english speeches with subtitles

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5 ways to listen better

• 5 Famous Speeches To Help you Learn English

• Posted on 16/06/2021
• Categories: Blog
• Tags: Famous Speeches , Listening , Listening Comprehension , Resources to learn English , Speaking

Everyone likes listening to inspiring speeches. Gifted speakers have a way of making people want to listen and take action to change their lives.

But speeches aren’t just interesting because of their content. They are also great tools to help you improve your English.

Listening to a speech and taking notes can help you develop your comprehension skills. Repeating the words of the speaker allows you to improve your pronunciation. And writing a summary can help you practise your spelling and grammar.

To help you get started, we’ve found 5 famous speeches to help you learn English.

1. Steve Jobs: Stanford Commencement Speech

Steve Jobs was no doubt a great speaker. Millions around the globe were enchanted by the presentations that he gave for Apple as the company’s CEO.

However, he wasn’t just known for speeches related to product launches , like the iconic 2007 speech where he introduced the iPhone . He’s also known for inspirational speeches, like the one he gave in 2005 at a Stanford Commencement ceremony.

In this speech, he addresses the graduating students of Stanford University. He starts by saying that he never actually graduated from college. This makes for an honest and heart-warming speech . For nearly 15 minutes, he talks about his life, telling stories that are funny, relatable, and emotional. He also offers tips for students to apply to their own lives.

Why is it good for learning English?

Jobs uses simple language and speaks in short sentences. He clearly pronounces every word so it’s easy to understand and mimic. Also, this video comes with big subtitles that make the speech even easier to follow.

2. Greta Thunberg: 2019 UN Climate Action Summit Speech

At just 18 years old, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is one of the most well-known speakers of our time. Some of her speeches have even gone viral on social media. And her powerful words have been repeated thousands of times on climate strike placards around the world.

In one of her most moving speeches, Greta Thunberg addresses world leaders at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York. She challenges them for not taking action to fight global warming and ensure a future for the younger generations.

“How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,” she says.

Greta’s speech is a lesson in how to express yourself on a variety of environmental issues like climate change. It’s full of lots of useful vocabulary. Plus, the subtitles will help you to understand any complicated language!

3. Will Smith: Speech About Self Discipline

You probably know Will Smith as an actor. He’s played a wide variety of characters – from a police officer in Men in Black to a single father in The Pursuit of Happyness . But did you know that he’s also a great motivational speaker?

A few years ago, a video featuring Will Smith talking about the secret to success went viral on YouTube. In it, he talks about mastering self-discipline as a way to achieve your dreams.

“You cannot win the war against the world if you can’t win the war against your own mind,” he says.

As an actor, Will Smith has a clear and compelling voice, which is easy to follow. Some parts of this talk also sound improvised so it’s great for practising natural speech. It’s also excellent listening practice for understanding an American accent. And there’s lots of slang which you’ll have to guess from the context.

4. Emma Watson: Gender Equality Speech

You may associate Emma Watson’s name with Hermione Granger, the quirky and smart witch from the Harry Potter movies. When she’s not chasing evil wizards, Emma Watson campaigns for real-world issues such as gender equality.

In one of her most famous speeches, which she gave at a special event for the UN’s HeForShe campaign, Emma Watson talks about feminism and fighting for women’s rights. In particular, she explains why neither of these should be confused with ‘man-hating’.

While the actress’s voice is pleasant and calming, the issues she talks about are thought-provoking and will leave you thinking long after this short, 4-minute speech.

This talk is great for helping you get used to a southern English accent. It can also give you some essential vocabulary about a relevant topic. Look out for uses of the passive voice in her speech, and write down those sentences to practise this grammar structure.

5. Benjamin Zander: The Transformative Power of Classical Music

Benjamin Zander is the musical director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also a well-known motivational speaker who loves to share his love for music.

In his 2008 TED talk, he found an engaging way to talk about classical music to people who know nothing about it. As you can see in the video below, he switches between speaking and playing the piano. And, he isn’t afraid to tell a joke or two.

This speech is a bit more of a challenge than the ones described above. Benjamin Zander speaks fast and in a conversational style, using many examples and short stories to tell his tale .

