How to Create an Audio Slideshow with CapCut

CapCut makes it incredibly easy to turn an audio recording into a simple video. All you really need is your audio and a few images. For example, I made a short listening about different fruits and created one image for each fruit in Canva. I exported the images at 1280 × 720, which works well for YouTube, and then matched each image to the part of the audio where I talk about that fruit.

The nice thing is that you don't need to know much about video editing to do this. Just drag your audio onto the CapCut timeline and then drag your images onto the timeline as well. Stretch each image so it appears at the right point in the audio. When I'm talking about pineapple, students see a pineapple. When I start talking about cherries, the image changes to cherries. You could even use just one image for the entire recording. For example, if you have a podcast, you could simply use the podcast thumbnail for the whole video.

The basic process is very simple:

1. Prepare your audio. Record the listening activity that you want to turn into a video.
2. Create a few images. You can make them in Canva or use images you already have.
3. Drag the audio into CapCut. Drop the audio file directly onto the timeline.
4. Add your images. Drag the images onto the timeline and stretch them so they match the appropriate parts of the audio.
5. Export the video. Go to File, Export, give the video a name, and export it as an MP4. I usually just leave the other export settings at their defaults.

Once your audio becomes a video, you suddenly have many more options. You can upload it to YouTube, where students can watch it with captions. You can put the YouTube video into a Google Form, or use it with tools such as Edpuzzle or H5P to create interactive listening activities with questions. CapCut can also help you create versions for formats such as YouTube Shorts or TikTok.

I'm a big fan of audio slideshows for listening practice because they give students just the right amount of visual information without giving them too much. If I'm talking about apples, the student sees an apple, so they know the general topic, but they still have to listen to understand what I'm saying about it. There isn't a lot of text or animation distracting them from the audio. If you're new to creating listening videos, an audio slideshow is probably one of the easiest ways to get started, and CapCut makes the whole process very simple.