Learning English is easier with stories! These simple stories repeat common words and phrases to make English learning effective and enjoyable. You can find transcripts of each episode at smalltownspanishteacher.com.
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Send us Fan Mail In this third season, I am sharing chapters from my short novel “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. This week is chapter 11! Zunzuncito is getting closer to the magic flower that will grant his wish to be big. He crossed the grand lake and passed through the land of giants. Only one place remains: the valley of snails. Zunzuncito feels so close and yet so far from his goal. He is feeling impatient. This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include snails, eye...
Send us Fan Mail In this third season, I am sharing chapters from my short novel “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. This week is chapter 10! After crossing the grand lake, Zunzuncito and Monty must pass through the land of giants. The land of giants is fascinating, until Zunzuncito sees something horrible: animals in cages. Seeing the animals in cages makes him think of being trapped in the spiderweb. He has to do something, but what can a tiny bird do? This story is told in the the present tense. Repeat...
Send us Fan Mail In this third season, I am sharing chapters from my short novel “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. This week is chapter 9! Zunzuncito and Monty fell into the grand lake. Thankfully, a turtle came to save them. Once they cross the grand lake, they will reach the second leg of their journey: pass through the land of giants. To the tiny hummingbird and frog, though, everything is a giant! Will they find the land they seek and pass through it safely? This story is told in the the present ten...
Send us Fan Mail In this third season, I am sharing chapters from my short novel “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. This week is chapter 8! Zunzuncito and Monty have a three-part journey: cross the grand lake, pass through the land of giants, and arrive in the valley of snails. They have found the grand lake, but now they need to cross it. Zunzuncito can easily fly over the lake, but it is filled with big fish that want to eat the small Monty. How will they make it across? This story is told in the the p...
Send us Fan Mail In this third season, I am sharing chapters from my short novel “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. This week is chapter 6! Zunzuncito is on a mission to find the magic flower that will grant his wish to be big. He spoke with the wise snake Majá and now he knows where he must go, but how will he get there? Thankfully, he has a small sidekick, the tiny frog Monty, to help him out. This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include lake, fish, fly, swim, and rig...
Send us Fan Mail In this third season, I am sharing chapters from my short novel “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. This week is chapter 6! Zunzuncito is a tiny hummingbird. His friend, Monty, is an even smaller frog. The two animals are searching for a magic flower. Zunzuncito hopes that the magic flower will grant his wish to be big. Majá is a Cuban boa. According to Monty, she knows everything. There is just one problem - Zunzuncito is incredibly afraid of snakes and Majá is the biggest snake on the i...
Send us Fan Mail In this third season, I am sharing chapters from my short novel “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. This week is chapter 5! Zunzuncito is done dealing with the small life. He wants to be big. Luckily, his new frog friend Monty knows about a special magic flower that might be able to grant his wish. He just doesn’t know where it is. So, the hummingbird and frog head to the woods in search of the all-knowing Majá. On the way, Zunzuncito learns a few things about his small amphibious friend....
Send us Fan Mail In this third season, I am sharing chapters from my short novel “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. This week is chapter 4! It’s not easy being the smallest bird in the world. You have to deal with bigger bully birds, bees that don’t want to share and spiders that want to suck your blood. Zunzuncito is tired of being small. Perhaps if he is big and strong he can save himself from these sticky situations. After all, the animal that saved him from the spiderweb must be big and strong, right...
Send us Fan Mail In this third season, I am sharing chapters from my short novel “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. This week is chapter 3! Zunzuncito, a tiny bee hummingbird, just wants to suck delicious nectar from beautiful flowers. But he is not the only one hunting for food. After being chased away from flowers by a group of bees, Zunzuncito is now trapped in a spiderweb. There are many large spiders in Cuba and some of them do suck the blood of little birds caught in their webs. How will Zunzuncito...
Send us Fan Mail In this third season, I am sharing chapters from my short novel “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. This week is chapter 2! Zunzuncito, one of the tiniest hummingbirds in the world, flits from flower to flower in search of delicious nectar. However, some flowers are occupied. They are occupied by larger hummingbirds and insects. In this second chapter of “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”, our tiny bee hummingbird finds himself in a battle with his namesake bees. This story is told in the the prese...
Send us Fan Mail Chapter 1: The Smallest Hummingbird Zunzuncito is one of the tiniest hummingbirds in the world. Some might think he spends all his time happily sucking nectar from flowers, and they are not wrong. However, sometimes insects and even other hummingbirds get in between Zunzuncito and his dinner. This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include bird, hummingbird, wings, flies ( verb ) and flowers. Zunzuncito’s Adventure is available on Amazon in paperb...
Send us Fan Mail The island nation of Cuba is full of amazing animals. One of the most fascinating is the tiny bee hummingbird, also called the zunzuncito. I was inspired by this little hummingbird and, with some motivation from my students, I wrote a short novel called “Zunzuncito’s Adventure”. For this third season of Simple Stories in English, I will be sharing a chapter from the novel each week. This story is told in the the present tense. Repeated words and phrases include bird, hummingbird...
