Giving Directions
Anna asks Ben the way to the public library. Directions are pure rhythm: short commands, heavy stress on the turns, and numbers you cannot afford to miss. · CLEAR · Real American Listening
Step 1 — Listen (no transcript yet)
Listen once or twice without reading. Just follow the story: who is speaking, where, and what changes?
Real voices for this lesson. Slow plays the same voices at 75% speed.
…or listen with your device voice:
Step 2 — Comprehension questions
Answer from memory first. Each question trains a named skill.
Step 3 — Reveal the transcript
In the transcript: Difficult wordIdiomConnected speech
📄 Show Transcript
Anna: Excuse me. Can you tell me the way to the public library?
Ben: Of course.
Ben: Go straight on this street for two blocks.
Anna: Two blocks straight. Then what do I do?
Ben: Turn left at the traffic light. The library is on your right, next to the post office.
Anna: Is it far from here?
Ben: No. It is about five minutes on foot.
Ben: You cannot miss it — it is a big red building.
Anna: A big red building, next to the post office. Thank you very much.
Ben: You are welcome. The library opens at nine, so you have plenty of time.
Anna: That is kind of you. Have a nice day.
Ben: You too. Good luck!
Step 4 — Difficult expressions
Can you tell me the way to the public library?
It is about five minutes on foot.
You cannot miss it — it is a big red building.
Step 5 — Pronunciation & reductions
American English shrinks unstressed words. This is what the speakers really did with their mouths:
You read:
Go straight on this street for two blocks
You hear:
Go STRAIGHT on this street for TWO BLOCKS
Direction words and numbers carry maximum stress — if the listener catches only two words, they must be STRAIGHT and TWO.
You read:
Turn left at the traffic light
You hear:
Turn LEFT at the TRAF-fic light
Commands start strong and fall. The fall says: this is an instruction, not a question.
You read:
on your right, next to the post office
You hear:
On your RIGHT — NEXT to the POST OF-fice
Lists rise slightly on each item and fall on the last: right ↗, post office ↘. That melody tells the ear the list is finished.
You read:
It is about five minutes on foot
You hear:
It is a-BOUT FIVE MIN-utes on FOOT
'About' is unstressed and quick even in CLEAR speech — some small words are always small.
You read:
so you have plenty of time
You hear:
So you have PLEN-ty of TIME
'Plenty of' links: plen-ty-əv. Even careful speakers link a final consonant into the next vowel.
🗣️ Practice this pronunciation →
Step 6 — Shadow
Play the audio and speak with the voices — same words, same rhythm, half a second behind them. Use Slow if you need to. Two or three passes, out loud.
Step 7 — Speak
Give directions out loud from your home to a place you know: use 'Go straight', 'Turn left/right', one number of blocks, and finish with 'You cannot miss it.' Record it clearly.
Record yourself, play it back, and compare with the model. Recordings stay in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Step 8 — Final comprehension check
One last pass: dictation and quick questions. No transcript peeking this time.
Keep training this skill
🗣️ Pronunciation Lab — sounds, stress, reductions & shadowing (A1–C1)🎙️ Speaking Studio — dialogues, role-plays and interviews🌱 Vocabulary Builder — grow the words you heard🔗 Phrasal Verbs Lab — the verbs native speakers actually use💬 Idioms — one idiom in every Step by Step lesson🇺🇸 Real-Life English — Say It Right, the mistakes clinic🎧 Listening Lab — all levels A1–C1Keep going
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