Pratique du Shadowing: The Happy Prince | Fairy Tales and Bedtime Stories for Kids in English | Storytime - Apprendre l'anglais à l'oral avec la vidéo
Création de la leçon...
1
Once upon a time in a beautiful town located at the very top there was the statue of the happy prince.
2
The statue was covered with gold from head to toe
3
and there was a big red ruby on the handle of his sword.
4
And as for the prince's eyes, they were two sparkling green emeralds.
5
The statue of the happy prince could be seen by everyone in town
6
and it was known to spread hope and happiness to all.
7
One night a little swallow came to town.
8
Her friends flew to warmer parts of the world to be protected from the cold but she was left behind.
9
She saw the statue which was resting on a big column.
10
Let me spend the night here.
11
Tomorrow I'll continue.
12
The swallow landed right between the happy prince's feet.
13
Tonight I'm going to sleep on a garden bed.
14
When she was getting ready to sleep, putting her wing over her head, suddenly a drop of water fell on her head.
15
She looked up.
16
But the sky was clear and it wasn't raining.
17
Right at that moment, another drop of water landed on her beak, followed by another.
18
To understand what was going on, the swallow flew up on the statue's head.
19
She saw that the drops were coming from the prince's eyes.
20
They were his teardrops.
21
Happy Prince's tea drops were running down on his cheek and dropping on his feet.
22
And his sad eyes were sparkling in the moonlight.
23
The swallow felt really sad for him.
24
Hello, and who are you?
25
I am the Happy Prince.
26
And then why are you crying?
27
When I was alive and my heart was a human heart, I never shed a tear.
28
Because I lived in a palace where we did not know what sadness was.
29
During the day I used to play with my friends in the garden
30
and at night time I would dance in the big ballroom.
31
There was a big wall surrounding the garden but I never wondered what was behind the wall.
32
Everything around me was so beautiful and they always called me Happy Prince and I was very happy indeed.
33
However, when my life ended they put me here on top of this hill
34
and now I can see all the ugliness and the poverty around me.
35
Although my heart is made of lead, there is nothing I can do but cry.
36
The swallow was very sad.
37
There is a torn down small house in a little alley far from here.
38
One of the windows is open and I can see a woman working on the sewing machine.
39
Her face is weak and tired.
40
On the corner of the bed her little son is lying down sick.
41
He has fever but his mother has no money.
42
Dear Swallow, can you take out the precious ruby on my sword's handle and take it to her?
43
After a little bit of rest, I must keep flying to warmer countries.
44
At least stay here tonight.
45
Tomorrow you can go wherever you want.
46
Although the Swallow was already cold and did not have any rest, she could not do anything but help the sad happy prince.
47
Prince.
48
So with the help of her beak,
49
the swallow took the ruby out of the handle from the Prince's sword and flew into town over the dark midnight sky.
50
Finally, she arrived to the townhouse and looked inside.
51
The baby boy was in his bed, struggling with a fever, and his mother was sleeping.
52
She flew inside and put the big ruby on the table right in front of her.
53
Then she flew over to the boy and flapping her wings she cooled him down a little bit.
54
The swallow returned next to the happy prince and told him all about what had happened.
55
When she wakes up she will see the precious stone and
56
so she will be able to buy medicine and food for her boy.
57
Thank you very much.
58
Now you can sleep easy tonight dear swallow.
59
It was morning now.
60
Right when she was getting ready to fly away, the happy prince stopped the swallow.
61
Hey, swallow, dear swallow, can't you just stay one more night?
62
I need to fly to the warmer countries as soon as possible and find my family and friends.
63
Far away on the other side of the town, I see a young man in a small attic.
64
He is sitting at a table full of paper and pale violets in a small glass.
65
This is a young writer and he is trying to finish his new book, but he doesn't have any wood to burn or a piece of bread to eat.
66
Don't you want to help him?
67
The good-hearted Swallow accepted to stay one more night, just to help the young writer.
