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Describe a Picture: Bildbeschreibung in Englisch

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Bessere Englischnoten: Phrasen für die Kommunikationsprüfung

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SELF INTRODUCTION | How to Introduce Yourself in English | Tell Me About Yourself Interview Answer

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Here you can find activities to practise your speaking skills. You can improve your speaking by noticing the language we use in different situations and practising useful phrases.

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Are you looking for ways to develop your English speaking skills? Here are four tips to improve your fluency, pronunciation, accuracy and conversation skills.

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10 Proven Tips for Improving English Writing Skills - Learn English Online

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Are you looking to enhance your English writing skills? Whether you’re a student, professional, or simply someone who wants to communicate more effectively in

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by Rajul Goveas

Are you the kind of person who picks up a pen to write and has words on the tip of your tongue, but they refuse to come on to the paper? Or maybe they quickly fall on to the paper, show up on your screen, but you don't want to show anyone your writing? Don't panic. Even the best writers get writer's block or have had their work rejected many times.

Writing requires vocabulary, grammar, spelling, punctuation, structure and, most importantly, ideas.

But the first step is a simple one: Just sit down and get started.

In this post, we'll look at some general tips to help you improve your writing, whatever you want to write. Then we'll focus on some specific areas to help you get better at different types of writing.

These areas are:

Email and letter writing

Creative writing

Paragraph writing

Cohesion in writing

I'll also share some useful links for some more practice below, so don't forget to check those out too.

Why should you write?There are many reasons to write: Maybe you need to write emails or letters in English for work or business. You might be a creative person wanting to write stories in English or content for an advertisement. Perhaps you are a script writer wanting to write dialogues in English. Maybe you have an English exam coming up, such as IELTS, and want to get a high band score with that perfect essay.

On top of all this, you can also write for fun! Write because you like to use the words you know and see them on the screen or on paper. Writing for fun is also a great way to build your confidence and ability.

Tips for improving your all-round writing skills

There are some good ways to improve your all-round writing skills, whatever you want to write:

To write well, read a lot and read different things e.g. storybooks, newspapers, magazines. As you read, notice the words, their spellings, ideas in the writing and the message they are trying to convey. Try to use this in your own writing to build your range of expression.

You can improve your writing by reading texts in the style you want to write in (emails, stories, scripts and adverts all have different structures and rules). Look beyond the text and try to understand how they are structured - are headings used? How are paragraphs written? What kind of language is used?

Some people like to keep a diary. Do you keep one? Try making some notes in it often. This means you will get into the habit of writing which will help you improve.

Try expressing yourself when you message using words instead of using emojis. This will help you build vocabulary.

Remember what you heard in the news, or on TV talks etc. and recreate it in your own words. This will help you build your information-giving and storytelling skills.

Be creative. Rewrite fight scenes into romantic or comedy scenes to enjoy your writing. Share with your friends to have a good laugh. Creativity is good to help you generate ideas and make your writing interesting.

Plan your writing and check what you have written after completing it. Read it as if you are the intended reader and not the writer. Will your reader understand everything?

Improving your writing approach

It's a good idea to follow the same approach whenever you write, whatever you are writing.

Well, here's one simple and POWER ful technique:

POWER writing

Firstly, plan your writing. A lot of this will depend on who your reader will be. Think of what you want to write about and note down the points you want to include.

Your writing will be understood much more easily if it is well-organised. Put your ideas in order.

Consider writing how many paragraphs you will need when organising your writing.

Now that you have planned and organised what you want to write in your mind or sketched it out on a sheet of paper, start writing.

When you write quickly, it is easy to make mistakes, and this makes a poor impression. Always proofread your writing carefully.

Some common mistakes you often make could be spelling errors, incorrect punctuation, incorrect use of capitals etc. Autocorrect, though a fantastic feature, may also miss some points. Always check everything carefully even after your computer's spell checker has auto corrected spellings.

Make the corrections and revise your text. You might even want to rewrite some words or points for which you have better words.

Remember to read as if you are the reader - is everything clear?

That's it. You're done and ready to share!

Watch this video for some more great tips to help you improve your writing skills.

Improving specific writing skills

Now let's look at how you can improve specific areas of your writing. We'll cover:

Email and letter writing

Creative writing

Paragraph writing

Cohesion in writing

Tips for emails or letter writing in English

Do you write emails and or letters? If the answer is yes, here are some easy to remember tips.

(Do note, there are many similarities between emails and letter; so, let's put the two together and call it email writing as there are more emails written these days than letters.)

Write with the reader in mind - what message do you want to get across?

Write in an active voice instead of passive voice, this makes your message clear.

Avoid jargon to help your reader understand fully.

Develop a personal, warm tone - personal emails are usually informal and business emails are usually formal or semi-formal.

Avoid long sentences as these can be difficult to read.

Use short paragraphs so you reader can follow easily.

Write to the point and avoid unnecessary information.

Look at this email between colleagues. Notice the tips from above in action.

From: Sonika Gomez
To: Simran Raj
Subject: Request for new price list for Golden Glow face creams

Dear Simran,

We are presenting to some new clients next Monday 10 December and they are interested in our Golden Glow face creams.

I understand from Anya that the prices have changed recently. She mentioned that you have the new price list. Do you think you could email it to me?

I would be grateful if we could have it by close of business on Thursday 6 December. That would give us time to prepare for our presentation.

Thanks very much for your help.

Best regards,

Sonika

Finally, there are a couple of important things you need to remember; email etiquette and the 'KISS' rule.

Email etiquette means you choose the right approach and level of formality. Semi-formal or formal emails, for example, use the correct salutation and sign off and usually avoid using contractions (I'd, we're, you'll etc.)

Learn more about email etiquette here.

The KISS rule is: Keep It Short & S imple - your reader will thank you!

Tips for creative writing

Let's turn our thoughts to some fun writing; story writing in English, or creative writing. Are you curious as to what I am going to say here? Good! Then you are on the right track as creative writers should always be curious. Why? Because that's where you will get your ideas from.

Look around you for inspiration, your family and personal experiences are great sources for interesting stories. The ordinary or the extraordinary events and people you have experienced lend colour to your life, don't they?

Think of other stories from movies or plays you have seen. Are there ideas from there you can borrow?

Think of stories that have different emotions. Step back into the past and think of your time in school, the friends you made and lost, your best friends in college and the ones you were so jealous of. Then the lovely warm moments, like being at home with wonderful grandparents you wished would live forever.

Turn your inspiration into a story. Think of the setting or backdrop of your story. All the people become the characters and all the emotions help you develop the narrative.

Develop your vocabulary, especially nouns, verbs and adjectives that will help you describe things and vary your language.

Are you starting out as a story writer? You can find some great beginner tips here.

Do you want to build your vocabulary to help your describe things? Start here with an activity on describing appearance.

Tips for paragraph writing

Why do we need paragraphs? Because they help the reader progress through your writing and understand your ideas. It is a good idea to write a new idea in each new paragraph. You can follow a basic paragraph structure to help you write clearly and logically.

Note that is normal to leave a line between each paragraph to clearly mark the division.

Look at this example to see good paragraphing in action:

My last holiday was a 3-week trip to Cairns in North Queensland, Australia. I know Cairns well because I lived there when I was at university, more than fifteen years ago.

Instead of staying in a hotel, I stayed with two of my old friends in their lovely spacious home. It was so much fun, and a little bit like my old life. I wanted to do all the same things I did in my university days, so I visited all the familiar places and mainly the university. It has changed, is a lot bigger and looks more modern. I also cycled down to the supermarket near my old house. I loved seeing all the different foods. I was really happy to find my favourite Woodside cheese and double coated chocolate Tim Tam biscuits, but they were a bit more expensive than I remember!

Each paragraph has one central idea.

There is a topic sentence which tells you what the paragraph is about. This is usually the first sentence in the paragraph.

Add a few more sentences to give a supporting point or develop the idea written about in the topic sentence.

The last sentence in each paragraph sums up the main idea of the paragraph and it can also link to the next paragraph.

To find out more about writing about a holiday like the example above visit this site.

Tips for cohesion in writing

Cohesion is the use of various cohesive devices to link individual sentences and ideas. This is required to make our ideas flow naturally and help the reader follow what we are saying.

Look at this paragraph and notice how the underlined words and phrases link the text together:

It is true that these days everything you want to know is a few clicks away as long as you have internet access. However, not everyone has working internet all the time, for example in certain buildings or remote locations, so we do need to be able to remember information. Moreover, it takes time to look up everything you need to know online, whereas remembering something is immediate. The human memory is a much more efficient system.

Here are some ideas to help you link your text:

Use linking words, devices and expressions (although, in addition, what's more etc.) to link different parts of text.

Use signposting words like firstly, secondly, and finally.

Use pronouns to refer to things mentioned before or after (I went out with Jo on Sunday. She looked awful).

Organise or list your points (see how I use bullet points?)

Use examples to support your point

State contrasting ideas (on the other hand, however etc.)

Write about consequences if any (as a result, due to this etc.)

Find out more about linking words here and here.

Are you ready to write? Get started now!

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How to improve your English writing skills

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How to improve your English writing skills by Rajul GoveasAre you the kind of person who picks up a pen to write and has words on the tip of your tongue, but they refuse to come on to the paper?

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Here you can find activities to practise your writing skills. You can improve your writing by understanding model texts and how they're structured.

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Step 1: Prewriting

Before you start writing, you need to decide exactly what you'll write about and do the necessary research.

Coming up with a topic

If you have to come up with your own topic for an assignment, think of what you've covered in class- is there a particular area that intrigued, interested, or even confused you? Topics that left you with additional questions are perfect, as these are questions you can explore in your writing.

The scope depends on what type of text you're writing-for example, an essay or a research paper will be less in-depth than a dissertation topic. Don't pick anything too ambitious to cover within the word count, or too limited for you to find much to say.

Narrow down your idea to a specific argument or question. For example, an appropriate topic for an essay might be narrowed down like this:

Narrowing down a topic
19th-century literature Novels in the romantic period The novels of Jane Austen The theme of theater in Mansfield Park

Doing the research

Once you know your topic, it's time to search for relevant sources and gather the information you need. This process varies according to your field of study and the scope of the assignment. It might involve:

From a writing perspective, the important thing is to take plenty of notes while you do the research. Keep track of the titles, authors, publication dates, and relevant quotations from your sources; the data you gathered; and your initial analysis or interpretation of the questions you're addressing.

