1. A30-MS-Maria Believes In Herself Hi, I’m Joe Weiss, and I’m one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English. And I would like to welcome you today to our mini-story lesson. Before I start with the story, I want to tell you about five idioms that I’m going to use in this story. And these are some great idioms. They’re ones that we use a lot when we’re speaking English, as native speakers we use them a lot is what I mean to say. Okay, so let’s start there.

2. The first one is “to believe in yourself” or for a person to believe in him or herself. So if you believe in yourself, that means that you are confident, or you could say it means that you have confidence. Let me give you an example. I knew that I would be able to climb to the top of a very tall mountain because I believed in myself.

3. Okay, next if someone is a “knockout”. Now if someone is a knockout that means that the person is very good-looking. So some people might believe that Angelina Jolie is a knockout. And maybe a lot of women would think that Brad Pitt is a knockout. Okay, so if you’re a knockout that means that you’re a very good-looking person.

4. Alright, so here’s another one and you might be familiar with it, it’s to “ask someone out”. So if you ask someone out that means that you’ve asked them to go on a date with you. And if you “go out” with someone that means that you had a date with them, okay? So they’re kind of related, these two. Okay, next is to “have a crush on someone”. So if you have a crush on someone that means that you really like the person a lot. It probably means that you want to date them also.

5. Alright, so I have just one more for you and that is to give someone a “standing ovation”. So if you give someone a standing ovation it means that you stand up and you clap. That’s it. So as an example, if you go to a concert and you really think that the person performed very well, you would give them a standing ovation. You would stand up and you would clap.

6. Okay, so now it’s almost time for our story. Before we start with our story I just want to tell you a few things. I want to give you a few instructions before we start. So I’m going to tell you a story but I’m also going to ask you a lot of questions as I tell you this story. So your job is to listen to the story and when you hear me ask a question, I want you to answer that question. And I want you to answer that question loudly and quickly and confidently.

7. So to use one of the idioms that I just told you about, I want you to believe in yourself when you answer the questions, okay? I want you to be confident. And remember, loudly and quickly. If you make a mistake, that’s okay because you’re going to listen to this lesson many times. So if you make a mistake the first time, y’know, you probably will not make the same mistake the second time. Okay, are you ready for the story? Great, I’m ready for the story so let’s begin the story.

8. There was a girl and her name was Maria. And Maria had a problem. Maria didn’t believe in herself. She didn’t believe in herself. And this was a very big problem. You see, Maria was young. She was just 15 years old. So there were a lot of things that Maria wanted to do in her life. But she never did any of those things. Let me give you an example. Maria wanted to climb a tall mountain.

9. And she wanted to learn how to dance. But Maria never did any of those things. Maria never did any of the things she wanted to do because she didn’t believe in herself. So she wasn’t confident enough to do these things. Okay, time for some questions. Was there a girl or was there a boy? Oh, there was a girl. There was a girl, of course. Was there a girl? Yes, yes, of course, there was a girl.

10. Now tell me, what was the girl’s name? Maria, Maria was her name. And did Maria believe in herself? No, no, Maria did not believe in herself. Who didn’t believe in herself? Maria, Maria didn’t believe in herself. So did Maria have a lot of confidence? No, no, Maria didn’t believe in herself so that means she did not have a lot of confidence. You could say that she was not confident. She didn’t believe in herself.

11. Okay, so was Maria young or was she old? Oh, she was young. Yeah, she was young, remember? How many years old was Maria? She was 15 years old, 15. So was Maria 15 years old or 17 years old? 15, remember she was 15 years old. Okay, so did Maria want to climb a tall mountain? Yes, yes, she did. She wanted to climb a tall mountain. Who wanted to climb a tall mountain? Did Barack Obama want to climb a tall mountain? No, no, not Barack Obama.

