50-minute English Lesson
Easy listening skills exercises for adults like these help ESL students improve their English listening and speaking skills. This lesson reviews 10 panda facts.
Read the story
Easy listening skills exercises for adults: 10 Panda facts
What do you know about pandas? Maybe you know they are big bears that eat a lot. Here are ten facts about the black and white bear from China.
1 They are really big. Bears grow up to 1.5 meters high and can reach 135 kilograms.
2 Pandas spend most of the day eating and resting. They eat about 12 kilograms of bamboo a day.
3 The panda’s face is big, but it’s not fat. Large muscles on the face help pandas eat hard food.
4 Pandas might look sleepy, but they are strong.
5 Mothers have one or two babies a year. The babies are small and cannot see. They open their eyes when they are about eight weeks old. Babies stay with their mother for about 18 months.
6 There is a red panda in China. It has a large tail and eats bamboo, but it is not big.
7 Pandas have been on Earth for about 2 or 3 million years.
8 Today, there are about 1600 pandas. Most of them live in forests. About 300 pandas live in zoos around the world.
9 Pandas in forests live about 20 years. In a zoo, they live about 30 years.
10 Many pandas die because they cannot find enough food to eat. A lot of land with bamboo is taken away from pandas. That land is used to build new cities or businesses.
Listen without reading
Easy listening skills exercises for adults: panda story
Audio
Here is the listening file for this lesson.
Audio file: 2:21 min
Story length: 220 words
English listening lesson: Gap Fill
Listen to the ESL story again and fill in the blanks.
What do you know about pandas? Maybe you know they are big __________ that eat a lot. Here are __________ facts about the black and white bear from China.
1 They are really big. Bears grow up to __________ meters high and can reach __________ kilograms.
2 Pandas spend most of the day eating and __________ . They eat about __________ kilograms of bamboo a day.
3 The panda’s face is big, but it’s not __________ . Large __________ on the face help pandas eat hard food.
4 Pandas might look __________ , but they are __________ .
5 Mothers have one or __________ babies a year. The babies are small and cannot __________ . They open their eyes when they are about __________ weeks old. Babies stay with their mother for about 18 months.
6 There is a __________ panda in China. It has a large __________ and eats bamboo, but it is not big.
7 Pandas have been on Earth for about 2 or 3 __________ years.
8 Today, there are about __________ pandas. Most of them live in forests. About __________ pandas live in zoos around the world.
9 Pandas in forests live about __________ years. In a zoo, they live about __________ years.
10 Many pandas __________ because they cannot find enough __________ to eat. A lot of land with bamboo is __________ away from pandas. That land is used to __________ new cities or businesses.
ESL discussion questions
Talk about the esl story.
- Were you surprised by any of the facts?
- Summarize a panda’s life.
- Why do panda’s live longer in zoos?
- Do you think it is right to keep animals in a zoo?
- Compare and contrast the two types of pandas.
- What is happening to the panda’s habitat?
Synonym match
MATCH THE WORD OR PHRASE ON THE LEFT WITH THE CORRECT SYNONYM.
1. strong 2. big 3. hard 4. enough 5. land | a. solid b. adequate c. immense d. habitat e. powerful |
ESL listening activity: anagrams
MOVE THE LETTERS. MAKE A WORD FROM THE ESL LISTENING STORY.
- HTGIE
- HCRAE
- NSRTEGI
- EROTSFS
- MBOBOA
- SSCULME
Writing practice
Write the five sentences. Put the words in the correct order.
- from / lot / A / of / away / with / is / pandas / bamboo / taken / land
- kilograms / high / grow / 135 / Bears / and / can / reach / 15 / up / to / meters
- weeks / are / their / when / they / eight / about / eyes / open / old / They
- has / eats / It / large / a / big / bamboo / tail / and / is / but / not / it
- zoos / in / around / About / the / pandas / live / 300 / world
Another ESL listening story for adults
Here is another easy listening skills lesson for adults. This English lesson is an old story about a greedy man.
Watch a video and take notes
Did you like this free online English lesson about pandas? Try this short video activity – it’s a TV commercial with pandas – and take notes.
- Watch the video.
- Take notes.
- Make a list with at least six facts.
Get the worksheet
Want to print out these ESL listening activities? Click to download the PDF worksheet for the panda facts lesson.
Click to see the answers for this ESL listening story for adults about pandas.
Copyright Notice
This text and audio file are copyrighted. They may be used for non-commercial educational purposes. They may not be used or adapted for any commercial purpose.