Learn English Using Stories - Intermediate Level to Speak Fluently and Naturally

My name is Shehery and I am from the United States. I have a bachelor's degree in English with a concentration in English as second language and I am TEFL TESOL certified. For the past 13 years, I have been teaching English to adults in Asia in such countries as Japan, China, and Korea, both in person and online, discussing a variety of topics including travel, family life, educational pursuits, health and fitness, and business and technology. I'm delighted to help students reach their goals in advancing their English skills by helping them in both reading comprehension and speech. This Udemy course will assist you with listening skills, will increase focus and concentration on vocabulary and expressions, and it will encourage critical thinking and self-expression through storytelling. Now, let's get started. Welcome to Learn English Using Stories. In this course, you will watch animated videos. Each story has different characters and messages. For each story, you will have the chance to complete practice exercises that focus on new expressions, pronunciation, comprehension skills, or understanding the material, and also what we call critical thinking skills, meaning being able to understand and analyze the messages and situations in each story. I encourage you to do the practice exercises along the way. It's a good idea to pause the videos whenever there is a question that you would like more time to think about before continuing to hear the possible answers. Please reach out to me using the Q&A forum if you have any questions. Let's get started. Sally's boss has assigned a presentation that could bring her a great deal of attention from the entire company on the topic of clear and accurate communication. Michael, her teammate, is surprised that he wasn't assigned the presentation. He looks at the first draft of Sally's slides and sees a mistake. Sally has titled one of her slides effective massages. He laughs and immediately messages Sally. Sally, I loved your presentation. The title on slide 6 would be a great title for the entire presentation. I suggest you put that title at the top of all of the slides. Do you want me to do it for you? Sally reads Michael's note quickly and feels flattered. She was worrying for weeks that Michael might feel pushed aside or jealous because he wasn't the one asked to do this presentation. To make him feel more included, she writes back. Sure, Michael. Feel free to copy that title to all of the slides. Sally spends the next few days practicing her speech and doesn't look at her slides again. Now that Michael has looked at them, she feels confident to focus instead on how to explain the concepts. On the day of the presentation, Sally puts on her best suit and spends extra time practicing what she will say. She feels ready to get on the stage and present her message. Sally is on the stage looking out into the audience of 500 people, dozens of managers and several higher-ups. She quilts up her slides and immediately she hears laughter. Her manager is covering his face. Her manager's manager, a serious man, is frowning. Sally notices her mistake for the first time. Effective massages. Michael rushes to the stage and grabs Sally's computer. Let me fix that for you, Sally. When Michael returns to the audience, Sally's manager whispers to him. Thank you so much, Michael. I appreciate your thoughtful attention to detail. You watched a story about two coworkers on the same team in the workplace, Sally and Michael. Let's answer some questions to review the details in the story. Why is this presentation important to Sally? Take a moment to think and then continue with the video. This presentation can bring lots of attention from the entire company. How does Sally's coworker, Michael, feel about Sally being assigned the presentation? Michael wanted to be the one to give this presentation. Sally believes that Michael is trying to help her. In what way does she think he is trying to help her? Sally thinks Michael is trying to help her by giving her a good tip about the title of the presentation. Does Sally trust Michael to fix her presentation? Yes, Sally is confident about him reviewing the presentation and making sure everything is correct. Sally recognizes her mistake when she looks at her presentation in front of the audience. What does Michael do when the audience starts laughing? Michael runs to the stage and tells Sally that he can help her fix the mistake. Who do you think gets the praise from their boss? Michael gets the praise from the boss. These questions were to help you understand the details of the story and the main ideas before we start looking closely at the problems in the story. How would you do things differently in this situation? What are your opinions? Continue to the next section. In this section, you will work on your pronunciation of some words or phrases in the story. There will be a pause after each one so you can practice. A great deal of attention, massages, slides, feels flattered, feel more included, feels confident, puts on her best, higher ups, frowning, rushes, grabs, whispers, attention to detail. How did you feel about this story? Would you have trusted Michael if you were in Sally's position? Pause this video if you would like time to think. In my opinion, I would have appreciated Michael's input, but I would have double-checked my presentation before standing in front of the audience. Sally was very trusting of Michael, thinking that he wanted to help her be successful. Michael is trying to get attention from his manager or boss. What are the pros and cons of his approach to attracting attention? The pro is that his boss or manager will think of him as being helpful to his co-worker and skillful in fixing the presentation. The con or disadvantage is that he has lost the trust of his co-worker, Sally, and eventually other team members and possibly his manager will notice that Michael is not telling the truth. In general, what do you is a better