30-Day Challenge Listening 2 January 2021

"I can understand my textbooks and my teacher, but I don't understand real spoken English"


Would you like to understand native English speakers and series and films more easily?


I think there are two reasons why we don't understand native English speakers.

1) We don't know enough vocabulary.

2) We haven't practised listening enough.


In this challenge, we're going to fix number 2.

Listening is an important skill that needs special practice. It's probably the most difficult part of learning a language and your skill won't improve without a bit of work.


In this challenge, you will learn to:

  • Separate the words so that you can hear what the person said, instead of one long noise

  • Get comfortable with the way that English speakers use different pronunciation (shorter words and swallowed syllables and sometimes completely different sounds) when they're speaking quickly

  • Learn the slang and different expressions that English speakers use in everyday speech

  • Understand the extra noises and sounds English speakers use when they're talking (uhh, um, er, hmmm) that can mean you don't know where one word stops and the next one starts. These words are taken out of the audio in textbooks and on the radio, but we use them all the time!

You will learn about and practise all of these in the challenge.



How the challenge works:

  • Every day for 30 days, you'll get a new lesson.
  • Each lesson has a real, natural conversation with a native English speaker. The conversations are fast and full of examples of the kind of pronunciation that many students don't understand. I'll help you to understand them!
  • The lessons include audio with full transcripts and video explanations and notes from me.
  • For each lesson there's a mini dictation (this is the part that really, really helps). I'll explain everything about the best technique for this.

You'll practise understanding:

  • weak sounds
  • shortened words
  • swallowed syllables
  • pronunciation changes
  • extra 'filler' words
  • colloquial expressions

It's really possible to make very fast progress in listening if you practise every day.


I'll also encourage you to do lots of 'incidental listening' (and I'll explain how to do this too). This is an extra thing you can do in spare moments to make faster progress.


  • We'll concentrate mostly on British English, but all the techniques will also help you if you're interested in US / Canadian / Australian / New Zealand / South African English.
  • You'll need around 20 minutes a day of focused time.
  • You'll really be better at understanding native speakers at the end of the challenge.
  • You can use all the techniques in this course to continue improving on your own, in English or any other language you're learning.
  • You pay once and keep the course forever. It's no problem if you're busy now. You can start the challenge any time.
  • This course has natural-speed audio, so it's for intermediate level. You'll have help to understand it though!
  • You can also ask us questions anytime inside the course and we'll answer as soon as we can.
  • There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

This course is closed for enrollment.

Your Instructor


Seonaid Beckwith
Seonaid Beckwith

Hello! I'm delighted to meet you!

I'm Seonaid (it's pronounced 'show - na'!) and I'm your teacher here at Perfect English Grammar. I have a Master's degree from Cambridge University in English and Applied Linguistics and I've been teaching English for more than twenty years.



What some lovely Perfect English Grammar students said about our previous listening challenge:


"It was a great listening course for me. Especially I liked the range of topics, so I developed not only my listening skills but also I learned new vocabulary. It is a really effective technique to understand more in English. I realized that now it is easier to understand spoken English in podcasts and videos." (Dina from Kazakhstan)


"My listening as well as speaking has incredibly improved." (Yati from India)


"Last night (29th day) of this challenge, I spoke with a bank customer care executive and I got all her questions clearly, I felt my efforts paid off" (Ramakrishna from India)


"I liked that these audio are about the life of everyday, very different from BBC podcast. That's great." (Monica from Italy)


"I like the course because now my listening is really better." (Isolina from Cape Verde)


"I have been watching movies for five months with English subtitles. But after the course, I don’t need to check what’s written in the subtitles." (Semih from Turkey)


" I found the conversations very fresh and real. I met one of my English friends for a coffee and she noticed that I had improved my fluency." (Eloísa from Spain)


"it is really a well-planned course. Apart from listening, it also improved my speaking and writing." (Saqib from Pakistan)

When does the course start?

We start on the 2nd of January 2021. Before that, you'll be able to log in, but there won't be any lessons yet.

What level is this for?

You should be upper intermediate (B2) or above. This challenge is hard!

How long do I need every day?

The lessons will take around 20 or 30 minutes each day.

What happens if I miss a day?

Don't worry! Just do the lesson when you can. You should do all the lessons in the right order, so don't skip ahead.

I'm not sure I can finish everything in January.

You can still use the lessons after the end of January. The course doesn't close. You can come back to the course any time.

I have a question!

No problem! Email us anytime: [email protected]

I don't like the course.

No problem! Email us within 30 days and we'll give you a full refund.

I'm a teacher. Can I use the material in my classes?

Yes! You have my full permission to use this material in your classroom or with your private students. Everything can be printed and photocopied.

This course is closed for enrollment.