Step 2: Planning and outlining

Especially in academic writing, it's important to use a logical structure to convey information effectively. It's far better to plan this out in advance than to try to work out your structure once you've already begun writing.

Creating an essay outline is a useful way to plan out your structure before you start writing. This should help you work out the main ideas you want to focus on and how you'll organize them. The outline doesn't have to be final-it's okay if your structure changes throughout the writing process.

Use bullet points or numbering to make your structure clear at a glance. Even for a short text that won't use headings, it's useful to summarize what you'll discuss in each paragraph.

An outline for a literary analysis essay might look something like this:

Example of an essay structure outline

Step 3: Writing a first draft

Once you have a clear idea of your structure, it's time to produce a full first draft.

This process can be quite non-linear. For example, it's reasonable to begin writing with the main body of the text, saving the introduction for later once you have a clearer idea of the text you're introducing.

To give structure to your writing, use your outline as a framework. Make sure that each paragraph has a clear central focus that relates to your overall argument.

Hover over the parts of the example, from a literary analysis essay on Mansfield Park, to see how a paragraph is constructed.

Example of a paragraph

The character of Mrs. Norris provides another example of the performance of morals in Mansfield Park. Early in the novel, she is described in scathing terms as one who knows "how to dictate liberality to others: but her love of money was equal to her love of directing" (p. 7). This hypocrisy does not interfere with her self-conceit as "the most liberal-minded sister and aunt in the world" (p. 7). Mrs. Norris is strongly concerned with appearing charitable, but unwilling to make any personal sacrifices to accomplish this. Instead, she stage-manages the charitable actions of others, never acknowledging that her schemes do not put her own time or money on the line. In this way, Austen again shows us a character whose morally upright behavior is fundamentally a performance-for whom the goal of doing good is less important than the goal of seeming good.

When you move onto a different topic, start a new paragraph. Use appropriate transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas.

The goal at this stage is to get a draft completed, not to make everything perfect as you go along. Once you have a full draft in front of you, you'll have a clearer idea of where improvement is needed.

Give yourself a first draft deadline that leaves you a reasonable length of time to revise, edit, and proofread before the final deadline. For a longer text like a dissertation, you and your supervisor might agree on deadlines for individual chapters.

Step 4: Redrafting and revising

Now it's time to look critically at your first draft and find potential areas for improvement. Redrafting means substantially adding or removing content, while revising involves making changes to structure and reformulating arguments.

Evaluating the first draft

It can be difficult to look objectively at your own writing. Your perspective might be positively or negatively biased-especially if you try to assess your work shortly after finishing it.

It's best to leave your work alone for at least a day or two after completing the first draft. Come back after a break to evaluate it with fresh eyes; you'll spot things you wouldn't have otherwise.

When evaluating your writing at this stage, you're mainly looking for larger issues such as changes to your arguments or structure. Starting with bigger concerns saves you time-there's no point perfecting the grammar of something you end up cutting out anyway.

Right now, you're looking for:

Arguments that are unclear or illogical.

Areas where information would be better presented in a different order.

Passages where additional information or explanation is needed.

Passages that are irrelevant to your overall argument.

For example, in our paper on Mansfield Park, we might realize the argument would be stronger with more direct consideration of the protagonist Fanny Price, and decide to try to find space for this in paragraph IV.

For some assignments, you'll receive feedback on your first draft from a supervisor or peer. Be sure to pay close attention to what they tell you, as their advice will usually give you a clearer sense of which aspects of your text need improvement.

Redrafting and revising

Once you've decided where changes are needed, make the big changes first, as these are likely to have knock-on effects on the rest. Depending on what your text needs, this step might involve:

Making changes to your overall argument.

Reordering the text.

Cutting parts of the text.

Adding new text.

You can go back and forth between writing, redrafting and revising several times until you have a final draft that you're happy with.

Think about what changes you can realistically accomplish in the time you have. If you are running low on time, you don't want to leave your text in a messy state halfway through redrafting, so make sure to prioritize the most important changes.

Proofread my paper

Step 5: Editing and proofreading

Editing focuses on local concerns like clarity and sentence structure. Proofreading involves reading the text closely to remove typos and ensure stylistic consistency.

Editing for grammar and clarity

When editing, you want to ensure your text is clear, concise, and grammatically correct. You're looking out for:

In your initial draft, it's common to end up with a lot of sentences that are poorly formulated. Look critically at where your meaning could be conveyed in a more effective way or in fewer words, and watch out for common sentence structure mistakes like run-on sentences and sentence fragments:

Editing example

Austen's style is frequently humorous, her characters are often described as "witty." Although this is less true of Mansfield Park.

Austen's style is frequently humorous. Her characters are often described as "witty," although this is less true of Mansfield Park.

To make your sentences run smoothly, you can always use a paraphrasing tool to rewrite them in a clearer way.

Proofreading for small mistakes and typos

When proofreading, first look out for typos in your text:

Use a grammar checker, but be sure to do another manual check after. Read through your text line by line, watching out for problem areas highlighted by the software but also for any other issues it might have missed.

For example, in the following phrase we notice several errors:

Proofreading example

Mary Crawfords character is a complicate one and her relationships with Fanny and Edmund undergoes several transformations through out the novel.

Mary Crawford's character is a complicated one, and her relationships with both Fanny and Edmund undergo several transformations throughout the novel.

Proofreading for stylistic consistency

There are several issues in academic writing where you can choose between multiple different standards. For example:

Unless you're given specific guidance on these issues, it's your choice which standards you follow. The important thing is to consistently follow one standard for each issue. For example, don't use a mixture of American and British spellings in your paper.

Additionally, you will probably be provided with specific guidelines for issues related to format (how your text is presented on the page) and citations (how you acknowledge your sources). Always follow these instructions carefully.

Other interesting articles

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Frequently asked questions about the writing process

What's the difference between revising, proofreading, and editing?

Revising, proofreading, and editing are different stages of the writing process.

Revising is making structural and logical changes to your text-reformulating arguments and reordering information.

Editing refers to making more local changes to things like sentence structure and phrasing to make sure your meaning is conveyed clearly and concisely.

Proofreading involves looking at the text closely, line by line, to spot any typos and issues with consistency and correct them.

How can I get better at proofreading?

Whether you're publishing a blog, submitting a research paper, or even just writing an important email, there are a few techniques you can use to make sure it's error-free:

Take a break: Set your work aside for at least a few hours so that you can look at it with fresh eyes.

Proofread a printout: Staring at a screen for too long can cause fatigue - sit down with a pen and paper to check the final version.

Use digital shortcuts: Take note of any recurring mistakes (for example, misspelling a particular word, switching between US and UK English, or inconsistently capitalizing a term), and use Find and Replace to fix it throughout the document.

If you want to be confident that an important text is error-free, it might be worth choosing a professional proofreading service instead.

How can I edit a paper that is over the word limit?

If you've gone over the word limit set for your assignment, shorten your sentences and cut repetition and redundancy during the editing process. If you use a lot of long quotes, consider shortening them to just the essentials.

If you need to remove a lot of words, you may have to cut certain passages. Remember that everything in the text should be there to support your argument; look for any information that's not essential to your point and remove it.

To make this process easier and faster, you can use a paraphrasing tool. With this tool, you can rewrite your text to make it simpler and shorter. If that's not enough, you can copy-paste your paraphrased text into the summarizer. This tool will distill your text to its core message.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the "Cite this Scribbr article" button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). The Writing Process | 5 Steps with Examples & Tips. Scribbr. Retrieved November 21, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/writing-process/

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A step-by-step guide to the writing process

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Good academic writing requires effective planning, drafting, and revision. The writing process looks different for everyone, but there are five basic

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How to write a How-To Essay: A Guide | Grammarly

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Writing a how-to essay is an opportunity to teach others how to accomplish something step-by-step. Whether you’re explaining how to write a thesis statement or…

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National Park After Dark. A podcast for the morbid outdoor enthusiast

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Cassie is originally from New hampshire but has recently relocated to the mountains of vermont. an avid hiker, amateur photographer, and a travel enthusiast, she spends most of her free time in the outdoors, specifically in the mountains. she has visited over 20 national parks (and counting) along with almost every state across the US. With a love for true crime and the outdoors she hopes to bring the listeners of the podcast the scary stories we don't want to know about, but we all want to hear.

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National Park After Dark. A podcast for the morbid outdoor enthusiast

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It's the eagerly awaited inside story of royal rivalries at the heart of the House of Windsor, and Anna Pasternak, the first to review it, discovers that the author with unique access to Harry and Meghan is unafraid of burning bridges to reveal his truth about the state of the monarchy

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The Independent | Latest news and features from US, UK and worldwide | The Independent

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Latest news, comment and features from The Independent US

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From the US election and Biden's presidency, to gun control and abortion rights; stay up-to-date with the latest lines and comment with The Telegraph.

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The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos

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Live news, investigations, opinion, photos and video by the journalists of The New York Times from more than 150 countries around the world. Subscribe for coverage of U.S. and international news, politics, business, technology, science, health, arts, sports and more.

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The Washington Post - Breaking news and latest headlines, U.S. news, world news, and video - The Washington Post

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Breaking news, live coverage, investigations, analysis, video, photos and opinions from The Washington Post. Subscribe for the latest on U.S. and international news, politics, business, technology, climate change, health and wellness, sports, science, weather, lifestyle and more.

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Conditional Sentences, If Clauses oder If-Sätze sind Bedingungssätze. Das heißt, das Ereignis im Hauptsatz (ohne ) findet nur statt, wenn die Bedingung im Satzteil mit if erfüllt ist. Es gibt 3 Typen von If-Sätzen.

