Great Short Stories for Listening-Speaking: Easy Reading Adaptations
David Christiansen
No one can resist a great story. Here is a handful of some of the world’s best, adapted to make them accessible to low-intermediate through advanced students. You will find works by Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Allan Poe, Anton Chekhov, O.Henry, Mark Twain, Saki, Guy de Maupassant, Jack London and many more. There is leg-slapping comedy, hair-raising terror, deep love, bitter hatred, fairy tales, moral tales, oral tales, tragedy, greed, selflessness, and almost any emotion anyone might feel. Students may begin by discussing the illustration. Then they will read the story to themselves, or will listen to the audio while reading along. Following the story is vocabulary they may look up or discuss as a class. Then they will answer Writing/Discussion questions requiring analysis of the reading. Lower levels may prefer to discuss only. Higher levels can write first before class discussion. Several dialogs and exercises test listening comprehension, vocabulary and pronunciation. All listening material is in the Appendix. The stories are mainly by authors of great fame, and are known to literate people throughout the world. Some less known stories are included because they add international flavor and enjoyment to the overall content.
The audio component is a set of four CDs (cost $75.00), or one DVD (audio only)(cost $55.00) for the listening exercises. They span the book, with two female and two male speakers alternating throughout. Please send an email to ibc@ibcbooks.com if you wish to purchase CD or DVD.
