English Dictation Exercises

Choose a level or a topic below. Every exercise is split into short sentences so you can listen, type and get instant feedback.

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1092 exercises

DialogueA1

Bingo Night with Grandma: Number 77

At bingo night in the community hall, a grandmother needs just two numbers, but she can't always hear the caller.

Numbers & Spelling · 30 sentences · 2:16 · UK

PassageA1

My Rabbit Snowball: Soft and White

A little girl introduces her white pet rabbit: her long ears, her food, her fast hops, and a big surprise.

Beginner · 15 sentences · 0:43 · UK

DialogueA1

Our New Puppy: What Does He Eat?

A young man comes home and finds a new puppy in the flat. What does he eat, and where does he sleep?

Beginner · 31 sentences · 1:32 · US

PassageA1

The Elephant: Big Ears, Long Nose

At the zoo, a little girl compares herself with an elephant: big and small ears, long and short noses, and a splash.

Beginner · 16 sentences · 0:41 · UK

DialogueA1

The Penguin: A Bird That Can't Fly

On a school trip to the aquarium, a girl and her teacher watch the penguins and learn how these birds live.

Beginner · 31 sentences · 1:42 · UK

DialogueA1

Laundry Day: Is This Shirt Clean?

A university student comes home with a big bag of dirty clothes, and laundry day with his mum does not go to plan.

Beginner · 30 sentences · 1:43 · UK

DialogueA1

Where Are My Keys? A Busy Morning

Two partners rush to get ready for work, but she can't find her keys anywhere, and the bus comes soon.

Beginner · 31 sentences · 1:37 · US

DialogueA1

Meeting the New Neighbor on the Stairs

A young woman carrying heavy boxes up the stairs meets her new neighbor and his big dog on moving day.

Daily Conversation · 31 sentences · 1:38 · US

DialogueA1

The Number 12 Bus: Is It 7:15 or 7:50?

On his first day of college, a student at a bus stop mixes up fifteen and fifty, and a friendly older woman steps in to help.

Numbers & Spelling · 31 sentences · 1:51 · UK

PassageA1

Atomic Habits: One Small Step Every Day

A woman shares the simple idea from the book Atomic Habits: big changes start with very small daily habits.

Daily Conversation · 25 sentences · 1:24 · US

DialogueA1

My New Job: Hello, I'm the New Assistant

On his first morning, a nervous new assistant meets the friendly office manager and learns where everything is.

Business English · 29 sentences · 1:44 · UK

PassageA1

Decorating the Christmas Tree: Top and Bottom

A little girl and her mum decorate a big Christmas tree, from the top to the bottom, until the cat finds a surprising place to sit.

Beginner · 16 sentences · 0:46 · UK

DialogueA1

Thanksgiving Dinner: Can You Pass the Potatoes?

A young guest joins a family Thanksgiving dinner, but when he asks for the potatoes, the bowl is mysteriously empty.

Daily Conversation · 30 sentences · 1:43 · US

PassageA1

Bath Time: Wet and Dry

A little girl has a bath full of opposites, hot and cold, big and small, wet and dry, until someone else wants a bath too.

Beginner · 16 sentences · 0:45 · UK

DialogueA1

At the Café: Can I Have a Sandwich?

A customer orders a sandwich and a coffee at a small café, but his first choice is gone and his drink comes in the wrong size.

Travel English · 29 sentences · 1:38 · US

PassageA1

At the Aquarium: One, Two, Many

A little girl counts fish at the aquarium, one, two, then too many, until something big swims by.

Beginner · 13 sentences · 0:25 · US

PassageA1

At the Beach: In and Out

A little girl plays in and out of the waves at the beach, until a tiny crab finds a surprising new home.

Beginner · 14 sentences · 0:33 · US

PassageA1

At the Farm: Big and Small

A little girl visits a farm and finds big animals, small animals, loud ones and quiet ones.

Beginner · 13 sentences · 0:37 · UK

PassageA1

At the Playground: Up and Down

A little girl goes up and down at the playground, and her brother is fast, but who is the slowest of all?

Beginner · 13 sentences · 0:29 · US

PassageA1

In the Kitchen: Hot and Cold

A little girl helps her grandma make lunch and learns what is hot and what is cold, with a sweet surprise at the end.

Beginner · 13 sentences · 0:32 · UK

DialogueA1

How Much Is It? Buying Fruit at the Market

A customer buys apples, cherries and lemons at a busy farmers' market and listens carefully to the prices.

Numbers & Spelling · 24 sentences · 1:23 · US

DialogueA1

What's Your Phone Number? Meeting a New Classmate

Two adult students meet before their first evening English class and swap names, ages and phone numbers.

Numbers & Spelling · 25 sentences · 1:45 · US

DialogueA1

A Picnic by the Lake

A little girl and her grandpa have a picnic by a lake and describe the ducks, a boat, a butterfly and a rainbow.

Beginner · 25 sentences · 1:26

DialogueA1

Look Outside! A Snowy Morning

A little girl wakes up to a white world and describes the snow with her dad.

Beginner · 30 sentences · 1:31

Your learning path

Choose your English dictation level

Start where you feel comfortable, then climb the CEFR ladder one step at a time.

Exams & real life

Dictation practice for IELTS, TOEIC and everyday English

Pick a goal: ace your listening test, or understand the English you hear at work, on trips and in the news.

3 practice modes

Three ways to practise dictation: full sentence, fill in the blanks, word order

Every exercise can be practised three ways, and you can switch at any sentence. Start with gentle gap-fills, then build up to writing the whole sentence — the same audio, at a difficulty that fits you.