If-Satz Typ 1
→ Es ist möglich und auch sehr wahrscheinlich, dass die Bedingung eintritt.
Beispiel: If I find her address, I'll send her an invitation. Wenn ich ihre Adresse finde, werde ich ihr eine Einladung schicken.

mehr zu If-Sätzen Typ I ►

If-Satz Typ 2
→ Es ist möglich aber eher unwahrscheinlich, dass die Bedingung eintritt.
Bildung: if + Simple Past, Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)

Beispiel: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation. Wenn ich ihre Adressen finden würde, würde ich ihr eine Einladung schicken.

mehr zu If-Sätzen Typ II ►

If-Satz Typ 3
→ Es ist unmöglich, dass die Bedingung eintritt, weil sie sich auf die Vergangenheit bezieht.
Bildung: if + Past Perfect, Conditional II (= would + have + Past Participle)

Beispiel: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation. Wenn ich ihre Adresse gefunden hätte, hätte ich ihr eine Einladung geschickt.

mehr zu If-Sätzen Typ III ►

Besonderheiten

If-Sätze Typ I, II und III können auch mit anderen Zeitformen als oben angegeben verwendet werden.

mehr zu If-Sätzen mit anderen Zeiten ►

Übungen zu If-Sätzen

If-Satz Typ 1

If-Satz Typ 2

If-Satz Typ 3

Gemischte Übungen zu IF-Sätzen

Besonderheiten

Tests zu If-Sätzen

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If-Sätze Typ I, II und III (Conditional Sentences, If-Clauses, Bedingungssätze)

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MC Fluency - Irregular verbs rap with lyrics (by Michael English)

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Storynory has over 1,000 free audio stories for children, including classic fairy tales, myths, world stories, poems, and brand new originals read by professional actors.

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Take a break from more formal ESL lessons and bring English to life with brief yet entertaining short stories.

Short stories strike the perfect balance of challenging, engaging and rewarding for language students.

Reading short stories also builds on the foundation of many ESL skills, including reading, writing, grammar, listening and discussion.

Turn English into page-turning excitement!

Contents

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

In "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, a married couple figures out how to get each other Christmas presents despite having no money.

As your students are reading, talk about how much the characters care for each other, considering what they are willing to give up for the other.

The story is full of rich descriptions you can use to teach descriptive writing or even the use of adjectives. At the end of the story, talk about the idea of irony-because the couple finds out their gifts are useless because they both can't use the present they gave to each other.

In "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs, a man receives a monkey's paw and it promises five wishes, though it comes at a price.

As you read through the story, talk about how someone's words can be twisted or misinterpreted, as when the son comes back to life but is no longer the same man.

"Be careful what you wish for" is a fitting saying to introduce with this story, and having your students think about their priorities in life (and why) is a great follow-up activity.

In "Mrs. Packletide's Tiger" by Saki, Mrs. Packletide plans on shooting a tiger, and it dies in an unexpected way-resulting in a story that is perfect for teaching satire.

It is also a great opportunity to talk about jealousy and whether or not you should do something just to show off. The rich descriptions of the characters and the ways the villagers behave can be used in a lesson to talk about character sketches.

In "The Tell-tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe, a man commits a murder and his guilt consumes him.

As you read this story with your students, talk about how the author is creating suspense with the use of repetition and sentence choice. As you near the end of the story, talk about what the symbolism of the lantern means.

You can also use this story to teach how verbs can be used to set the tone of a story. The phrase "open the door stealthily" is a great one that Poe uses a lot, for example.

This short story brings a bit of West African folklore to your classroom. It is about following directions, which Anansi, the anti-hero of the story is not the best at.

"How Anansi Brought Wild Animals into the World" is perfect for all ages and, although it may seem like a children's story, even your more advanced-level students may find a word or two that they may not recognize.

There are also a few essential phrasal verbs in this short story you can utilize for further practice and reinforcement activities.

"The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli is a story about a young boy who wants to become a knight during the bubonic plague.

You can use it to teach character analysis, following how Robin changes throughout the story. It's also a great way to teach about using colorful descriptions instead of simple words.

For example, when the author describes blooming flowers instead of just saying "the month of May," or how the main character recognizes various characters by the way they walk.

"Kung Fu Monkey Style" is a mix of the animal kingdom and human amenities that will get your students' imaginations flowing.

It offers dialogue, presents wonderful adjectives and develops new vocabulary and also offers a bit of humor and fun to your students.

You can ask your students questions and explore with them how this may differ from their own culture. This will open up cross-cultural communication that will allow your students to explain their lives and culture in English.

"A Haunted House" by Virginia Woolf is a story about a woman and her husband who live among ghosts in their house.

As your class reads the story, have them note the idea of the couple's treasure symbolizing love.

The words "it" and "here" are quite important, and you can note their repetition to discuss why the author emphasized those words, and what they could be referring to.

"Fenris the Wolf" is a powerful Norse myth about Fenris, a wolf that tormented the Norse gods. The gods and Fenris often battle with one another due to Fenris' cunning skills.

This short story is told in a compelling way and offers a bit of mystery and a feel of the unknown as your students read it. You can use this mystery and employ a group writing activity to further your students' ESL skills in regards to the story.

"The Remarkable Rocket" is a great short story that encompasses classical literature from the famous author Oscar Wilde.

The story itself is a metaphor for ego and boasting, which are two character traits you can explain to your students before beginning.

This short story is also loaded with dialogue and descriptive wording that will surely spark imagination in your students.

"Robin Hood And The Golden Arrow" is an educational tale of Robin Hood. Some of your ESL students may have some form of knowledge about Robin Hood already and this is a perfect place to begin this lesson.

Open up the floor for discussion about Robin Hood and evoke discussion in your classroom. After a bit of discussion, move into reading and listening.

You can employ a bit of ethical English thought into this short story lesson and ask your students if Robin Hood is a bad guy or a good guy. What makes him good or bad?

"The Gingerbread Man" is a timeless classic that dates back to around 1875. There have been several variations and versions of the story since its first publication and it remains a wonderful ESL reading tool.

It's exceptionally short and very easy to read and understand as your students flip from one page to the next. The plot isn't very difficult to get: The main character, the gingerbread man, runs and runs throughout most of the story.

One skill that you can strive to build using this short story is simple verb conjugation, as most of the verbs here are in the past simple. You could also identify parts of speech.

"The Elves and the Shoemaker" is a Brothers Grimm tale that is timeless, ageless and wonderful for all ESL levels.

This exceptional Christmas-themed short story offers a plethora of wonderful new vocabulary your students will find very useful. Though it is a short story about fantasy and elves, the vocabulary is anything but simplistic.

To build on the reading of the short story, you can employ a crossword worksheet to really solidify the new vocabulary.

"The Californian's Tale" by Mark Twain is a more complex short story about gold prospectors and miners during the California Gold Rush days.

There are several literary notes to point out during your lesson. The first would be the shifts of mood and changes of scene that occur within the story. Ask your students what they think of the twist at the end.

Start students off with this abridged, simplified version, and for advanced students, move them to the longer, original version after. There are also great audio versions of this short story.

"Do You Speak English?" by Simon Collins highlights some funny aspects of what it's like to be in another country looking for someone who speaks your language.

It also depicts some key cultural differences between people from different places in the world. The plot is easy to follow and the nice flow helps students become really engaged with the story.

You can do thoughtful, communication-based activities, letting your students predict what will happen next in the story.

"Jeremy and the Magic Lobster" by Matthew Licht is about a boy who finds a talking lobster in his mother's groceries.

The lobster has a funny sense of humor and pleads to be released from the inevitable cooking pot awaiting him. It has aspects of a children's story with enough humor to be enjoyable for young adults and adults.

The dialogue is an important element of the story, often being where much of the plot is unveiled. There are also great descriptive sentences and funny phrases like "Get me out of this jam."

Paul Bunyan is a legendary figure who was rumored to be a real person, a larger-than-life logger from the northeastern area of the United States and Canada.

There are several Paul Bunyan stories such as "Round River Drive," "Paul Bunyan Tames the Whistling River" and, the most famous of them all, "Babe the Blue Ox." The short stories vary in length and each one has a different theme, usually involving Paul Bunyan doing something amazing.

This is a great chance to introduce certain expressions and idioms, like "knee-deep" and "teeny-tiny," as they appear with great descriptive force in the stories.

Why Short Stories Are Exceptional for ESL Students

They're great catalysts for bringing English to life. Many ESL students have the vocabulary and grammar know-how but find real-life language usage challenging. Short stories for your students will open their creative English minds as they enjoy an exciting or funny short story.

They're a wonderful break from the formal, more traditional lesson plan or continual textbook learning style. They also get the whole class involved in an exciting way. Gathering your students in a circle and reading a short story offers essential communication they may not find in more traditional, ESL desk learning.

You have tons of options for interacting with short stories. Students could go around in a circle and take turns reading out loud, they could read out loud in pairs or groups, they could read on their own or they could listen to you (or classmates) reading out loud.

There is the element of sharing different cultures and perspectives. Most short stories paint a picture of an event in time, or some may have a cultural undertone. They may often be able to teach something about history or culture. Plus, your students may all have their own takes on these stories based on their own backgrounds.

Essential ESL Skills Short Stories Bring to Your Classroom

Short stories serve a wealth of ESL skills. Instead of focusing on just one aspect of English, short stories connect various essential ESL skills together in an almost seamless way. You can utilize short stories in your classroom to cover almost every aspect of English.

Your students can read the content, listen to others read or listen to a recording of a native English speaker reading.

You can implement discussion breaks after a certain period of reading and listening, allowing your students to communicate and dive a bit deeper into what the short story is about.

Your eager ESL students will also see the correct grammar used in the various short stories. They will see how sentences are structured and how dialogue is written and/or used.

If you pair your classroom short story with an activity, your students can also gain vital writing and action-oriented ESL skills not found in traditional lesson plans.

You can also pair short stories with tech. For example, you can play a short story on the FluentU language learning program.

FluentU is a way to bring authentic English videos into the classroom in an approachable way. Among movie clips, news segments, funny commercials and other content that English speakers watch, you'll also find animated short stories.

Play these for your class or assign them for homework. Students will have the benefit of seeing accurate interactive subtitles and the ability to click on any word within those subtitles for a definition.

Students using FluentU can also take quizzes following any video, add words to flashcard decks and review flashcards with personalized exercises that include speaking questions.

