Listen&Learn: Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock

Learn about the famous German fairy tales.

Pre-listening vocabulary

fairy tale: a fantasy children’s story that often has a moral
interpretation: a retelling of a written work
inappropriate: not right for a certain audience
criticize: to talk about the problems with something
antisemitic: hateful or discriminatory towards Jewish people
relevant: important for a certain situation

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14 — 1.1MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

[wp_quiz id=”20877″]

Discussion/essay questions

Why is it important to be aware of harmful messages in fiction?
What do you think makes fairy tales so influential?

Transcript

Grimm’s Fairy Tales is a collection of short stories by German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. It was published in 1812, originally titled Children’s and Household Tales. Many well-known children’s stories are based on these German folk tales, such as Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Hansel and Gretel. However, the original stories are much darker than the interpretations we know today. Although they were written for children, many of the Grimms’ stories contain violent and disturbing scenes. Even at the time, some people thought the stories were inappropriate for children. They have also been criticized for their antisemitic messages. However, the Grimms’ collection is still relevant because of its influence on the stories of today.

Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub

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23 comments

kamilo ge says:

1. it’s important aware of the messages because people can be influenced by the book i heard a lot of cases the murders for being obsessed with a book so it’s important to care about what reading
abdolmonem says:

It’s important to be aware of harmful messages because it may be cause of crime
Because it’s based on folks tales
English Club Indonesia says:

Harmful messages can get carried away without the reader’s realization, especially by the underage. Fairy tales are not really influential, but this type of story has big potential. It is liked by children and can be made into different kinds of adaptations.
Damian says:

1. Because influences in the children’s
2.
Rafael says:

I like a lot these articles about different topics. I have learnt a lot and keep studying every day. Please sometimes the audios are not very good. Could You please get them better. You are doing WONDERFUL JOB.
Rafael says:

I like a lot these articles about different topics. I ha learnt a lot ando keep studying every day. Please sometimes the audios are not very good. Could You please get them better. You are doing WONDERFUL JOB.
Cristina says:

Is incredible to know that the Grimm’s fairy tales have the antisemitic messages. Thank for sharing!
Haneen abdalatif matar says:

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zainab ameer says:

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Zainab Hussain Khalil Almansi says:

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ayat says:

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Noemia Levy says:

Each story contain useful and precious informations for increase our learning.I am grateful!
Jack Liu says:

Very good and interesting!
Samuel says:

VERY INTERESTING, BECOUSE SHORT ANSWER CAN HELP ME TO IMPROVE ENGLES.
THANKS
HAÏDARA says:

It’s a very nice tale
Thanks for sharing
MAURO says:

It’s a pedagogic way to teach English.
Congratulations and thanks very much.
Natalia says:

Thank you. It’s a great way to learn English.
Nathalia Henny Mayasari says:

Thank you for sharing!
JOÃO BATISTA EMILIANO says:

Thanks a million for the improvement contribution.
Kaby says:

Thank you for sharing this interesting stories with us.
The King Of Love From IRAN says:

Thank you for sharing it,
Isabel says:

Short but with amazing details.
Christine PENNEC says:

interesting