SHORT HISTORY, LONG ECHOES · A2/B1 · 50 min

Easter Island

A tiny island in the ocean, hundreds of giant stone faces — and a big argument about what really happened.

Want more detail? Read this lesson at B2/C1 level →

Today: tell the story of Easter Island and its giant stone faces, and talk about how people explain a mystery in different ways. Grammar: say, tell and think + that.
Warm up — five words to remember. Each one comes from an earlier story in the series. Do you know it? Say what it means and use it in a sentence. Is it new? Good — learn it now. Click Reveal to check, and follow a link to read the story.
to escape — from Pompeii
What does it mean? Use it in a sentence about danger.
to escape — to run away from danger to a safe place.
to rescue — from Shackleton
What does it mean? Use it in a sentence about helping people.
to rescue — to save someone from danger or trouble.
treasure — from Tutankhamun
What does it mean? Say where you might find some.
treasure — gold, money and valuable things, often old or hidden.
an empire — from The Romanovs
What does it mean? Name one empire from history.
an empire — a large group of countries or lands ruled by one country or one leader.
a ruin — from Machu Picchu
What does it mean? Say one place where you can see some.
a ruin — an old building that is broken and falling down.

Now — the words for today's story

These are the new words for Easter Island. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.

Words

  1. an island
  2. a statue
  3. to carve
  4. a forest
  5. to cut down
  6. to fall over
  7. a theory
  8. to blame

Meanings

  • A. to make a tree fall by cutting it
  • B. a big area of land with many trees
  • C. to cut a shape out of stone or wood
  • D. a piece of land with water all around it
  • E. to say that someone is the reason for a problem
  • F. to drop down from standing, onto the ground
  • G. a stone or metal figure of a person
  • H. an idea that tries to explain something

1 = D (an island) · 2 = G (a statue) · 3 = C (to carve) · 4 = B (a forest)

5 = A (to cut down) · 6 = F (to fall over) · 7 = H (a theory) · 8 = E (to blame)

Now talk — out loud

Before we read:
  • Which words are about nature? Which words are about the giant stone faces?
  • Use three of the words to guess: what do you think happens in this story?

The story, in three parts

Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.

Part 1 — The loneliest island

Far away in the Pacific Ocean, there is a very small island. It is more than 2,000 miles from South America and more than 1,000 miles from the next island. The people who live there call it Rapa Nui. We also call it Easter Island. It is one of the loneliest places on Earth.

About 800 years ago, a small group of people came in boats. They sailed across thousands of miles of open sea, with no map. They used the stars, the wind and the birds to find the way. When they arrived, the island was full of tall trees — a thick forest. They decided to stay.

Over many years, these people made something amazing. They carved giant faces out of stone. We call these statues the moai. There are almost 900 of them! Some are ten metres tall and very, very heavy. The people moved them across the island and stood them up, with their backs to the sea. The stone faces looked over the land, like guards watching the people.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. Why is Easter Island special? Where is it?

2. What are the moai, and how many are there?

1. It is one of the loneliest places on Earth — very far from any other land, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

2. They are giant stone faces (statues), carved by the people. There are almost 900 of them.

Talk about it:
  • The people worked for many years to make and move hundreds of giant statues. Why do you think they did this?

Part 2 — The trees are gone

In 1722, ships from Europe found the island. The visitors were very surprised. The big forest was gone! The land was almost empty, with only grass. How did the people make these huge statues and then lose all their trees?

For a long time, many people believed one sad story. In this story, the islanders cut down their own forest. They cut the trees to make fields, to make fires, and to move their big stone statues. But when the trees were gone, the soil washed away. They could not build boats to fish. There was not enough food.

People said that the hungry islanders then started to fight. In their anger, they pushed over each other's statues. So, in this story, the people destroyed their own island. Many writers told this story in books, and it became famous all over the world. They said it was a warning for us today. But some scientists now think that this story is wrong.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. What surprised the European visitors in 1722?

2. In the old, sad story, what did the islanders do to their own island?

1. The big forest was gone. The land was almost empty, with only grass — but the people had made huge statues.

2. They cut down all their trees (partly to move the statues). Then there was no food, they started to fight, and they pushed over each other's statues.

Talk about it:
  • This sad story became famous because it is a warning for the world today. Do you think a good "lesson" can make people believe a story, even if it is not true?

Part 3 — A different story

The new story is different. Yes, the trees did disappear — that is true. But maybe the people did not cut down all the trees. When the first people came, they brought rats. The rats had no enemies, so there were soon millions of them. The rats ate the seeds of the trees. So new trees could not grow. Many scientists now think that the rats killed the forest, not only the people.

