Do you like stories?
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Easy English Podcast.
My name's Oliver, and today we are going to be talking about one of the oldest and most enjoyable ways that humans learn and share information – stories –.
This is one of the best ways that we can learn language and how we actually naturally teach children a lot of language too, even with our own native language.
We have all used stories to learn.
From ancient myths in the past to today's TV shows and movies, stories are everywhere.
And they are incredible, powerful tools for language learning and learning absolutely anything, to be honest.
Forget about boring textbooks just for a moment, any of those exercises or activities.
We are going to explore today why connecting with something called a narrative, or narratives, can make your English learning journey not only easier, but also much more fun and effective.
And don't worry if you don't know what a narrative is, because we are about to learn in our key focus vocabulary session for today's episode.
OK.
So, as always, I like to introduce five pieces of key vocabulary for the episode, and I want you to listen out for this vocabulary as we go.
And you're going to hear these words in context, and you're going to hear some of the words that I'm going to explain with definitions and examples.
But you'll also hear a lot of other new words that we don't mention at the beginning.
And that's okay.
You can pause, take a look at the transcript.
We have subtitles on most platforms.
And as well, if you're on Patreon, you have the full written transcript text with highlights as well, on there too.
So...
Let's get started and have a look at five useful words that you're going to hear during our little chat and lesson today.
Listen out for them.
So the first is a word I used at the beginning, and that is narrative.
Narrative.
Narrative is a noun.
And this is, so narrative is, a story or a description of a series of events.
So human beings, they love to hear a good narrative.
They love to hear a story or a description of some events that occurred.
The second word for today is engaging.
Engaging.
And that is an adjective.
So it's interesting and keeping your attention.
So learning through stories is much more engaging than just memorizing lists.
It's much more interesting and it keeps your attention.
It's engaging, right?
Okay.
Third word, immerse, immerse.
And this is a verb and it means to involve yourself deeply in something.
So to put yourself completely into a situation, for example.
So when you read a book, you are immersing yourself in the story.
Isn't that amazing?
And our fourth word, retain.
Retain.
This is a verb as well.
So it's to keep or remember information.
So stories help your brain to retain new vocabulary and grammar.
And finally, context.
Context.
We've definitely had this word before.
It's a noun and it means the situation or information around a word or phrase.
That helps you to understand its meaning.
So stories provide the perfect context for new english words.
Okay, so let's get into the main podcast today, but before we start i just want to say that recently i checked out the statistics on the podcast and i saw that only 25 of our regular listeners are following or subscribed to the show on the platform that they listen.
So if that's you, make sure that you follow and subscribe.
It's the best, easiest free thing that you can do to support the show and in return, i promise that i will make you great free English learning episodes every week on the podcast.
And that's what you get in return.
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Great.
Let's get started into our topic today.
So why are stories so good for learning English?
Well, first listening or reading a narrative is a very natural way that humans learn, the way that we learn.
So think about childhood.
We learn about the world around us through stories, right?
So this makes language learning less like a task and much more like an experience.
When you're following the story, your brain is actively working.
It's trying to understand the characters, the plot, and all of the emotions that are involved.
And this active process makes learning really engaging, right?
We're engaging with the language and the circumstance in that story.
So when you're engaged, you're not just passively listening.
So you're thinking about what's happening and you're looking for certain things, right?
And this mental work helps new words and phrases to stick in your memory much better than if you just read them in a dictionary or a flip card, for example.
Stories add an extra layer of meaning and purpose to the language that you're learning, to the words and the phrases and everything around that.
It adds that wonderful extra layer.
So one of the biggest advantages of learning English through stories is the context that they provide.
So what I mean by this, or what do I mean by this?
Let's look at an example.
So let's say for example, you learn a new word like hesitate, hesitate.
If you see it in a list, it's just a word, hesitate.
But if you read a story where a character hesitates before jumping into ice cold water, then you instantly understand the meaning of that word in a real situation, right?
Does that make sense?
So the context makes the word meaningful and easy to remember.
And even by me describing this to you, you probably have worked out what the word hesitate means, right.
So they hesitated before jumping in to ice cold water.
They didn't want to do it.
They kind of stopped for a little while, slowed down and couldn't decide.
Should I do it?
Should I not?
Before they finally did it.
So stories like these help your brain to retain information because they connect these new words and new phrases, new verbs and grammar to emotions and events.
Our brains are wired to remember stories.
We have developed this for generation after generation.
And think about it.
It's much easier for you to remember a whole story, a wider story, than just a list of facts, and that's for almost every person.
It's so much easier to retell a story than it is to remember every little detail and fact and the characters, the setting, the problem and the solution.
They all create a framework that helps you to retain the language used within that narrative.
And you might remember the story and because of that, you're more likely to remember the words that built it and the phrases that were used.
So there are so many ways that you can immerse yourself in English stories, no matter what your current level is.
And we're going to look at a few of those.
But first we're going to look specifically at a way that you can actively enjoy and learn through stories.
So as you're listening or you're reading, you can pay attention to new words and phrases and then you can really learn that meaning from the context before you look them up or even after you've learned that word.
And remember those tricky little parts of English grammar as well in English phrases, phrasal verbs.
I talked about them before.
This is also where stories can shine and really help.
So phrasal verbs often have meanings that are difficult to retain, to remember from a list.
But when you encounter pick up for example in a story where a character picks up a book or picks up a friend from the airport the context makes the meaning instantly clear.
And it's much more clear than just learning the definition.
These stories, they show you how common phrases are used in real life situations.
And they make those difficult verbs more engaging and easier to remember because they are tied to a clear narrative.
And this helps you to retain those difficult verb combinations.
And this is exactly why I made my new book, Phrasal Verbs Are Easy.
And this book?