strategy in the workplace, competition or collaboration? In my view, working together and helping each other helps everyone succeed. What are some things that people can do in the workplace to increase trust between team members? In my opinion, you can build trust on teams by taking responsibility for given assignments. Other ways to build trust are to communicate honestly, be supportive of your teammates, show respect and be open to receiving feedback. How have your work experiences been on teams? Reflect on your answer, then continue to the next section. Steve started his newspaper business 15 years ago and became well known in his city. Wherever he went, people recognized his picture from his newspaper stories. He started to feel very proud of himself. After all, he was so popular, so talented, so successful. Steve needed to hire more people to distribute his newspapers, so he went on a search. He had a hard time finding help. One day, he noticed a homeless man with a sign asking for help. The sign said, I'll work for food. Steve hesitated. After all, he was a popular business owner. What would the town think? Maybe he could do better than hiring this homeless man. However, he went ahead and hired the man whose name was Roger. Roger worked hard for Steve's company. He got up at 5 a.m. every day and delivered newspapers. He made sure they were folded properly and placed in plastic bags. He didn't throw the newspapers into the like a careless person would do. Roger was hardworking and responsible. After a year or two, the market for newspapers changed. Steve started losing money. People went to the internet for news. They didn't need to pay for information as much as before. Before long, Steve couldn't make enough money to pay for his newspaper office, his employees, or his own bills. He had to shut down his business. A few weeks later, Steve was sitting in a coffee shop feeling depressed and wondering what he would do next. He saw Roger enter the coffee shop. Steve felt embarrassed. He worried that Roger would be mad at him, maybe even become homeless again. But something else happened. Roger came over to Steve and gave him a big hug. He shared with Steve that while he was working at the newspaper, he had started a YouTube channel about how to start a side business, and he had so many subscribers. He was making a lot of money. Roger asked Steve to become his partner to do the things that Steve was good at, information gathering and storytelling. Steve's eyes filled with tears. He said, yes. The two men did a high five and hug in the middle of the coffee shop. You watched the story about a business owner and a homeless man whom he hired to work for him. Why did people recognize Steve wherever he went? They recognized Steve because he owned a business for 15 years, and everybody in the town knew him as successful. What made Steve consider hiring the homeless man on the corner? He needed to hire more people and had a hard time finding help. What made Roger a good employee? He was hardworking and responsible. He paid attention to details. How did Roger improve his situation? He worked hard for Steve, but he also learned new things to start a side business. Why did Steve start losing money? The market for newspapers changed. People started searching for the news and information on the internet. What happened when Steve was sitting in the coffee shop feeling sad? Roger came into the about what he had learned online. What did Roger ask Steve about working together? Roger asked Steve to come and work with him on his new side business. Why did Roger believe Steve could help him? Steve had a talent for telling stories. In this section, you will work on your pronunciation of some words or phrases in the story. There will be a pause after each one so you can practice. Do you believe that Steve was careful? We don't know what he was thinking exactly. Maybe he felt brave that day. If you were Steve, would you have hired Roger? Yes, I would have let him try for one month maybe. Or maybe it's too much risk. What are some things a person can do during a bad economy? Improve their knowledge and skills. Maybe volunteer while trying to figure out what to do next. Imagine there are two people in the same situation, both with no job or money. What are some reasons that one person succeeds and the other does not? Maybe one finds an opportunity and the other has not. Maybe one believes in himself or herself and the other does not. Or maybe one person is clear on what to do next, the other is not clear. How does a person show that they are responsible in their work? They are punctual or arrive at work on time. They are organized and have good time management. They are careful with their words and get along with their co-workers. These are just some ideas. You probably have ideas of your own. Sara and Maria sat next to each other in a small office. Sara often spoke loudly on the phone to friends and family and other colleagues in her company. Maria could overhear all of Sara's conversation, so one day she decided to bring her headphones to work to listen to music as she worked. She loved music, but she also didn't want to overhear Sara's conversations. One day Sara walked over to Maria and exclaimed, I know you listen to my conversations. Maria could barely hear Sara. After all, she was wearing headphones and listening to music. So she looked up at Sara, took off her headphones and asked Sara, I'm sorry, huh? Sara repeated herself. I know you listen to my conversations. You're spreading lies about me. Maria was shocked and took a moment to process what she was hearing. I do what? I don't know what you're talking about. Sara said, yes, you do. You told our manager the things I was talking about to my husband. That's my private business. Maria thought about the best way to calm Sara down. What Sara was saying simply wasn't true. As she was thinking of how to respond, two more colleagues walked past their desks. Sara continued, Hey, Larry and Vicky, can you believe this? Maria likes to eavesdrop and share my