📘 Part 3: Stories and storytelling

This episode's vocabulary

All over the place (idiom) – disorganized, inconsistent, or lacking coherence. → His arguments were all over the place and didn't support his main point.

Taxing (adjective) – physically or mentally demanding and exhausting. → Preparing for multiple exams simultaneously can be quite taxing.

Up for debate (phrase) – open to discussion or not definitively decided. → Whether online education is better than traditional methods is still up for debate.

Horrendous (adjective) – extremely unpleasant, horrifying, or terrible. → The traffic conditions during rush hour are absolutely horrendous.

Self-evident (adjective) – obvious and not requiring proof or explanation. → It's self-evident that regular practice improves language skills.

Sunshine and rainbows (idiom) – unrealistically optimistic or positive. → Life isn't all sunshine and rainbows; we need to face challenges realistically.

Encapsulate (verb) – to express or summarize the essential features of something. → This proverb encapsulates an important cultural value in our society.

Govern (verb) – to control, influence, or regulate how something works. → Social norms govern how people behave in different situations.

Separation anxiety (noun) – distress caused by being apart from someone close. → Young children often experience separation anxiety when starting school.

Facilitate (verb) – to make an action or process easier or more efficient. → Technology can facilitate communication between people across the world.

Drift off to sleep (phrasal verb) – to gradually fall asleep. → I usually drift off to sleep while listening to relaxing music.

Dark tone (noun phrase) – a serious, gloomy, or pessimistic atmosphere or mood. → The novel has a dark tone that reflects the harsh realities of war.

Sheltered (adjective) – protected from unpleasant experiences or realities. → Growing up in a sheltered environment, she found university life challenging.

Airy-fairy (adjective) – impractical, unrealistic, or overly idealistic. → His business plan was too airy-fairy and lacked concrete details.

Determining factor (noun phrase) – a decisive element that influences an outcome. → Price is often the determining factor when choosing between similar products.

Formative years (noun phrase) – the early period of life that shapes character and development. → Our formative years have a lasting impact on our personality and values.

Resonate with (phrasal verb) – to evoke a feeling of shared emotion or understanding. → The speaker's message really resonated with the audience.

Nurture (verb) – to care for and encourage growth or development. → Parents play a crucial role in nurturing their children's creativity.

Captivating (adjective) – holding attention through being extremely interesting or charming. → The documentary was captivating from start to finish.

Impressionable (adjective) – easily influenced due to youth or inexperience. → Young children are very impressionable and absorb everything around them.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Is a good storyline important for a movie?

Rory: Well, it's probably essential when you think about it. I mean, can you imagine trying to follow a plot that's all over the place? That would be pretty taxing for, I mean, even the most attentive audience, although what a good storyline looks like is probably something that's up for debate.

Maria: Do all stories for children have happy endings?

Rory: Well, no, they don't. I mean, we've already talked about British stories that have horrible endings where old ladies die. But I mean, the original Grimm's fairy tales, which are massively popular, all have horrendous endings to them. And so I think that, I mean, it's just fairly self-evident that not all children's stories are sunshine and rainbows.

Maria: What can children learn from stories?

Rory: Well, I suppose the most obvious thing is they learn how to tell stories in varying ways, because there's not one way to tell a story. And the other thing is, it's a nice way to sort of encapsulate social rules and various concepts that govern how society works. So the story about the tortoise and the hare is a fun and entertaining way to say, don't let your confidence rule and ruin your life.

Maria: Why do most children like listening to stories before bedtime?

Rory: Well, I'm not so sure it's about the story, really. It might be more about the time with their parents before they go off to sleep, which can be a stressful time if they're afraid of the dark, or maybe they have some kind of separation anxiety. I mean, I suppose it might also facilitate parasympathetic nervous system activation, if it's a nice story and the atmosphere is relaxed. But that's about the content of the story and the atmosphere in the house, more than the actual story at bedtime itself.

Maria: And what are the benefits of listening to stories before bed?

Rory: What other than being close to your parents? Assuming that it does all the positive things I mentioned before, it would give you a good night's sleep. And I suppose it might influence the content of your dreams and what you imagine before you drift off to sleep. Maybe, because there are lots of things that are going on when we're sleeping and when we're dreaming that are not necessarily related to that.

Maria: What kind of stories do children usually like?

