Most of our listeners use slower-speed audio as a temporary step in their journey. Many listeners combine slower-speed audio with full speed audio (either from Plain English or other sources) so they have both. After a time listening to learning speed audio, listeners are ready to graduate to full-speed sources.