Sold on Stories artwork

Sold on Stories

34 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 1 rating

Sold on Stories is an intermediate level ESL podcast focussed on acquiring communicative competence through idioms.


We add concrete connotation to idiomatic expressions through exciting, original & engaging stories.


Our stories assist students to acquire the ability to interact appropriately with others by knowing what to say, to whom, when, where, and how.


Idioms form a large part of natural communication and therefore knowledge of idiomatic expressions leads to increased conversational fluency.


Each episode focusses on a new/different idiom, which is then explained at the hand of a story for context.

Language Learning Education
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Episodes

Idioms explained: Break a leg

July 20, 2022 13:27 - 11 minutes - 8.53 MB

Larry had worse luck than almost anyone he knew or had hear of before. His misfortune was widely known and even more widely discussed. Nothing went his way, until one day his bad fortunes brought him some sorely needed good results. Find out how unfortunate circumstances can prove to be a blessing in disguise. Find out how the term "break a leg" actually turned out to be a good thing... for a change.

Idioms explained: Proud as a peacock

July 09, 2022 11:02 - 14 minutes - 12 MB

Preston Peacock is an entitled little creature with little or no regard for anyone else. When his pride endangers his life, he has to reassess his behaviour and his choices. Pride can lead to vanity and vanity to heartache or worse. Make this expression your own by internalising this original story.

Idioms explained: The sky is the limit

July 04, 2022 17:02 - 11 minutes - 15.1 MB

Tubs the pig is a force to be reconed with. See how he beats the odds and changes attitudes for the better. Learn how nothing is impossible when a dream is underpinned by sheer willpower. Internalise the meaning of this very handy expression by way of a easy-to-follow story. Happy listening.  

Idioms explained: To each their own

June 28, 2022 13:31 - 13 minutes - 13.2 MB

Learn how the acceptance of one's parents can create happiness, contentment and self-love within children. See how Julian and Jacky learn the value of doing what they love and how chasing your dream ia always super rewarding! Have fun, while truly making a concrete connection with this expression!  

Idioms explained: The grass is always greener on the other side

June 25, 2022 17:18 - 15 minutes - 11.3 MB

Idioms form a crucial part of everyday English. Understanding an expression within context cements this understanding and creates a usefull reference for it. See how a young, stubborn and entitled bull learns about this idiom the hard way.

Man's best friend

June 20, 2022 14:58 - 16 minutes - 12.1 MB

Learn idioms about emotions and how to express these feelings with the correct phrases. Oliver is a adorable little dog loved dearly by his family. Find out about his charming personality and BIG secret.  

Teaching an old crook new tricks - Idioms at work in Storytelling

June 16, 2022 04:42 - 13 minutes - 9.57 MB

Idioms are wonderfully creative ways to express yourself.  Native speakers use it daily and almost 20 000 of these phrases exist today in the English language. See these expressions used in the context of a funny and colourful story.

Persistent Paulina - adjectives, synonyms & idioms explained in a story of determination

June 13, 2022 09:45 - 16 minutes - 11.3 MB

Anyone can realize their dreams and become who they were meant to be. Discover the importance of friendship and accepting who you are. Language focus: Idioms, adjectives & synonyms

Building stories for effective intermediate language learning

June 07, 2022 19:49 - 11 minutes - 8.44 MB

I was looking to produce language stories, which combined the most relevant parts of TPRS and mini stories. My aim was to stay true to first step in the TPRS method by identifying phrases and vocabulary as learning outcomes before the reading starts. Next, I understood the importance of keeping the story and plot relevant to the reader and, in the way that Mini Stories demands, appropriate for their level. And finally, adhering to the recipe for any good story – keep things interesting, f...

Mini Stories for engaging and effective language learning

June 03, 2022 07:23 - 14 minutes - 10.1 MB

Mini stories are roughly 3–5 minutes long, they consists of audio and text and is made up of three sections, where the vocabulary and patterns are repeated in each section. The stories introduce the basic patterns of a language and a lot of basic vocabulary. Typically, these stories depict people acting in a variety of everyday life situations.

