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Category: L2 – Pre-Intermediate
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Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Cut Off Your Hair
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Genre: RomanceSetting: FairytaleNew Vocabulary: Chew, Get caught on, Loom, Nail, Pharmacist, Scalp, Starve, Suit of armour, Sword, Trapped, Treat someone likeWord Count: 3658Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyAn old couple wish for a son and instead have a daughter with long, magical hair. They don’t see the value in it, and sell her off to an old man who keeps her in a tower. Every day, he massages the oil from her hair and sells it. But the girl gets tired of this life, and makes a plan to escape…
The Light at the Bottom of the Sea
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Genre: Myths & LegendsSetting: MaltaNew Vocabulary: Basement, Captain, Earthquake, Faithful, Hoofprint, Horizon, Kneel, Portrait, Saint, Tie up, TreasureWord Count: 979Original Author: Saviour PirottaÅ»gugina lives on the coast of Malta with her son. When pirates attack, she rushes to the church to pray to St Demetrius. ‘St Demetrius,’ she says, ‘if you save my son I will light a lamp that burns forever!’ What happened next was too much for her to believe…
A Crooked Old House
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Genre: HorrorSetting: UKNew Vocabulary: Association, Crooked, Drain (noun), Fern, Hook, Moisture, Plumber, Pretend, Roll, Warp (wood), Zip-lineWord Count: 1753Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyAn old man lives in an old house. The house is so old that it has changed shape and many things are broken. Every day, the man must climb up a big hill to get to the kitchen. Lots of people tell him he needs to leave the house, but the old man refuses. But one day, the house makes sure he will never leave.
How to Teach a Language
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Genre: OtherSetting: OtherNew Vocabulary: Aid, Build upon, CI, Clip chat, Cognate, Command, Crosstalk, Mime, Physical, Story listening, Target language, Word wallWord Count: 3061Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyIn this episode, I explore methods you can use to teach your language to your friend or partner. It builds upon the information in the previous episode How to Learn a Language, so I highly recommend listening to that episode first.
How to Learn a Language
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Genre: OtherSetting: OtherNew Vocabulary: Abstract, Affective filter, Bibliography, Cognate, Comprehensible input, Conscious, Controversial, Criticise, Data, Figure out, Hypothesis, Innate, Make a deal, Memorise, Monitor, Negative emotions, Output, Panic, Researcher, Second language acquisition, Spark an interest, State (say), Subconscious, TheoryWord Count: 5130Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyIn this episode, I explain the theory behind second language acquisition, or the way that we learn languages and how best to study languages. I introduce Stephen Krashen’s Theory of Comprehensible Input and discuss the five hypotheses that make it up, and then explain how I used this theory when creating Easy Stories in English.
The Voice of Reason
In a small town, the people look after each other. When someone is hungry, the others give them food. But one day, the Voice of Reason comes to town and changes everything.
Eileen
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Genre: HorrorSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Acid, Bruise, Bully, Climate change, Come up with, Disguise, Disprove, Exponential, Hack, PrecociousWord Count: 1449Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyWith every month that passes, Eileen gets cleverer. The kids at school hate her, and her parents are afraid of her. There’s something not… human about this child. This story covers my feelings about AI (artificial intelligence). I talk a lot about an episode of another podcast, Your Undivided Attention, which explains the dangers and possibilities of AI.
Saint George and the Dragon
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Genre: Myths & LegendsSetting: FairytaleNew Vocabulary: Collar, Desert, Dew, Dragon, Kingdom, Knight, Pass out, Saint, Scratch, Tame, Well (water)Word Count: 1662Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyDownload this episode as a PDF. Transcript Welcome to Easy Stories in English, the podcast that will take your English from OK to Good, and from Good to Great. I am Ariel Goodbody, your host for this show. Today’s story is for pre-intermediate learners. The name of the story is Saint George and the Dragon. […]
The Labyrinth
A woman keeps ending up in bad relationships. A businessman works so hard he has heart problems. A young man killed his friend by drunk driving and now he can’t stop drinking. All three of them are lost. All three of them go to drive. They go to the place where all roads lead: the labyrinth.
Why Blood is Red
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Genre: Myths & LegendsSetting: AncientNew Vocabulary: Confusion, Debate, Dye, Flame, Organ, Passion, Reflection (thought), Spit (noun), Urine, VariedWord Count: 1007Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyIn the beginning, there were two brother gods, Kimesh and Musesh. Kimesh created the planets with loud fire, and Musesh created the plants and animals with calm thought. Everything was fine for a while, until Kimesh decided the world needed some more colour…