12. Who wanted to climb a tall mountain? Maria, Maria wanted to climb a tall mountain. And tell me this. What did Maria want to climb? A tall mountain, yeah, Maria wanted to climb a tall mountain. Did Maria want to climb a tall building or a tall mountain? A tall mountain, she wanted to climb a tall mountain. So tell me this now, what type of mountain did Maria want to climb? A tall one, she wanted to climb a tall one.

13. Did Maria want to climb a short mountain? No, no, she didn’t want to climb a short mountain. She wanted to climb a tall mountain. And who wanted to learn how to dance? Did Maria’s mother want to learn how to dance? No, no, not Maria’s mother. Who wanted to learn how to dance? Maria, Maria wanted to learn how to dance. And what did Maria want to learn how to do? To dance, remember? Maria wanted to learn how to dance.

14. Did Maria want to learn how to dance or how to fly? Dance, yes, she wanted to learn how to dance. So did Maria ever try to learn how to dance? No, no, she didn’t. Did Maria ever try to climb a tall mountain? No, no, she didn’t. Remember, Maria didn’t try to do any of the things that she wanted to do. But why? Why didn’t Maria try to do any of the things that she wanted to do?

15. Well, Maria didn’t believe in herself. She didn’t do any of the things she wanted to do because she didn’t believe in herself. So was Maria confident? No, no, she wasn’t. She didn’t believe in herself. Maria didn’t believe in herself.

16. Well, Maria wanted to have a boyfriend. And I have some information for you. Maria was a knockout. Yeah, everyone who ever saw Maria thought that she was a knockout. Well, everyone except for Maria. Maria didn’t think that she was a knockout, no. Maria thought that she was ugly. But Maria wasn’t ugly. Maria was a knockout. So a lot of guys asked Maria out.

17. But Maria never went out with anyone. Maria never went out with anyone because she thought that she was ugly. And, of course, Maria wasn’t ugly, no. She was a knockout. But she thought that she was ugly because she didn’t believe in herself. Maria thought that she was ugly because she didn’t believe in herself. She wasn’t confident.

18. Okay, time for some more questions. Who wanted to have a boyfriend, Maria or Maria’s sister? Maria did, Maria wanted to have a boyfriend. And did Maria want to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend? A boyfriend, right? She wanted to have a boyfriend. So tell me what did Maria want to have? A boyfriend, Maria wanted to have a boyfriend. Okay, so who was a knockout? Maria, Maria was a knockout. So was Maria or Maria’s sister a knockout? Maria was, Maria was a knockout.

19. So was Maria very good-looking or was Maria very ugly? Oh, she was very good-looking. She was a knockout. And if a person is a knockout that means that they’re very good-looking. So Maria was very good-looking. Okay, so who was asked out by a lot of guys? Maria, Maria was asked out by a lot of guys. So did Maria ever go out with anyone? No, no, she never went out with anyone. Did Maria ever date anyone?

20. No, no, she didn’t. She never went out with anyone. So that’s the same thing as saying she never dated anyone. Okay, so tell me this now, why? Why didn’t Maria ever go out with anyone? Well, she never went out with anyone because she thought she was ugly. Who thought she was ugly? Maria, Maria thought that she was ugly. Did Maria’s mother think that Maria was ugly? No, no, Maria’s mother didn’t think that she was ugly.

21. Okay, so tell me this, who did Maria think was ugly? Maria ! Maria thought that she was ugly, so Maria thought that Maria, herself, was ugly. So was Maria ugly? No, no, Maria was not ugly. Maria was a knockout. Okay so why did Maria think that she was ugly? Well, Maria thought that she was ugly because she didn’t believe in herself. Who didn’t believe in herself? Maria, Maria didn’t believe in herself and that’s why she thought that she was ugly.

22. Well, there was a guy named John. And Maria and John attended the same school. And John was older than Maria. He was two years older than Maria. So John was 17 years old because remember, Maria was 15 years old. And guess what? Maria had a crush on John. Yes, she did. Maria had a crush on John. But she didn’t want to tell him. You see Maria didn’t believe that John wanted to go out with her.

