have used stories for thousands of years to teach their principles. They could
just teach the principles directly, but they know that stories create a stronger
and deeper impression.
And when a story is designed to be strange, funny, or highly emotional, it
is even easier to remember. This is why listen-and-answer stories use strange
characters and exaggerated events. Which is easier to remember: a normal
person with brown hair, or a person who is only one meter tall with green
hair? If you meet both briefly at a party, which are you most likely to
remember a year later? Usually it’s the one that is not “normal.”
In addition to being strange, funny, or exaggerated, listen-and-answer
stories use a very specific technique called “asking a story.” Please note, I
did not say telling a story. I said asking a story. This is a technique developed
by Blaine Ray. The teacher creates the story by asking a lot of very simple
and easy questions. Why?
Because the questions train you to understand and respond more quickly.
A listen-and-answer story is not a passive activity. You must constantly
understand a barrage of endless questions, and you must instantly respond to
them. The teacher slowly builds the story by adding more details.
An important aspect of these stories is that the questions are always easy
and your answers are always short. Most of the time, you will answer with
only a couple of words. The focus of these stories is speed, not length.
Remember, to achieve the highest levels of English speaking, you must be
fast. You must understand and respond instantly.
As you listen, sometimes the teacher will ask a question and you won’t
know the answer. When this happens, you are encouraged to immediately
shout out a guess.
So the process is a non-stop series of questions and answers. Through this
process, you overwhelm your slow analytic brain. Because there are so many
questions and you must answer so quickly, there simply isn’t time to think
about grammar, vocabulary, or anything else. This is how listen-and-answer
stories train you for speed.
