Learning English with CBC
Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students
Based on CBC Manitoba Radio Broadcasts
November 29, 2010
Lesson 62: Teacher’s Edition
Level: Benchmark 5 and up
Topic: Manitoba’s Immigration Success Story
Language Skills and Functions: Listening – listening to a short interview for main ideas and details
Speaking – telling a personal story
Reading – scanning a table for detail; scanning a text for detail
Writing – writing a recipe
Language Competencies: Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking Strategies, Socio-cultural/sociolinguistic Competence
Language Tasks: Telling a personal story about an experience
Extending vocabulary through word families
Discussing why newcomers come to Winnipeg and Manitoba
Listening for main ideas and detail in a radio interview with a couple from Iran who have lived in Winnipeg for over 10 years
Writing impersonal sentences using there or it
Scanning a numerical table showing Winnipeg’s immigration numbers by continent and country and answering detail questions
Scanning a text about Manitoba’s immigration program for detail and answering true/false questions
Writing a recipe for a dish from your country
Essential Skills: Reading text, working with others, numeracy, oral communication, writing
Worksheets[1]: 1. Extend Your Vocabulary: Word Families
2. Listen for Main Ideas and Detail
3. Using It and There in Impersonal Sentences
4. Scan a Table for Detail
5. Scan a Newspaper Article for Detail
6. Write a Recipe
Appendices: Transcript of the podcast
Winnipeg Immigrant Population by Country of Origin
Winnipeg Free Press: New York Times notices province’s ‘parka-clad’ diversity
Recipe Measurement Conversion Chart
Pre-listening activities
1. Think Pair Share about an experience that made you feel welcome in Manitoba
Newcomers to Manitoba often talk about feeling welcome in the province. They tell personal stories of acts of kindness and experiences that made them feel at home or welcome. Ask students if they think they have the language to describe a personal experience they have had that made them feel welcome in Manitoba.
Write the questions below on the board and suggest students use them as a guide. Ask students to think about a personal experience they have had and then tell that experience to their partner.
} Where were you? Describe the scene. (For example, were you at the airport? In a store? Asking directions? In a language class? At work?)
} Who was there with you?
} What happened? Why/how did this experience/situation make you feel welcome?
You can also suggest students use sequence markers to help them describe their experience more clearly to their partner. Write the following sequence markers on the board (or if you have talked about them before, give one example and ask students to brainstorm other examples).
first / first of all / to begin with
then / next / after that
in the end / finally
Ask some students to share their experiences with the class as a whole. Using the same format, students may also want to share stories that made them feel unwelcome.
2. Discuss as a class
} In your opinion, why does Manitoba encourage immigration today?
} Why do you think an immigrant would chose to come to Manitoba?
} What do you see as the biggest challenge for a newcomer who immigrates to Manitoba?
} At what point do you think a newcomer begins to feel “at home?” What are the signs that someone is beginning to “fit in?”
} Why do you think Canada has not experienced the immigration backlash of other countries in the world?
3. Vocabulary
Elicit or present key vocabulary that students need to understand prior to listening to the podcast (see suggested vocabulary and explanations which follow). You can write the words on the board and elicit possible meanings from the class or break students into groups and give each group a few words to review. Groups can then present the vocabulary to the rest of the class. You can also ask students to mark the syllables and stress for each word, identify word families and practise pronouncing the words. You may want to ask students to think of sentences that use the new vocabulary. If your students keep a vocabulary journal, they can copy the vocabulary into their journal.
Vocabulary
to immigrate To leave your country and come to another country to live permanently.
siblings Brothers and/or sisters.
to adjust To adapt and to gradually become familiar with a new situation.
to settle To go to live in a new place and stay there for a long time.
to sponsor To vouch for or take responsibility for another person. If you sponsor an immigrant or refugee, you are promising to provide financial support for their basic requirements like food, clothing and housing.
Manitoba plate number Vehicles in Manitoba must have a licence plate. Each licence plate has a series of numbers and letters that identify the owner of the vehicle. The slogan “Friendly Manitoba” is included on Manitoba plates.
Winnipeg Regional Health Authority The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) is the organization responsible for the delivery of health care in the Winnipeg region.
a health care aide Someone who assists doctors, nurses and other health care providers to care for patients.
Manitoba Hydro The Crown Corporation that develops, manages and sells electricity to Manitobans and other provinces/countries. Manitoba Hydro also has the responsibility for providing and selling natural gas to Manitobans.
a technical assistant Someone who works as a technical assistant provides technical support for computers or other electronic or mechanical systems.
nursery school A part-time program for children ages three and four which helps prepare them for elementary school.
kindergarten The first year of elementary school for children in Manitoba.
a new venture A new business activity that involves some financial risk to get it started.
pickles Cucumber or other vegetables that are preserved in vinegar.
pistachios Small green nuts.
ingredients The foods, spices etc. that you use to make a particular kind of food or dish.
a tough customer A customer who is very particular and hard to please.
to be picky To be particular about what you eat; to like some foods and not like other foods.
