🕯️ In this episode of The Learn English Podcast, we explore a true story that sounds like a horror movie — but really happened. As Halloween approaches, we dive into one of the most shocking events in American history: the Donner Party. This tale of survival, courage, and human endurance is perfect for English learners who want to improve their listening skills and expand their vocabulary in a real-life context.

The Donner Party was a group of settlers traveling to California in the 1840s. They faced extreme challenges on their journey, including harsh weather, dangerous terrain, and difficult decisions. You’ll learn why they took a risky shortcut, how they became trapped in the mountains, and the survival choices they had to make during a freezing winter.

While hearing this gripping story, you’ll practice listening to natural English, learn key vocabulary about survival and historical events, and understand expressions used to describe extreme situations. Words like determination, hardship, tragedy, and courage will help you speak and understand English more confidently.

If you love history and want to expand your English at a B2 level, this episode is an excellent resource. By the end, you’ll know the full story of the Donner Party and why it remains one of America’s most dramatic and fascinating historical events. Tune in and learn English naturally through real history!

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Source🔗:

The Donner Party

California Trail Center

PBS documentary

📝 Vocabulary list:

1) Set the stage – To explain background information so the listener understands what happens next.

2) Manifest Destiny – A belief in the 1800s that Americans were chosen by God to expand across the continent.

3) Manifest (something) – To make something real by believing strongly that it will happen.

4) Optimistic – Believing that good things will happen; positive about the future.

5) Settlers – People who move to a new place to live and build a community.

6) Wagon train – A group of wagons traveling together across long distances in the past.

7) Crucial – Extremely important; necessary for success.

8) Desperate – Feeling hopeless or ready to do anything to survive or solve a problem.

9) Perish – To die, especially in a tragic or natural way.

10) Weep – To cry because you are sad or emotional.

11) Frail – Weak or easily broken, often used to describe someone who is very thin or sick.