68
Unfortunately I have no more rubies left, but my eyes are from a very precious stone called Emerald.
69
Take one of them and bring it to the writer.
70
Hearing this made the swallow very sad.
71
She did not accept it at first, but when the happy prince insisted, she had no choice.
72
So she took the emerald out with her beak.
73
Then she started to fly towards the house the happy prince was talking about.
74
When she arrived, the young man was sitting at the table, restless, with his hands covering his face.
75
He did not hear the birds' wings flapping.
76
When he looked up, he saw the green sparkly emerald on top of the pale violets.
77
He thought that one of his fans he liked his writing left it there.
78
So he took the emerald and stood up with joy.
79
I came to say goodbye.
80
Dear Swallow, can't you stay just one more night?
81
It is almost winter.
82
It's going to snow soon.
83
I really have to go.
84
My dear Prince, I need to fly away.
85
But I will never forget you.
86
Okay, but I have one last wish from you.
87
Please do it for me.
88
On the square down below, there's a little girl sailing matches.
89
But she dropped them all into the water and they all got wet.
90
Now she cannot bring home some money.
91
Her dad will be very upset and they too will be hungry tonight.
92
She's there crying.
93
She doesn't even have shoes or socks or a hat covering her head.
94
Take my other eye, give it to her so they will be okay.
95
Hearing this story, the swallow decided to stay one more night.
96
Okay, one last time, but I can't take your eye out, then you won't be able to see.
97
It hurts me more to see the hungry and helpless people around me, so please do as I say.
98
Taking out his other eye, the swallow began flying down.
99
She flew slowly next to the girl and dropped the emerald in her hand.
100
The girl shouted, Oh, what a beautiful piece of glass!
101
And ran home with joy.
102
After that, the little swallow came back next to the happy prince.
103
I decided to stay next to you and be your eyes from now on.
104
The prince asked the swallow to fly over the whole town and inform him about all that was happening.
105
The swallow flew over the town and saw that while the rich people were sitting in their warm houses,
106
the poor were trying to light a fire in the cold to get warm.
107
When she went into the dark alleys she saw the weak faces of hungry kids.
108
Under a bridge she saw the two little kids sleeping on each other's laps and trying to warm each other up.
109
Then she went back and told all about it to the prince.
110
I am covered with pure gold.
111
Just peel them off and bring it to the poor.
112
They think that gold makes you happy, but actually, to be healthy and content is what makes you happy.
113
The swallow began to peel off all the gold from the prince's statue until the prince looked weak and miserable.
114
And she gave all the gold to the poor on the streets.
115
Meanwhile, it began to snow.
116
The streets were full of snow.
117
The swallow kept on helping the poor every night by peeling off the gold from the prince.
118
until there was nothing left.
119
The poor little swallow was freezing, but she did not want to leave the prince alone.
120
She loved him dearly, but in the end she knew that she was going to die.
121
She used the last bit of strength she had left and flew up to the prince's shoulder.
122
Goodbye, dear prince!
123
So you decided to fly to the warmer countries after all, my friend?
124
The little swallow could not tell the prince where she was going, so she kissed him slowly on the cheek.
125
and fell on the ground next to him.
126
Right that moment there was a cracking noise coming from inside the Happy Prince's statue.
127
It was his heart of lead breaking into pieces.
128
When it was morning, everybody gathered around the statue of the Happy Prince and they were looking at him with amazement.
129
Then they all saw the lifeless body of the Swallow laying down next to his feet.
130
Everybody was so sad.
131
But then they heard a voice amongst the crowd.
132
It was the young writer.
133
Now I understand why the happy prince is in this shape.
134
He and this little Swallow sacrificed themselves for our happiness.
135
So stay happy and don't be sad.
136
The two most beautiful hearts in this town were their hearts.
137
and it will forever stay that way.
138
It was a cold and snowy New Year's night.
