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See the World: Part 10

See the World (An Easy English Story): Part 10 (Final Part)

After the surgery, like always, Neil throws up. He doesn’t have time to take out the lenses, so he vomits with his eyes closed. If he sees the cells in his stomach, he will definitely throw up again.

Neil slowly stands up, takes out the lenses, and walks out of his office. The hospital’s hallways look orange in the sunset. Dr. Umar stands in front of a big window. She is crying and smiling. And talking to a news reporter. A cameraman points a large camera at them.

Dr. Umar notices Neil and waves to him. “Neil!” she calls. The cameraman turns toward Neil, and Dr. Umar tells the reporter, “This is Dr. Neil Kalkan. He just finished the cancer surgery with me.”

The reporter waves her hand, asking Neil to come closer. She holds up a microphone. “How does it feel to use such an amazing piece of technology? The lenses, I just…” she sighs excitedly, “can’t believe this is possible!”

The reporter pushes the microphone closer to Neil’s face. Neil is not wearing the lenses, but he imagines the germs on the microphone. Neon pink slime might cover the top of the microphone, even brighter than the reporter’s lipstick. Green spikes might swirl around the handle. Some of the reporter’s yellow breath might float toward Neil’s head. Dr. Umar’s shirt sleeve, covered in tears, might drip with purple and gray germs.

Dr. Umar’s tears flow down to the corners of her mouth. They might be filled with disease. But they are filled with joy. They are filled with life.

Neil breathes in deeply.

The world will never be the same. It will always be filled with spiky, slimy, moldy germs. People will always be weak, always be followed by sickness. But there will always be joy and hope.

Neil grabs the reporter’s microphone, stepping closer to her. “Using the lenses feels…” Neil cannot finish his thought. He grabs the microphone tightly as his eyes fill with tears. Through his tears, the orange sunset, Dr. Umar’s white coat, the reporter’s worried smile, the blue hallway tiles, the green patient chairs, his gray shoes–they all blur together.

-THE END-

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How I Passed the Hardest Level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test without Studying

Read this blog post in Easy English or Advanced English below.

Easy English

I hate studying.

I am a teacher, but I hate studying. I think that textbooks and flashcards are boring.

This was a problem when I started studying Japanese. I used some helpful sites to study for the JLPT, a Japanese language test. These sites were JLPT Sensei and Nihongo no Mori, and they were great. But I was still bored.

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I wanted to find a fun way to study.

I am always looking for fun study materials for my students. I want to use books that real English speakers wrote. These fun materials can:

  • Teach about culture
  • Teach vocabulary and grammar
  • Be interesting to read!
  • Help students have fun

I want fun materials for my students. Why don’t I use fun materials to study Japanese?

I asked my Japanese friends to tell me their favorite books, and I started reading. And I stopped using textbooks.

My dream was to read a science fiction book. Sadly, there weren’t science fiction books in easy Japanese. So I started by reading books for elementary students about daily life.

I had so much fun! And I took notes on the vocabulary and grammar in the books. My Japanese got better and better.

Slowly, I read books from different genres: historical fiction, fantasy, and mystery.

One day, I found a science fiction book for adults. And I could read it! Reading for fun helped me so much. I started reading easy books for elementary students, but soon I could read my favorite type of book. I reached my goal!

After reading many books, I took the most difficult Japanese language test: the JLPT N1. And I passed without studying. No textbooks. No grammar worksheets.

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This is the power of reading for fun.

Studying with textbooks is helpful, but the most meaningful learning is fun learning.

This is why I created Fun for Fluency. There are not many easy English stories that are fun to read. Most adults who learn English have to use children’s picture books. But Fun for Fluency has interesting stories in easy English.

You can read different English stories here. There are new stories every week!

Advanced English

I hate studying.

I’m a teacher, but it’s so hard to focus on studying vocabulary flashcards and doing reading practice exercises.

I’ve been teaching myself Japanese for years, and around the time that I was studying for the intermediate Japanese proficiency test, the JLPT N3, I used textbooks and study sites, like JLPT Sensei and Nihongo no Mori. They were useful and I recommend them to anyone studying for the JLPT.

But I wanted to learn with fun materials written by native speakers.

As an ESL teacher, I know the benefits of authentic materials. They help language learners:

  • Understand the target language culture
  • Acquire natural vocabulary and grammar in context
  • Access interesting content
  • Feel motivated

So why wasn’t I studying with authentic materials myself?

