Telling a Story About Yourself
Learn how to organise and rehearse a personal recount in a new language. Written questions check decisions about setting, event order, past-time language, endings and repair. They do not assess spoken delivery.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Identify information that establishes a recount's setting, event order and outcome
- Choose suitable checks for past-time language, rehearsal length and a forgotten word in written scenarios
- Distinguish a reason for an action from an opinion or another event
1 · Read
Choose one experience to recount. Give the time and place near the start, then tell the events in order. Use the words you have learned for first, then and finally. Close with the outcome or how you felt. A reason explains why something happened or why you acted. An opinion tells what you thought. Either can add detail, but a recount does not need both.
Here is an English example of the plan: 'Yesterday I visited the community garden. First I watered the beans. Then I picked tomatoes. Finally I carried them home. I felt pleased because I had helped.' The order words connect the events. Use familiar words in your new language for your own recount.
Make the past time clear using the ways taught in your language course. Some languages use past verb forms; others use time words or context without changing the verb. Even where past forms are used, they need not all be the same tense. In English, 'I was drawing when the doorbell rang' combines two past forms. Check that your learned forms and time words fit what you mean.
Tell your recount aloud and time it. Aim for about a minute at a pace a listener can follow. If it runs too long, remove details that do not explain the main events. Keep enough setting and an ending so the listener can follow.
If you forget a word, pause. Try describing its meaning with words you know, or restart with a shorter sentence. These are ways to repair your speech. You may ask for help, including in a shared language, then return to the recount. Practise with someone you trust.
Give the setting, order the events and close with an outcome or feeling. Make past time clear, rehearse aloud and use a pause or repair when needed.
Original lesson, practice questions and flashcards written for this learning dataset.
Four original readings and six original flashcards written for this learning dataset. Linked video: We can help you master public speaking - Chris Anderson, catalogued as a TED-Ed lesson featuring Chris Anderson. Video reuse terms are unverified.
More to read
Choose one experience
Pick an experience you remember and are comfortable sharing. For a short recount, one visit, game or small surprise is easier to organise than an entire holiday.
Make brief notes for the setting, main events and outcome. Choose words you already know in your new language. Check the ways your course teaches you to refer to the past; do not assume that another language works like English.
Try telling the recount from your notes. Ask a trusted partner what happened first and how it ended. Their answers can help you spot missing information. You do not need to include private details to make the recount clear.
If your experience was funny
A funny moment may need a little explanation before a listener understands it. Decide which details make the amusing event clear. Leave out background that has no part in it.
Try the account aloud. A pause before a surprise is an option, not a rule or a promise that people will laugh. Give the listener time to respond instead of speaking over their reaction.
People find different things funny. You do not need to copy someone's accent or make fun of their speech or appearance. An ordinary experience can also make a useful recount. Humour is optional.
Check what your listener needs
Imagine telling someone about finding a lost glove. Would they understand where you found it and whose glove it was? Include details that explain the events. You probably do not need to describe everything else in the room.
An opening can give the setting directly. A short recount does not need a dramatic hook. Introduce a person when knowing who they are helps the listener follow the experience.
After practising, ask your partner which part was unclear. Revise that part. Adding detail everywhere can make a short recount longer without answering the listener's question.
Try a second telling
Time your recount while speaking at a comfortable pace. If it is much longer than a minute, mark details you can remove without losing the setting, event order or outcome. Then tell it again.
When you forget a word, try a familiar description or a shorter sentence. You can pause or ask for help, including in a shared language. After the attempt, choose a word or form to review.
Notes can hold reminders instead of a full script. If you make a recording with an adult's help, keep it private. You can also rehearse without recording. The task is to communicate an experience, not to perform without pauses.
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2 · Watch
به انگلیسیTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
This opens up
Nothing builds on it yet.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.