Learn English with Short Stories
Welcome to the Resource Pages for the 500 Ironic Stories Collection
Short stories are a great resource for English teachers and students. Why? Because they are short and can be read in one sitting, which is important as students’ attention spans vary and not everyone is able to stay focused for longer time periods. Also, stories can be used to practice speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Students can listen to stories and read them at the same time, learning how to pronounce certain words. Teachers can develop questions and tasks for oral discussions or written activities, such as comprehension questions and essays.
Information usually settles in your head after you “sleep on it,” so does language. Plus, stories have a soothing effect and you can easily fall asleep while listening. In this way you can learn English with short stories in your sleep! Some stories from the 500 Ironic Stories collection which are good for bedtime listening include Saltwater Starlight Dog.
Pick at least five vocabulary words or phrases in each story you listen to or read and learn them in context. You can write down the sentences in which those phrases are used or make sentences of your own. Some stories from the 500 Ironic Stories collection which contain many interesting words and phrases you can highlight include H8 MY PL8.
Learn English with short stories and improve your writing skills by using them as models to start writing your own English stories. Some stories from the 500 Ironic Stories collection which can be used for models when writing your own stories include Christmas Cookie Exchange.
When you learn English with short stories, first, you can just listen to the story without looking at the text. Then, read the same story. This is wonderful English story reading practice. And finally, try reading aloud while listening – it really improves fluency in English! This is a great way to use English stories to improve English speaking. Some recommended stories for listening, reading, and then reading aloud include Green Thumb Tomato Killer.
Sometimes students get so wrapped up in translating every single word that they lose motivation to finish the story. You DON’T need to translate every single word – after all, your first goal should be fluency. Some recommended stories which have some interesting words you can translate while you learn English with short stories include Siri Don’t Take the Wheel.
Share and Connect
Share this list with other English learners. To find the full list of fun and educational stories from the 500 Ironic Stories collection click here: Home. This is a resource for free English stories to improve English comprehension and fluency. You can also Subscribe for updates on new stories posted each week. You can also listen to stories on your favorite Podcast platform or on YouTube.
This website and writing project began as a way to explore short stories with an ironic twist. It has now grown to include resources for students learning to read and comprehend English. Resources and advice is also available for anyone who wants to write a short story. Feedback is welcome on the website’s Contact page.