When I began studying for the JLPT N1, the most difficult Japanese proficiency test, I decided to do away with study sites for the time being and looked instead for Japanese books that sparked my interest.

I am a HUGE science fiction lover, but unfortunately there weren’t any science fiction novels that were at my level when I started studying for the N1. (This is one of the reasons I created Fun for Fluency, so that English learners can have more access to interesting stories at a comprehensible level.)

I started by reading novels for upper elementary and middle school students that featured topics of daily life. These were much more interesting than practice JLPT articles I had been reading, and I was able to take notes on the vocabulary and grammar I was encountering in the novels and learn them naturally.

As my reading progressed, I began branching out into different genres. I read historical fiction, fantasy, and mystery.

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And finally, the day came when I was able to read a science fiction novel written for adults. I couldn’t believe that I had gone from reading an elementary-level book about school friends to a classic novel satirizing the public’s belief in aliens.

And after being able to read even novels for adults, I passed the JLPT N1 on my first try. No studying.

Reading for fun is what got me there.

There is no problem with studying, and it is at times necessary to learn a new concept. But I 100% believe that the best kind of language learning is learner-initiated and authentic.

This is why Fun for Fluency is so effective. There is such a shortage of interesting materials for beginning learners of English. Fun for Fluency is a growing database of engaging, easy English stories for adolescent and adult learners. It is the gateway to being able to read authentic materials while having fun.

Check out our different English learning stories here. Stories are updated and added frequently, so visit again for more resources!

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See the World: Part 8

See the World (An Easy English Story): Part 8

Neil sits down in the brown leather chair next to Dr. Chen’s desk. He can’t stop looking at the red-spiked germs spilling out of Dr. Chen’s mouth as she talks.

“Neil, you know that today’s patient has a very serious disease.”

“Yes, cancer,” Neil whispers.

Dr. Chen nods. “The lenses work well on diseases like HIV and Ebola, but they do not work well with cancer. But the patient doesn’t want to do chemotherapy, so the lenses could help him.”  Dr. Chen leans closer to Neil. Neil leans back. “Neil, this is the first brain cancer surgery with the lenses. If the surgery fails, please remember: It’s not your fault.” Dr. Chen smiles and grabs Neil’s hand. Neil and Dr. Chen have been coworkers and friends for ten years, and she often grabs his hand when she knows he is nervous. Neil is nervous about the surgery, but he has a stronger feeling than nervousness. Disgust. A sick feeling in his stomach.  A few of Dr. Chen’s cold cells are on her fingers from when she coughed. When she takes her hand away, Neil looks down at his hand. Neon green and red circles dance on his skin.

Neil quickly pulls his hand back. He wants to wash his hands, but he doesn’t want to be rude.

Dr. Chen continues talking about the cancer surgery, but Neil cannot think.

He feels frozen in his chair.

He tries not to look at his hand, but every time he does, he sees the green cells buried in the hair on his knuckles. He wonders if there are still cells on his face from Dr. Chen’s cough. More cells float around them as Dr. Chen talks.

I’m fine. It’s just a cold. I’m fine. It’s just a cold. Neil repeats these words in his head, but he doesn’t feel better.

“Neil?” Dr. Chen waves her hand in front of his face. “Are you ready for the surgery?”

Part 9>

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See the World: Part 7

See the World (An Easy English Story): Part 7

Neil uses the lenses for two months, and he feels like a pro. The HIV of Neil’s first patient was cured in just five days. Because the surgery was so successful, Dr. Chen asked Neil to do twenty more surgeries. All twenty patients got better quickly. 

Neil feels excited to look at the patients’ new healthy cells.  Before the surgeries, their bodies look like Neil’s bedroom wall when Leila drew on it with crayons two years ago.  After Neil spent an hour cleaning the wall with mayonnaise it was a smooth light blue again.  Genome editing with the lenses is like mayonnaise for their too-colorful cells.

The diseases all look different with the lenses, and all of them are uncomfortably bright. Ebola is Neil’s least favorite. It looks like thousands of neon blue worms. These little worms seem to eat through the healthy cells, squirming in and out of them.

On the morning of Neil’s twenty-first surgery, Dr. Chen asks Neil to meet with her in her office to talk about the surgery. Neil already started getting ready for the surgery, so he is wearing the lenses.