Employing short stories in an animated or visual format to expand your ESL students' minds is the perfect way to spark their love for English in an exciting way.

Utilizing short stories in your classroom is an exceptional, fun and exciting way to build on almost every ESL skill your students need to communicate effectively in English.

It's a surefire way to keep students engaged and active with each turn of the page!

Think your students are ready to move on from short stories to books? Take a look at this list:

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17 Short Stories in English, Perfect for ESL Students of All Levels | FluentU English Educator Blog

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ESL short stories are a great way to have your students practice their English language skills. Check out our list of 17 short stories for ESL students of all levels, ranging from beginners to adults. Stories include "The Monkey's Paw," "The Gift of the Magi," "The Elves and the Shoemaker" and many more.

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"english with jennifer" "english conversation" jenniferesl jennifer lebedev english esl efl learn tesl grammar vocabulary pronunciation lesson "english conve...

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Let me help you communicate more confidently and effectively in English. All playlists: 👉 http://englishwithjennifer.com/students/yt-videos/ SUBSCRIBE! 🌟Get you FREE pronunciation toolkit here: https://english-with-jennifer.newzenler.com/f/clear-pronunciation-toolkit More downloads here: https://bb07c9.myshopify.com/ 🌟Amazing perks for channel members!👉 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEKXieT70wByfvZwP1CxdPQ/join Join the live chat at the monthly livestream, receive a follow-up task on the community tab & more.

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The English Addict in 2023 Join in with the LIVE fun every Sunday at 2pm UK time for English Addict - Live from England. DO YOU LIKE LEARNING ENGLISH? DO YOU FEEL AS IF YOU CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT? THEN YOU MIGHT BE AN ENGLISH ADDICT... JUST LIKE ME.

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Zu den englischen Hilfsverben - auch modal verbs genannt - gehören vor allem can, may, will, must und shall. Hier erhalten Sie eine Übersicht.

Im Englischen stellt man Bestätigungsfragen, indem man an die Aussage kurze Frageanhängsel - sogenannte question tags - anhängt. Hier erhalten Sie eine Übersicht.

Die Unterscheidung zwischen much und many bereitet deutschen Lernern oft Probleme. So benutzen Sie die Wörter korrekt.

Die englische Grammatik unterscheidet drei Arten von Bedingungssätzen. Hier finden Sie eine Erklärung zu diesen sogenannten if clauses.

Zusammengesetzte Formen aus Verb und Partikel werden im Englischen als phrasal verbs bezeichnet. Hier erhalten Sie eine Übersicht.

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Zu den englischen Hilfsverben - auch modal verbs genannt - gehören vor allem can, may, will, must und shall. Hier erhalten Sie eine Übersicht. Im Englischen stellt man Bestätigungsfragen, indem man an die Aussage kurze Frageanhängsel - sogenannte question tags - anhängt. Hier erhalten Sie eine Übersicht.

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Für jede Klassenstufe etwas dabei

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Hier ist eine Sammlung von Texten, die ich selber geschrieben oder adaptiert habe.

5. Klasse

Guessing Game: Characters from children's books (PDF) (DOCX)

Guessing Game: Which pet is it? (PDF) (DOCX)

Guessing Game: What's your hobby? (PDF) (DOCX)

Dialogue: A complicated garden party (PDF) (DOCX)

6. Klasse

Story: Why the bear has a short tail (PDF) (DOCX)

Story: The Hammer Lost and Found (PDF) (DOCX)

Story: Dick Whittington and his cat (PDF) (DOCX)

Story: Peter Rabbit (PDF) (BLOG)

Rätselkrimi: Inspector Graham and the Diamond Necklace (PDF) (DOCX) (BLOG)

Sachtext: Discover Scotland (PDF) (DOCX) (BLOG)

Sachtext: Fun facts about kangaroos (PDF) (DOCX) (BLOG)

Postkarte: A postcard from Edinburgh (PDF) (DOCX)

7. Klasse

What do you think about school uniforms? (PDF) (DOCX)

What do you think about homeschooling? (PDF) (DOCX)

Sachtext: The Tower of London (PDF) (DOCX)

Sachtext: Four different kinds of 'football' (PDF)

Sachtext: The Strangest Sports in the World (PDF)

Story: Three little pigs (PDF) (DOCX)

8. Klasse

9. Klasse

Story by Rudyard Kipling: Rikki-tikki-tavi (PDF) (DOCX)

Tisquantum and the First Thanksgiving (PDF) (DOCX) (BLOG)

10. Klasse

Story by Edgar Allan Poe: The Masque of the Red Death (PDF)

Sachtext: Easter Traditions around the World (PDF)

Sachtext zum Thema 3D-printing: The printed prosthesis revolution (PDF) (DOCX)

Sachtext zum Thema Ernährung / Umwelt: World Food Production Also Having Big Effect on Climate Change (PDF) (DOCX)

Oberstufe

Sachtext: Charles Darwin (PDF) (DOCX)

Sachtext zum Thema Ernährung / Umwelt: Is eating insects more humane than eating meat? (PDF) (DOCX)

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Hier ist eine Sammlung von Texten, die ich selber geschrieben oder adaptiert habe. Guessing Game: Characters from children's books (PDF) (DOCX) Guessing Game: Which pet is it? (PDF) (DOCX) Guessing Game: What's your hobby?

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Für Fortgeschrittene

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BBC Radio - The English We Speak - Downloads

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Podcast downloads for The English We Speak

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Learn and practise useful English language for everyday situations with the BBC. Your weekly instruction manual for saying or doing something in English is published every Thursday.

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BBC Radio - 6 Minute English - Downloads

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learn english british council online free learning teaching tefl esl

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LearnEnglish is the British Council's website for adult learners of English.

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Wie wir seit den 1980ern und Video Killed the Radio Star wissen, haben Videos das Radio in den Hintergrund gedrängt. Doch das Internet hat die Situation wieder verändert und Podcasts bedeuten eine Renaissance für Inhalte zum Zuhören.

Wer schätzt es nicht, bei einem guten englischen Podcast zu entspannen? Sie sind unterhaltsam und informativ und können während Aktivitäten, die keine volle Konzentration benötigen, die Zeit vertreiben. Heutzutage fällt es oft schwer, sich vorzustellen, wie wir früher ohne einen unendlichen Nachschub an tollen Podcasts joggen, kochen oder putzen konnten.

Für Menschen, die Online-Englischunterricht nehmen, und mit Podcasts üben möchten, ist die Auswahl groß. Hier sind einige Tipps, um Podcasts optimal zu nutzen und die geeignete Wahl für das eigene Sprachniveau zu treffen.

Die 7 besten englischen Podcasts für Anfänger

Sehen wir uns zuerst einige Beispiele für Lern-Podcasts an. Diese sind speziell darauf ausgerichtet, dir in jeder Folge etwas Neues zur englischen Sprache beizubringen.

Der Learn English Podcast des British Council

Der Learn English Podcast eignet sich perfekt für Anfänger und zielt auf Lernende mit Sprachniveau A1 bis B1 ab. Alle Folgen sind dialogbasiert und behandeln häufige Alltagssituationen. Zu jeder Folge gibt es außerdem eine schriftliche Version, zusätzliche Übungen sowie einen kleinen Test, um zu überprüfen, ob du das Gehörte verstanden hast. Es gibt sogar eine kostenlose App!

Wenn du britisches Englisch lernen möchtest, ist dies der perfekte Start. Du weißt noch nicht sicher ob du lieber britisches oder amerikanisches Englisch lernen möchtest? Finde mehr über den Unterschied zwischen den beiden heraus.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

British Council Website
Themen
Britische Kultur

Gesellschaft

Sport

Wissenschaft

Voice of America: Learning English

Wenn du dich auf amerikanisches Englisch konzentrieren möchtest, dann ist " Voice of America: Learning English " wahrscheinlich die bessere Wahl für dich. Hierbei handelt es sich um eine übersichtliche Website, die verschiedene Podcasts für Anfänger, Lernende der Mittelstufe und Fortgeschrittene anbietet.

Für Anfänger gibt es Folgen, die sich auf die grundlegenden Sprachfertigkeiten konzentrieren. Themen, die behandelt werden, sind "Let's learn English" ("Lernen wir Englisch"), "Everyday grammar" ("Alltagsgrammatik") und "Words and their stories" ("Wörter und ihre Geschichten").

Wenn du schon die Mittelstufe erreicht hast, wird es noch spannender. Es gibt eine große Anzahl an Podcasts, die sich mit vielfältigen Themen wie Gesundheit, Lifestyle, Wissenschaft, Technik, Kultur und aktuellen Nachrichten beschäftigen. Diese Themen sind besonders relevant, wenn du gerne mit Freundinnen und Freunden auf Englisch plaudern möchtest. Zu allen Podcasts gibt es eine schriftliche Version zum Mitlesen.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Voice of America Website
Themen
Amerikanische Kultur

Gesundheit und Lifestyle

Wissenschaft

Technologie

Sprachenlernen

6-Minute English from the BBC

Du hast nicht viel Zeit zum Lernen? Mit 6-Minute English hast du keine Entschuldigung mehr. Hierbei handelt es sich um einen weiteren Podcast von der britischen Regierung - dieses Mal produziert von der BBC.

6-Minute English ist ein Podcast zu den aktuellen Nachrichten und richtet sich an Sprechende der Mittelstufe. Zu jeder Folge gibt es eine Vokabelliste, eine Frage und den Text des Gesprochenen zum Mitlesen. Die Sprechgeschwindigkeit ist etwas langsamer als im echten Leben, wodurch der Podcast einfacher zu verstehen ist.

Den Podcast gibt es seit 2014 und mittlerweile kannst du dir Hunderte von Folgen anhören. Versuche, dir jeden Tag (zum Beispiel beim Frühstück) eine der 6 Minuten langen Folgen anzuhören und dein Vokabular wird sich in kürzester Zeit verbessern.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

BBC Website
Themen
Britische Kultur

Internationale Themen

Lifestyle

The English We Speak

Wie es scheint produziert die britische Regierung wirklich gerne Podcasts für Englischlernende! " The English We Speak " wird ebenfalls jede Woche von der BBC produziert. Mit nur 3 Minuten pro Folge ist der Zeitaufwand sogar noch kürzer. Das Vokabular ist etwas komplexer, wodurch sich der Podcast am besten für Lernende der Mittelstufe und für Fortgeschrittene eignet.

