We all tell stories, but what stories do we tell? | Ideas in English for Advanced English Listening Practice
📚 In this episode of Hear You Go (E78), I dive into The Bee Sting by Paul Murray—a Booker Prize–shortlisted novel about an Irish family falling apart, unraveling really, under pressure. Each family member tells their own version of events, showing us how perspective, memory, and emotion shape the stories we carry.
The episode explores:
Why personal narratives matter, both in novels and in our own lives
How different voices and perspectives in The Bee Sting reveal deeper truths
What language learners can take from the idea of rewriting their own narratives
Useful vocabulary for talking about stories and identity
I invite you to reflect on your narrative. What story do you tell about yourself—and how might you tell it differently?
🎧 Ready to rethink the stories you carry?
As always, I’ll note some useful advanced English language (C1/C2 Intermediate & Advanced English) along the way.
🔊 Listen now and test your listening in this advanced English language podcast 🎧
Hear You Go English language listening podcasts aim to give you, the intermediate English language learner and advanced English language learner, a space to practice your English listening so that you can think, learn, and connect in English.
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Links to go further:
Podcasts:
Hidden Brain: Change your Story, change your life.
Book Reviews
The Guardian book review of The Bee Sting.
The Booker Prize reading guide.
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