Your first lesson, step by step
Updated 16 September 2026
Listen, type what you hear, check, and read the script. Your first sentence takes a minute, a whole lesson about ten to fifteen, and you can start without an account.
A lesson is one short recording and four moves: press Play, type what you catch, choose Check my answer, then read the transcript. That's it. Nothing plays until you press Play, and you can replay as often as you like.
Open Practice and press Play
Every lesson has three tabs at the top: Learn, Practice and Test. Choose Practice to reach Listen and write. Pick the voice you want to practise with (mixed, British, American or Australian), then press Play on the first clip. It's a few seconds long. Listen the whole way through before you type; a second listen is normal, not cheating.
Type what you hear
By default you get one box per word, and the width of each box hints at the word's length; press Space or Enter to jump to the next one. Prefer one box for the whole line? Change Choose how to write your answer to Whole sentence. Capital letters and punctuation don't affect your score. Spelling does, so if you're unsure, type your best guess anyway. Stuck on one word? Get a hint shows part of the line; Reveal transcript shows all of it, and that sentence then counts as zero.
Check your answer
Choose Check my answer. Each word turns green or gets a note, and you see the share of words you matched. Fix what you missed and check again, or open Read the transcript to compare line by line. Then choose the next clip.
Read the rest of the lesson
The Learn tab holds the short answer, the meaning and a few examples, in four short steps with one check each. It's optional, and a good place to start if the clip felt fast. Members also get the Test tab: a new clip with no hints and the transcript hidden until you check.
Do you need an account?
No. The first guided dictation in every lesson is free, and you can do it as a guest. Signing in saves your progress across devices and unlocks the rest of each lesson, the tests and the practice pages under your account. Membership opens the full library.
Find the next lesson
Choose Practice in the site header to see every lesson by level and topic, or use the "Keep listening" suggestions at the end of the lesson you just finished. Ten focused minutes most days beats one long session.
If the audio doesn't play, see Audio won't play or cuts out; the fix is usually the volume or a quick reload.