However, the pauses he takes to play the piano give you time to take some notes. Write down any unfamiliar words you heard him say so you can look them up later. If you’re having trouble understanding him, you can always turn on the subtitles.

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Gifted (adj): talented.

To enchant (v): to captivate.

Launch (n): a product release.

Heart-warming (adj): emotional.

To go viral (v): something spreads quickly on the internet.

Placards (n): cardboard signs.

Moving (adj): emotional.

Compelling (adj): captivating.

Quirky (adj): interesting and different.

Thought-provoking (adj): something interesting that makes you think a lot about the topic.

To switch (v): to change.

Tale (n): story.

To look something up (v): to search for a piece of information in a dictionary or online.

adj = adjective

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How To Write A B2 First Formal Email/Letter

• By: oxfordadmin
• Posted on 01/06/2021

8 Resources To Help Beginner English Learners

• Posted on 23/06/2021

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13 Speeches in English for Listening and Speaking Practice

Giving a speech in front of a whole room of people can be pretty scary. Especially if you are giving a speech in English as a non-native speaker.

But you can learn from the best.

You can watch videos of famous, effective speeches in English to learn how to do it the right way .

In this post we will share 13 amazing speeches in English that you can use to become a more confident speaker yourself.

1. Speech on Kindness by a 10-year-old Girl

2. “the effects of lying” by georgia haukom, 3. “education for all” by cameron allen, 4. gender equality speech by emma watson, 5. “rocky balboa speech” by sylvester stallone, 6. 2008 presidential acceptance speech by president barack obama, 7. “this is water” speech by david foster wallace, 8. “the great dictator speech” by charlie chaplin, 9. 2018 golden globe speech by oprah winfrey, 10. “i have a dream” speech by martin luther king jr., 11. “the gettysburg address” by abraham lincoln, 12. “britain does owe reparations” by shashi tharoor, 13. mark antony’s speech by william shakespeare, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Level: Beginner

Do you think people should be kind to one another? This speaker sure does. And she knows how to convince you of the same.

This is a perfect informative speech for beginner English learners . The speaker is a child who is able to speak fluently but with simple words . She also uses her gestures and facial expressions to communicate her emotions with the audience.

This speech is perfect for listening practice . However, learners should be aware that her pauses are not perfect. Learners should focus more on her words and the content of the speech than her intonation or pacing while practicing.

Even though the speaker is a student in the fourth grade, her speech is one of the most interactive speeches I have seen. She starts with a game and is able to make her main point through the game itself.

English learners will enjoy her speech especially because the vocabulary she uses is simple and can be easily learned. But it does not feel like a beginner wrote this speech because she uses her words so well.

If you want to learn the art of making basic arguments while speaking, you should watch this speech. She is able to convince her audience because she is able to connect with them through games and stories.

She also uses scientific studies to back up (support) her main points.

Level: Intermediate

This is a short and simple speech about why everyone in the world should get an education. Because the speaker is a child, the speech does not have complex words or sentence structures.

This is also a classic example of an informative speech. The speaker presents the main argument and the facts simply and clearly . She also gives the basic definitions of important terms in the speech itself.

This speech is perfect for English listening and speaking practice because it is so short but also full of useful information. It is also a good example of the standard American English accent .

Emma Watson is a famous English actress who is best known for her role in the “Harry Potter” movie series as Hermione. She is also a United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador .

In this speech, she is trying to both inform and convince the audience  of why men should support feminism. Feminism is a movement that asks for equal rights and opportunities for women.

She mixes her formal tone with personal stories to do this. The speech is also a good example of British English .

This is a speech taken from the movie “Rocky Balboa.”  In this scene, Rocky, played by Sylvester Stallone, is talking to his son.

His speech is a classic example of a motivational speech . In these kinds of speeches, a person tries to inspire someone else, especially when the listener feels hopeless or is full of shame.

The basic message of the speech is that no matter how strong a person is, he or she will always face difficulties. And even though the message does not sound positive, Stallone’s way of speaking still makes it inspiring.

Stallone is able to communicate his message with love, even though he is criticizing his son and telling him difficult facts about the world. Generally, this is called “tough love” in English.

Listeners should also notice how he uses gestures to make his point .