Wenn du Englisch lernst, um nach Großbritannien zu ziehen, legen wir dir diesen Podcast ans Herz. In jeder Folge geht es um eine anderen Ausdruck oder um eine Redewendung, die in Großbritannien genutzt werden (z. B. "play the blinder", "take the biscuit" oder "to cut long story short"). Die meisten sind ziemlich merkwürdig, machen aber nach 3 Minuten Erklärung und Kontext mehr Sinn.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

BBC Website
Themen
Britische Kultur

Idiomatische Ausdrücke

Slang

Lifestyle

Wenn du schon ein wenig fortgeschritten bist, gefällt dir vielleicht die Idee, komische und wundervolle Fakten über die Welt zu lernen, während du dein Englisch verbesserst. In diesem Fall ist English Learning for Curious Minds der richtige Podcast für dich.

Der Podcast behandelt eine Vielzahl an Themen von Geschichte, über Philosophie, Politik bis hin zu Technologie. Jede Folge dauert etwa 20 Minuten und du kannst die schriftliche Version, eine Vokabelliste und Untertitel dazu herunterladen. Leonardo English verfügt darüber hinaus über eine Community von "Curious Minds", die an verschiedenen Events, Challenges und Kursen teilnehmen.

Der Podcast-Sprecher selbst ist ebenfalls ein begeisterter Linguist und glaub fest an die Wirksamkeit von Podcasts beim Sprachenlernen.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Leonardo English Website (Transkript, Vokabeln und Untertitel)
Themen
Britische Kultur

Politik

Geschickte

Wissenschaft und Technologie

Sprachenlernen

All Ears English

" All Ears English " ist eine andere großartige Option, wenn du bereits Englisch sprichst und etwas Unterhaltung suchst. Anders als bei "Luke's English Podcast" handelt es sich hier um einen amerikanischen Podcast. Die Folgen werden von zwei ESL-Lehrerinnen präsentiert: Lindsey aus Boston und Michelle aus New York City. In den sehr kurzen Folgen sprechen die beiden über amerikanische Kultur und erklären verwirrende Ausdrücke auf freundliche und witzige Art. Ihr Motto lautet "connection not perfection". Du kannst dich also darauf verlassen, dass es in diesem Podcast um alltägliches Englisch geht, wie es von Muttersprachlern gesprochen wird.

Ein weiteres tolles Merkmal dieses Podcasts ist, dass Lindsay und Michelle sich auf die IELTS-Prüfungsvorbereitung spezialisieren. Sie produzieren ihren Podcast mit der IELTS-Prüfung im Hinterkopf, was ihn für Lernende, die sich auf diese Prüfung vorbereiten, besonders nützlich macht. Wenn das auf dich zutrifft, interessiert dich vielleicht auch unser Artikel zu amerikanischem Englisch (auf Englisch).
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

All Ears English Website
Themen
Amerikanische Kultur

Englische Grammatik

Idiomatische Ausdrücke

Sprachenlernen

Espresso English

Der Espresso English Podcast ist für Anfänger und Lernende der Mittelstufe. Podcast-Host Shayna unterrichtet auf Espresso English und behandelt in über 350 Folgen Themen wie Vokabular, Grammatik und Aussprache.

Das Tolle an diesem Podcast ist, dass es so viele Folgen gibt, die sich alle mit Problemen beschäftigen, die Englischlernenden im Alltag unterkommen, wie Phrasal Verbs oder die Lernmotivation beizubehalten. Der Podcast ist in amerikanischem Englisch und jede Folge ist nur 5 bis 10 Minuten lang.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Espresso English Website
Themen
Aussprache

Grammatik

Idiomatische Ausdrücke

Sprachenlernen

8 tolle Podcasts für Fortgeschrittene, produziert von Englisch-Muttersprachlern

Wenn dein englisches Hörverständnis schon fortgeschritten ist, gibt es ein ganzes Universum an Podcast-Serien zu entdecken. Hier sind einige gute Vorschläge zum Einsteigen.

The Joe Rogan Experience

Keine Liste englischer Podcasts wäre vollständig, ohne Joe Rogan zu erwähnen. The Joe Rogan Experience ist einer der größten Podcasts weltweit, und im Jahr 2020 unterzeichnete die Show einen Exklusivvertrag mit Spotify im Wert von angeblich 100 Millionen Dollar.

JRE ist ein großartiges Lernmittel für fortgeschrittene Lernende, weil es eine so große Bandbreite an Themen und interessanten englischen Gesprächen gibt. Zum Zeitpunkt der Erstellung dieses Artikels gab es über 1.660 Folgen mit Themen, die von Comedy und Wissenschaft bis zu Politik und Sport reichen. Rogan ist auch ein berühmter Stand-up-Comedian, so dass die Show voller kultureller Anspielungen und Redewendungen ist, wenn du amerikanisches Englisch lernst.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

YouTube

Spotify
Themen
Amerikanische Kultur

Comedy

Sport

Wissenschaft

Politik

Preply Talks

Der Preply Talks-Podcast enthält Gespräche auf fortgeschrittenem Englisch-Niveau mit erfahrenen Sprachlehrern aus der ganzen Welt. Er soll Tipps und Einblicke in das Erlernen von Fremdsprachen geben.

Nicht in jeder Folge geht es um das Erlernen der englischen Sprache, aber die besprochenen Tipps und Techniken können auf jede Sprache angewendet werden. Außerdem kannst du deine Hörfähigkeiten trainieren, indem du einem Gespräch zwischen zwei fließend sprechenden Personen folgst.

Gastgeber Tom Cox wird von Experten wie John Fotheringham, Jennifer Lebedev und Olly Richards unterstützt, die ihre Geschichten, Ratschläge und Tipps zum Erlernen einer neuen Sprache weitergeben.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Spotify
Themen
Sprachenlernen

Aussprache

Grammatik

This American Life

" This American Life " ist eine gute Wahl für diejenigen, die die US-amerikanische Kultur besser verstehen möchten. Der Podcast ist eine Mischung aus Journalismus, interessanten Geschichten und fokussiert sich auf die Leben von Amerikanerinnen und Amerikanern aus allen Teilen des Landes. Die behandelten Themen sind vielseitig und originell. eine Folge wurde beispielsweise über 24 Stunden hinweg in einem durchgehend geöffneten Restaurant aufgenommen. In einer anderen Folge wurden Highschool-Schülerinnen und -Schüler interviewt, an deren Schule es kurz zuvor einen Amoklauf gegeben hatte.

Dieser Podcast hat bereits mehrere Preise gewonnen und scheint in allen Listen der besten amerikanischen Podcasts auf.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Spotify

This American Life Website
Themen
Amerikanische Kultur

Lifestyle

Politik

Crime Junkie

Berichte über echte Kriminalfälle sind schon seit längerer Zeit der letzte Trend. Bestimmt kennst du bereits einige Beispiele dieses Genres.

Auch in der Welt der Podcasts beschäftigen sich viele Produzentinnen und Produzenten mit "True Crime". Der Podcast " Crime Junkie " ist eines der bekanntesten Beispiele für Podcasts, die sich mit Kriminalfällen beschäftigen. In jeder der 50-minütigen Episoden behandeln die Produzenten einen anderen Mordfall und nehmen selbst die grausamsten Details genau unter die Lupe. Außerdem widmen sich die Folgen ungelösten Aspekten der Mordfälle. Dieser Podcast sorgt garantiert für Gänsehaut und vielleicht sogar den einen oder anderen Alptraum, macht aber trotzdem süchtig.

Hier gilt: Hoffentlich kommen die neu gelernten Vokabeln nicht zur Anwendung.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Spotify

Crime Junkie Website
Themen
Amerikanische Kultur

True Crime

Overheard at National Geographic

National Geographic ist vielen Englischlernenden ein Begriff. Hierbei handelt es sich um eine beliebte amerikanisches Zeitschrift und den dazugehörigen Fernsehsender, die für ihre unglaublichen Geschichten und Fotos zum Thema Geographie, Natur und Umwelt bekannt sind. In Overheard at National Geographic geht es um die Gespräche, die die Mitarbeitenden der Zeitschrift im Pausenraum führen. Du kannst verrückte Geschichten von Entdeckerinnen, Fotografen und Wissenschaftlerinnen erwarten. Die Folgen dauern etwa 20 Minuten und behandelte Themen sind z.B. Zombie-Mäuse, Ethik bei Tier-Selfies und Unterwasserpyramiden. Perfekt für Lernende, die sich von der Einzigartigkeit unseres Planeten begeistern lassen möchten.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Spotify

National Geographic Website
Themen
Wissenschaft

Natur

The Writer's Voice

Wenn du dich eher für Kultur als für Wissenschaft interessierst, dann ist " The Writer's Voice" von The New Yorker die richtige Wahl.

The New Yorker ist eine prestigeträchtige amerikanische Zeitschrift und bringt jede Woche eine neue Kurzgeschichte heraus. In diesem Podcast wird die Kurzgeschichte der Woche von ihrem Autor selbst vorgelesen. Die Werke enthalten eine Vielfalt an Lebenserfahrungen aus den Vereinigten Staaten und anderen Teilen der Welt. Manchen Geschichten kann man nicht ganz leicht folgen, doch die meisten sind ein echtes Hörvergnügen.

Ein toller Weg, um die beste Literatur des Landes zu genießen - fast wie eine Gute-Nacht-Geschichte für Erwachsene! Wenn du Literatur magst, interessiert dich vielleicht auch unser Guide zu den besten kostenlosen englischen Hörbüchern (auf Englisch).
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

New Yorker Website
Themen
Literatur

Comedy Bang Bang

Viele sind der Meinung, dass Witze und Humor in einer Fremdsprache am schwierigsten zu verstehen sind. Wenn du diese Theorie auf die Probe stellen möchtest, ist " Comedy Bang Bang " der perfekte Podcast dafür.

