Spoken English Example Recordings and Videos: Lectures

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Spoken English Example Recordings and Videos: Lectures for Language Study

(From Spoken English Example Videos for Language Study)

A gradually increasing collection of English language lectures which use the language on the very highest level.


Lectures

Education
Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. - John Dewey

Please listen to these examples multiple times to gain a feeling for the superb way these language experts express themselves.

Entry Designations

  • Title of the work and name of the speaker
  • Difficulty level -- from 1 (easiest) to 10 (most difficult)
  • Dialect -- the accent and speech mode of the speaker and any regional flavor. Most examples are: Standard American, RP English (Received Pronunciation is that of educated speakers from the British Isles with no recognizable regional distinction) Oxbridge English (very similar to RP, but stemming from the Oxford or Cambridge Universities), Standard Educated Australian, Standard Educated South African.
  • A desription of the content.

Be sure to look up any unfamiliar vocabulary terms.

Lectures
Title BAFTA Lecture 2010
Stephen Fry talks about the future of television
Difficulty 5/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description Stephen Fry is a graduate of Cambridge University and has written and performed extensively. He is a strong supporter of the free evolution of language, the incorporation of new words and usages into English, yet his own speech is such an excellent example of the fact that traditional and historical vocabulary and usages are so vast and expressive that new coinages seem unnecessary and superfluous in comparison.
Title Faith and Reason.
Terry Eagleton addresses an audience at the Yale University
Difficulty 7/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description Terry Eagleton is Professor of English Literature at the University of Lancaster.
Title Unacknowledged Legislation.
Christopher Hitchens addresses an audience at Rutgers University March 29, 2001 on the influence of the written word on politics and history.
Difficulty 9/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description This is a lecture by one of the great men of letters to a highly educated audience.
Title Words Words Words
David Crystal
Difficulty 4/10
Dialect British (RP) English
Description Oxford University's David Crystal, renouned linguist and author on language discusses the creation of words. Is it acceptable to invent words casually?
Title The Death of Criticism
Terry Eagleton
Difficulty 8/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description Professor Eagleton speaks at U.C Berkely on The Death of Criticism. Over an hour long, this lecture is a feast of perspicuity.
Title George Orwell: Orwell's Victory
Christopher Hitchens
Difficulty 6/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description Biographer of Orwell, Christopher Hitchens, discusses the writer.
Title The World Turned Upside Down
Melanie Phillips
Difficulty 7/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description Writer, Melanie Phillips, discusses her book.
Title Freedom of Speech
Christopher Hitchens
Difficulty 6/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description Considered discussion of the right of free speech -- including in a crowded theater. Hitchens discourses brilliantly on the concepts and presupositions involved in freedom of speech.
Title The Metaphysics of Terror
Terry Eagleton
Difficulty 9/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description Lecture to an educated audience -- lots of challenging vocabulry and concepts.
Title Darwin's Universal Impact
Dame Gillian Beer
Difficulty 8/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description Criticism of the writings of Charles Darwin.
Title Socratic Dialogue
Karen Armstrong
Difficulty 5/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description An examination and discussion of the methods of Socrates.
Title Mythologies of Marx
Terry Eagleton
Difficulty 6/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description An examination and discussion of Marx.
Title Stephen Fry Interview
Difficulty 6/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description Discussion of many issues including philosophy, literature, history, and writing.
Title The Communist Manifesto - Terry Eagleton - Marxism 2011
Difficulty 7/10
Dialect British (Oxbridge) English
Description Lecture promoting the speaker's book, Marx Was Right.