Neil opens Dr. Chen’s office door and immediately feels sick. Bright green circles with red spikes float in the air around Dr. Chen. As she says, “Good morning,” the spikes fly towards Neil. He jumps to the left, but some of the green and red still hit his face. Neil wipes his face with his sleeve, and then he remembers: This is what a cold looks like.

“I see you’re wearing the lenses,” Dr. Chen says. She laughs at Neil’s reaction.

Neil tries to laugh, too. “I forgot that I put them in.”

Dr. Chen laughs louder and begins to cough.  More frog-green circles fly towards Neil, and he holds his breath.

Part 8>

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The Cold: Part 5

The Cold (An Easy English Story): Part 5

My phone buzzes, and I wake up. It is 2:45 a.m. I don’t know the phone number, but I answer the call.

“Hello?”

“I need your help.” It is a man’s voice. He is whispering.

“Who is this?” I ask.

“I can’t tell you. April gave me your number. She doesn’t want to talk to any reporters. But I do.” He sounds scared.

I quickly get out of bed and turn on my desk lamp. I open my notebook and say, “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

“I saw an ice body.” He pauses. “And I saw where it came from.”

I begin writing down his story.

“Do you remember the news about the ice body behind the shopping mall?” he asks. I remember. It was a 30-year-old man. Trash collectors found him in the dumpster behind the mall. As usual, he was naked, and parts of his body were frozen. His hands and feet were purple, and his ears were black with frostbite. “I walk my dog on the street by the mall every morning. Four people came out of the back of the mall. They were carrying a large metal box. It looked heavy. They dumped the box into the dumpster and carried it back inside.” The man on the phone begins speaking quickly. “I didn’t know it was an ice body! I thought that the metal box was strange, but…”

“Did you see the faces of the four people?” I ask.

“No, I was too far away, and they were wearing face masks.” He pauses. “But when they went back into the mall, one of them opened the door. The back door of the mall is locked with a password. Those people know the password.”

“Did you see them leave the mall? Did they have a car?”

“No. They only went to the dumpster outside the mall, and then they went back inside.”

I have one more question. “Why doesn’t April want to talk to reporters about the ice bodies?”

“She thinks that news stations are killing people… so that the news stations can make more money.”

I roll my eyes. “What do you think about that idea?”

“Well,” he says. “It’s not crazy. The CEOs of WRN and NewsAmerica are both $50 million richer now.”

“Then why are you talking to me? The Observer is a local news station, but we’re still journalists.” I expect him to get angry. When people believe all news is fake, they believe that all journalists are liars.

“I think the CEOs are bad, but I don’t believe you’re bad. You saw an ice body, right? Maybe my story can help save people.”

I need to get to the mall.

There is still a lockdown. The mall is not closed, but the news says that people shouldn’t go out. I can’t drive, and Mom and Dad will definitely not take me to the mall.

I remember Ms. Sato’s words: “We are a news station.  We report real news.  We can’t write an article that says, ‘Maybe the ice bodies are real, but maybe they aren’t.'” She will not be happy with my online research. And the man’s story about the mall body isn’t enough for a full news story. I need to give Ms. Sato a good news story. Or a great one.

I text Priya and Carlos. Can one of you take me to the mall?

Carlos replies quickly. WTF? There’s a lockdown. Why do you want to go shopping?

I reply: It’s for a news story. I’ll explain later.

Priya replies a few minutes later: let’s go!!!!!

And then she sends another message: …but my dad probably won’t let me go…

And then another: but who cares! we’ll find a way.

Priya lives with her father. It’s different from my situation. I live at home because I don’t have enough money to move out. She lives at home because her father was paralyzed last year. He can’t move his legs, so Priya helps with housework.

We both want to move out.

Carlos sends another message. I don’t want to go inside the mall, but I can drive you, Ari. Unlike me and Priya, Carlos has a car and an apartment.

Thank you!!!!!! Is tonight okay? I still don’t know if my parents will let me go, but I make plans anyway.

Carlos will pick me up at 7 p.m., so I go downstairs to tell my parents, thinking of a reason to go. They are watching TV in the living room.

“So I need to go to the mall tonight for work,” I say strongly.

“Your boss wants you to go to the mall?” Dad asks.

“Yes,” I lie. Ms. Sato didn’t ask me to go, but I’m going for work. Close enough. “I know you’re worried. So I asked Carlos to go with me.” Mom likes Carlos. He likes to bake and brings a pie or pastries every time he visits.

