Why is the signalman so frightened and what is the significance of his strange premonitions? In this famous ghost story, Charles Dickens brings to life the character of both the lonely, troubled signalman and his visitor, and builds suspense right to the dramatic end.
This course comes in 4 modules over 4 days, all with transcripts of the audio files and full notes on vocabulary and style, so you can understand every word. As Dickens’s language is rather obscure for modern ears, the first module is an adaptation into modern English. Module 2 is the original Dickens version. On Day 3 you will get a recording of a real conversation about the story and about Dickens, between the actor Ross Armstrong and DailyStep’s Jane Lawson and Brendan O’Connell, which is extremely useful for training your ear to listen to the speed and rhythm of everyday conversation. Module 4 contains a short audio background to the novelist Charles Dickens, including why he wrote The Signalman.
I recommend that you start with the modern adaptation and then move on to the original Dickens version in order to fully appreciate the richness of Dickens’s use of English. The two versions also contrast both direct speech and indirect speech, and formal and less formal English - great practice for intermediate to advanced students.