This track is deceptively simple. It features short dialogues where speakers use the positive and negative forms of “to be.”
Learning Focus: Contractions. Speakout emphasizes natural spoken English. The audio will rarely say “I am” fully; it will use “I’m,” “You’re,” “He’s,” etc.
Activity: Pause the audio after each sentence. Write the contraction you heard. Then, replay to check. speakout elementary audio unit 1
Vocabulary and grammar from Unit 1 reappear in every subsequent unit. If you don’t master the pronunciation and listening recognition of “am/is/are” in Unit 1, you will struggle with Unit 2 (Present Simple) and Unit 3 (Possessives). The audio cements the foundation.
Goal: Identify countries and nationalities from spoken clues. This track is deceptively simple
What you will hear: Short Q&A dialogues.
Listening Task: Complete the table while listening: Learning Focus: Contractions
| Dialogue | Country | Nationality | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1 | Turkey | ? | | 2 | ? | Brazilian | | 3 | Poland | ? | | 4 | ? | Chinese |
Answer Key (for self-check): 1 – Turkish, 2 – Brazil, 3 – Polish, 4 – China
Self-Study Tip: Focus on the second part of the sentence – the nationality often ends with -ish, -ian, -ese, or -an.
You might easily read the sentence, “Are you from Italy?” But when you hear it spoken quickly – “Ya from Italy?” – it becomes unrecognizable. Unit 1 audio bridges that gap.