William Shakespeare (British English, A2-B1)

This mini-biography graded ESL lesson looks at the life and works of William Shakespeare. This lesson is designed for students A2 and slightly higher levels of English. Transcript: William Shakespeare was one of the greatest and most famous English writers. He wrote at least 30 plays and introduced many new words to the English language. Strangely, he was born and died on the same date - the 23rd of April, so many people remember him and his work on this day. Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He had five brothers and sisters and his father was an important man. Shakespeare learned ancient languages at school, as well as poetry and history. At 18, he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children. Shakespeare and his family moved to London and he worked for a theatre company as an actor and writer. Shakespeare wrote many popular plays for the company to perform, including the famous Romeo and Juliet. Juliet was played by a man, as women were not allowed to perform on stage. In 1597, Shakespeare's theatre company had a problem. The company owned the theatre building but not the land that it was built on. When the owner tried to sell the land, all the actors in the company decided to move the theatre building to a new place across the River Thames. They called their new theatre «The Globe.» The Globe became the best theatre in London. 3,000 people could watch plays there - but most of them had to stand. There was a special stage with scenery...