Der Podcast existiert seit zehn Jahren und erfreut sich schon genauso lange größte Beliebtheit. Die Folgen beginnen normalerweise als Interview mit Stars, enden aber schnell im Chaos. Du kannst Sketches, witzige Sprüche und Improvisation erwarten. Wenn du den Podcast zum ersten Mal hörst, ist die Jahresrückblicksfolge ein guter Einstieg.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Earwolf Website
Themen
Comedy

Amerikanische Kultur

Global News by the BBC

Und noch einmal erwähnen wir hier die vielen englischen Podcasts der BBC! Hör dir doch die Nachrichten auf Englisch an. Das ist ein großartiger Weg, um dich im Alltag mehr mit der englischen Sprache zu beschäftigen.

Die " Global News " der BBC werden zweimal täglich veröffentlicht und behandeln Nachrichten aus der ganzen Welt. Wie du vielleicht schon geahnt hast, ist diese Serie besonders hilfreich, wenn du britisches Englisch lernen möchtest.
Erhältlich auf:
Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

BBC Website
Themen
Nachrichten

Internationale Themen

Business English

6 effektive Strategien, um mit Podcasts Englisch zu lernen

Wenn du in deiner Muttersprache Podcasts anhörst, sind diese vermutlich oft ein Hintergrundgeräusch, während du noch etwas anderes machst. Das ist ein toller Weg, um einen Nachmittag zu verbringen. Wenn du jedoch Podcasts hörst, um dein Englisch zu verbessern, lohnt es sich, auf etwas andere Art und Weise zuzuhören.

Folge diesen einfachen Schritten, um das meiste aus deinem Hörerlebnis zu machen

Fang mit Podcasts an, die auf das Lernen fokussiert sind

Es gibt mehr Podcasts auf Englisch, als in jeder anderen Sprache und manche davon sind gleichzeitig eine großartige Unterhaltung.

Bei so vielen Podcasts ist die Versuchung groß, direkt mit einem zu beginnen, der für englische Muttersprachler aufgenommen wurde. Das ist eine gute Strategie für fortgeschrittene Lernende. Wenn du noch nicht soweit bist, ist es jedoch kein effektiver Weg, um zu lernen. Wenn du dem Gespräch nicht folgen kannst, wirst du wahrscheinlich aufhören zuzuhören und lernst keine neuen Wörter.

In diesem Artikel zeigen wir dir als Start einige tolle kostenlose Podcasts, die speziell für Menschen entwickelt wurden, die Englisch lernen.

Hör zu und lies mit

Viele Podcasts, die für Englischlernende gestaltet wurden, haben eine schriftliche Version zum Herunterladen. Versuche, dir einen Podcast anzuhören und mitzulesen. So lernst du gleichzeitig die Schreibweise und die Aussprache der Wörter.

Auf Englisch ist es schwierig zu wissen, wie Wörter ausgesprochen werden, wenn man sie nur geschrieben sieht. Viele Lernende finden, dass das am Englischlernen am frustrierenden ist. Bei einem Podcast mitzulesen ist ein einfacher Weg, um sich an die verwirrenden englischen Ausspracheregeln zu gewöhnen, die sich alle Lernenden aneignen müssen. Außerdem kannst du so sicherstellen dass dir beim Hören nichts entgeht.

Notiere dir neue Vokabeln

Podcasts sind perfekt, um neue Vokabeln zu Themen zu lernen, die dich interessieren. Um dir neue Wörter einzuprägen, musst du dich jedoch näher mit ihnen beschäftigen. Schreib einfach alle neuen Wörter auf, die du hörst. Wenn du nicht sicher bist, was ein bestimmtes Wort bedeutet, pausiere den Podcast, und schlag es nach. Da du die Wörter bereits im Kontext gehört und eine Anstrengung unternommen hast, sie dir einzuprägen, ist es wahrscheinlicher, dass du sie dir auch langfristig merkst.

Mach mal langsam

Muttersprachler sprechen so schnell! Alle, die schon einmal eine Fremdsprache gelernt haben, kennen dieses Problem.

Ein Vorteil von Podcasts ist es jedoch, dass man sie langsamer abspielen kann. Auch wenn dir nur alle paar Sätze ein Wort entgeht, lohnt es sich auszuprobieren, denn Podcast langsamer abzuspielen. Das gibt dir Zeit, neue Vokabeln zu notieren. Außerdem kannst du genau hinhören und besser verstehen, wie die einzelnen Wörter ausgesprochen werden. Nutze außerdem die Möglichkeit, zu pausieren und einige Sekunden zurückzugehen, um Abschnitte, die du nicht genau verstanden hast, noch einmal abzuspielen.

Wenn das nur auch mit echten Konversationen möglich wäre...

Vermeide Multitasking

Das Tolle an Podcasts ist es normalerweise, dass sie nicht deine volle Aufmerksamkeit beanspruchen. Wenn du sie jedoch als Lernmittel nutzen möchtest, solltest du diesen Ansatz noch einmal überdenken.

Wenn du Podcasts nutzen möchtest, um Sprachen zu lernen, solltest du dich ganz auf diese Tätigkeit konzentrieren. Das bedeutet, dass du die Informationen nicht nur hörst, sondern auch verarbeitest. Dies kannst du durch Mitlesen oder Notieren von neuen Wörtern tun. Eine weitere Möglichkeit, das Gelernte zu vertiefen ist es, dir auf Preply eine Lehrerin oder einen Lehrer zu suchen und mit ihm oder ihr all die neuen gelernten Wörter zu besprechen.

Nutze sie als Hintergrundgeräusch

Regeln sind schließlich da, um gebrochen zu werden!

Um das meiste aus Podcasts als Lernmittel herauszuholen, solltest du ihnen deine volle Aufmerksamkeit schenken. Wenn du jedoch einfach mehr Kontakt mit gesprochenem Englisch haben möchtest, kannst du diesen Ratschlag von Zeit zu Zeit ignorieren. Einen Podcast im Hintergrund anzuhören, hilft dir dabei, dich an die Laute und den Rhythmus der Sprache zu gewöhnen.

Die besten Resultate erzielst du, wenn du dir einen Podcast einmal konzentriert anhörst und ihn dann noch ein zweites Mal als Hintergrundgeräusch abspielst, um das neue Vokabular zu vertiefen.

Wenn dir die Idee, mit Podcasts Fremdsprachen zu lernen gefällt, sieh dir auch unsere Favoriten für die Sprachen Deutsch, Französisch und Spanisch an.

Abschließende Gedanken

Mit diesen Tipps und Empfehlungen können dir Podcasts dabei helfen, dein Englisch zu verbessern. Wir hoffen, dass du Inspiration gefunden hast und dein Smartphone mit vielen lehrreichen Podcast füllen wirst.

Wenn dir das Lernen mit Podcasts gefällt, kannst du diese auch in einer Unterrichtsstunde mit einem Preply-Lehrer oder eine Lehrerin zum Thema machen.

Finde auf Preply eine passende Lehrkraft und arbeitet gemeinsam an einem Unterrichtsplan, der genau auf deine Bedürfnisse abgestimmt ist. Zum Beispiel kannst du mit deiner Lehrkraft die schriftliche Version des Podcasts durchgehen oder ihr könnt zusammen Ausschnitte aus einem deiner Lieblings-Podcast anhören. So kannst du die neuen Vokabeln im bestmöglichen Umfeld üben: Indem du sie im Gespräch mit einem Muttersprachler anwendest.

Häufig gestellte Fragen (FAQs) zum Thema Englisch lernen mit Podcasts

Kann ich mit Podcasts mein Englisch verbessern?

Ja, englische Podcasts anzuhören ist ein praktischer und effektiver Weg, um dein Englisch zu verbessern. Wenn du Podcasts als Lernmittel nutzt, solltest du darauf achten, genau zuzuhören und die Podcasts nicht nur im Hintergrund laufen zu haben. Spiele Teile, die du nicht gut verstanden hast, erneut oder langsamer ab und notiere neue Vokabeln für den optimalen Lernerfolg.

Welche Podcasts können mir dabei helfen, mein Englisch zu verbessern?

"The Learn English Podcast" des British Council ist ein guter Einstieg. In diesem Podcast werden Alltagssituationen behandelt und es gibt zu jeder Folge ein Skript, mit dem du auch die Schreibweise der gehörten Wörter erlernen kannst.

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Gute englische Podcasts: 15 tolle Podcasts zum Englischlernen

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Wie wir seit den 1980ern und Video Killed the Radio Star wissen, haben Videos das Radio in den Hintergrund gedrängt. Doch das Internet hat die Situation wieder verändert und Podcasts bedeuten eine Renaissance für Inhalte zum Zuhören. Wer schätzt es nicht, bei einem guten englischen Podcast zu entspannen?

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Accesis | Cursuri Online de Limbă Straină 

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Cambridge PET Speaking test - Chiara and Victoria

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Kalender 2023

Als kleines Dankeschön für unsere Besucher haben wir auf Lingolia wieder einen Vokabelkalender vorbereitet, den du dir auf Lingolia.com kostenlos herunterladen kannst.

Unser Kalender für 2023 enthält von Hand illustrierte Zeichnungen mit je 10 Vokabeln. Du kannst wählen, ob du den Kalender für Englisch, Französisch, Spanisch, Esperanto oder Deutsch möchtest.

Englische Grammatik als Taschenbuch

Unsere Englische Grammatik ist auch als Buch mit dem Titel "Englische Grammatik - einfach, kompakt und übersichtlich" im Buchhandel sowie bei Online-Buchhändlern erhältlich. Das Buch erklärt die englische Grammatik kurz und unkompliziert, ohne jedoch wichtige Details auszulassen.

weitere Informationen zum Buch

Business English

Im Bereich Kommunikation findest du alles, was im Geschäftsalltag von Nutzen ist: Aufbau von Geschäftsbriefen, Wortlisten sowie einen Generator, mit dem du durch Anklicken deine Geschäftsbriefe von Anfrage bis Mahnung erstellen kannst. Unter Business-Info findest du Karrieretipps sowie Strategien für Marketing, Verhandlungen, Kundendienst usw.