“Well, if Carlos is going…” Mom says.

Dad frowns. He stands up and walks upstairs. “Do whatever you want.”

I didn’t get a “yes” from Mom or Dad, but I didn’t get a “no” either. I’m not going to argue.

Part 6>

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The Cold: Part 4

The Cold (An Easy English Story): Part 4

After breakfast with Mom, I go upstairs.  It’s only 6:30, but I can’t wait any more.  I turn on my computer and desk lamp.  My desk faces the window, and I look outside at the dark winter morning.  A thin pink ribbon of light stretches behind the mountains.  It will be a beautiful sunrise soon.

Where should I begin?  A journalist finds the best information from many different people, so I decide to look on different social networking sites to see who is writing about the bodies.

There are more social media posts than expected.

On just one site, hundreds of posts appear when I search “dead bodies found outside.”  It seems that on the Internet, people are using the name #icebodies.  I enter #icebodies into the search bar, and thousands of posts appear.

Many posts are not interesting.

@yuki925:  OMG!  This is crazy!  What’s happening?!?!?!

@chessman:  thanks #icebodies for this lockdown!!  no work for a week!!!!!!

I read the posts for one hour.  I begin to see a pattern.  About half of the people are scared of the ice bodies, and about half of the people do not believe the ice bodies.  Many people have strong ideas and opinions.

@kycm71524:  The ice bodies must be prisoners from jail.  The jails did not want to pay for the prisoners, so they killed the prisoners.  Wake up, America!  Our jails are evil. 

@aaa888:  The ice bodies are not real.  The news is boring, so journalists made a fake story.  They want to get famous.

@yestolove:  people are dying because they are sad… their hearts are cold, so their bodies are cold…  we need more kindness!!!

@jimmywilder1980:  I never saw an ice body.  They are NOT real.  Let’s go back to work.

There are so many ideas.  Many stupid ideas, too.  I count the “believe” posts and the “don’t believe” posts.  It takes four hours, but I finish.

There are 3,862 “believe” posts.  Most of the “believe” posts are not interesting.  They only say, “I’m scared!” or “Why did these people die?”  About 25% of the “believe” posts have ideas about why the ice bodies appeared.  Most of the reasons are about disease.  People think that there is a new disease like COVID-19.  Some of the reasons are about the government.  People think that the president wants to kill these people.  Or another country is trying to kill Americans.

There are 433 “don’t believe” posts.  Most of the “don’t believe” posts don’t have a reason.  Some of the “don’t believe” posts say that the ice bodies are fake images from the government, from the news, or from other countries.  Interesting.  The government and other countries are reasons for both “believe” and for “don’t believe” posts.

Finally, there are only 17 posts from people who saw the ice bodies.  I want to send a message to these people.  Their stories are the most important.

@april.may:  Do NOT go near Parker Street today.  There are two ice bodies there.  I called the police, and the police were scared too.  Stay safe.

Parker Street.  That’s the street where I saw the bodies.  Is @april.may the angry woman from that day?  I click on her username and send her a message.

Hello, my name is Ari Brooks.  I am a journalist.  I saw the ice bodies near Parker Street.  I was on the bus that day.  I want to write about the ice bodies for my job.  Could we talk about what you saw?  My phone number is 555-739-2080.  Please call me any time.

I sent a similar message to the other 16 people.  I hope they will reply soon.

It is 3:55.  I have to call Ms. Sato at 4:00.  She wants to talk with me about today’s work.

I realize that I am still in my pajamas.  I put on a white sweater and gray jacket, and I quickly brush my hair.  There is only one minute before the call, so I stay in my fuzzy snowman pajama pants and turn on my video camera.  Ms. Sato joins the video call right at 4:00.

Ms. Sato starts talking about work right away.  She does not have a “small talk” personality.  “So, what stories did you get today?”

I feel embarrassed.  I spent a lot of time reading the social media posts.  I didn’t talk to anyone.  I sent the messages at 3:30, so of course no one replied.

“Well…  I found a lot of interesting opinions on social media.”  I opened my notebook and began to read my data.  “I read 4,312 posts about the ice bodies.  3,862 of these people believe that the ice bodies are real.  433 of these—”

Ms. Sato sighs.  “Of course the ice bodies are real.  We are a news station.  We report real news.  We can’t write an article that says, ‘Maybe the ice bodies are real, but maybe they aren’t.’” 

Part 5>