TPRS Step 3: Reading Comprehension focusing on target words

May 29, 2022 15:07 - 11 minutes - 9.46 MB

How much easier do you imagine it must be to “remember” something when you also understand it? Even more so, understanding it within the context of the story and the sentence. Reading comprehension underpins the ability to Re-tell the story, and what is retelling else than explaining? In Step THREE, the students are compelled to further interact with their new phrases to help solidify the language-learning lesson.

TPRS Step 2 - Building a language story around the target words

May 26, 2022 11:28 - 10 minutes - 8.87 MB

In the practice of TPRS, the story need not be complex, in actual fact the more straightforward and to the point the better! The reason for this is of course that it aids in comprehension, however it is also done to improve and reinforce student engagement. The story, as we know, is merely the medium here and the true stars of the show are the words and phrases. Personalization of the story by the students offer them the opportunity to make the story relevant to them and relatable to thei...

TPRS Step 1 (target vocabulary and definitions)

May 23, 2022 10:50 - 13 minutes - 8.67 MB

TPRS has at its core the starting and ending with the correct words that you want to teach your students. From an language-teaching-angle, target words are the stars of the story. It is absolutely crucial to create an early foundation for meaning in TPRS teaching. The last thing we want is for the learners to guess meaning and misinterpret context.

Effective Language learning through TPRS

May 18, 2022 13:27 - 11 minutes - 7.4 MB

Once the focus moves from only teaching grammar and correction to understanding word-context and appreciating word-understanding, true language learning is the result! The two aspects at the heart of TPRS is reading and storytelling. TPRS keeps the learner engaged and entertained, through careful repetition in a varied and interesting manner. All areas of learning and understanding are maximized in this way.

Storytelling – language learning as old as time

May 14, 2022 07:48 - 9 minutes - 11 MB

When you learn with stories, you don’t just learn a language, you learn to use the language from a practical perspective. The biggest pull when reading a story is to discover what happens next. So, learning with stories means you to focusing on the events of the story, instead of the grammar of the language. This focus on meaning, helps you communicate in the language from the start.

Idioms and metaphors explained in the best way

May 11, 2022 13:32 - 15 minutes - 13.5 MB

Idioms, expressions and metaphors form an integral part of the English language. It is vital that language learners understand and appreciate the abstract nature of these figures of speech. Storytelling helps not only by forming a mental picture, but a concrete sense of understanding as well. The sequence of the story affords the students chronological order and assists with crucial association.

Storytelling – the gateway to better English

May 02, 2022 22:30 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MB

Some of the benefits of storytelling in teaching and studying second languages include: Increased development of language skills, Improved comprehension and personal interaction community building, and multi-cultural understanding.

Schwarzenegger's accent became his biggest asset

April 22, 2022 20:09 - 11 minutes - 11.9 MB

Your accent as a non-native English Speaker will not hold you back when you speak. See how Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penelope Cruz and Shakira got over accent bias and used their accents to their advantage Your accent is unique and part of your heritage and culture. Be proud of how you speak, but know how to fix pronunciation!

Improve Pronunciation Through Movies

April 14, 2022 22:11 - 23 minutes - 29.4 MB

Take the opportunity to experience beautifully executed dialogue and masterfully delivered lines. Good Will Hunting is a brilliant drama starring veteran Hollywood actors, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck & Robin Williams. These actors speak with an easy rhythm and provide the perfect opportunity to learn and imitate speech and phrases. See how different accents combine to form great scenes and enjoy non-natives in riveting conversations with mother-tongue  speakers.  

IELTS Vocabulary boost with my favourite movies

April 06, 2022 12:48 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MB

The Shawshank Redemption is an amazing movie for English language learners to watch. It has all the characteristics to help with improving vocabulary, pronunciation, articulation and building better conversation-skills. The dialogue, plot and cast all combine to create the ideal scenario for movie-based English learning. 

See how watching movies can improve your English

March 29, 2022 09:45 - 16 minutes - 16.6 MB

Students improve their English pronunciation, comprehension and vocabulary base optimally when they're learning in a comfortable environment. Levels of confidence improve and when you are confident in what you're doing, you are content and happy, which leads to smiling. Smiling improves pronunciation and better pronunciation reinforces the levels of comfort and confidence. It's the ultimate virtuous circle of positive reinforcement. Movies are relaxing, aspirational and a gateway to an dre...