Compare this speech with the Oprah Winfrey and Martin Luther King speeches (later in this list). All of them inspire their audiences but have really different tones. Stallone’s speech is the most informal and personal while Martin Luther King’s speech is the most formal and written for a large audience. All these speeches are in American English.

Barack Obama was the first African American elected as president by U.S. citizens. He gave this speech after he won the election.

English learners can discover a lot from his speech. Obama talks about the most important issues Americans were facing back then and are still important to them. He also uses a kind of American English that is easy to understand . His speech is mainly about the values that he and Americans stand for.

Obama’s accent is a mixture of standard American English and the way of speaking commonly popular in African American communities. He is an expert in using pauses so that the audience can follow his words without breaking his rhythm.

As the speech is longer than most others on this list, you may want to listen to it in parts rather than beginning-to-end.

Level: Advanced

This speech is a perfect example of the mixture of casual and formal English . David Foster Wallace was an award-winning American writer who wrote about the culture of the U.S.

In this speech, he talks about the value of an education in liberal arts (general academic subjects, as opposed to technical/professional training). He believes that this kind of education teaches you how to think and think about others.

This is a good example of American English. Be aware that in some parts of the speech he also uses swear words (rude/offensive words) to create an emotional impact on the audience. This is very close to how people generally communicate with one another in daily life.

So, this speech is better for learning casual English even though it is a speech given at a university.

Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Charlie Chaplin is generally known for his gestures and facial expressions. In this movie, he proves that he can use speech as well to inspire and entertain the viewers.

The movie “The Great Dictator” is a satire about the rise of authoritarian governments in Europe. The word “authoritarian” means a person or a government that believes in controlling others and does not believe in freedom.

In this speech, Charlie Chaplin copies Adolf Hitler , but his message is exactly the opposite of Hitler’s ideas.

The interesting thing about the speech is how Chaplin uses short sentences for the most impact . There is also a lot of repetition that makes it easy for the audience to follow the speech.

Chaplin uses the tone, rhythm and pitch of his voice to make the speech interesting instead of using varied words. Chaplin’s speech can be categorized as inspirational or motivational. It does not use formal words but neither is it casual or informal.

Oprah Winfrey is an American talk show host and actor who is known around the world for her interviews. In the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, she was awarded the Cecil B. deMille award .

Her speech at the award show is about many different topics related to American society. She is the first African American woman to be awarded the prize . She talks about how watching an African American celebrity get another big entertainment award many years ago changed her life.

She also talks about sexual assault and the search for justice in American society. The MeToo movement is the main subject of the speech.

Even though the speech is in formal English , Oprah is able to make it emotional and personal .

Learners should focus on how she uses chunking in her sentences . Chunking is the technique of grouping words (called chunks) in a sentence with a slight pause between every chunk. It also helps with intonation and the rhythm of speaking.

This is one of the most well-known speeches of the last century . Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader of the civil rights movement in the U.S. The movement demanded that people of different races should be treated equally. This speech summarized the main vision of the movement using metaphors and repetition .

The speech begins by referring to the “Emancipation Proclamation.”  The proclamation (official announcement) was an order by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that freed many slaves in the U.S. Martin Luther King talks about this because most of the slaves were African Americans and it was their first step towards freedom.

Advanced learners can learn about the history and cultural conflicts of America through this speech. It is also a perfect example of the use of formal English to convince other people .

Some of the words used in this speech are no longer common in American English. “Negro” is often regarded as an insult and learners should use words like “African American” instead.

This speech, delivered by the 16th president of the U.S. (Abraham Lincoln, whom we just discussed above) is considered to be one of the best speeches in English .

Lincoln delivered this in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where many soldiers had died fighting a civil war. It was fought between Americans who wanted to ban slavery and people who did not. Lincoln was there to dedicate a graveyard to the soldiers.

In this speech, Lincoln reminds the people why this was an important war. He mentions that the U.S. was created on the values of liberty and equality. And this civil war was a test of whether a nation based on these values can last for long or not.

He honors the soldiers by saying that they have already “consecrated” the land for the people of America. (“To consecrate” means to make something sacred or holy.) He reminds the audience that they have to make sure that the idea of America as a nation of freedom continues so that the efforts of these soldiers are not wasted.

