brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/srinivasa-ramanujan-letter/
45-minute lesson plan
| Time | Stage | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3′ | Warm-up | Ask the class: “Have you ever taught yourself something difficult without a teacher? How did you do it?” Let a few students answer. |
| 3–10′ | Words | Pre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: prodigy, self-taught, formula, intuition, collaboration. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example. |
| 10–17′ | Video | Play the video (4:52). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed. |
| 17–25′ | Comprehension | Worksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?” |
| 25–33′ | Grammar | as if / as though + clause: to say how something seemed — often with a past form for something imagined or unreal. Show “It looked as if a genius had written it.”, then do worksheet E together. |
| 33–40′ | Worksheet | Students do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key. |
| 40–45′ | Speaking | In pairs: “Two professors sent Ramanujan's letter back. One read it carefully. How many talented people are never noticed? What can we do to notice them?” |
Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.
Words and grammar
- prodigy (noun): a young person with an amazing natural talent. “As a boy, he was a mathematical prodigy.”
- self-taught (adjective): having learned something by yourself, without a teacher. “He was largely self-taught.”
- formula (noun): a statement in mathematics, written with numbers and symbols (plural: formulas). “His notebooks were full of formulas without proofs.”
- intuition (noun): the ability to know something without working it out step by step. “He seemed to find his formulas by intuition.”
- collaboration (noun): working together with someone to create something. “Their collaboration lasted five years.”
Grammar: as if / as though + clause — to say how something seemed — often with a past form for something imagined or unreal. “It looked as if a genius had written it.”
Discussion questions
- Two professors sent Ramanujan's letter back. One read it carefully. How many talented people are never noticed? What can we do to notice them?
- What was the hardest moment in Srinivasa Ramanujan's story? What did Srinivasa Ramanujan do?
- Make two sentences about your own life with “as if / as though + clause”. (From the story: “It looked as if a genius had written it.”)
Student worksheet
A Match the words to their meanings
- prodigy (noun)
- self-taught (adjective)
- formula (noun)
- intuition (noun)
- collaboration (noun)
- infinity (noun)
- prime number (noun)
- scholarship (noun)
- a number that can only be divided by 1 and itself, like 7 or 13
- a statement in mathematics, written with numbers and symbols (plural: formulas)
- working together with someone to create something
- a number or amount without end
- having learned something by yourself, without a teacher
- money given to a student to pay for their studies
- the ability to know something without working it out step by step
- a young person with an amazing natural talent
B Complete the sentences from the story
prodigy · prime numbers · self-taught · infinity · formulas · scholarship · intuition · collaboration
- He was largely .
- He seemed to find his formulas by .
- He also studied .
- As a boy, he was a mathematical .
- Many of his formulas are sums that go on to .
- His notebooks were full of without proofs.
- He lost his college .
- Their lasted five years.
C Did you understand?
- Ramanujan finished a university degree in India.True / False
- What did he often write on, because paper was expensive?
- A wall
- A slate
- Sand
- A computer
- Who read his letter with Hardy that evening?
- His father
- The King
- Littlewood
- Another clerk
- Hardy thought no one could invent such formulas if they were not true.True / False
- Why is 1729 an interesting number?
- It is the year he was born
- It is a prime number
- It was his taxi fare
- It is the smallest number that is the sum of two cubes in two different ways
D Put the words in order
- a / It / had / written / it / genius / as / looked / if
E Grammar: as if / as though + clause
We use it for to say how something seemed — often with a past form for something imagined or unreal. It looked as if a genius had written it. · He studied mathematics as if nothing else existed. · Ramanujan replied, as if the answer were obvious.
Example from the story: It looked as if a genius had written it.
- It looked a genius had written it. (as if / even if / if only)
- He studied mathematics as though nothing else . (existed / exists / existing)
- He answered at once, as if the answer obvious. (were / be / being)
F Your turn
Retell Srinivasa Ramanujan's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.
Answer key
A. 1h 2e 3b 4g 5c 6d 7a 8f
B. 1 self-taught · 2 intuition · 3 prime numbers · 4 prodigy · 5 infinity · 6 formulas · 7 scholarship · 8 collaboration
C. 1 False · 2 b · 3 c · 4 True · 5 d
D. 1 It looked as if a genius had written it.
E. 1 as if · 2 existed · 3 were
Transcript
In 1913, a poor clerk in India sent strange formulas to three mathematicians at Cambridge.
Two of them sent his papers back without a word.
The third could not stop thinking about them.
This is the story of Srinivasa Ramanujan.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
Prodigy. A prodigy is a young person with an amazing natural talent.
As a boy, he was a mathematical prodigy.
Self-taught. If you are self-taught, you have learned something by yourself, without a teacher.
He was largely self-taught.
Formula. A formula is a statement in mathematics, written with numbers and symbols.
His notebooks were full of formulas without proofs.
Intuition. Intuition is the ability to know something without working it out step by step.
He seemed to find his formulas by intuition.
Collaboration. Collaboration means working together with someone to create something.
Their collaboration lasted five years.
Now, one pattern: as if, or as though.
We use it to say how something seemed.
It looked like the work of a genius.
It looked as if a genius had written it.
Ready? Let's begin.
Ramanujan was born in 1887 in southern India, and he grew up in Kumbakonam, a temple town.
His family was poor.
As a boy, he was a mathematical prodigy.
At about sixteen, he came across an old book with thousands of mathematical results.
He worked through them alone, often on a slate, because paper was expensive.
He was largely self-taught.
He studied mathematics as if nothing else existed.
He failed his other subjects, lost his college scholarship and never finished a degree.
By 1912, he was a clerk at the port in Madras, earning about 30 rupees a month.
His notebooks were full of formulas without proofs.
He seemed to find his formulas by intuition.
In January 1913, he sent a long letter of formulas to Hardy, a famous mathematician at Cambridge.
At first, Hardy was annoyed.
Was this man a fraud, or a genius?
That evening, Hardy and his friend Littlewood read the letter together.
Some of the formulas, Hardy wrote, defeated him completely.
It looked as if a genius had written it.
Hardy later explained: "They must be true because, if they were not true, no one would have had the imagination to invent them."
Soon, he invited Ramanujan to Cambridge.
His family worried about him crossing the sea.
But in 1914, he sailed to England.
Wartime Cambridge was cold and grey, and vegetarian food was hard to find.
Still, he and Hardy worked side by side, often with Littlewood too.
Their collaboration lasted five years.
In 1918, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society, one of the youngest in its history.
Once, when he was ill, Hardy visited him in taxi number 1729, and said the number seemed "rather a dull one".
"No," Ramanujan replied, as if the answer were obvious, "it is a very interesting number."
He explained, "It is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways."
In 1919, he went home to India, and he died the next year, aged only 32.
Decades later, a lost notebook of his was discovered in Cambridge.
Mathematicians still study his ideas today, even in research on black holes.
And India celebrates his birthday as National Mathematics Day.
Let's review. As a boy, he was a mathematical prodigy.
He was largely self-taught.
His notebooks were full of formulas without proofs.
He seemed to find his formulas by intuition.
Their collaboration lasted five years.
And remember: it looked as if a genius had written it.
Srinivasa Ramanujan's story teaches us: great talent can come from anywhere.
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