Stories. "House of Light & Shadow" by Nicholas Gage

Welcome to the TP Podcast! A few weeks ago, CPG, a fifth year (Y5) student at the state-run language school where we meet up, gave me a little present – The New York Times Magazine, the 15th of jan issue, 2006, which is where I found the story I’d like to read today to you all. It’s called “House of Light and Shadow” and it was written by Nicholas Gage, an author I don’t know and who I had never read before. So it’s been a discovery, and a pleasure! I like the story because it includes childhood memories, dreams, a house in an open landscape, which I imagine very beautiful because it’s in Greece, and it also includes thoughts and feelings you get throughout your life, as you grow older. I really like that.
I hope this inspires you to write about your own childhood memories, so you can practice using the past tenses, including the modals! You could just write short 150-word pieces, and send them to the Talking People Website for publication! (Check out the TP section Your Stuff to read some!) If you do, remember to type in the subject line “TP contribution”.
So, here it goes. Enjoy!

Listen to the story. Read the article.

Poems. "Her Kind" by Anne Sexton

Her Kind
By Anne Sexton

Listen to this poem

I have gone out, a possessed witch,
haunting the black air, braver at night;
dreaming evil, I have done my hitch
over the plain houses, light by light:
lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind.
A woman like that is not a woman, quite.
I have been her kind.

I have found the warm caves in the woods,
filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves,
closets, silks, innumerable goods;
fixed the suppers for the worms and the elves:
whining, rearranging the disaligned.
A woman like that is misunderstood.
I have been her kind.

I have ridden in your cart, driver,
waved my nude arms at villages going by,
learning the last bright routes, survivor
where your flames still bite my thigh
and my ribs crack where your wheels wind.
A woman like that is not ashamed to die.
I have been her kind.

The TP webpage on Anne Sexton

Useful Language. Conversations & Comm. Strat. Part 1

This episode is devoted to communicative strategies, fluency and correction in conversations. Sentences are taken from the TP section called “Useful Language - Conversations”. We will deal with all of this parting from the different language functions we need to perform while communicating, such as clarifying and the like. This episode is divided into 3 parts.
Listen to Part 1
Read Part 1. Asking for Clarification and Getting More Information, Checking for Comprehension

If you’re interested in improving your ability to discuss ideas with people who do not think like you do, please check out this TP website section: Speaking – Discussions. It is true we cannot do much when people refuse to listen or insist in interpreting we’re hurting them with our words, especially when these are critical thinking. We cannot do much in what does not depend on us. But we can try to develop a constructive attitude and approach to discussions, and also some useful skills. These notes are based on workshops on problem-solving, negotiation and nonviolent communication, and on the application of their contents in communicative language lessons.

Our upcoming episodes are:
Part 2. Agreeing, Sitting on the Fence, Showing You Follow and Making Comments to accompany the person who is speaking, Inviting People to Speak
Part 3. Defending a Position, Disagreeing & Challenging a Position,
Problem-solving, reaching an agreement, moving on, recapitulating

Post your questions and comments here, or on the TP Forum. Thanks for listening. Have a nice day!