This is a very short speech . Learners can easily listen to it multiple times in a practice session. But only advanced learners can understand it since it has several difficult words in it. For instance, “score” is an outdated term used for the number 20. And when he mentions the word “fathers” in the first line he is actually referring to the leaders who had founded the country of America.

Even though Shashi Tharoor is not a native English speaker, his English is so fluent that he sounds like one. Learners from India will instantly recognize him because he is famous there for his English skills.

In this video, he is giving a speech as a part of a debate at Oxford University . He lists out arguments that support the idea that the U.K. should give reparations to its colonies. “Reparations” are payments to a country or community for some harm done to them. A colony is a region or a country that is controlled by another country by force.

Britain had a large number of colonies throughout the world between the 16th and 20th centuries. In this speech, Tharoor tries to convince his audience that the U.K. should give something for the damage they did to the countries they had colonized.

This is one of the finest examples of a formal speech in today’s English . Learners who want to go into academics can learn how to organize their arguments with evidence.

The speech is also great for vocabulary practice . Plus, Tharoor has deep knowledge of both the national history of the U.K. and the colonial history of India. Apart from the content of the speech, his way of speaking is also impressive and is similar to formal British English .

This speech is part of a play called “Julius Caesar”  written by William Shakespeare. The play is based on the life and murder of Caesar who was a leader of the Roman Empire. The speech is considered to be one of the finest pieces of English literature .

It is also one of the best examples of the use of rhetoric (the art of speaking and persuasion).

Mark Antony makes this speech after Caesar is killed by other leaders of the Roman Empire. Antony was a close friend of Caesar’s and here he tries to remind the people of Rome that Caesar was actually a good man. He has to convince the people that his murderers like Brutus are actually criminals. But he has to do so without directly blaming the murderers.

Advanced learners should know this speech mainly because of its cultural value.

Many words in this speech have been replaced by other words in today’s English. “Hath” is the older form of “has” or “had.” “Thou” has also been replaced by the word “you.”

So rather than memorizing the vocabulary, learners should focus on how Damian Lewis delivers the speech instead. The intonation, tone, pitch and rhythm is similar to the formal English used today. He is also good at conveying emotions through pauses and expressions.

If you keep watching videos of native speakers talking, you’ll get used to hearing how different people talk in English. After watching these speeches, you could look for more speeches or interviews on YouTube. 

A video-based immersion program can give you even more native speech to work with. FluentU , for example, features news clips and inspiring talks among its English language videos.

The best way to learn the art of speaking is to first copy great speakers. Try to speak the same words in a style that is natural and comfortable to you. These speeches in English are the perfect material to master it!

If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials , as you can see here:

If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.

The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.

FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.

For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:

FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.

FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.

The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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English Speech with Subtitles

Learn English and improve your listening with this amazing playlist with our best speeches with BIG subtitles. Enjoy it!

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MASTERS ’24: Matsuyama impresses champions dinner with speech. In English, no less

Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, tips his cap to the gallery after putting out on the second green during the final round of The Players Championship golf tournament Sunday, March 17, 2024, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, reacts to his errant shot on the second hole during the final round of The Players Championship golf tournament Sunday, March 17, 2024, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, tees off on the 12th hole during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament Friday, March 15, 2024, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, prepares to hit his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of The Players Championship golf tournament Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Hideki Matsuyama took a few minutes to scroll through his phone until he found the one photo that caused him so much anxiety, and the one that gave 31 men in green jackets deep admiration for the newest member of the Masters Club.

The photo shows a typewritten, one-page speech that Matsuyama delivered two years ago. As the Masters champion , he hosted the dinner upstairs in the Augusta National clubhouse for 30 champions and Chairman Fred Ridley.

It was written — and spoken — in English.

And it was memorable.

“I’ve known Hideki ... I’ve kind of grown up with him out here,” said Jordan Spieth. They ended their first year as pros with Spieth at No. 22 in the world and Matsuyama at No. 23. “Having said that, I don’t know if I’ve had more than a five-word conversation with him. I’ve always wondered, ‘Does he really know English and is it more convenient not to?’

