Ideas

The Seven Habits Made Easy

A3-Beginner++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Public Step 2 Stories January 21, 2020

Max is running late. He hurries out the door of his apartment, holding a cup of coffee. Then he sees his bus. “It’s leaving!” he cries. Max starts to run, but he trips over a rock and falls. His coffee flies out of his hands and spills all over... Read more

Story Power

A3-Beginner++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Courses Ideas Movies Step 2B Public Step 2 Stories January 21, 2020

Dorothy looked up into the sky. And she started to sing. Her soft voice rose up gently in the air. Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There’s a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue And the dreams that... Read more

Sticky Communication

A2-Beginner+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Public Step 2 Stories January 21, 2020 1

The bell rang. Jim’s things were already in his red book bag, which looked brown under the white lights of the classroom. Zip! Zip! He closed the bag. He stood up and let out a sigh, “Ahhhh.” It was loud enough that other students and the teacher noticed. Jim... Read more

Beauty, Goodness, and Truth

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Protected Step 2 Stories January 9, 2020 1

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) The buildings are rich in color and history. The trees are tall and stately. And the wind blows with the quiet whispers of the great people who have walked these paths. Eight American presidents have studied here. Some fifty Nobel Prize winners have been... Read more

The Last Lecture

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Listen!Protected Step 3 Stories January 9, 2020 2

ReadOasis Step 3 If you were going to die, what would your final message be? This question inspired the tradition called "The Last Lecture." In a Last Lecture, professors imagine that they are going to die. Then they give a talk about their most important thoughts and ideas. The... Read more

Why is Christmas on December 25th?

A3-Beginner++Arts BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Public Step 2 Stories December 26, 2019 1

ReadOasis Step 2 Would you celebrate someone’s birthday even if no one knew the day when he or she was born? That is what happens around the world every year on December 25th, when most Christians remember Jesus’ birthday. We know a lot about Jesus. But we don’t know... Read more

How to Read a Texbook: SQ3R

A3-Beginner++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Protected Step 3 Stories December 25, 2019 0

Reading a textbook isn't the same as reading a novel. Many people find it more difficult. They also find it less interesting. This is probably because they don't have a good reading system. Do you have a good system for reading textbooks? If not, SQ3R is a simple, five-step... Read more

Nice and Easy Quotes About Reading

A2-Beginner+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Public Step 1 Stories December 23, 2019 2

ReadOasis Step 1 To inspire us read more, it always helps to have a good role model. When I was a boy, my father read to me before I went to bed. I can still remember the books he read to me! In this way, my father showed me... Read more

Nice and Easy Quotes About Reading

A3-Beginner++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Public Step 3 Stories December 21, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 3 To inspire us to read more, it always helps to have a good role model. When I was a boy, my father read to me before I went to bed. I can still remember the books he read to me! In this way, my father showed... Read more

Life as Story (Step 2)

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Listen!Protected Step 2 Stories December 19, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) In the eyes of the world, Donald Miller was a big success. He had written a book about his life, Blue Like Jazz, and it became a New York Times bestseller. Movie producers approached him. They wanted to make a movie about his life.... Read more

Expressing Thanks

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Protected Step 2 Stories December 18, 2019 0

Dr. Randall Short ReadOasis Step 2 What do you mean when you say “thank you”? What are you thinking and feeling when you thank someone for something? Think about times you said “thank you” recently, and consider your non-verbal language – your eyes, your smile, your voice, the way... Read more

The Best Way to Learn Language

A3-Beginner++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Public Step 2 Stories December 2, 2019 3

ReadOasis Step 2 What’s the best way to learn a foreign language? As a linguist, I hear this question all the time. My students are in Japan, and many of them want to learn English. So they often ask me, “What’s the best way to improve my English?” Students... Read more

Meaning to Live (Step 2)

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Protected Step 2 Stories December 2, 2019 1

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Viktor had just married Tilly. She was the love of his life. He was a young doctor in Vienna, Austria. And Viktor and Tilly should have expected a bright future together. But Nazi Germany was in control of Austria, and Viktor and Tilly were... Read more

Death of a King: Medgar Evers

A2-Beginner+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Protected Step 2 Stories Times November 22, 2019 2

ReadOasis Step 2 Every day Medgar Evers worked hard. He was doing his best to bring equal rights for African Americans. Evers lived in Mississippi in the 1960s. It was a place where African Americans did not have equality. They did not have the right to vote. Gasoline stations... Read more

How to Acquire Language (Step 3)

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Listen!Protected Step 3 Stories November 21, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 3 How do humans acquire languages? The answer is remarkably simple. All people everywhere acquire languages in the same way. "We acquire languages by understanding messages." This is called the "comprehension hypothesis," and it was made famous by the distinguished linguist Dr. Stephen Krashen. I give this... Read more

A Small World of English

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Protected Step 2 Stories Top Picks November 20, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Is it a small world after all? What do you think? Travellers easily move all around the world in the air. By the power of the Internet, a teacher in New Delhi meets face to face with a student in London. Through video link,... Read more

Liberal Arts

B3-Intermediate++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Listen!Protected Step 4 Stories November 20, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 4 The idea of Liberal Arts has roots in ancient Greece. Plato made a school for gaining knowledge and understanding through science, critical and creative thinking, and challenging accepted beliefs. Today Liberal Arts schools focus on theology, literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, and science. A Liberal Arts... Read more

Why Philosophy? (Step 4)

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Listen!Protected Step 4 Stories November 19, 2019 0

By Max L. Knowles ReadOasis Step 4 Philosophy is a discipline for thinking about the world, the universe, and people. Philosophy is abstract. It’s about ideas and thoughts, such as love, beauty, or truth. But philosophy also deals with the real world. Ethics is a part of philosophy, dealing... Read more

Alse Young, a Witch?

A3-Beginner++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Protected Step 2 Stories Times November 14, 2019 1

ReadOasis Step 2 Most people do not know the name Alse Young. She lived in America between 1600 and 1657. At the time, America was still a part of Britain. But the life and death of Alse Young have an important historical meaning. She was the first person in... Read more

The Happiness Class (Step 3)

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Listen!Protected Step 3 Stories November 8, 2019

ReadOasis Step 3 In his last year of high school, Alan didn't sleep much. Instead, he studied. Sometimes he crammed for exams all night. Sometimes he drank 3 or 4 cans of energy drinks so that he could study more. And he felt the agony of overwork. He got... Read more