The power of “Meditative Story”
The power of “Meditative Story” How can teachers use the podcast?
The power of “Meditative Story”
How
can teachers use the podcast?
I´m crazy about podcasts. How about you? I
love putting on my comfy shoes, my headphones and head off for a mindful walk
while listening to an inspiring podcast.
So when about a month ago one of the
newsletters from Thrive Global announced a brand-new podcast called Meditative
Story, SOMETHING we´d NEVER experienced before, my ears pricked up and my curiosity
was stirred. J Combining two of my favourite activities- meditating and listening
to stories seemed very appealing.
I remember clearly the time when I listened
to the first episode “My funny, feisty, thoughtful, brave girl” told by LUCY
KALANITHI- a powerful story about life after death, being strong and free. I
was out in a park not too far away from my house…alone and tears streaming down
my cheeks. The story had touched a few chords in my soul. I was reminded again
how precious life is and how important it is to spend enough quality time with
the people we love. Suddenly I got the feeling to turn back and never did I
suspect what a treat the Universe had installed for me.
Breath-taking sunset and a hot-air balloon
So I paused and gave thanks for this kind
reminder that life should be celebrated. It is these special moments which take
our breath away and make our days memorable.
The following two episodes of Meditative
Story did deliver magnificent stories, too so not only was I hooked on the
podcast but was also wondering how I could introduce it to my advanced
students.
As an educator, I believe that this podcast
could be beneficial in a myriad of ways:
ü practise mindfulness;
ü empower our students with other people’s stories;
ü improve their English vocabulary;
ü enhance their listening comprehension;
ü develop their critical-thinking skills;
ü enrich their creativity
Additionally, we can find the script and
the audio for each episode from the website www.meditativestory.com , which is
quite handy for any teacher.
Last week I was talking to a 16-year-old student
of mine who´d just returned from a two-week summer course at the University of
Boston. She was telling me about a boy she had met there who was dreaming of
studying at one of the top 5 universities in the world but did not make the
grade… She was admiring his ambition and could not believe how certain he was
that this would happen. And it was at this very moment when it clicked… Arianna
Huffington´s story “Life and love and the moment” (episode 3) would be the
perfect example of belief, dreams come true and visualisation. I knew I had the
perfect opportunity to use the podcast.
This is what I did during the lesson:
Pre-listening activity:
I asked my students what they know about
the University of Cambridge. Then we talked about what they need to do if they
want to study there. What obstacles they might encounter.
While listening
I had prepared the following questions which
the students had to answer while listening to the episode.
1 How did Arianna's mother make their
tiny apartment look "grand"?
2 Why does Arianna mention the different
smells that greeted her and her sister when going back home from school?
3. What impact has the photo of the
University of Cambridge had on the narrator?
4. What does "learning" mean
for Arianna Huffington?
5. Why was Arianna stunned by her
mother's positive reaction when she told her she wanted to study at the
University of Cambridge?
6. Why does the narrator mention the
phrase "insulating barrier"?
7 What did Arianna's mother turn into a
big adventure?
8 What kept Arianna going in the process
of making her dream come true?
9 Why do you think Arianna describes
"the rainy day" in Great Britain as "lush and sultry and
green"?
10. How did Arianna feel when she was
walking around Cambridge for the first time? Why?
11. How did Arianna experience
"in-person visualisation" while walking around Cambridge?
12. Why wasn't Arianna anxious while
waiting for her exam results?
13. What helped Arianna reach that what
seemed to be "an unattainable goal"?
I have to say that my students were impressed
with the power of Arianna Huffington’s story. I heard comments like
“encouraging”, “wonderful” and “empowering”.
They are used to me using meditations and visualisations in class so
“Meditative story” added another level of their mindful experience.
After listening:
The students worked in groups and discussed
the questions that the host Rohan asked in the episode:
1.
From your own childhood, is
there a dish or type of food that particularly evokes good memories?
2.
Can you imagine young Arianna
walking around Cambridge on that rainy day?
3.
How does the idea of an
in-person visualisation sound to you? What would your in-person visualisation
look like?
Then I asked my students about the topics which the narrator covers in the story. Which one do they think stands out? They mentioned themes such as “following your dreams”, “mother’s love and support”, “seeing life as an adventure”. I handed out a blank piece of paper and told the pupils to create a word map choosing what they thought was the predominant topic. They had to use vocabulary from the podcast and also words related to their own experience.
For homework I assigned to write a diary
entry inspired by their word map. They could write about their own experience
or come up with a fictional character.
I look forward to reading their entries
next time. How would you use this episode with your students?
By Marusya Price