Burmese Stories for Language Learners: Short Stories and Folktales in Burmese and English (Free Online Audio Recordings)

Learn about Myanmar while improving your language skills!

Aimed at beginning to intermediate language learners, this book introduces 25 stories from Myanmar in parallel Burmese and English versions presented on facing pages. It can be used as a reader in Burmese language courses or by anyone who simply wishes to enjoy stories from Myanmar, both modern and traditional, and develop a deeper understanding of Burmese language and culture.

This elegantly illustrated volume is designed to help language learners expand their vocabulary as well as their listening and reading comprehension. The stories gradually increase in length and complexity as the reader’s language skills improve.

The charming stories in the book include:

• ＂Yangon Diary＂ Aung Kyaw recounts a typical day in the bustling capital city of Yangon, including having breakfast in a teashop and battling the constant traffic jams. This chapter teaches key basic language for talking about our everyday lives.
• ＂The Water Festival＂ Zin Moe describes the New Year’s celebration of Thingyan, when people throw water at each other and the whole country turns into one big water fight!
• ＂The Sound of the Harp＂ A traditional and tragic love story set in the ancient temple city of Bagan, which was the country’s capital from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries. When a princess falls in love with a common harp player, the King is furious and barricades them in a cave to die. But to this day the sound of the harp can still be heard there on the night of a full moon.

Free audio recordings of the stories are available online to help students improve their pronunciation and comprehension skills. Cultural notes and discussion questions reinforce an understanding of the stories, and bolster language skills. An overview of the Burmese script is also provided.

A Zun Mo has been teaching all levels of Burmese, from beginners to advanced, since 2013. As a gifted high-school student, fluent in English, she was selected by the government to study Russian at university. She now has a B.A. in Russian Language and Culture from Yangon University of Foreign Languages, and is pursuing her masters’ degree in the United States. She is the author of Essential Burmese: Phrasebook and Dictionary, and the co-author of Reading & Writing Burmese with Angus Johnstone.

Angus Johnstone has worked as a teacher in Myanmar across a number of different settings from a social enterprise bakery to a government nursing university. His keen interest in the study of the Myanmar language continues to this day. He is the co-author of Reading & Writing Burmese with A Zun Mo.