And losing the trees did not kill the islanders. They were clever. They grew food in new ways, using stones to protect their plants. The number of people stayed about the same. Many scientists now think that there was no big disaster before the Europeans came.

So what really hurt the people of Rapa Nui? The new story says the danger came from outside. European ships brought new diseases. Then, in 1862 and 1863, ships from Peru came and took about 1,500 people away to work far from home. Most of them never came back. The few who returned brought a terrible disease with them. In just a few years, thousands of people became only about one hundred. But the people did not disappear. Their families still live on the island today, and they have stood some of the fallen statues up again.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. In the new story, what may have killed the forest?

2. What happened to the people in 1862 and 1863?

1. Rats. The first people brought rats, and the rats ate the tree seeds, so new trees could not grow. Many scientists think the rats killed the forest, not only the people.

2. Ships from Peru took about 1,500 people away to work far from home. Most never came back, and the few who returned brought a terrible disease. The number of people crashed to about one hundred.

Talk about it:
  • One story says the islanders hurt themselves. The other says people from outside hurt them. Why might it be important which story we believe?

Grammar: say / tell / think + that

This story is full of ideas about what really happened. To talk about these ideas, we use say, tell and think with the word that.

say that + idea — we do not need a person: "Scientists say that the rats killed the trees."
think that + idea — for an opinion: "Some people think that the islanders cut down all the trees."
tell + person + that — tell always needs a person: "The books told readers that the island was a warning."
Two easy rules:
• The little word that is optional. "She thinks that it is true" = "She thinks it is true." Both are correct.
• tell needs a person after it; say does not. Write "He told me that…" or "He said that…" — but not "He said me that…" and not "He told that…".

1. say, tell or think?

Write the right word in each gap. Look: is there a person after the gap?

1. Some people that the islanders cut down all the trees.

2. Other scientists that this is not true.

3. The books readers that the island was a warning.

4. I that the rats killed the forest.

1. think (an opinion)

2. say (no person after it)

3. told ("readers" is a person, so we use tell/told)

4. think (my own opinion)

2. Finish the sentence with that

Add that and your own idea about the story. Then read it out loud.

1. Many scientists think

2. Some writers say

3. The old books told people

1. …think that the rats killed the forest.

2. …say that the islanders destroyed their own island.

3. …told people that the island was a warning for the world.

Your sentences can be different — just keep that + a full idea, and remember tell needs a person.

Listen

There is a real podcast about Easter Island. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.

🎧 Heard it already? Good — use this lesson as your recap, and listen for new details next time. Haven't? No problem — you now know the story and the key words, and that makes a fast podcast much easier to follow. The podcast is optional; this lesson works on its own.

Short History Of… Easter Island

From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. It plays on the Noiser site, or search "Short History Of Easter Island" on Spotify.

Play on Noiser →

Prefer Spotify? Open the show and find the Easter Island episode.

While you listen:
  • Write down three words you hear and know from today's lesson (island, statue, forest, theory, blame…).
  • Can you hear the names Rapa Nui and moai?
  • Find one new thing the podcast says, and tell me about it next time — even just one sentence.

Speak

Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.

Useful language: use say / think / tell + that to report the ideas. "Some people think that…", "Scientists say that…", "The books told people that…". To give your opinion: "I think…", "In my opinion…", "For me, the reason is…".
Time remaining: 3:00
Task A · Tell the story (3 minutes)

Tell the story of Easter Island in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a small, lonely island → people come in boats → they carve almost 900 giant stone faces → the forest disappears → the old story (the people destroyed their island) → the new story (rats, and ships from outside) → families still live there today.

Try to use say / think / tell + that, and some of the key words (island, statue, carve, forest, cut down, fall over, theory, blame).

Task B · Which story do you believe? (3 minutes)

There are two stories. One says the islanders cut down their own forest and hurt themselves. The other says people from outside (disease and the ships from Peru) hurt them. Which one do you believe? Why? Report both sides: "Some people think that… but other people say that…".

Task C · A story of your own (3 minutes)

Tell a story where people do not agree about what happened, or who was to blame. Report the two sides with say / think + that.

Not sure what to talk about? Choose one:

  • A famous mystery from history, where people have different ideas about what happened.
  • A nature story where people do not agree about the reason — a flood, a fire, or an animal that died out.
  • A problem in your family or at work, where two people remember it in two different ways.
  • A news story you saw, where two sides told a completely different version.
  • A famous place or building, and the different ideas about how it was made or why.

To finish

  1. The old story said: "look how these people destroyed themselves." Why do you think this story became so popular?
  2. The islanders' families are standing the fallen statues up again. What do you think this says to the world?
  3. From memory: say one idea about Easter Island with think that, and one with say that. Remember: tell needs a person, but say does not.