Talking point: Stories

This week's talking point deals with stories. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below, so that ideas flow more easily when you meet your friends and you can work out vocabulary issues beforehand.

What's the difference among the different types of stories below?
Can you think of an example of each one?

What makes a good story?
What makes a good story teller? Do you know anyone?
When did you last hear a good story? What was it about?
Do you prefer reading stories or listening to them?

Do you remember the tale Little Red Riding Hood?
What is the moral (or message) of the story?
Watch and read a new version of Little Red Riding Hood by Road Dahl.
[Remember that if you don't understand any vocabulary items you can easily look them up by double-clicking on the word you don't know.]
What is the moral (or message) of the modern story?
How does it differ from the original one?
Can you think of another traditional tale and devise a 'twist in the tail', an unexpected surprise ending?



Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf
(from Revolting Rhymes, by Roald Dahl, 1982)

As soon as Wolf began to feel
That he would like a decent meal,
He went and knocked on Grandma's door.
When Grandma opened it, she saw
The sharp white teeth, the horrid grin,
And Wolfie said, "May I come in?"
Poor Grandmamma was terrified,
"He's going to eat me up!" she cried.
And she was absolutely right.
He ate her up in one big bite.
But Grandmamma was small and tough,
And Wolfie wailed, "That's not enough!
I haven't yet begun to feel
That I have had a decent meal!"
He ran around the kitchen yelping,
"I've got to have a second helping!"

Then added with a frightful leer,
"I'm therefore going to wait right here
Till Little Miss Red Riding Hood
Comes home from walking in the wood."

He quickly put on Grandma's clothes,
(Of course he hadn't eaten those).
He dressed himself in coat and hat.
He put on shoes, and after that,
He even brushed and curled his hair,
Then sat himself in Grandma's chair.

In came the little girl in red.
She stopped. She stared. And then she said,
"What great big ears you have, Grandma."
"All the better to hear you with," the Wolf replied.
"What great big eyes you have, Grandma."
said Little Red Riding Hood.
"All the better to see you with," the Wolf replied.

He sat there watching her and smiled.
He thought, I'm going to eat this child.
Compared with her old Grandmamma,
She's going to taste like caviar.

Then Little Red Riding Hood said, “But Grandma,
what a lovely great big furry coat you have on."
"That's wrong!" cried Wolf. "Have you forgot
To tell me what BIG TEETH I've got?
Ah well, no matter what you say,
I'm going to eat you anyway."
The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.
She whips a pistol from her knickers.
She aims it at the creature's head,
And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.

A few weeks later, in the wood,
I came across Miss Riding Hood.
But what a change! No cloak of red,
No silly hood upon her head.
She said, "Hello, and do please note
My lovely furry WOLFSKIN COAT."

I'll tell you a story

I'll tell you a story is a site where English students of all ages and levels can find a huge collection of stories to read and/or listen to.

The stories on I'll tell you a story range from fables, to fairy tales, to nursery rhymes to poems. In addition,  information about the most renowned story writers can be found.

Everybody is encouraged to contribute to the site by sending a story on registration.

Take a few minutes off to explore I'll tell you a story. I bet some of the stuff you find there will jog sweet memories of your childhood and help you with your English.

Tales and stories on the BBC

In mid-August Larry Ferlazzo informed about an interesting resource of the BBC for English language learners, Audio Resources for Primary Schools.

Under the heading "English" on the list of subjects, students have access to a number of stories and fables that can be useful to practise English while bringing back to mind tales of our childhood.

As a matter of fact, some of the stories available are videos with audio and closed captioning (subtitles). They include:
Jack and the giant beanstalk
Viking sagas
Treasure island
Aesops fables
A Christmas carol
Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
The wind in the willows

Remember that a good way of consolidating the language we have been exposed to is by repeating the story in our own words. So after listening to a tale or fable several times until we have got familiar with the vocabulary and the elements and characters of the story, repeat the story from memory.

If you find the task too daunting, note down a few expressions and key vocabulary and characters, so that you can better concentrate on putting the story together and develop your speaking skills.

Other useful resources on this blog featuring fables are

Aesop's fables in English for language learners

Fables and stories podcasts

The Good Life

Watch New York Times author Mark Albion's 3-minute animated movie The Good Life based on his new book, More Than Money.

The Good Life takes you to a chance meeting between an MBA and a fisherman on a small island. As the MBA tries to teach the fisherman about business, the fisherman teaches him about life.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and try to understand as much as possible. The story follows a linear, predictable path, and the pictures in the video also help with comprehension.

Anyway, you may need to check the transcript here for full comprehension or just to check out a few vocabulary items.

Then retell the story in your own words.

Fables and stories podcasts

English Club has a more than interesting collection of podcasts featuring fables, stories, the Chinese Zodiac, the signs of the Zodiac.

The podcasts are on the short side and they can be downloaded. They come complete with their transcript.

Self-study activity:
There are several ways you can work with this material:

• You can select a podcast and check how much you have understood by reading/listening to the transcript later on.
• You can shadow-read a story: Read the transcript while you listen to it, so that you can imitate the rhythm and pronunciation.
• You can develop your oral skill by listening to a story and trying to retell it in your own words later on.
• You can discuss the moral of the story with your conversation group.

H/T to Larry Ferlazzo.

Aesop's Fables for English language learners

A few days ago Larry Ferlazzo listed on his blog a number of internet sites that dealth with Aesop's fables.

The most interesting for me for English language learners was Aesop's Fables in English for languages learners, as it allows you to listen to lots of fables and complete listening comprehension activities by filling in the blanks in the fables with the missing words.

Self-study activity:
Get together with an English-speaking friend or relative and do some of the listening tasks in the site. Then, discuss the moral at the end of each fable.

Audio stories on the net

There are a number of sites on the internet where we can find audio stories, and Storynory is one of them. Here we can read and listen to lots of short stories and poems.

Perhaps you could start by clicking on the Fairytales tag and pick out a story of your choice by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Perrault, Aesop or the 1001 nights.

Listening and reading stories is good practice for our skills, and it can help us improve our grasp of vocabulary.

H/T to My Integrating Technology Journey.