Relaxen

Englisch Lernen soll ja auch Spaß machen, deshalb findest du in dieser Rubrik viel Unterhaltsames: hier gibt es Spiele und Rätsel und du kannst Freunden eine E-Card schreiben.

Lingolia School

Lingolia School ist unsere neue Lernplattform für Deutsch, Englisch, Französisch und Spanisch für Ihre gesamte Schule. Stellen Sie aus dem Übungspool Aufgabenlisten zusammen, die Ihre Schülerinnen und Schüler am PC, Tablet oder Smartphone im Internet erledigen.

Neues bei ego4u und Lingolia

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Englisch Lernen mit Englische Grammatik Online

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Englisch lernen mit Übungen, Tests, Erläuterungen, Vokabeln, Prüfungsvorbereitung und Übungsblätter rund um englische Sprache und Kultur.

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https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/words/london_sights.htm

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1. London Eye

2. The Shard

3. Buckingham Palace

residence of Queen Elisabeth I

built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703

bought from Georg III in 1761

has always been expanded

main residence of the British Monarch since 1837

775 rooms

When the Queen is in residence the Royal Standard flies from the flagpole, when the Queen is not in residence the Union Flag can be seen.

4. Houses of Parliament (Palace of Westminster)

Gunpowder Plot in 1605:

A Catholic group wanted to blow up Parliament and kill the Protestant King James to re-establish Catholicism in England. Guy Fawkes was one of the conspirators. He was found, arrested and should have been hanged, but shortly before the execution he jumped from the scaffold and broke his neck.

5. Big Ben - Elisabeth Tower

Why is the Great Bell called Big Ben?

There are two possible origins. Either it is named after Sir Benjamin Hall who oversaw the installation of the bell or it's named after Benjamin Caunt, a boxer.

The Clock Tower was renamed in 2012 in honour of Queen Elisabeth II.

6. Westminster Abbey

7. The Tower of London

8. Yeomen Warders (Beefeater)

guardians of the Tower

responsible for safeguarding the Crown Jewels

The letters E II R on their uniform stand for: Elisabeth II Regina

9. Tower Bridge

10. St. Paul's Cathedral

There is a Whispering Gallery in the dome. You are able to understand whispers and murmurs at any point of the dome.

11. Millenium Footbridge

The bridge is shown in the film "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince".

12. Globe Theatre

13. Trafalgar Square

14. Nelson's Column

in the centre of Trafalgar Square

column with Admiral Nelson on top who won great victories for England (Battle of Trafalgar in 1805)

15. The Mall

16. Victoria Memorial

near Buckingham Palace

dedicated in 1911

17. The Gherkin

office tower (180 metres high)

situated in the financial district

18. National Gallery

art museum (about 2,300 paintings)

at Trafalgar Square

19. Royal Courts of Justice

houses the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Justice

opened by Queen Victoria in 1882

20. Harrods

21. London Dungeon

22. Fleet Street

a lot of newspaper agencies were situated here until the 1980ies

the agencies have moved to more comfortable rooms in Canary Wharf

23. Covent Garden Markt

24. Dominion Theatre

The name of the theatre is based on a melody in a song by Tangerine Dream which was recorded in the 80ies.

25. Lyceum Theatre

26. Madame Tussauds

27. City Hall

28. HMS - Belfast

29. Camden Market

30. Borough Market

31. Chelsea Football Stadium

32. China Town

was in the Docklands up to the 1070s

today in Gerrad Street (West End)

33. Brick Lane

34. Canary Wharf

complex of office buildings in the Docklands which formerly belonged to the Port of London

35. O2 Arena

36. Royal Obervatory, Greenwich

prime meridian in Greenwich (since 1884)

tourist attraction - You can stand with one foot in the eastern Hemisphere and with the other one in the Western Hemisphere.

37. The London Undergrund - The Tube

oldest underground railway in the world

opening in 1863 (Underground steam locomotives)

11 lines (402 kilometres)

The nickname "The Tube" comes from the tube-like tunnels.

38. Mind The Gap

This sentence is a warning used at platforms on the London Underground.

Some platforms are curved and so there is a gap between the platform and the car of the train. Passengers might step into the gap and injure themselves. This warning was introduced in 1969.

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30 sights in London - short information about the history including a photo to prepare a talk or a presentation about London

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This is a short Gingerbread Man Story. Long ago there lived an old couple. One day the old woman cooked a gingerbread cookie in the shape of a man. As soon as the gingerbread man was cooked, he jumped out of the tin and ran out of the open window, shouting, "Don't eat me!" He ran away as fast as he could.

The old couple tried to chase the gingerbread man but he was too fast for them. Soon a hungry pig saw the gingerbread man and said, "Stop! I would like to eat you." He too joined the chase. The gingerbread man was too fast and said, "You can't catch me! I am the Gingerbread Man." Also, read Pinocchio Story.

Image Source @ www.sayshappymums.wordpress.com. A little further, a hungry cow saw the gingerbread man and said, "Stop! I would like to eat you." She too joined the chase. "You can't catch me! I am the Gingerbread Man," said the gingerbread man.

Next, he met a horse. The horse too joined the chase. Finally, the gingerbread man came to a river and stopped as the river could make him soggy. A clever fox came by and wanted to eat him up but he pretended to be nice and offered help to the gingerbread man. He asked the gingerbread man to climb on his head so that he could take him across the river. The gingerbread man was so scared of water that he agreed.

As soon as they reach the other side, the fox tossed up the gingerbread man in the air. He opened his mouth and ate him up. That was the end of the Gingerbread man. Also, read Tom Thumb Story.

Here is a short visual depiction of the " Gingerbread Man Story ". See the video story below,

Gingerbread Man Story Video

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Gingerbread Man Story - Bedtimeshortstories

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This is a short Gingerbread Man Story. Long ago there lived an old couple. One day the old woman cooked a gingerbread cookie in the shape of a man. As soon as the gingerbread man was cooked, he jumped out of the tin and ran out of the open window, shouting, "Don't eat me!"

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AMIRA - Kostenfreies Leseförderprogramm in 8 Sprachen

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Das Programm AMIRA ist ein Leseförderprogramm für Leseanfänger. Es hat Kinder im Blick, die Deutsch als zweite Sprache lernen. Alle Texte sind bearbeitet, so dass sie Erstlesern möglichst keine sprachlichen Verständnisprobleme machen.

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Here you can practice

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Hafer - unsere Leidenschaft

Unsere Geschichte beginnt vor 200 Jahren: Ein tüchtiger junger Mann namens Peter Kölln errichtete am Hafen eine Hafermühle, um die Elmshorner Seefahrer mit Proviant zu versorgen.
Ein Familienunternehmen sind wir auch heute - und seit der Gründung haben wir viel Wissen über das besondere Getreide Hafer gesammelt. Mit dieser Erfahrung und einer großen Portion Leidenschaft entstanden allseits beliebte Klassiker wie Blütenzarte Köllnflocken, das Kölln Schoko Hafer-Müsli oder unsere Kölln Knusprigen Haferfleks®. Hinzu kommen immer wieder neue Kreationen, die Hafer-Genuss neu erfinden.

Zum Beispiel die Kölln Hafer-Porridges und die Kölln Haferdrinks.

Mehr zu unserem Unternehmen, unserem Purpose und unserer Haltung findest Du hier auf Youtube in unserem Film „Du stärkst die Welt und wir stärken Dich".

Nur beste Zutaten

Aus Tradition stellen wir unsere Hafer-Spezialitäten nur aus besten Zutaten her. So engagieren wir uns für den konventionellen ebenso wie für den regionalen und ökologischen Anbau von Hafer, damit wir für alle Produkte den optimalen Hafer verwenden können.

Natürlich werden auch alle weiteren Zutaten nach besonders hohen Qualitätsmaßstäben ausgewählt und verarbeitet - mit all dem Wissen, über das wir seit 1820 verfügen.
Zu den Zutaten

Jetzt beim Newsletter anmelden

Aktuelles aus der Kölln-Welt sofort erfahren

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Köstlichkeiten aus Hafer von Kölln: Qualität seit 1820 ✓ Große Auswahl von unseren Köllnflocken bis hin zu ausgefallenen Müslis ✓ Jetzt entdecken!

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https://youtu.be/t4yWEt0OSpg

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https://youtu.be/a1uTdQ-F5J0

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https://quizlet.com/de/511838107/describing-pictures-flash-cards/?i=2qr2bb&x=1jqY

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https://quizlet.com/de/355243044/mundliche-prufungen-flash-cards/?i=2qr2bb&x=1jqY

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https://youtu.be/sddTf9cwoVg

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Describing pictures

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15 Short, Interesting Films for Learning English Conversation

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Short films can definitely help you a lot in learning English.

They combine the charm of feature films (full-length films) with the convenience of short videos.

What's more, they often include realistic English conversations that aren't too long or complicated.

These simple qualities make them an English learner's super weapon!

Contents

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Why Short Films Are Great for Your English Conversation Skills

You might wonder why you should watch short films meant for native English speakers in order to learn conversation skills.

Yes, it might be a little harder to follow these movies than videos that are made for English learners, but it is still worth the effort to learn with them.

For starters, short films can help you learn a lot of new vocabulary words and phrases in a short amount of time.

Here are some reasons why short films are great for your English:

You learn to follow the natural flow of native speakers: The videos that are used as learning materials in most language courses have an artificially slow pace. In real-world short films, you will see how native speakers usually speak. Once you know how to follow the natural rhythm of English, it will be much easier for you to hold real conversations and use your English speaking skills.

Short films are memorable, which makes vocabulary easier to remember: The plot, the setting, the characters and the visuals make it easier for you to remember the content of conversations. Every dialogue in a film has some purpose, and this helps you make sense of the conversation and makes you want to try to understand it.

They often have many interconnected conversations: Short films often have many different interactions between different characters. The conversations are often located in different settings and about varied topics. This allows you to see how the same character talks in different situations and to different people.

Since most short films are around 15 minutes long, all the conversations are usually short and to the point. This allows you to listen to conversations over and over to gain a better understanding of how natural English speech flows.

