Listen&Learn: Whale Songs

Announcement: After January 2025 Listen & Learn will no longer be posted weekly. The last weekly update will be 29 January 2025. 😭

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock

Learn some different theories about why whales sing.

Pre-listening vocabulary

dispute: disagreement about a certain topic
attract: to draw someone’s attention
navigate: to find a safe and easy route to travel
echo: a sound that repeats after it bounces off a surface
estimate: to make a reasonable guess

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:20 — 1.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | More

Gapfill exercise

One of the strangest in the ocean is the song of a whale. There is still a lot of dispute about why whales sing. Some scientists believe that they are trying to attract mates. Others think that whale songs are a form of communication, almost like a . This is because individual whales sing with the same sound patterns as other whales in the area. They also learn different sound patterns when they whales from different areas. It’s also possible that singing helps whales to navigate. After all, it is very difficult to see underwater. Whale songs can be for humans, too. Scientists have started to use whale songs to oceans. They do this by measuring the time it takes to hear an echo. This helps them to estimate the depth of the ocean floor.

Comprehension questions

[wp_quiz id=”20285″]

Discussion/essay questions

Today, humans are making a lot of noise in the ocean. Shipping and underwater construction are some causes of this. This makes it harder for scientists to study the sounds that whales make. Do you think it’s possible for humans to reduce noise pollution in the ocean?

Transcript

One of the strangest sounds in the ocean is the song of a whale. There is still a lot of dispute about why whales sing. Some scientists believe that they are trying to attract mates. Others think that whale songs are a form of communication, almost like a language. This is because individual whales sing with the same sound patterns as other whales in the area. They also learn different sound patterns when they meet whales from different areas. It’s also possible that singing helps whales to navigate. After all, it is very difficult to see underwater. Whale songs can be useful for humans, too. Scientists have started to use whale songs to map oceans. They do this by measuring the time it takes to hear an echo. This helps them to estimate the depth of the ocean floor.

Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub

Search for more Listen&Learn stories:

Subscribe to this podcast

RSS feed

9 comments

English Club Indonesia says:

It’s hard to reduce noise pollution. Humans have their own priorities as well. Human activities in ocean areas are unavoidable. It is part of modern human civilization.
Jeanette LaVoix says:

Great lesson. My class lately discussed the huge Blue Whale that greets you as you enter the Natural History Museum in NYC.
tony says:

i want to toeic 900 score. hihi
MARI CARMEN says:

WHALES ARE THE MOST INTELLIGENT ANIMALS.
donald says:

learn english same okay
nguyễn thị huê says:

I want to enjoy English club, and want to improve my skill write/ read/ listen. Pls help me.
Abdelwasie says:

I Hope l will learn good
Zohre says:

Hello.I want to join englishclube and learn english speak easily and improve my listening
Ariana Verdi Ovídio Vieira says:

For me it is a very interesting subject to discuss with students, specially to make them understand the reason to take care of the environment. Many people are concerning and making excellent job spreading this subject all over the world. Ariana