Full-sentence dictation
The classic: listen and write the whole sentence. Word-by-word corrections show every missing, extra and misspelled word.
Best for B1+, spelling, IELTS and TOEIC
Fill in the blanks
The sentence is on screen with gaps and you type only the missing words — a focused cloze listening exercise on the words learners miss most.
Best for beginners and quick daily practice
Word order
Tap word tiles in the order you hear them. No spelling needed, just catch every word and its place. Harder levels add look-alike decoys such as in / on or walk / walked.
Best for A1–A2, phones and small words

Easy, Medium and Hard: the gaps are the words that matter

Gaps are chosen by grammar, not at random. In fast English the ear misses the small, unstressed words, so those are always yours to write.

Easy
Only verbs, prepositions and linking words are hidden — went, to, because. A label under each gap tells you what kind of word to listen for.
Medium
Pronouns, articles and names stay on screen, plus a few of the longest key words so about a third of the sentence is shown; auxiliaries, contractions like I'd or can't and most nouns are yours to catch.
Hard
Every word is hidden: a full dictation with only the shape of the sentence to help you.

Words shown on screen never count towards your score, so your accuracy and leaderboard points stay honest at every level.

A smart dictation tool

An online dictation tool that guides you to every mistake

Dictationly is more than an audio player with a text box. It watches what you type and leads you straight to the part you missed, so you spend your time listening — not searching, rewinding or looking words up in another tab.

Ctrl + B
Replays from where you got stuck
Press Ctrl+B and the audio restarts a couple of words before your first mistake — or before the point where you paused. No more replaying the whole sentence to hear one word.
Enter
Cursor jumps to the wrong word
When you check a sentence, the first misspelled word is selected for you, or the cursor lands exactly where a missing word belongs. Fix it and check again.
Built-in dictionary
Click any word after checking to see its meaning, IPA and US/UK pronunciation — with definitions in Vietnamese, Spanish, French, German and 8 more languages.
Ctrl + H
Hints that fix just one word
Stuck? A hint corrects only your first mistake and keeps everything else you typed, so you still do most of the work yourself.
Picks up where you left off
Progress is saved sentence by sentence. Come back tomorrow and the exercise continues from the sentence you stopped at.
Ctrl + Space
Keyboard-first and speed control
Play, pause, check and move on without touching the mouse, and switch between 0.75×, 1× and 1.25× speed at any time.

Content that fits you

Listening exercises matched to your level

Every exercise is graded from A1 to C2 by its vocabulary and speaking speed, so what you practise is challenging but never impossible. Pick your level, an exam or a real-life topic and get material made for you.

English Dictation Exercises

Find your next dictation

Filter exercises

Bingo Night with Grandma: Number 77

My Rabbit Snowball: Soft and White

Our New Puppy: What Does He Eat?

The Elephant: Big Ears, Long Nose

The Penguin: A Bird That Can't Fly

Laundry Day: Is This Shirt Clean?

Where Are My Keys? A Busy Morning

Meeting the New Neighbor on the Stairs

The Number 12 Bus: Is It 7:15 or 7:50?

Atomic Habits: One Small Step Every Day

My New Job: Hello, I'm the New Assistant

Decorating the Christmas Tree: Top and Bottom

Thanksgiving Dinner: Can You Pass the Potatoes?

Bath Time: Wet and Dry

At the Café: Can I Have a Sandwich?

At the Aquarium: One, Two, Many

At the Beach: In and Out

At the Farm: Big and Small

At the Playground: Up and Down

In the Kitchen: Hot and Cold

How Much Is It? Buying Fruit at the Market

What's Your Phone Number? Meeting a New Classmate

A Picnic by the Lake

Look Outside! A Snowy Morning

Choose your English dictation level

Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Dictation practice for IELTS, TOEIC and everyday English

Daily Conversation

IELTS Listening

TOEIC Listening

Business English

Travel English

Numbers & Spelling

English News

Audiobook Stories

Three ways to practise dictation: full sentence, fill in the blanks, word order

Full-sentence dictation

Fill in the blanks

Word order

Easy, Medium and Hard: the gaps are the words that matter

An online dictation tool that guides you to every mistake

Replays from where you got stuck

Cursor jumps to the wrong word

Built-in dictionary

Hints that fix just one word

Picks up where you left off

Keyboard-first and speed control

Listening exercises matched to your level

English Dictation Exercises

Find your next dictation

Filter exercises

Bingo Night with Grandma: Number 77

My Rabbit Snowball: Soft and White

Our New Puppy: What Does He Eat?

The Elephant: Big Ears, Long Nose

The Penguin: A Bird That Can't Fly

Laundry Day: Is This Shirt Clean?

Where Are My Keys? A Busy Morning

Meeting the New Neighbor on the Stairs

The Number 12 Bus: Is It 7:15 or 7:50?

Atomic Habits: One Small Step Every Day

My New Job: Hello, I'm the New Assistant

Decorating the Christmas Tree: Top and Bottom

Thanksgiving Dinner: Can You Pass the Potatoes?

Bath Time: Wet and Dry

At the Café: Can I Have a Sandwich?

At the Aquarium: One, Two, Many

At the Beach: In and Out

At the Farm: Big and Small

At the Playground: Up and Down

In the Kitchen: Hot and Cold

How Much Is It? Buying Fruit at the Market

What's Your Phone Number? Meeting a New Classmate

A Picnic by the Lake

Look Outside! A Snowy Morning