The films below cover a lot of different content and types of conversations. Some of them may not be appropriate for everyone, especially younger viewers, so we recommend that you read the descriptions before playing the films. Now let's get started!

Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Genre: Animation
Description:
Monsters are often seen as being connected to evil. They are seen as things that are not normal and cannot be similar to humans at all. This short film turns this idea upside down.

It is a story about Douglas, a teenage monster in high school who is trying to fit in. He is similar to many American teens. He has parents who care about him a lot. He plays football and even has a rap name (a name a rap artist uses that is different from their real name), "T-kash." He is also bullied, particularly because he looks different from other students.

This short film is a simple way to learn basic school vocabulary.

The voice acting in this film is also very natural. It gives you a good idea of how informal conversations and interviews might sound in American English.

Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Genre: Animation
Description:
"Classy" is a word used to describe a person who acts and speaks in a stylish or sophisticated way. A person like this is also described as "refined" and "respectable" and tends to have a high status in society.

In the US, the accent, manners and fashion of rich Europeans are often associated with being classy. Specifically, American pop culture sees upper class French and British people as the most refined. In this film, learners can see this idea play out with the famous cartoon characters of Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

In this film, you can clearly observe how the standard, casual American accent is seen as the opposite of being classy. Also notice how Mickey Mouse behaves and dresses differently before and after he is trained to be classy. Mickey starts speaking in a French accent after his training completes. He also expects certain things like servants and better food once he becomes classy. This film brilliantly shows how the language and the way of conversing is often seen as different between the lower and the upper classes of the same society.

Level: Intermediate

Genre: Comedy
Description:
"My other half" is a term you can use for a person who is in a romantic relationship with you. In this short film, you can see how the story plays with this English expression by using it literally. In the film, the lower half of a person breaks up with the rest of the body and just walks away. Eventually, the two halves realize that they need each other to stay happy.

This film shows snippets of conversations from different situations. In the beginning, we see both parts of the body in a therapy session. The therapist and the person talk in a way which is typical of couples counseling. (Counseling helps people deal with mental and relationship problems through talking.) It also involves scenes in a bar where the lower half of the body goes for a date.

Level: Intermediate

Genre: Drama
Description:
"Coming of age stories" are stories where teenagers go through the journey of growing up. These are stories where teens learn what it means to become adults, both physically and emotionally. Usually, films in this category involve some challenges. The most common of them involve love, relationships or popularity. "Hot Seat" has all of these things, but not in the way you might expect.

The story is about a birthday party where a shy girl, Andrea, uses a male stripper to gain popularity. (Strippers are people who entertain others by taking their clothes off.)

This film shows emotional interactions where the characters explore their friendships. You will also learn a lot about the social vocabulary of American teens. You will be able to clearly see what is acceptable and desirable in these social circles and what isn't.

Be aware that this film has some explicit and non-consensual sexual content. Avoid this one if that kind of a content is a trigger for you, or simple not your cup of tea.

Level: Intermediate

Genre: Horror
Description:
This films also deals with friendship and morality (the idea of what is right and wrong), but in a more horrific way. However, unlike most "horror" films, this movie does not involve ghosts or villains. It is about the friendship and the character of four boys in the face of danger.

Dylan, Tyler, Cole and Xavier hike in the forest, looking for snakes. When a large snake bites Dylan and crawls away, the group has a tough decision to make. If the snake is not poisonous, they can just take Dylan back to the adults. If it is poisonous, they will need to cut off his leg or he will die within minutes.

The film is great not only for observing an English conversation between preteens, but also for learning words related to the forest.

You should try to notice how the pitch (the highness or lowness of someone's voice), pace and length of sentences change as the situation becomes dangerous in the middle of the film.

Level: Intermediate

Genre: Comedy
Description:
This is a sweet short film about a date between two teenagers. As the name suggests, the movie involves conversations both through text and speech. The differences between these two ways of communication bring out the magic of the plot.

The date between the teens starts out inappropriately. The girl is especially put off by the boy's behavior. But then, as the conversation moves forward, she discovers that he is actually sweet.

Since the movie is set in a restaurant, you will observe how one is supposed to order food and interact with restaurant staff.

Apart from that, you will also see how strangers get to know each other. The film focuses a lot on what is considered rude and polite according to American society.

Level: Intermediate

Genre: Drama
Description:
"Nadia" deals with the sensitive issue of homelessness for young people.

The film starts with a classroom scene where the main character, Nadia, talks to the teacher in an extremely rude way. As the plot progresses, we discover that she has major problems with her family. After a big fight with her mother, she decides to leave home. The teacher who was insulted by her is the one who comes out and helps her.

Apart from the conversations in the classroom and the family, the film really focuses on the social issue of homelessness in the English-speaking world. Homelessness is a major problem in many English-speaking countries like the UK and US, where young people who get less support from their families may start to live on the streets.

Level: Intermediate

Genre: Comedy
Description:
Pavan is a British citizen from an Indian family. The film starts with him telling two of his friends about his date with Chloe from the night before. He had hoped to impress her by taking her to an Indian restaurant. But she turned out to be more knowledgeable about Indian culture than him.

What is interesting in this film is that you get to learn about the culture of native English speakers from Pavan rather than Chloe, which may be surprising for some viewers. When Chloe starts talking in Hindi with the waiter, it is Pavan who is unable to understand a single word.

This film is great for learning British English. It also helps you to understand Indian culture in Britain as well as the general culture of native English speakers. The conversations revolve around sharing cultural identity. You can use them to see how you can introduce your own customs and culture to other English speakers.

Level: Intermediate

Genre: Comedy
Description:
"The Meltdown" is a short film in a "reality TV" format. If you have ever watched any reality show on TV, you know that half of the show is usually filled with interviews about things that happened, and the other half shows the events actually taking place. This makes it perfect for English conversation practice.

This story is about a rude and careless scientist in a nuclear power plant. Due to a silly mistake he makes, the whole power plant goes into a meltdown (a nuclear accident). By the end of the film, however, he does something so unexpected that we are forced to see him in a more positive way.

The characters speak in casual American English. And since they all are scientists, the film is also good for learning general scientific vocabulary.

Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Genre: Drama
Description:
A son meets his father after a long time and makes a horrific request. Since most of the point is in the suspense (uncertainty), it is better if you just watch this film instead of us telling you about it.

For English learners, this film is a great tool to observe uncomfortable conversations between family members.

Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Genre: Science Fiction
Description:
When you think about the future, what do you imagine? Most people think about how robots will make our lives easier. But this film has a different point of view.

"iMom" is about a robot who is supposed to take the place of parents. It is sold as a magic solution for parents, so they do not even have to check if their kids are okay. In the movie, we see a kid whose parents are completely unaware of his problems in school. He wants their attention but his parents have given all of their responsibility to the robot. Eventually, iMom does something that will send a chill down your spine. ("To send a chill down [someone's] spine" is a common expression used to describe the physical feeling of being scared.)

The film has various kinds of interactions between characters, including phone conversations. Learners should focus on the dialogue between the iMom and the son and notice all the human communication that the robot is not able to understand.

Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Genre: Drama
Description:
There is a dark side of parenthood that many people don't want to talk about. Being a parent is often described as being selfless. Parents are supposed to be these magical human beings who sacrifice everything for their children. But, like all humans, parents are flawed. This film aims to show the broken side of parenthood.

It is a story about a mother who is not happy with her child. Her baby is born with a problem and cannot act like all the other kids. In a few minutes, we see this mother go through a journey that completely breaks her. Since she cannot talk about this to anyone, she directs all her hate towards her child. No viewer will be able to forget this short film after watching its ending.

This film is great for learning Irish accents.

There are many intimate (personal, between a smaller number of people) scenes such as baby showers, conversations between couples and also phone conversations with friends.

There is also a short scene where the doctor gives the parents the news about their daughter. The way they interact in this uncomfortable situation gives you a good idea about how conversations like this could go in real life.

Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Genre: Documentary
Description:
Racism is a major topic of discussion in the US today. This short film showcases some powerful perspectives on this issue without beating around the bush. ("Beating around the bush" is an idiom that means to talk about things indirectly, or to avoid talking about unpleasant things.)

In it, parents of black sons describe how they prepare their kids for encounters with the police.

Level: Advanced

Genre: Documentary
Description:
Jack Barsky was a German spy for the Soviet Union. In this short documentary, he talks about how he trained himself to not only speak like an American but also dress, behave and eat like one.

In the film, he talks about the differences between the German and the American way of acting. He also talks about differences in drinks and the way you open them.

This film is not only educational for English learners but also inspirational. Even though Jack was a spy who was expected to be intelligent and cunning (clever), he took a lot of time to learn the basics of American English. As he explains, he practiced until he was "blue in the face." (This is an idiom that means that you work so hard that you run out of breath. When people actually become breathless, their faces often become blue because of a lack of oxygen.)

Level: Advanced

Genre: Documentary
Description:
Sally Ride was the first American woman to reach space. This was almost 20 years after the first woman was sent to space from the Soviet Union. In this interview, she talks about the challenges of being an astronaut in general. But she also talks about silly things journalists and other people often ask her because she is a woman. This short documentary was made using a recording from 1983.

Learners can get a sense of the history of American science, culture and society from this interview. Sally talks about the school system, NASA (the American space association) and journalism. The conversation flows very smoothly. The animation also provides a good visual for all the topics covered in the interview.

The best way to learn conversation skills from short movies is to try to imitate a scene after you watch it.

Watching a conversation and writing down the dialogue also helps in observing and remembering information.

You can pause and replay specific spots of any movie to do this, or you can find clips on YouTube. You can also use FluentU fo movie clips and other authentic videos, since each FluentU clip is short and sweet, and has a transcript and accurate subtitles.

Plus, these subtitles are interactive, allowing you to see the definition of any word without leaving the video, and to add words you don't know to a flashcard deck to review later.

Of course, don't forget to enjoy the stories and have fun while you watch these films.

Remember, the best learning happens when you love what you do!

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15 Short, Interesting Films for Learning English Conversation

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Short films can definitely help you a lot in learning English. They combine the charm of feature films (full-length films) with the convenience of short videos. What's more, they often include realistic English conversations that aren't too long or complicated. These simple qualities make them an English learner's super weapon!