private conversations with other people. Larry and Vicky shook their heads. Maria felt alone. She remained silent and decided at that very moment not to argue with a bully. She knew that she was innocent and didn't need to prove herself to someone who would not listen. Why did Maria bring her headphones to the office? Maria brought her headphones to the office so she could listen to music. She also did not want to hear Sara's phone conversations. What made Sara mad? She believed that Maria was sharing her personal business with their manager. What is the meaning of eavesdrop? Eavesdrop means to listen to someone's conversation without their permission. Did the people who walked by believe what Sara was saying? Their body language showed that they believed what Sara was saying about Maria. How did Maria feel about what Sara was saying? She felt alone and chose not to argue. In the next section, you will practice using critical thinking skills related to this story. In this section, you will work on your pronunciation of some words or phrases in the story. There will be a pause after each one so you can practice. Sara and Maria had a conflict in the office. Do you believe that Maria did something wrong? In my view, Sara spoke loudly so it's possible that her manager heard the things she said on the phone. Maria did not argue when Sara blamed her for eavesdropping. Is it good to walk away from an argument? If so, why or why not? Sometimes it's important to state the truth, but what if the person does not want to listen? I believe that Maria walked away because she did not want to hear more blame. If you were walking by Sara and Maria's conversation, would you have believed Sara? Why or why not? Maria was wearing headphones and she was not arguing, so it's possible that she did not do what Sara blamed her for. Have you or someone you know had an experience similar to this story? Think for a moment, then move to the next section. Gloria spends every day at the office entering data into a spreadsheet. She dislikes her job very much and complains about it to anyone who will listen. I'm so bored. They don't see what great things I'm capable of, she says to her sister on the phone. To take her stress away, Gloria spends money at the company cafeteria every day. She also visits the vending machine many times a day and grabs free coffee in the company lunchroom. This is the least they can do is give me free coffee, says Gloria to her friend on the phone. It's 5 p.m. Friday and Gloria leaves her office to go home. Thank God it's Friday, she says to a nearby colleague on her way. While driving the brand new Honda she bought last weekend, Gloria notices a woman on the street corner holding her young daughter's hand and carrying a small bowl in the other, asking for donations. At first, Gloria looks away. She doesn't want to see it. No one should be begging, she says to herself. Then she notices the sad young girl holding her mother's hand. Can we go, mom? I'm hungry. It's cold out here, says the child. Gloria looks down at the snacks she bought from the vending machine for her ride home and wonders if she should pull over and give away her snacks. The traffic light changes to green and Gloria continues to drive home, wondering if she should have pulled over to help. What is Gloria's job? Gloria enters data into a spreadsheet at her job. Does she enjoy her job? No. Gloria gets bored at work and does not like her job. What does Gloria do when she feels bored and stressed at her job? Gloria goes to the cafeteria, gets snacks and drinks coffee. What does Gloria say to her colleague at 5 p.m. on Friday? Gloria uses a common expression. Thank God it's Friday, as she leaves the office. What does Gloria notice while driving home in this story? Gloria notices a woman on the street corner holding her young daughter's hand and carrying a small bowl in the other, asking for donations. Why does Gloria look away? Gloria feels that people should not beg for money. What does Gloria think after she sees the sad child? Gloria wonders if she should stop her car and give her snacks to the mother and child. Does Gloria help the mother and child? No. The light turns green and Gloria continues to drive home. What does Gloria think about as she drives home? Gloria wonders if maybe she should have stopped and helped the mother and child. In this section, you will work on your pronunciation of some words or phrases in the story. There will be a pause after each one so you can practice. Entering data into a spreadsheet. Capable of. Least they can do. Carrying. Donations. Begging. Pull over. Changes. Continues to. Wondering if. What is the bigger reason behind Gloria's dislike of her job? Gloria feels that she is capable of more than what she's doing. What are some ways that people try not to be bored at work? Some people might take a quick break and walk. Others might chat with friends. Some people might listen to music or check their voicemail. Volunteering for new fun projects. Or maybe they can improve their knowledge and skills after work to advance their careers. Why are some people against giving money to people who ask for money on the street? In some cases, they might worry that the people use the money towards bad, harmful habits. Or maybe they feel the person does not want to work. What are some reasons to give to people who ask for money? Some people can benefit from the kindness and build their lives again. Continue to the next section to take the course quiz and conclude the course. Congratulations! You have finished this course. You have learned English using story. Hopefully, you learned some new expressions and thought more about situations that come up at work or other social settings. You also had the opportunity to use your critical thinking skills by answering questions like, what is your opinion? Or, if you were in this position, what would you do? How did you like this course? Please feel free to send any questions in the Q&A forum and or leave a review. I'm looking forward to receiving your feedback.