Short ESL Stories transcript videos Part 3

Feb 022014

British Council Short ESL Stories transcript videos: a collection of stories written by famous writers like Shakespeare and Wordsworth as well as stories by resident writer, Chris Rose.

Coetzee’s novels

Read synopses of some of the novels of Nobel prize winning writer, South African J.M. Coetzee, and then compare them.

Quotes about the United Kingdom

Read what young people in countries around the world think about the United Kingdom. Compare their opinions, work with the vocabulary and let us know what you think about the UK.

King of the Pumpkins

“Deep in the middle of the woods”, said my mother, “is the place where the King of the Pumpkins lives.” A young boy and his cat try and find out what – if anything – is true about his mother’s stories.

The Stone Cutter

Once upon a time there was a stone cutter who set out to become the most powerful thing in the land. This fascinating tale from Asian mythology has a very powerful message.

The Masalai of Lep Island

“On Lep Island, there was a masalai who had exactly ten heads. This masalai had two wives. The three of them lived happily together on their island…” Read this folk story from Papua New Guinea.

A Game of Go

Two people sit down to play a game. One is an old man who has spent all of his life playing this game, which is called Go. The other is a young woman. She has only been playing Go for three years.

Coming back up

Have you ever done any extreme sports? Are you an adrenaline junkie? Read this story about one man facing his fear.

The Polar Bear’s Dinner

So, I’m a polar bear, right? Got that? A polar bear. Not one of those brown bears that live in forests and on mountains. One of those big white ones, you know, surely. Where do I live?