139
The people were passing by with their warm coats, gloves and scarves.
140
They were all in a rush to get somewhere.
141
Some were late and rushing to get home, and some were going to a venue to celebrate the New Year.
142
Children were running around on the streets throwing snowballs to each other.
143
Of course they were the ones enjoying the snow the most.
144
They were playing with each other and laughing hysterically.
145
But on the streets, there was a girl different than the ones that were playing.
146
This little girl was standing in the middle of the street watching the other kids play.
147
She did not have a hat to protect her from the cold like others.
148
Her clothes were light and ripped, and the slippers on her feet didn't fit her right.
149
They were big.
150
She was holding a box in her hands, shivering from the freezing cold.
151
The little girl barely noticed a car coming right at her.
152
Hey kids, stay on the side of the road, you're gonna get run over.
153
The little girl threw herself on the sidewalk that second.
154
But while she was running, the very big slippers on her feet flew off.
155
When she was on the sidewalk, she turned around and looked.
156
She saw a boy running with her slippers.
157
My slippers!
158
She yelled and ran after him, but the kid ran away fast.
159
Hey, stop!
160
Having no choice but to walk barefoot, she seeked for a shelter next to a wall.
161
She opened the box she had been holding and she put it down.
162
She was looking in the box full of matches with her eyes watery from the cold.
163
This was a little match girl.
164
But she could not even sell one box of matches that day.
165
If she could make a sale and earn some money, she could go home and have at least a bowl of warm soup with her mother.
166
So she started yelling with her thin, shivering voice from cold and sadness.
167
Matches!
168
Matches!
169
Anyone wants matches?
170
Matches!
171
Nobody on the street paid any attention to her, so she sat down next to the wall.
172
Her fingers started to ache from the cold.
173
She could not bear the pain anymore.
174
Somehow, she had to warm up.
175
She opened a box and pulled out a match.
176
Her fingers were numb and she could barely hold a match.
177
With her shivering hands she lit the match on the wall and suddenly a warm orange light surrounded her.
178
Poor girl passed the match from one hand to the other to warm her fingers.
179
Her Her hands were not cold anymore.
180
She found herself in front of a burning stove.
181
She stared at the fire and started dreaming.
182
She was sitting in front of a big stove in a beautiful room.
183
She had a woolen sweater on her, furry boots on her feet and a beanie on her head.
184
It was so hot she began to sweat.
185
But suddenly, the match went out.
186
With the match out, those sweet dreams also vanished.
187
her little fingers began to freeze and ache once again.
188
She lit up another match.
189
At that moment, a cold wind blew.
190
The little girl turned to the wall to keep the match from going out, and she covered the fire with her hands.
191
Whilst she was looking at it, the wall suddenly vanished and opened up.
192
There was a big room inside.
193
There were all sorts of food spread on a table with a white cloth
194
and the silver candlesticks on the table lit up the room like daylight.
195
She stared at the table and saw
196
that in the middle of the table there was a beautifully grilled big piece of meat.
197
She immediately ripped a piece of it and put it in her mouth.
198
Suddenly, she wasn't hungry anymore.
199
The little match girl wanted to take another piece of meat.
200
She reached out, but the match she had in her hand went out pretty fast.
201
Poor girl's hand burned and she threw the match away.
202
Ow!
203
Ow!
204
As soon as she threw away the match, the feast on the table and the room vanished.
205
The wall reappeared.
206
Little match girl lit another match.
207
Now she was in an even bigger dream.
208
She was sitting under a tree on a summer night, looking at the stars above.
209
It was still warm, even though it was night time.
210
The little girl could not take her eyes off of the stars.
211
She never saw the sky and the stars so clear and sparkling before.
212
And suddenly, she saw a shooting star.
213
She thought to herself, there goes another one of us flying into eternity.
214
These were actually her grandmother's words.
215
At that moment, she saw her grandmother appear.