It teaches you essential phrasal verbs not through boring lists, but through short, simple and engaging stories.
Each page gives you a new phrasal verb, which is then reinforced to help keep it in your head with a story that uses the phrasal verb in context.
And then there's some practice questions at the bottom of each page as well.
And there's over 50 phrasal verbs that are taught throughout the book with short stories.
So if you want to, you can check the link in the description below and you can buy a copy of that book to help support the show as well.
Thank you very much.
It's an ebook and it's instantly available to download.
I'm aware the link wasn't working last week.
A few people told me that it was not working, but it is now fixed.
So you can check out that in the link below.
Okay, so back to some ways that we can immerse ourselves in English stories.
So we're going to start with simple reading.
So you can start with some simple children's books, for example, graded readers.
If you're at a very early stage of English, you can pick content that is designed more for children.
And that is absolutely fine.
When I've been studying Russian, for example, I also read children's books.
And I also went through a phase of watching Peppa Pig or Svinka Peppa, as it's called in Russian.
And it really helped me to develop, in this case, my listening skills with more accessible language.
But the same is exactly true for books and stories.
I guess Peppa Pig is also a story.
Maybe try watching Peppa Pig if you find normal TV shows difficult.
And you can practice your verbs from this.
And it's a great way of learning English through simple stories too.
You can also immerse yourself through TV and movies, all those ways that we know.
And tying into that point, if you choose something that is more accessible, so the correct level for you, you're more likely to get immersed immersed right in the story.
You're more likely to be thinking about the characters, about what's happening, and you can really get into the story and help you to remember and learn new things.
And the same with personal stories.
If you have a teacher or a tutor, even like this podcast, I tell stories quite a lot too.
And if you can ask a friend in English or a teacher, they can tell you some simple stories about their day, their experiences, things that they've done.
This helps us to learn new words whenever we hear them from this context.
And you ask, what does that word mean?
And then you remember it because of the story.
So try it out.
It really, really works.
Give it a try.
Okay, now on to my favorite parts of the show.
And this is our listener spotlight.
So every week I ask a question for you guys, the listeners, to answer and to comment below on the episode, either on YouTube or on Spotify or wherever you listen.
And last week I asked about what your favorite hobby was that you currently do right now and why.
So why did you start it?
Why do you like it?
That type of thing.
And I had a lot of answers this week.
So I'm just going to pick a few answers and read them to you today.
Okay, so I hope I say everyone's names correctly.
If I don't, I apologize.
I am reading rather than hearing, so you can forgive me.
So the first one that I had here today is, Hi, I'm Pietro from Rome.
As far as my hobbies are concerned, I would say that one of my preferred is motorbike.
So riding a motorbike.
I like very much going around Italy and not only by motorbike because I feel truly free.
I can look for the most quiet busy or quiet road. and visit small towns and beautiful sights.
Moreover, I am always able to find a little place for my motorbike wherever I go.
Thanks.
Very useful for me listening to your lessons.
Cheers.
Thank you Pietro.
That was a lovely, lovely comment.
And I think riding a motorcycle, especially around the beautiful streets of Italy, sounds absolutely wonderful.
I love Italy.
I would really like to visit Rome.
I haven't been to Rome yet.
I've been to Italy a couple of times, but I really, really.
It's a country that I could go back to again and again.
It's so beautiful.
The food's amazing.
And the people are lovely too.
Okay, so another comment I had here was, let me see, we had a comment from Gabby.
So, hi, I'm Gabby and I am from Poland.
I'm really into walking with my dog.
That keeps me fit and unwinds after a long busy day at work.
By the way, I'm in love with your podcast.
Thank you, Gabby.
That is a lovely, sweet comment.
I am sure your dog also loves this hobby.
I used to have a dog, or a dog, I suppose, through childhood.
He lived until he was 18 years, which is quite old for a dog.
But I do miss walking a dog.
I... would like to get another dog in the next couple of years.
Maybe at some point.
I love dogs.
I absolutely love dogs.
And that's a great activity and a great hobby to relax.
Okay.
We have one more comment that we will read.
And that is from Karen.
So hi, I'm from Colombia.
My name is Karen.
My hobby is to watch documentaries about real crimes, true crimes.
Wow.
World War and science topics.
Well, I replied to Karen and I said that absolutely.
It's a wonderful hobby.
I love watching documentaries too, which I do.
And I love watching documentaries about historical events.
My wife finds them very boring.
So I try to watch them when she's not there.
So I watch my World War II documentaries and lots of historical stuff that I find very interesting.
Okay, so next question.
I need to give you a question for the next episode.
What I want you to comment below and answer is the following question.
What is your favorite food and why?
And I don't mean type of food like Italian or Mexican.
I mean dish.
I want you to tell me your favorite meal, your favorite dish.
For example, lasagna, chicken curry, I don't know, KFC chicken, whatever.
Whatever it is, I want you to comment what your favorite food is and why.
And I will read out some of the answers again in the next episode or next week's episode, possibly some answers
Okay, so if you do that for me, comment and leave an answer.
I love reading them and I love replying to as many as I can.
So today we have explored why stories are an incredibly effective but enjoyable way to learn English.
They make learning engaging and they provide important context and they help your brain to retain information more easily, allowing you to immerse yourself in the language.
Oh, pardon me.
Remember to seek out narratives.
So to find stories and narratives that you find interesting to help with your learning.
Thank you so much for joining me today on the Easy English Podcast.
And I hope that this episode inspires you to immerse yourself in more English stories.
And remember to listen out for those key vocabulary words.
And if you would like to, you can support me either on Patreon with bonus episodes, or you can check out my book in the link below the e-book and you can buy that and support the show.
Thank you so much for listening and I hope to see you in the next episode of the Easy English Podcast.
Goodbye.