23. She thought that John didn’t want to go out with her. And why did she think this? Well, she didn’t believe in herself. Maria didn’t think that John wanted to go out with her because she was not confident. She didn’t believe in herself. Okay, time for some more questions. Who attended the same school as Maria? Was it Brad Pitt or John? John, it was John, remember?

24. And who attended the same school as Maria? John did, yeah, John attended the same school as Maria. So did Maria and John attend the same school or the same church? School, yes, they attended the same school. Okay, so how old was John? He was 17 years old. John was 17 years old. So was John 17 years old or 15 years old? Oh, he was 17, remember?

25. So tell me now, who was 15 years old then? Someone was 15, we know that. Who was it? Maria, yes, Maria was 15 years old. So was Maria two years older than John? No, no, Maria wasn’t two years older than John. John was two years older than Maria. And who was John two years older than, Maria or Maria’s mother? Maria, right? John was two years older than Maria.

26. Okay, so tell me this, was Maria two years younger than John? Yes, yes, she was. Maria was two years younger than John. Okay, now here’s a question for you. Who did Maria have a crush on? Did she have a crush on Brad Pitt? No, no, not Brad Pitt. Who did Maria have a crush on? John, right? Remember, she had a crush on John. And who had a crush on John? Maria, Maria did.

27. So did Maria have a crush on John? Yes, she did. Maria had a crush on John. Did Maria really like John or did she not like him at all? Oh, she really liked him. She had a crush on him so that means that Maria really liked John. She probably wanted to date him even. Okay, so did Maria think that John wanted to date her? No, no, she didn’t. She did not think that John wanted to date her.

28. But why? Why didn’t Maria think that John wanted… Why did Maria think that John didn’t want to date her? Well, she didn’t believe in herself. Maria didn’t have any confidence. So she didn’t think that John wanted to date her.

29. Well, I want to tell you a little more about Maria. Maria loved music. She loved it. And she also loved food. But she loved music more than she loved food. In fact, she loved music more than anything in the entire world. And Maria was a musician, yeah. Maria played the saxophone. She played the saxophone every day. Every day Maria played the saxophone for 4 hours and 11 minutes. That’s a long time. And Maria was an excellent saxophone player.

30. But Maria didn’t think that she was an excellent saxophone player. Maria thought that she was a bad saxophone player. Maria thought that she was a bad saxophone player because she didn’t believe in herself. Maria was not confident in her saxophone playing. We can even say Maria was not confident about her saxophone playing. You can say either one of those things, it means the same thing. But she was not confident about it.

31. Okay, time for some more questions. What two things did Maria love, what were they? Music and food. And what did Maria love more than food? Music, remember? Music. And tell me this now, what was Maria’s favorite thing in the entire world? It was music. Yes, her favorite thing in the entire world was music. Was Barack Obama’s favorite thing in the world music? No, no, Barack Obama. It was Maria, remember? Maria.

32. Okay, so was Maria’s mother a musician or was Maria a musician? Maria was, yeah. Maria was a musician. What instrument did Maria play? Saxophone, yeah, she played the saxophone. Did Maria play the guitar or the saxophone? Saxophone, yeah, she played the saxophone. And tell me this, how often did Maria play the saxophone? Did she play it every day or did she just play it some days? Every day, Maria played the saxophone every day.

33. Okay, so who played the saxophone every day? Maria, Maria played the saxophone every day. And what did Maria do every day? She played the saxophone. She played the saxophone every day. So tell me this now, did Maria play the guitar or the saxophone every day? The saxophone, she played the saxophone every day. Okay, so here’s another question for you. For how long each day did Maria play the saxophone?

34. 4 hours and 11 minutes, she played the saxophone for 4 hours and 11 minutes every day. So did Maria play the saxophone for less than 4 hours every day? No, no, she played it for more than 4 hours every day. She played it for 4 hours and 11 minutes every day. Okay, so who played the saxophone for more than 4 hours every day, Maria or Barack Obama? Maria did, Maria played the saxophone for more than 4 hours every day.