Rory: Surely that depends on the children and how they've been raised, doesn't it? I mean, if they've been raised in a very sort of dark way of seeing things, then they might appreciate stories that have a sort of dark tone to them. By contrast, if they've been raised in a very liberal and sheltered place, they might appreciate things which are more, I don't know, airy-fairy, more cosy perhaps. So I don't know. I don't think it's about children in general. I think it's about where they're from and the kind of people they are. And then even outside of the culture, how they are as individuals is also an important determining factor, I would imagine.

Discussion

Maria: So, storyline. What's a storyline? Is it the same as the plot?

Rory: Just the beginning, the middle, and the end of the story. I would say it's the same as the plot. You're probably about to tell me differently.

Maria: Yeah, so a storyline in a book, film, or play, like Shakespeare's play or Chekhov's play, is the plot, the series of events that happen in a book, a film, or a play. You can say plotline, the plotline, and also the plot. The plot is the story of a book, film, or play. So, the plot of the book. Pretty much the same, dear listener. The storyline, the plotline, the plot. And you can use a synonym. So the examiner asks you, is a good storyline important? Yes, it is. The plot is crucial because blah, blah, blah. The plot is essential. The plotline is essential because da, da, da. And you can ask a question. Can you imagine trying to follow a plot that's all over the place? So it's a rhetorical question. The examiner doesn't answer because you keep going. So it's fine to do that. You show off your intonation. Rory, could you read out this question?

Rory: Can you imagine trying to follow a plot that's all over the place?

Maria: You see, the intonation goes up. And the pronunciation criterion is very happy. And the examiner is super happy because they see the variety of your intonation patterns. We follow a plot. So you read a book, you watch a film, you follow a plot, you follow the storyline. If it's all over the place, it's like this, and this, and this, and everything is a mess.

Rory: It's a mess.

Maria: Yes, nothing is connected. And you're kind of, what? What's going on? I don't understand anything, right? It's difficult to follow a plot that's all over the place. That would be pretty taxing.

Rory: Taxing just means it demands a lot of energy to do.

Maria: Difficult or needing a lot of thought or effort. So it's really taxing. It needs all my energy. So it's taxing for the audience. Like when we watch a movie, we are part of the audience. And it's up for debate. So it's... Rory, in this phrase, do I use an article? It's up for a debate or it's up for debate?

Rory: I just say it's up for debate. And I think that would be the normal way to say it. I've never heard it with an article.

Maria: Yeah, it's up for debate, meaning that we don't have a clear answer. What a good storyline is. Like it's open to discussion.

Rory: Or it's not up for debate, meaning we are not discussing it.

Maria: Happy endings. Okay, so a story has a happy ending. So the end of the story is happy. Rory told us about the Grimm brothers. If you don't know who they are, please Google. They were pretty popular. Brothers Grimm. Jacob and Wilhelm.

Rory: Oh, is that their name? Oh, okay.

Maria: Yeah, yeah. But they are known as the Brothers Grimm. They lived in the 18th, 19th centuries and were from Germany. And they published folklore, a famous collection of children's tales, and Cinderella. Oh, Cinderella was written by the Brothers Grimm.

Rory: Really? Oh, okay.

Maria: Snow White. Snow White was written by them. Oh, wow, okay. So, pretty much, yeah, they were passionate about literature and are known all over the world. So they are considered to be like traditional writers. But the endings of their stories are sometimes dark, violent, and pretty bloody. Okay, yeah. Google tells us that some stories have horrible endings. That's interesting, because usually children read these stories, but oh well. We can say that not all stories, for example, the Brothers Grimm stories, have horrible endings or have horrendous endings. So everybody dies, pretty much.

Rory: Or at least one person suffers some horrible fate.

Maria: Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf dies. But the grandma comes out from the wolf, yeah? So the grandma survives.

Rory: I guess so. But she's eaten by the wolf. That must be quite a traumatic experience.

Maria: So the grandma is traumatised. The wolf is dead. Okay, but there are some hunters. Oh, we need to reread Little Red Riding Hood again. We know for sure that the wolf is dead, like for good. So, fairy tales do have horrendous endings. It might be a happy ending for somebody. But if you think about it, it's pretty bloody. So Rory told us that some stories are not all sunshine and rainbows. Rory, could you comment on this expression?

Rory: Sunshine and rainbows just means extremely pleasant.

Maria: Sunshine and rainbows. Could you give us another example?

