Gear of English joke meant to be heard (9)
I believe the answer is:
equipment
'gear' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'english joke meant to be heard' is the wordplay.
'english' becomes 'E' (abbreviation).
'joke' becomes 'quip' (a quip is a joke or witticism).
'to be heard' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'meant' sounds like 'ment'.
'e'+'quip'+'ment'='EQUIPMENT'
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for equipment that I've seen before include "Items needed for a particular purpose" , "Kit, apparatus" , "Set of instruments that perform a service" , "4 [TACKLE]" , "outfit" .)