35. And what did Maria play for more than 4 hours every day? Was it basketball or the saxophone? The saxophone, she played the saxophone for more than 4 hours every day. Okay, well was Maria an excellent saxophone player then? Oh yes she was. She was an excellent saxophone player. Okay so why did Maria believe that she was a bad saxophone player? Well, Maria didn’t believe in herself. Maria thought that she was a bad saxophone player because she didn’t believe in herself.

36. Did Maria think that she was a bad saxophone player because she wasn’t confident about her saxophone playing? Yes, yes, that’s correct. Maria was not confident about her saxophone playing. That’s why she thought that she was a bad saxophone player. But she was really an excellent saxophone player.

37. Well, one day Maria went to the park. Now she went to the park because she wanted to play the saxophone. And guess who else was at the park that day? Madonna ! Yeah, Madonna was also at the park. And Madonna heard Maria playing the saxophone and Madonna was impressed. She was impressed with Maria’s saxophone playing. So she asked Maria to play a concert with her that night. And Madonna told Maria that if she played the concert with her then she would give her a pink car.

38. Well Maria was afraid to play a concert but she wanted a pink car. So Maria agreed to play the concert. She agreed to play the concert with Madonna because she wanted a pink car. Okay, so where did Maria go? Did she go to the store or did she go to the park? The park, yeah, she went to the park. Who went to the park, Maria or her mother? Maria did, Maria went to the park.

39. And why did Maria go to the park, why’d she do it? Well she went to the park because she wanted to play the saxophone. Did Maria go to the park because she wanted to play the drums or the saxophone? The saxophone, of course, she went to the park because she wanted to play the saxophone, right? Okay, so was Barack Obama also at the park? No, no, not Barack Obama. Who also was at the park at the same time as Maria? Madonna, Madonna was.

40. So where were Madonna and Maria? They’re at the park, right? They were at the park. And did Maria hear Madonna playing saxophone? No, no, Maria didn’t hear Madonna playing saxophone. Did Madonna hear Maria playing saxophone? Yes, yes, Madonna heard Maria playing saxophone. So what did Madonna hear? Maria playing saxophone, Madonna heard Maria playing saxophone. And who did Madonna hear playing saxophone? Maria, she heard Maria playing saxophone.

41. So did Maria’s mother or Madonna hear Maria playing saxophone at the park? Madonna, Madonna heard Maria playing saxophone at the park. And where did Madonna hear Maria playing saxophone? At the park, remember? She heard her playing saxophone at the park. Okay, so what was Madonna impressed with? Was she impressed with Maria’s saxophone playing? Yes, yes, she was. She was impressed with Maria’s saxophone playing.

42. Who was impressed with Maria’s saxophone playing? Madonna, Madonna was impressed with Maria’s saxophone playing. Okay, so who did Madonna ask to play a concert with her that night? Did she ask Brad Pitt? No, no, she didn’t ask Brad Pitt. Who did Madonna ask to play a concert with her? Maria, she asked Maria to play a concert with her. And did Maria’s mother ask her to play a concert with her? No, no, Madonna asked Maria to play a concert with her.

43. So did Madonna ask Maria to play basketball with her or a concert with her? A concert, right? She asked her to play a concert with her. And did Madonna tell Maria that she would give her a pink car if she played the concert? Yes, yes, she did. Who told Maria she would give her a pink car? Madonna, Madonna told her. And who did Madonna tell that she would give a pink car to? Maria, she told Maria that she would give her a pink car.

44. So did Madonna tell Maria that she would give her a yellow car or a pink car? Pink. A pink car. And what type of vehicle did Madonna tell Maria that she would give to her, a truck or a car? A car, yeah, Madonna told her that she would give her a pink car. Okay, so tell me this now. What was Maria afraid of, ghosts or playing a concert? Playing a concert, she wasn’t afraid of ghosts. She was afraid of playing a concert, remember?

