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More Modern Short Stories: For students of English
Ten unabridged short stories by twentieth-century authors of various nationalities, including Hemingway, Joyce, Naipaul, Dahl, Greene, and Lessing.
Paperback
Published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 23, 2023
A great collection of short stories for advanced students, with a glossary and questions for further discussion after each short story, and a very short introduction to each author preceding the story.
I have already used Graham Greene's The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen with C1-level students for reading and writing practice (formal and informal letter about the same topic, works marvellously). It also turned out to be great at highlighting defining vs non-defining relative clauses. Of course, you can always read it purely for enjoyment.
John Cheever's The Enormous Radio will be an excellent starting point for discussion, I think. What would you do questions, in what ways was life different then and there, and even a couple of tough ethical dilemmas, if the reader/student is up for it.
Roald Dahl's Parson's Pleasure and Doris Lessing's The Story of the Two Dogs are absolutely amazing but honestly, I don't see myself being able to make the students read them, they are way past the 'I can read this much for a lesson' limit for most of them. Dahl's story would be great for sparking discussion, and for those sensitive but also stable enough, Lessing's story could be a goldmine. Never say never.
Except maybe for V.S. Naipaul's Love, Love, Love, Alone. It is great, but you have to be at a certain level not to be influenced by incorrect grammar. I want to make them read in English to absorb the correct grammar, collocations, various ways of expressing thoughts. It is not an easy read emotionally either, so save it for professional-level adults.
James Joyce with Counterparts and Ernest Hemingway with Cat in the Rain were superb as expected, and I'm looking forward to using the Hemingway story, extra dense as it is, in class.
I hadn't read anything by Susan Hill before, so The Badness Within Him was the best surprise. She demonstrated such a deep understanding of the teenage psyche, and built the suspense masterfully, that it was a real treat to read this story. I must be trauma-sensitive when using it though, definitely not suitable for one of my current groups.
The first two stories were fine but didn't inspire me (not necessarily their fault, maybe we simply didn't click for any reason).
An invaluable resource for teaching advanced-level students, it is definitely worth checking out from your local library, or even buying, should the opportunity arise.
I have already used Graham Greene's The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen with C1-level students for reading and writing practice (formal and informal letter about the same topic, works marvellously). It also turned out to be great at highlighting defining vs non-defining relative clauses. Of course, you can always read it purely for enjoyment.
John Cheever's The Enormous Radio will be an excellent starting point for discussion, I think. What would you do questions, in what ways was life different then and there, and even a couple of tough ethical dilemmas, if the reader/student is up for it.
Roald Dahl's Parson's Pleasure and Doris Lessing's The Story of the Two Dogs are absolutely amazing but honestly, I don't see myself being able to make the students read them, they are way past the 'I can read this much for a lesson' limit for most of them. Dahl's story would be great for sparking discussion, and for those sensitive but also stable enough, Lessing's story could be a goldmine. Never say never.
Except maybe for V.S. Naipaul's Love, Love, Love, Alone. It is great, but you have to be at a certain level not to be influenced by incorrect grammar. I want to make them read in English to absorb the correct grammar, collocations, various ways of expressing thoughts. It is not an easy read emotionally either, so save it for professional-level adults.
James Joyce with Counterparts and Ernest Hemingway with Cat in the Rain were superb as expected, and I'm looking forward to using the Hemingway story, extra dense as it is, in class.
I hadn't read anything by Susan Hill before, so The Badness Within Him was the best surprise. She demonstrated such a deep understanding of the teenage psyche, and built the suspense masterfully, that it was a real treat to read this story. I must be trauma-sensitive when using it though, definitely not suitable for one of my current groups.
The first two stories were fine but didn't inspire me (not necessarily their fault, maybe we simply didn't click for any reason).
An invaluable resource for teaching advanced-level students, it is definitely worth checking out from your local library, or even buying, should the opportunity arise.
July 20, 2023
La idea de reunir historias cortas en un mismo libro con un vocabulario ameno para aprender el idioma me parece increíble pero la historias escogidas son bastante aburridas no motivando al lector a continuar
December 26, 2024
Bite-sized pieces of pure bliss. My kids found the book before I could finish it, and I had to keep asking for it back so I could read it.
January 11, 2011
My favorite stories were:
> The silence (Murray Bail)
> You have left your lotus pods on the bus (Paul Bowles)
> The enormous radio (John Cheever)
> Parson's pleasure (Roald Dahl)
> The invisible Japanese gentlemen (Graham Greene)
> Cat in the rain (Ernest Hemingway)
> The silence (Murray Bail)
> You have left your lotus pods on the bus (Paul Bowles)
> The enormous radio (John Cheever)
> Parson's pleasure (Roald Dahl)
> The invisible Japanese gentlemen (Graham Greene)
> Cat in the rain (Ernest Hemingway)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews