I'm looking for a selection of good unabridged short stories, written by native English speakers, which could be recommended to ESL (English as a Second Language) learners of varying levels. They would have to be in the public domain, written in prose and preferably less than 100 pocketbook-sized pages long.
I'm especially interested in stories that could be read by intermediate level learners who have reasonably large vocabularies but cannot yet use overly complex sentence structures. Stories such as those written by Ernest Hemingway come to mind, but unfortunately those are not yet in the public domain. :(
So...any such stories that you've read and liked? With so much material available online I could really do with some recommendations. :)
It may just be the time of year, but the one that pops immediately to my mind is Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery". I don't know anything about public domain, and it might creep out some readers (esp. if they don't believe it's fiction), but other than that it fits the requirements.
How about "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce?
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/201 Flatland, not sure how many pages it is exactly.
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on November 01, 2015, 02:27:39 AM
It may just be the time of year, but the one that pops immediately to my mind is Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery". I don't know anything about public domain, and it might creep out some readers (esp. if they don't believe it's fiction), but other than that it fits the requirements.
I didn't read the whole story yet, just the major plot points. It looks interesting. :o
Unfortunately it isn't yet in the public domain, though. :(
Quote from: OldGit on November 01, 2015, 10:42:03 AM
How about "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce?
I recognise that name, he wrote
The Devil's Dictionary. :devil: Some witty stuff.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a good short story. :smilenod:
Quote from: Claireliontamer on November 01, 2015, 12:45:24 PM
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/201 Flatland, not sure how many pages it is exactly.
It's short enough to be included. :smilenod:
Blood, Sweat and Tea by ? Reynolds, is a series of true stories about his time as a London ambulance paramedic but not sure in public domain. The men in my group in particular liked it, and the college bought multi copies so that we could use it.
Quote from: Essie Mae on November 01, 2015, 02:43:56 PM
Blood, Sweat and Tea by ? Reynolds, is a series of true stories about his time as a London ambulance paramedic but not sure in public domain. The men in my group in particular liked it, and the college bought multi copies so that we could use it.
There is a Creative Commons edition online and can be read for free, but unfortunately being in the public domain is a requirement for this particular task as they're to be modified (adding glossaries) and redistributed commercially.
I've bookmarked the page to recommend to others though. I've skimmed some of stories, they look interesting. :popcorn:
Arthur C Clarke "The Star" http://www.uni.edu/morgans/astro/course/TheStar.pdf
and "The Nine Billion Names of God" http://www.ministryoftruth.me.uk/the-nine-billion-names-of-god-arthur-c-clarke/
Marginally religious, I'm afraid, but very good.
Quote from: OldGit on November 02, 2015, 12:33:08 PM
Arthur C Clarke "The Star" http://www.uni.edu/morgans/astro/course/TheStar.pdf
and "The Nine Billion Names of God" http://www.ministryoftruth.me.uk/the-nine-billion-names-of-god-arthur-c-clarke/
Marginally religious, I'm afraid, but very good.
I hadn't read them before, they are good! I couldn't find any info on whether they are in the public domain, though...are they? :???:
I'm liking this list so far. :)
Quote from: FernandaI hadn't read them before, they are good! I couldn't find any info on whether they are in the public domain, though...are they?
No idea, sorry.
Quote from: OldGit on November 02, 2015, 02:43:41 PM
Quote from: FernandaI hadn't read them before, they are good! I couldn't find any info on whether they are in the public domain, though...are they?
No idea, sorry.
No worries, I'll be passing these on for other purposes. :)
Another science fiction story, this one definitely seems to be in the public domain: "Mr. Spaceship" by Philip K. Dick (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32522). It's from 1953, shortly after the "golden age" of science fiction. As such, there are some elements of the story that don't jibe with current scientific understanding (not to mention cultural changes), but it still has some interest. In fact, the ways in which this story has been left behind by current science might be a start for discussion.
Quote from: Recusant on November 03, 2015, 06:06:35 PM
Another science fiction story, this one definitely seems to be in the public domain: "Mr. Spaceship" by Philip K. Dick (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32522). It's from 1953, shortly after the "golden age" of science fiction. As such, there are some elements of the story that don't jibe with current scientific understanding (not to mention cultural changes), but it still has some interest. In fact, the ways in which this story has been left behind by current science might be a start for discussion.
It looks very interesting and the language difficulty seems about right. :smilenod:
Well, I'd have to wait another 5 or 6 years but Orwell's Animal Farm is another option.