A Non-native's Journey To English Success

March 22, 2022 22:45 - 50 minutes - 40.3 MB

Nevena Korac is an inspirational, brave and determined young women who is taking the copywriting industry by the horns. Take a look with me at the amazing progress she has made over the last 5-6 years and find out first-hand how she did it, which obstacles she faced and how she overcame them. Buckle-up folks!

Rock your IELTS Speaking Task 2 - Topic: Advertising

March 14, 2022 21:19 - 13 minutes - 11.5 MB

Speaking Task 2 needs some sound planning, based on effective strategies used to impress examiners. This is the one you need to listen to, if only to see how important it is for your personality to shine through in your answers. Learn how you can allow your ideas to flow and transition into supporting statements. Understand how word-choices and variety of vocabulary adds to your answers and how they are scored.

IELTS Speaking Task 1 Topic 2

March 08, 2022 22:05 - 13 minutes - 13.3 MB

Make sure you understand the finer tricks and tips to be able to; Answer examiners' questions clearly; Illustrate your points effectively and; Showcase your word-choice range!

IELTS Speaking Task 1 - Topic 1

March 01, 2022 21:28 - 11 minutes - 12.5 MB

Get over that initial anxiousness and fear of the face-to-face speaking task by listening to some encouraging advice and expert guidance. Make this encounter easier to handle and turn this task into an opportunity to score some easy marks!

Vocabulary learning and word pairings

February 21, 2022 21:32 - 12 minutes - 13.5 MB

Understand how much simpler it is to acquire the correct vocabulary through word pairings and word associations. Discover how much more you can comprehend if words are learnt holistically and in context than singularly and as separate units of language.

Vocabulary can make or break your IELTS efforts!

January 25, 2022 06:48 - 6 minutes - 7.22 MB

One of the crucial common threads between ALL the IELTS disciplines is vocabulary. It is vital to be able to draw on a rich, varied word-source to be able to impress your examiner.  Read more on the weighted marks attributed to a good vocabulary range and how this resource assists you in more ways than you realise.

Paraphrasing tips for best results in Task 1 and 2 IELTS Writing Essay

December 31, 2021 12:42 - 9 minutes - 9.19 MB

Your ability to use paraphrasing correctly during your IELTS Writing tasks is the first step to impressing your examiner and getting your essay started on the right foot! Our five simple guidelines are easy to understand and even easier to incorporate!

Improving your vocabulary score in IELTS Writing

December 13, 2021 09:21 - 50 minutes - 24 MB

Naturally, in IELTS Writing you want to showcase your range and make sure your word choices are varied, however these choices need to be contextually correct as well. For this reason we will look at not only the preferred options to select, but in the process we will also dispel some common IELTS Writing misconceptions.

Eliminate those unwanted IELTS Writing Task Two mistakes

December 06, 2021 08:22 - 9 minutes - 12.1 MB

Eliminate those unnecessary errors that keep you from reaching your ideal IELTS Writing band score. Tips that are simple logical and life-saving - all in one! Take charge of your IELTS Writing.

Roadmap to Band Score 7 on your IELTS Writing Test

November 23, 2021 13:31 - 10 minutes - 11 MB

Find the solution to overcoming the obstacles on a band six IELTS writing score and achieving the band score seven you worked for and deserve!

Words & phrases to avoid in IELTS Writing

November 14, 2021 21:00 - 11 minutes - 11.1 MB

A simple and informative list of 21 over-used, too casual and ineffective words and phrases that has no place in IELTS Writing.

IELTS Writing Universal Tips

November 08, 2021 12:20 - 9 minutes - 10 MB

Take the sting out of IELTS Writing by following these simple and easy-to-apply tips. Follow some best-practice guidelines that applies to Writing Task ONE and TWO. Move away from over-complicated advice and understand what the examiners want.

My IELTS Writing Coach Story

October 31, 2021 19:54 - 13 minutes - 13.9 MB

My IELTS Writing Coach Story covers the specifics of my coaching journey from creative writer to IELTS Writing Coach. It is not unique, it's not even that special. It's straightforward and uncomplicated IELTS writing value-share for whoever needs to hear it. It breaks down the make-up and  basics of the IELTS writing tasks - simply and logically Enjoy