216
When you see a shooting star, know that someone will take its place, my dear.
217
Her grandmother was visible for a brief moment and then when she disappeared the little match girl called after her.
218
Grandmother stop don't go don't go please I really missed you.
219
To see her grandmother one more time she lit up another match.
220
She forgot how she was freezing from cold in the middle of the street and started dreaming once again.
221
Every time she lit up a match, she felt as if she was seeing her grandmother and hearing her voice.
222
The little girl lit up another match.
223
Her surroundings lit up like daylight.
224
She never saw her grandmother this beautiful before.
225
Her loving face made her forget all the cold and bitter days she had ever been through.
226
She did not want this moment to finish.
227
So she lit up the final match in a hurry.
228
Her grandmother appeared in front of her again.
229
She reached out her arms to hold the little match girl's hand.
230
They started to fly up into the sky together.
231
The little girl felt a sudden relief.
232
There was no cold or hunger anymore.
233
At that moment, another shooting star went on by.
234
In the morning, the people who passed by on the street saw the little match girl laying down by the wall.
235
Her eyes closed but with a sweet smile on her face.
236
She had a lot of burnt matches around her.
237
The matches which, with their flames, brought her dreams alive that no one would ever dream about.
238
you
Why practice speaking with this video?
This enchanting tale, "The Happy Prince," provides an excellent opportunity to practice speaking English. Storytelling is an effective way to immerse yourself in the language, as it helps you incorporate new vocabulary and phrases into your speech. Listening to the narrative and then summarizing it in your own words is a great exercise that enhances your fluency and pronunciation.
Using the shadowing technique, you can mimic the speech patterns and intonation of the narrator. This method enables you to improve your speaking skills and gain confidence in your pronunciation, crucial for IELTS speaking practice. By repeating the lines from the video, you not only learn English but also internalize the rhythm and pace of natural, conversational English.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Throughout this video, several grammatical structures and expressions are employed effectively. Here are a few notable examples:
- Past Simple Tense: The story predominantly uses the past simple tense, as seen in phrases like "the statue was covered with gold" and "the swallow flew up." This tense is crucial for narrating events that have already occurred, making it vital for learners to master it.
- Direct Speech: The dialogue between the Happy Prince and the swallow introduces learners to conversational English. Phrases such as “Hello, and who are you?” and “Why are you crying?” are practical examples of how to ask questions and interact with others.
- Descriptive Language: Descriptive adjectives like "beautiful," "sad," and "sparkling" enrich the narrative. Understanding how to incorporate such adjectives into your speaking can make your storytelling more vivid and engaging.
Common Pronunciation Traps
While shadow speaking along with this video, you may encounter several pronunciation challenges. Here are some common traps to watch for:
- “Ruby” and “sword”: The words contain vowel sounds that might be tricky for non-native speakers. Pay close attention to articulating the “r” in “ruby” and the silent “w” in “sword.”
- “Emeralds” and “sparkling”: The complex consonant clusters in these words can lead to mispronunciations. Practice them slowly, focusing on each syllable for clarity.
- “Alley” and “sadness”: These words can trip up learners due to their vowel sounds and stressed syllables. Pronounce them multiple times, emphasizing the correct syllables to enhance your accent.
By integrating the shadow speech practice with this tale, you can significantly improve your speaking skills while enjoying a touching story. Engage with the characters and narrate your version of their journey, enhancing your confidence and capabilities in English.
Qu'est-ce que la technique du Shadowing ?
Le Shadowing est une technique d'apprentissage des langues fondée sur la science, développée à l'origine pour la formation des interprètes professionnels. Le principe est simple mais puissant : vous écoutez de l'anglais natif et le répétez immédiatement à voix haute — comme une ombre suivant le locuteur avec un décalage de 1 à 2 secondes. Les recherches montrent une amélioration significative de la précision de la prononciation, de l'intonation, du rythme, des liaisons, de la compréhension orale et de la fluidité.