A selection of English ESL comprehension exercise printables

There is the transcript and a QR code for you to download the audio. You can give the students the transctipt, tooi but I suggest you to give it to them after you let them listen the audio. First part is the possible unknown words. You can give the words before listening for a better understanding.

Passive Voice Listening Exercise Making Muffins!

Hi, I've made a nice ws about the British spring. The ws contains a B1 level reading comprehension, a video and writing exercise. The key is included. Hope you will find it useful!

Spring in Britain

This little Easter story is for young learners or students with difficulties. The students have to read the text and answer true or false questions, some open questions and do a vocabulary exercise.

Easter - The Hare that wanted to be an Easter bunny

A short reading exercise where a little elephant gets left behind and gets lost. It has two sets of questions to answer and a third to discuss. Hope you find it useful. Thank you! :)

SANDO IS LOST READING IN PAST SIMPLE FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

Reading comprehension on an easy level, with a few exercises to assure reader's understanding of subject and a brief exercise on creative writing regarding the topic discussed in the text.

Reading comprehension about the mythological Yule Cat

There are two sheets to my reading, scanning and comprehension exercise. The exercise includes speaking, listening and comprehension.


1.	An article for the student to read.


2.	A question sheet for you to read to the student.


I suggest you copy and paste into two different documents.


I convert the article to pdf format, as the student’s device doesn’t need MS Word installed for it to display or print.


Send or give the article to the student to read aloud to you. Then ask the student questions from the question sheet, they’re in the same order as the article. Most of the answers are one or two words; just be aware that some students will read a whole paragraph knowing that the answer is somewhere in it. For me, that’s not good enough! 


Finally ask the student to read the article again and while you correct their pronunciation, as necessary.  


It Was Elementary, an article for Year 7 and above.

Gap fill exercise - students listen to the audio supplied (the speakers have an Australian accent) and complete the blanks with the correct words (at the bottom of the page in grey)

Getting a refund

My dictation exercise includes listening, writing, speaking and scanning and comprehension. There are four sheets to my dictation exercise.


1.	An article sheet for you to read to the student.
2.	A vocabulary sheet for the student, send this to the student.
3.	A question-and-answer (Q&A) sheet for the student. This is also sent to the student.
4.	A question sheet for you to read to the student.


I suggest you copy and paste into four different documents. The question-and-answer sheet can be used for other dictations.


I convert the vocabulary, and question and answer sheet to pdf format, as the student’s device doesn’t need MS Word installed for it to display.


Send or give the vocabulary sheet and Q&A to the student. Dictate the questions to the student. Then check they’ve written them fully by asking them to read the questions they’ve written. Be aware some will attempt write only a couple of key words! Next you read the article to the student, but not too fast. I usually read it twice, maybe emphasizing the answers. Finally, you ask the student the questions and check their answers. Maybe re-read the relevant part so they can hear the answer.


I use this dictation with Junior New Concept English Book 1A Unit 14.

Dication based on Junior New Concept English Book 1A Unit 14.

This exercise is a fill in work with the song summer dreaming from Kate Markowitz just right before summer holidays to get into a good mood for the summer season

Summer dreaming lyrics a nice exercise to lift up the spirit for holidays

Created by PrimaryLeap
This engaging Perfect Tenses: Present, Past, and Future worksheet is designed for upper-intermediate ESL students to practise using perfect tenses accurately in context. Through fill-in-the-blank exercises, students develop an understanding of how present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect tenses function and differ. The activity also includes a sentence-writing exercise with the verb "study," allowing students to independently apply their knowledge. This worksheet is ideal for helping students improve their grammar and sentence construction skills.

Perfect Tenses: Present, Past, and Future

Gap fill activity - very slow listening exercise so maybe best for lower level learners - students listen to the audio (link supplied at bottom of worksheet) and fill in gaps using words at the bottom - solution is in YouTube description box

Layla's local area and future living plans


This comprehensive worksheet is designed for EFL teachers seeking to engage their students with the iconic anime series "Dragon Ball Z" and its legendary creator, Akira Toriyama. Tailored for B2 level learners, the worksheet offers a multifaceted approach to language learning, combining reading comprehension with vocabulary building and critical thinking exercises.

The worksheet begins with pre-reading questions to stimulate students' prior knowledge and interest in the topic. It then introduces a vocabulary matching activity that familiarizes students with key terms related to the article, enhancing their lexical resources. A fill-in-the-blank activity follows, allowing students to apply their newly acquired vocabulary in context, reinforcing their understanding and retention.

Specific information and skim reading questions are included to develop students' reading strategies, focusing on scanning for details and skimming for the gist. These activities are designed to improve students' ability to extract relevant information and grasp the main ideas of a text efficiently.

Finally, comprehension questions encourage deeper reflection on the article's content, promoting discussion and critical thinking about the themes of perseverance, friendship, and the impact of creative work. This worksheet is an excellent resource for teachers looking to inspire their students with the story of "Dragon Ball Z" and its creator, while simultaneously enhancing their English language skills.

Dragon Ball Z: Honoring Its Creator, Akira Toriyama

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

For personal or classroom use only. Uploading on other internet sharing platforms or any commercial use NOT PERMITTED. Share Alike.

Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License

Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives License

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License

how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

739 Comprehension exercise English ESL worksheets pdf & doc