45. So did Maria agree to play a concert with Madonna? Yes, yes, she did. She agreed to play the concert with her. So tell me this, who agreed to play a concert with Madonna? Maria, Maria agreed to play a concert with Madonna. And what did Maria agree to do? To play a concert with Madonna, she agreed to play a concert with Madonna. Okay, but why? Tell me this, why did Maria agree to play a concert with Madonna? Well, Maria wanted a pink car so that’s why she agreed to play the concert.

46. And did Maria want a yellow car or a pink car? Pink, she wanted a pink car. Did Maria want a pink motorcycle? No, no, she didn’t want a pink motorcycle, she wanted a pink car. Okay, one last question before we continue with the story. Did Maria agree to play a concert with Madonna because she wanted a pink car? Yes, yes, that’s why Maria agreed to play the concert, because she wanted a pink car.

47. Well, that night Maria and Madonna played the concert. And all of the students from Maria’s school went to the concert. They were all at the concert. And Maria played very well that night. And after the concert was finished, everyone at the concert gave Maria a standing ovation. Yeah, they did ! So Maria was very happy. And guess what? It was the first time ever that Maria believed that she was a great saxophone player.

48. Maria was confident about her saxophone playing. For the first time in her life Maria believed in herself. Okay, time for some more questions. Who played a concert that night? Maria and Madonna. So did Maria’s mother play a concert with Madonna? No, no, Maria played a concert with Madonna. And what did Maria and Madonna play together? A concert, they played a concert together.

49. Okay, so did they play the concert during the afternoon or did they play the concert at night? At night, yes, they played it at night. Alright, so next question. Were all of the teachers from Maria’s school at the concert? No, no, not all the teachers from Maria’s school. Who was at the concert? All of the students from Maria’s school, remember? They were all at the concert.

50. So were all of the students from Maria’s school or Madonna’s school at the concert? Maria’s school, all the students from Maria’s school were at the concert. Madonna probably wasn’t in school, right? Okay, so did Maria play very well that night? Yes, she did. She played very well. So did everybody at the concert give Maria a standing ovation after the concert had finished? Yes, yes, they did.

51. Who gave Maria a standing ovation? Everybody at the concert, all of the people at the concert gave Maria a standing ovation. And who did the people at the concert give a standing ovation to? Did they give a standing ovation to Barack Obama? No, no, not Barack Obama. Who did they give a standing ovation to? Maria, remember, they gave a standing ovation to Maria.

52. So did the people at the concert stand up and clap for Maria? Yes, yes, they did. They gave Maria a standing ovation. So that means that they stood up and they clapped for Maria. Okay, so did the people give Maria a standing ovation before the concert or after the concert? After the concert, they gave her a standing ovation after the concert. Okay, so who thought that she was a great saxophone player? Maria did, Maria finally thought that she was a great saxophone player.

53. So, one last question. Did Maria believe in herself finally? Yes, she did. Maria finally believed in herself. For the first time in her life she believed in herself. Well, the next day Madonna gave Maria the pink car. And Maria was still very confident. So she drove the car to school that day and she asked John to go out with her. And John said yes.

54. Okay, that’s the end of our story. I hope that you enjoyed it because now I want you to tell the story. I want you to tell the story to somebody who you know. It can be a friend, it can be a family member, someone in your class at school, anybody who you know you can tell the story to. And if you do not have someone to tell the story to, please just tell the story to yourself. But please say it out loud. I don’t want you to just think about. I want you to say it so you can have some practice speaking.

55. And I want you to listen to this lesson set every day for at least seven days. And I also want you to believe in yourself. Have confidence when you tell the story, okay? Not only Maria needs a little boost, everybody needs to believe in themselves. Okay, I hope that you’ve enjoyed this mini-story lesson and I look forward to seeing you next time. Bye-bye.