“So when he stood up and he started speaking, I was in shock,” Spieth said. “No notes. You could tell he had practiced. He cared about what he was saying. You could tell it was a proud moment. Even for that dinner, it was one of the more special moments.”

A proud moment for sure. Also a terrifying one for the host that Tuesday night who rarely is without an interpreter when he plays outside his native Japan.

“The same nervousness I had on the back nine Sunday,” Matsuyama said. “I had to remember the note I wrote. I wanted to talk a little more but that was the maximum I could memorize. It almost made my head go blank. That’s how nervous I was.”

Matsuyama says he probably spoke no more than a minute-and-a-half.

“It probably felt like 30 minutes to him,” Adam Scott said.

The Masters Club dinner — often referred to as the Champions Dinner — dates to 1952 when Ben Hogan organized dinner for the past Masters champions. Honorary memberships to one of golf’s most exclusive clubs were extended to co-founders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, and since then to every chairman at Augusta National.

The dinner is for members only. No wives, no family, no agents — not even interpreters. The club publishes a photograph each year, but no video. And at buttoned-up Augusta National, none of the past champions use phones for video to post on social media.

Some of the best stories are those shared only by word of mouth.

Matsuyama’s speech is one of them.

“Everyone in that room would agree that Hideki’s speech was incredibly impressive,” Gary Player said. “He must have had it memorized because he delivered the most terrific words. We all stood up and gave him a standing ovation. It was the first standing ovation for anyone in all my years going to the Champions Dinner.”

Player’s first Masters Club dinner was in 1962. Golf’s greatest world traveler, he played a role that night by speaking in Japanese. Player prefers not to share what he said, but Matsuyama said he was honored by the gesture.

“It made me very welcome, but at same time ashamed I couldn’t speak much English,” Matsuyama said. “I always think if I could learn more English that would help on tour. But with this tour life, I don’t have time to study.”

His message that was mainly about what the Masters meant to Matsuyama, how his father taught him to play when he was 4 and the next year he woke at 5 a.m. to watch Tiger Woods win the Masters for the first time.

Matsuyama’s history with the Masters runs deep. He played for the first time in 2011 as the Asia-Pacific Amateur champion and was low amateur. Ten years later, he delivered his golf-mad country the ultimate prize as the first Japanese winner of the Masters.

“I’ve had a lot of great moments in that room,” said Zach Johnson, the 2007 champion. “That was one of the most ... inspiring would be one word; reverent would be another; class. And when it comes to Hideki, that was humility at its finest.”

Matsuyama has risen as high as No. 2 in the world. When he won the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February, it was his ninth PGA Tour title, the most of any Asian-born player.

And he remains a mystery to so many players, mainly because of the language barrier. Scott is among his closest friends, and Matsuyama did a podcast with him a few months after he won the Masters (subtitles were used and the conversation was seamless).

Even so, Scott was as impressed as anyone. He knows from experience how intimidating it can be in a room filled with golf’s greats — Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods and Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw and Tom Watson.

“When I stood up at the end of the table and looked down there and saw who’s sitting there, it hit me a bit,” Scott said. “You have a tough moment to swallow and not get choked up.”

Imagine the feeling while speaking very little English.

“I’ve been fairly close to Hideki, maybe as close as anyone. And it was still amazing to hear from him how much it all really meant to him,” Scott said. “It humanized him with his peers. He’s just like us, how much he cares about the game and everything. It meant a lot to everyone in the room that he made the effort to do that.”

Dustin Johnson prefers the nerves of trying to win the Masters than what he felt the night he was the host. “I can’t remember exactly the speech, but it was not very long,” he said.

Next up is Jon Rahm on Tuesday night at Augusta, and he said the moment already has been “rent-free in my head.”

“Just the image of standing up and having everybody in that room look at me and having to speak to all these great champions, it’s quite daunting,” Rahm said.

Matsuyama preferred his first Masters Club dinner when he wasn’t the host. He sat with Scott and Player, and listened to Phil Mickelson “talk about a lot of things.”

He is playing well enough again to be considered a contender in the first major of the year, and Matsuyama would love nothing more that to be win another green jacket, and everything that goes with it. Well, almost everything.

“I really want to win the Masters again,” he said. “But I don’t want to do the speech again.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf