ENGLISH LESSON: LEARNING ENGLISH BY READING STORIES

 

LEARNING ENGLISH BY READING STORIES

Welcome to our English lesson that focuses on improving your language skills through the joy and richness of storytelling. Stories not only enhance our reading comprehension but also help with vocabulary acquisition, understanding context, and improving listening skills if you also choose to listen to the audio forms of stories. Today, we will explore how stories can be an effective tool in learning English and conclude with three book recommendations suitable for different skill levels.

WHY LEARN ENGLISH THROUGH STORIES?

Contextual Learning: Stories provide words and phrases in context, making it easier for learners to understand and remember their meanings.

Cultural Awareness: Through stories, learners are exposed to a variety of cultures, idioms, and expressions used in different English-speaking countries.

Engagement: An engaging plot keeps the reader interested, which improves learning retention.

Grammar and Structure: Reading stories exposes learners to correct sentence structure, grammar, and writing styles.

How to Effectively Use Stories to Learn English?

For Beginners: Start with simple children’s books or short stories that use basic vocabulary and simple sentence structures. Focus on understanding the gist of the story.

For Intermediate Learners: Choose stories that offer a little more complexity in terms of plot and language, but are still manageable. Pay attention to dialogue to understand conversational English.

For Advanced Learners: Dive into novels and literature that use complex language and sophisticated narrative techniques.

TECHNIQUES FOR LEARNING

Vocabulary Building: Highlight new words and phrases. Use a dictionary to understand their meanings and create sentences of your own.

 

Listening Skills: Listen to the audiobook version or watch film adaptations where available, to improve pronunciation and listening comprehension.

Speaking Practice: Discuss the story with friends or in study groups. This promotes active use of the language and encourages speaking fluency.

Writing Exercise: Write summaries of chapters or character descriptions. This helps with understanding narrative structure and improving writing skills.

 

ACTIVITIES

Reading Aloud: Take turns reading sections of a book in a study group.

Role-Play: Act out dialogues or scenes from the story.

Comprehension Questions: Create or answer questions based on the story to ensure understanding.

Creative Continuation: Write your own ending to a story or imagine what happens to the characters after the story ends.

 

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

To apply what we've discussed, here are three books that are highly recommended for English learners:

For Beginners: “Short Stories in English for Beginners” by Olly Richards ( Amazon)

Eight unique and engrossing short stories for young and adult learners may be found in Olly Richards' collection "Short Stories in English for Beginners." The book's entertaining and captivating stories are meant to assist novices in strengthening their English language abilities.

For Intermediate Learners: “Short Stories in English for Intermediate Learners” by Olly Richards  ( Amazon)

Olly Richards' "Short Stories in English for Intermediate Learners" is a must-read compilation of eight unique and engrossing short stories appropriate for young adults and adult intermediate English language learners. The book seeks to offer an enjoyable approach for intermediate readers to increase their vocabulary and acquire English in a playful way.

For Advanced Learners: “Learn English Through Stories: 16 Stories to Improve Your English Vocabulary” by Donald Wells ( Amazon)

Donald Wells' book "Learn English Through Stories: 16 Stories to Improve Your English Vocabulary" is geared toward English language learners who want to naturally and engagingly increase their vocabulary and grammar. The book's sixteen stories are structured at three distinct skill levels—Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced—so that students can advance as their language proficiency increases.