Send us Fan Mail I love to travel and today I am sharing one of my favorite travel stories. When I went to Ecuador twelve years ago, I had the opportunity to snorkel twice with blowfish, sea turtles and sea lions. The first day was amazing, but the second was a little scary . Today’s story is mostly in the first-person plural (pronoun “we”) and the past tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: boat, snorkel, tortoise/turtle, shark, and sea lion. No matter where you are in your language...
In this episode, the host candidly discusses her personal journey with mental health, highlighting a significant life event that heightened her awareness. She shares a range of practical strategies she employs, from cultivating a positive mindset and engaging in physical activity to finding solace in hobbies, spirituality, and strong support systems. The episode emphasizes the interconnectedness of physical and mental well-being and the importance of seeking help when needed.
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. I teach Spanish, but I am not a native Spanish speaker. Learning Spanish was not easy for me. I struggled a lot. But I am very grateful to be bilingual. Today I would like to share my language journey and why I chose to learn Spanish. This story is in the first person and the past tense. No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. Yo...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. I love the theater. I love acting and singing and being in front of an audience. I haven’t been on a stage in years, but I have wonderful memories from my time in the theater and I use my experience now to tell stories. Continuing with this season of personal stories, this episode explores my short-lived life on stage. This story is in the first person and the past tense. I...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. I have very fond memories of my childhood. I spent a lot of time outside with my friends and family, no matter the time of year. As a child I played, I ran, I rode bikes, I read, and I just had fun. Continuing with this season of personal stories, this episode explores the question: “what is my family like?”. This story is in the first person and the present tense. Importan...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. I love my family. I have two wonderful sons that I adore. I also have many brothers and sisters who are very important to me, along with my own mom and dad. My extended family also has a special place in my heart. Continuing with this season of personal stories, this episode explores the question: “what is my family like?”. This story is in the first person and the present ...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. In today’s episode, I explain where I go. I go to some places frequently, like work and the store. Other places I go to when I have time. I hope you enjoy my answer to the question “Where do I go?”. This story is in the first person and the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: school, shopping, church, countries, and home. No matter where you are in yo...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. I love where I live. I have a beautiful house in a small town in western Colorado. I have lived in 3 houses in this town over the last 19 years and in this episode I will describe those houses. This story is in the first person and the present and past tenses. Important vocabulary in the story includes: house, neighbors, windows, dining room, basement, garage, and yard. No ...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. Today’s story is all about food. Breakfast food, snacks, dessert. Get ready to hear about what I eat. I hope you don’t get too hungry as you enjoy my answer to the question “What Do I Eat?” This story is in the first person and the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: fruit, chocolate, breakfast, sweet, and I make. No matter where you are in your langu...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. I am lucky that I get to do many things that I enjoy and I have everything that I need right now. However, there are still some things that I want, someday. This story is in the first person and the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: things, activities, time, work, and want. No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on y...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. Many of my activities are related to daily necessities or work, but I do a lot of other things. I create, I explore, I exercise, and I listen to and make music. What do you do? This story is in the first person and the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: create, make, imagine, explore, photos, and exercise. No matter where you are in your language jou...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. Many of my activities are related to daily necessities or work, but I do a lot of other things. I create, I explore, I exercise, and I listen to and make music. What do you do? This story is in the first person and the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: create, make, imagine, explore, photos, and exercise. No matter where you are in your language jou...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. We all have different likes and dislikes. Continuing with this season of personal stories, this episode explores the question: “What Do I Like?” This story is in the first person and the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: I like and I love. No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript ...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. This second episode presents multiple descriptive adjectives that both do and don’t describe my physical characteristics and personal qualities to answer the question: “what am I like?” So you can better talk about what you are like. This story is in the first person and the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: fun, smart, strong, patient, hardworking,...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 of Simple Stories in English! In this season, I will be telling you more about myself. In this first episode you will learn. In today’s episode I am going to answer the question: Who am I? This story is in the first person and the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: I’m, live, teacher, sing and mom. No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story at https://smal...
Send us Fan Mail Jack is a little cat. He thought today would be like any other day exploring with his family, but instead he woke up to discover that is home became a construction site! Will he be able to make his way through the heavy equipment and find his family? This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words beam, dirt, edge, crane, dump truck, and looks for. No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcri...
Send us Fan Mail Julio loves winter because winter means skiing. He makes sure to wear all the right clothing: hat, scarf, gloves, and - most importantly - his helmet. When his helmet falls off the ski lift, he thinks he will be fine if he just goes slow. Unfortunately, though, accidents happen. This simple story is told mostly in the present tense, but introduces the past tense in a retell. Important vocabulary includes ski lift, helmet, head, wounds, stitches, and cut. No matter where you are ...
Send us Fan Mail Arthur the monster lives alone in the mountains. He is tired of being alone in his cave and decides to go to the city to make some animal friends. Some animals look down on him because of his size, looks, and smell, but one animal steals his heart. This story is in the third person and the past tense with some present tense dialogue. Important vocabulary in the story includes: stank (smelt bad), hurt, monkey, and pig. No matter where you are in your language journey, stories wil...
