The Big Dream
Synopsis: The Big Dream is a low intermediate level interactive story, which roughly follows the plot of the Charles Dickens story Great Expectations. It adapts it to a Japanese setting and tells the story of a young Japanese orphan who grows up and leaves his country home for the city and later New York City, where he finally meets the mysterious benefactor who has influenced his life so much.
The syntax that we focus on in this story is listed on the first page under contents and there are thirteen episodes so if a class does one episode a week, the story can last roughly a term/semester.
Download the text: The Big Dream (PDF), by Mark White
Listen to Episode 1: The Graveyard (mp3), voices by Mark White and Hiromi Campbell. Note: this is meant to be an example of what a guided story might sound like when two people engage with it in a classroom setting.
CONTENTS
1. The Graveyard (“be” verbs)
2. The Strange Old Woman (there is/there are)
3. The Letter from a Stranger (present simple)
4. The Attack in the Park (present perfect)
5. The Transfer (present continuous)
6. The Trip to New York (future “going to”)
7. The Restaurant (“would” conditionals)
8. Working in New York (gerunds)
9. The Rich Stranger (one/some/almost all of them)
10. The Bad Day (adjective plus infinitive)
11. The Old Man (should)
12. The New Job (comparatives)
13. The Temple (used to)
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Excellent
HI, MARK… IT’S A VERY INTERESTING WAY TO PRACTISE ENGLISH!!!!! YOUR INTERACTIVE STORIES ARE VERY NICE TOO!
I REALLY LIKE THIS METHOD!!!!!! I’LL GO ON USING YOUR “ENGLISH CONVERSATION ” LESSONS!!
THANKS AND BEST REGARDS!!!!!
SEE YOU SOON!
Hi,Mark
It was very nice way to learn English .
Thank you
It’s an amazing approach of teaching English very exciting and enjoyable. It is a real fun . Thank you so much,I like it.
Its Really interesting…and good method to Learn English
I think your interactive stories are very, very good.
Than for your effort in order to teach us
Where can I find some excercises to do after listen them?
See you
Ximena from Chile
Hi! Mark . I would like to thank all the people working on this amazing project and may God bless your steps.
That’s great! It DOES help in my teaching!!! Thank you very much.
This is a great idea!! Talk about interactive!! Thank you so much for making this available for me to happen upon!!
Excellant. I am lucky to get this opportunity.
This is really a useful website for me to learn English. I’m very happy to know your address. Thanks so much for your helpful project.
Hi, I want to know, How Can I obtein the oral part of the strange old woman, because I need to listen it and I don´t find for dowloading.
I have to paid for this recording????.
Regardas
Hi Fernanda
sorry
there is no oral part
It is just a lesson to use with a friend
cheers Mark
Hi folks,
this is a wonderful initiative, the texts are very interesting and deserves applauses, but it is possible to liberate download of the dialogues to hear in the metro, for example?
thank you and good luck
Hi Carlos,
thanks for your kind words. The real conversations can be downloaded to your mp3 player by clicking the download. Unfortunately there is no audio for the interactive stories. They are intended to be lessons for speaking practice.
You can practice listening by listening to “real conversations”in the metro. You can practice speaking and listening and grammar together by working on an interactive story with a friend, who is also an English learner.
cheers Mark
dear sir,
your method is SO NATURAL, i would rate it # 1, MATCHLESS.
you have adopted the most natural way to learn language, GOD BLESS YOU.
how can i buy them, and what is their price.
regards,
Thanks Asif
Just click on the link above . The texts are free. You don’t have to pay anything.
cheers Mark
iwould like to apreciate your good way to learn english by listening , speaking by using interactive stories these story learn us who to make conversation & speak fluently so many thanks
my regard
Hello dear Mark
Its realy a very good thing. One can easily listen and understand each and every word that is basically the first step for speaking english. So far I have gone through only one exercise and it appealed me very much. I will keep on listening and practicing these exercise.
May you live long and help the people in the same way
Thanks again
Faisal
Hi! im am your newly member… I subcribe here because I am very much interesting to learn native english, I am realy difficult to speak and to write proper grammar. Hope you can teach me the easy way.
Thanks…
Baby
I love this. I’m from Brazil and I’m learning English this year. Congratulations for this amazing website. Thanks for everything.
i wish i could download the conversations to my mp3 device, but i just can’t do it, anybody can help me? by the way, the english teaching is very good
Hi
I think that the woman in this conversation, Graveyard, seems to hate answer. She is boring and not exellent. In addition to that, her voice isn’t clear. Is there any reason ? Is it a another way to improve listening skills for us who is not fluent in English ?
thank very very very much
I want to rest parts the store like The Strange Old Woman (there is/there are)
Your sound is very very nice.
thanks a lot. these stories are very useful for me.
Now I AM LEARNING ENGLISH And when I found this site did not understand, but now I am FANATIC all the time i’m listening and much more now i understand , thanks this is great help.
It is great. The stories are very excellent. I like it, site.
big hug
MANU’SJENNY I LOVE YOUM
it is fantastic website
Your technique is really fantastic and it is much helpful to improve English. I am oblige to you
I think this web is really useful for me, thank to it, my listening is improved very much.
Thank you very much Skir, it’s a nice & wonderful effort of learning english. After listerning some more i wilo give some more compliments.Thank you very much once again.
prasad
wooooow I really love it ! amazingggggg
:D
Very often I visit this blog. It very much is pleasant to me. Thanks the author
It is very greatful ,I am exciting fo you.
warmly Thank you
?ool! Very very good story!
It’s an excellent tool to guide my students. Thank you very much Mark.
where ca I get the other episodes?
Carlos from Armenia-Quindio, Colombia
Hello,
This is a great way to teach speaking to english learners, but where can I find other MP3 for the rest of the stories? Thanks very much in advance.
Jane.
in main interactive story link “Interactive Stories”, in this section all story are stories full version?
That is right. You can find the full text version of all the stories here for free. There is one story for sale in audio. That is the “Water Car”.
http://englishconversations.org/courses/the-water-car/
i wish i could have a interactive partner to work with this story and i am an english teacher from sri lanka . I think my English knowledge is ok yet need to be fluent. if anyone interested pls let me know by mailing me – sanjeewani1977@yahoo.com
Thanks…………very much
Very usefull …
wish you all for the future
good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!