4:20DoneWangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees
A scientist from Kenya noticed that the rivers were drying up. Her answer was simple: plant trees. Her idea grew into a movement and won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Learn English with inspiring true stories
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Real English.
Short videos about real people who did something brave, kind or surprising, turned into English lessons you'll actually enjoy. Free, from A1 to C2.
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How it works
Every lesson, four simple steps
- 01
Watch
A short, true story about a real person. Slow it down or repeat any sentence.
- 02
Read along
The transcript follows the video. Tap any line to jump there, and any highlighted word to see its meaning.
- 03
Learn the words
Flip the flashcards, hear each word, and keep practising the ones you don’t know yet.
- 04
Story Challenge
A quick game: choose, fill the gap, build the sentence and match the pairs. Build a streak!
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Stories for every learner, A1 to C2
A1BeginnerUnderstand and use everyday phrases and very simple sentences.A2ElementaryTalk about yourself, your family, shopping and your job in simple words.B1IntermediateFollow the main points of clear speech about familiar topics and tell a story.B2Upper intermediateUnderstand most TV and videos, and talk with native speakers without much effort.C1AdvancedUnderstand long, difficult texts and express ideas fluently and precisely.C2ProficientUnderstand almost everything you hear or read, with fine shades of meaning.
Latest lessons
Meet this week's stories
4:20Done
3:10DoneTerry Fox: The Run That Never Ended
At 18, Terry lost his leg to cancer. At 21, he started to run across Canada on one leg, a marathon every day. This is the story of a young man who never gave up.
“When you care about a person, you remember the words they used.”
Textbook dialogues are easy to forget. A true story about courage, kindness or a crazy dream stays with you, and so does its English. That's why every Bright Lives lesson starts with a real life.
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