Maya Angelou: She Didn't Speak for Five Years… Then Her Voice Reached the World
After something terrible happened, a little girl stopped speaking for about five years. A neighbour asked her to read aloud and learn a poem by heart — and Maya Angelou found her voice. Learn five B1 words and how to use stop / start + -ing with the true story of Maya Angelou.
Coming 8 December 2026, 3:00 pm New York time
Transcript
Tap a time to jump to that moment. Highlighted words have a meaning: tap them. Words in bold show today's grammar.
After something terrible happened, a little girl stopped speaking.
For about five years, she said almost nothing.
Then a neighbour lent her books.
This is the story of Maya Angelou.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
. A is a place where you can borrow books.
She read the books in her school .
. If you read , you read so that other people can hear you.
Mrs Flowers asked her to read .
. A is a short piece of writing with a special rhythm.
Mrs Flowers asked her to learn a by heart.
. A is a box made of metal bars, for keeping birds or animals.
The title was about a bird in a that still sings.
. A is a person who writes .
She became a and a writer.
Now, one pattern: stop and start, plus a verb with -ing.
She stopped speaking for five years.
That means she didn't speak.
Later, she started speaking again.
She stopped speaking for five years.
Ready? Let's begin.
Maya Angelou was born in St Louis, in the USA, in 1928.
Her real name was Marguerite Johnson.
When she was three, she and her brother Bailey went to live with their grandmother, who had a small shop in Stamps, Arkansas.
When she was about seven, something terrible happened to her.
Afterwards, she believed that her voice was dangerous.
So she stopped speaking for five years.
But she never stopped learning.
She read the books in her school , and she memorized many .
Her family loved her, and they worried.
Would she ever speak again?
Then a neighbour, Mrs Bertha Flowers, invited her home and lent her books.
Mrs Flowers asked her to read .
She told her that "words mean more than what is set down on paper".
Then Mrs Flowers asked her to learn a by heart.
Little by little, Maya started speaking again.
At 16, in San Francisco, she wanted a job on the streetcars, because she loved the uniforms.
She is often called the first Black woman to work on the city's streetcars.
Later, she was a dancer, a singer and a journalist in Africa.
She also worked for equal rights in America.
In 1969, she wrote about her childhood in her first book, "I Know Why the Bird Sings".
The title was about a bird in a that still sings.
The book made her famous.
She became a and a writer.
In 1993, she read a at the President's inauguration.
Only one had done that before her.
She died in 2014, aged 86.
The girl who once stopped speaking had a voice that reached the world.
Let's review. She read the books in her school .
Mrs Flowers asked her to read .
Mrs Flowers asked her to learn a by heart.
The title was about a bird in a that still sings.
She became a and a writer.
And remember: she stopped speaking for five years.
Maya Angelou's story teaches us: your voice matters, even if it takes time to find it.
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Step 3
Words from the story
Say the word, guess its meaning, then flip the card. Keep the ones you know, and practise the rest again.
Great work, you know every word in this story. Now try the quiz below.
library noun
a place where you can read or borrow books
“She read the books in her school library.”
aloud adverb
in a voice that other people can hear
“Mrs Flowers asked her to read aloud.”
poem noun
a short piece of writing with a special rhythm
“Mrs Flowers asked her to learn a poem by heart.”
cage noun
a box made of metal bars, for keeping birds or animals
“The title was about a bird in a cage that still sings.”
poet noun
a person who writes poems
“She became a poet and a writer.”
memoir noun
a book that someone writes about their own life
“Her first memoir was about her childhood.”
stage noun
the raised area in a theatre where people perform
“She danced and sang on stage.”
poetry noun
poems in general
“Mrs Flowers taught her to love poetry.”
Grammar in the story
stop + verb-ing / start + verb-ing
We use it for: stop + -ing = not do something any more; start + -ing = begin to do something
- She stopped speaking for five years.
- Maya started speaking again.
From the story
- She stopped speaking for five years.
- He started learning English last year.
Find it in the story 9 times
Your turn
She stopped for five years.
Little by little, she started again.
It raining, so we went outside.
Step 4
Story Challenge
7 quick rounds: choose, fill the gap, build the sentence and match the words. Answer in a row to build a streak and earn bonus points.
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Take it further
Before you watch: Do you like reading aloud? What is your favourite book or poem?
After you watch: Write two sentences with stop + -ing and two with start + -ing. For example: I stopped eating meat last year. I stopped watching TV at night. I started learning English in 2020. I started running every morning.
Think about it: Mrs Flowers helped Maya find her voice. Has someone helped you find yours?