Rory: Well, I suppose being a teacher isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

Maria: Yeah, not all sunshine and rainbows. This means that life isn't always easy, happy, and, you know, perfect. There are difficulties, there are challenges in life. So you can say, well, my job is not always sunshine and rainbows. Children can learn different things from stories. So they learn how to tell stories. And a nice word is encapsulate.

Rory: Encapsulate.

Maria: Encapsulate. You know, a capsule. So what's a capsule first?

Rory: Well, a capsule is like a small package for something.

Maria: A capsule is a small container, usually used in medicine. And here you can use this word metaphorically. So encapsulate.

Rory: It just means that it gets the main features of something in a short way. So instead of explaining to people what the concept is and why it's important, you tell a story that shows it's more engaging.

Maria: Express, show the most important facts about something. A story encapsulates social rules. So a story contains social rules and concepts. A story encapsulates morals.

Rory: Maybe.

Maria: And it's fun, it's entertaining. So it's an entertaining way to kind of convey rules, social rules to children. So it's an entertaining way to say something. We listen to stories before bedtime. So before going to bed, before falling asleep, or before bedtime. And it's more about spending time with parents before children go off to sleep. Go off to sleep. Go to bed. Go to sleep. And some children are afraid of the dark. The dark, dear listener, are afraid of the dark. So it might help them to go to sleep. So it could be a stressful time if they're afraid of the dark. And listening to stories is helpful. Listening to stories might facilitate…

Rory: If you facilitate something, that just means you allow it to happen or you help it to happen.

Maria: Facilitate the process of going to sleep. It can help the children's nervous system to calm down and make the atmosphere relaxed. So have a relaxed atmosphere. And these are the benefits of listening to stories before bed or before bedtime, before children go off to sleep. So, like being close to the parents. And a good story might influence the content of children's dreams. So when you listen to a nice story, not with a horrendous ending, but to a nice story, you know. Everybody's happy. Everybody's married. Like, yay, happiness forever. You know, this kind of thing. So such content could influence the content of children's dreams before they drift off. Drift off means fall asleep.

Rory: It's the process of falling asleep.

Maria: And it’s C2, C2 word.

Rory: Oh, is it?

Maria: It is proficiency, Band 9 word. Because usually people say just fall asleep or go to sleep or sleep, start sleeping. I don't know. But drift off means to gradually start to sleep. So I was listening to this lecture and was drifting off.

Rory: That wasn't a very good lecture. Maybe it was, but I drifted off.

Maria: Children usually enjoy different kinds of stories, fairy tales, fables, and fantasy. And it depends on the children, of course. It depends on where they're from. And then worry... Oh, it depends on how they have been raised. So children are raised means that they are raised by their parents. And then examples like if children have been raised in... They appreciate dark stories about vampires, for example. So they appreciate, they like, they enjoy stories that have a dark tone to them. So about the horror stories, vampires, ghosts.

Rory: Well, they might.

Maria: They might, yeah. But if they have been raised, if they've been raised in a happy liberal family, they might enjoy cosy stories, happy stories about, I don't know, animals and butterflies and stuff.

Rory: It's not to say that one of these things is better than the other, of course. It's just a reflection of how people are raised and how that might influence their choices.

Maria: There is a film which is called The Brothers Grimm. I haven't watched it.

Rory: Oh, yes, there is, isn't there?

Maria: Yeah, The Brothers Grimm, actually. Yeah, good. I need to watch it. Screenshot. A collection of films for winter. Right, dear listener. Make sure that you know who The Brothers Grimm were for your IELTS, you know.

Rory: Or whatever the local equivalent will be. I don't really know.

Maria: Yeah, you can read some stories, again, for your, you know, general knowledge. And they are pretty good stories. When I was a child, I read The Brothers Grimm, and I really enjoyed it. I remember one story about a dwarf.

Rory: Oh, is it Rumpelstiltskin?

Maria: Oh my gosh, I don't know.

Rory: I think it's Rumpelstiltskin that you're talking about.

Maria: And he had a big nose and was small and ugly.

Rory: Uh, that sounds like Rumpelstiltskin to me.

Maria: Yes, so I remember reading Rumpelstiltskin by The Brothers Grimm. Rumpelstiltskin. And there is a cartoon, there is a movie, I think. Right, dear listener. Okay, now you know what to do.

Rory: Find Rumpelstiltskin.

Maria: And we'll get back to you in our next episode, okay? Bye!

Rory: Bye!

Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff:

Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi

Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi