ESL Christmas Listening

This ESL Christmas listening page has several recordings of Christmas vocabulary being used and spoken by a native English speaker. By listening to them and doing the exercises you will get better at understanding people when they talk about Christmas.

There are four exercises on this page, and in each of them you need to first listen to the recorded passage. Then you will need to either answer questions or write something. You can listen to each recording several times if you need to. You should also go to the ESL Christmas vocabulary page that has a recording of all the Christmas vocabulary being spoken by a native English speaker so you can hear the correct pronunciation.

The four exercise on the ESL Christmas listening page are as follows:

• Identification of spoken word order.
• Identification of spoken definition.
• Listening comprehension.
• Dictation passage.

ESL Christmas Listening Exercises

Exercise 1 – Identification of Spoken Word Order

In this first ESL Christmas listening exercise you need to listen to the following recording that has groups of words being spoken and then decide which option (A-D) in each question has the words in the same order. When you have answered all the questions you can use the get score button to see the correct answers.

ESL Christmas Identification of Spoken Word Order

Listen to the recording of the five groups of five words each given above and decide which option (A-D) in the five questions in this test has the correct order.

1) Which is the correct order for group of words one?

    A) Christmas carol, Nutcracker, Christmas holidays, Manger, Nativity play
    B) Manger, Christmas carol, Nutcracker, Nativity play, Christmas holidays
    C) Christmas holidays, Christmas carol, Manger, Nutcracker, Nativity play
    D) Nativity play, Christmas carol, Manger, Nutcracker, Christmas holidays

2) Which is the correct order for group of words two?

    A) Mistletoe, Angel, Christmas carol, Santa’s grotto, Snowman
    B) Santa’s grotto, Mistletoe, Angel, Snowman, Christmas carol
    C) Christmas carol, Mistletoe, Santa’s grotto, Angel, Snowman
    D) Snowman, Mistletoe, Santa’s grotto, Angel, Christmas carol

3) Which is the correct order for group of words three?

    A) Jingle bells, Wassail, Happy Christmas, Mary, Rejoice
    B) Mary, Jingle bells, Wassail, Rejoice, Happy Christmas
    C) Happy Christmas, Jingle bells, Mary, Wassail, Rejoice
    D) Rejoice, Jingle bells, Mary, Wassail, Happy Christmas

4) Which is the correct order for group of words four?

    A) Angel, Poinsettia, Ornament, Star, Silent night
    B) Star, Angel, Poinsettia, Silent night, Ornament
    C) Ornament, Angel, Star, Poinsettia, Silent night
    D) Silent night, Angel, Star, Poinsettia, Ornament

5) Which is the correct order for group of words five?

    A) Yule, Bauble, Stocking filler, Curling ribbon, Father Christmas
    B) Curling ribbon, Yule, Bauble, Father Christmas, Stocking filler
    C) Stocking filler, Yule, Curling ribbon, Bauble, Father Christmas
    D) Father Christmas, Yule, Curling ribbon, Bauble, Stocking filler

Score =

Correct answers:

Exercise 2 – Identification of Spoken Definition

In the next ESL Christmas listening exercise you need to listen to the definitions that are in the recording and then decide which word (A-D) in each question matches the spoken definition. Then you can use the get score button to see the answers.

ESL Christmas Listening Identification of Vocabulary Meaning

Listen to the recording of the meanings of the five vocabulary words given above and decide which word out of the options (A-D) in each question matches the meaning.

1) What is the meaning of the first definition in the recording?

    A) Shepherd
    B) Christmas stocking
    C) Wreath
    D) Garland

2) What is the meaning of the second definition in the recording?

    A) Nativity play
    B) Snow
    C) Gingerbread man
    D) Christianity

3) What is the meaning of the third definition in the recording?

    A) Wreath
    B) Holly
    C) Egg-nog
    D) Jingle bells

4) What is the meaning of the fourth definition in the recording?

    A) Christmas
    B) Christian
    C) Poinsettia
    D) Silent night

5) What is the meaning of the fifth definition in the recording?

    A) Candle
    B) Mary
    C) Advent
    D) Sleigh

Score =

Correct answers:

Exercise 3 – Listening Comprehension

For the third ESL Christmas listening exercise you need to listen to the recording of a text being read and then answer the following questions. Listen several times, but not too many. Just two or three times should be enough to be able to answer the questions. Then use the get score button to see the correct answers.

At the end of the page there is a link that you can click to see the text of the recorded passage. Use this to check your understand and comprehension of the spoken passage. 

ESL Christmas Listening Comprehension

Listen to the recording of the passage about Christmas above and answer the following five questions.

1) What ornaments can be used to decorate a Christmas tree?

    A) Garland.
    B) Lawn figures.
    C) Candles.
    D) Strings or lights.

2) What do people use to decorate their front door?

    A) A wreath.
    B) A lawn figure.
    C) A pine cone.
    D) A candle.

3) What do people do at a candle light service?

    A) Sing Christmas carols.
    B) Hold a candle while singing Christmas songs.
    C) Hold a Nativity play.
    D) Give a sermon.

4) When is the best time to shop for Christmas gifts?

    A) In the morning.
    B) After lunch.
    C) Late afternoon.
    D) Early evening.

5) Where do children usually leave their stockings?

    A) Under the Christmas tree.
    B) Under their bed.
    C) On the fireplace.
    D) On the table.

Score =

Correct answers:

Exercise 4 – Dictation

The final ESL Christmas listening exercise is a dictation task. You need to listen to the recording of a passage being spoken and write down the words that are used. You should write them down exactly as you hear them. The recoding has the passage being spoken twice: the first time at a slow speaking speed and then in the second time it has pauses after every few words and the punctuation spoken as well. Listen several times.

Again you can use the link at the end of the page to see the full text so you can compare that to what you wrote.

Listening Comprehension Passage
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Dictation Passage
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