4. Predict what the interview is about
In this story, Terry MacLeod talks to CBC producer Ruth Shead about her interview with an Iranian couple who chose to settle in Winnipeg. They have just opened a new business and they have two children. This interview is part of a series which tells the stories of immigrants who have lived in Winnipeg for ten years or more. Ask students what kinds of things they think the couple might talk about in the interview.
Here are a few examples:
They could talk about ...what it has been like to live in Winnipeg.
Maybe they’ll talk about…why they came to Winnipeg.
I think they’ll talk about...their new business.
They might talk about…their children.
I wonder if they’ll talk about…how much they miss Iran.
I’m really not sure what they’ll talk about.
While-listening activities
1. Introduce the podcast
Tell students that in this podcast, they will hear five speakers. They will hear:
Marcy Markusa – host
Terry MacLeod – interviewer
Ruth Shead – CBC producer
Mehdi and Maryam – Iranian couple who immigrated to Manitoba
Play the podcast for the first time.
2. Vocabulary Development: Word Families
Review Worksheet 1 with students. Have students work with a partner to complete it. Take up the answers as a class.
3. Listen for detail or inference
Hand out and review Worksheet 2. Ask students to work with a partner to answer the questions. Discuss the answers as a class.
After-listening activities
1. Review pre-listening predictions
Ask students whether they were able to predict some of the things the couple from Iran talked about in the interview.
2. Using the impersonal “it” or “there”
Tell students that in many kinds of English sentences, they will find the word “it” or “there” in the subject position. When we use “it” or “there” it is usually because there is no natural or logical subject for the sentence. Sentences using “it” or “there” as subject are called impersonal sentences.
Draw students attention to line 42 in the transcript, as follows:
Line / Speaker / Sentence42 / Maryam / Ya, it’s very good, like it’s everything here, everything Iranian.
Ask students if they can find the error in the sentence. Note that the second it (it’s) should actually be there (there’s). The sentence should be:
Ya, it’s very good, like there’s everything here, everything Iranian.
Tell students there are rules about when to use it and when to use there. Hand out and review Worksheet 3. Ask students to work with a partner to answer the questions. Discuss the answers as a class.
Extension activities
1. Scan a numerical table and answer questions about organization and detail
Hand out and review Worksheet 4. Ask students to work with a partner to complete it. Take up the answers as a class.
2. Scan a newspaper article for detail
Hand out and review Worksheet 5. Ask students to work with a partner to complete it. Discuss the answers as a class.
3. Write a recipe
You will want to give students advance notice of this activity so that they can come prepared to write out a recipe for a typical dish from their country. You may also want to lead with a discussion of whether recipes are written down in their country, how recipes are shared etc.
Hand out and review Worksheet 6. Students can work with a partner, but each should write their own recipe.
You could extend this activity in numerous ways:
} Ask students to volunteer to bring in their dish for their classmates to taste. You could compare dishes based on certain criteria, for example, how sweet or spicy they are. Allergies and cultural food taboos could be discussed prior to students bringing in food.
} Students could present their recipe to the class and talk about why they selected it. They could talk about the ingredients and where they shop to find the ingredients they need.
} You could put together a recipe book of all the recipes.
} You could do a mock Iron Chef competition.
Want to know more…
For advanced students, the full text of the New York Times article is at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/13/world/americas/13immig.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=manitoba&st=cse
Manitoba’s website has all kinds of great information about immigration to the province and about the Provincial Nominee Program: http://www2.immigratemanitoba.com
You can listen to the five CBC podcasts in the “Coming to Winnipeg” series at: http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?56#ref56
CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites
Worksheet 1: Extend Your Vocabulary: Word Families
Looking at word families is a strategy you can use to help you understand new words. By looking at the root of a word you can often guess its meaning. Each word in the family has the same root. Work with your partner to see if you can find the missing words in the table below. All of the missing words were in the CBC interview. Can complete the table before you look at the transcript?
Noun / Verb / Adjective1. adjustment / adjusted
2. settlement / settled
3. sponsor/sponsorship / sponsored
4. friend / to befriend
5. familiarity / to familiarize
6. / to package / packaged
7. difference / to differ
8. completion / to complete
9. mixture / to mix
Worksheet 2: Listen for Main Ideas and Detail
Sometimes when we listen, we are listening for important details that help us to understand a situation. Sometimes we are listening for the main ideas or for inference. When you listen to the interview this time, listen for the main ideas and detail. Read the questions with your partner and decide whether the statement is true or false. The first one is completed for you as an example.
Sentence / T / F1 / Mehdi and Maryam are the only members of their family who immigrated to Canada. / F
2 / Mehdi was sponsored by his sister.
3 / Mehdi thinks that Manitobans live up to the slogan “Friendly Manitoba” which is written on their license plates.
4 / When the couple arrived in Manitoba, Mehdi spoke better English than his wife.
5 / Both Maryam and Mehdi have jobs.
6 / Their youngest daughter is in kindergarten.
7 / One of the things they miss most about Iran is the food.
8 / Two weeks ago, they opened the Tehran Market on Pembina Highway.
9 / Almost all of their customers come from Iran.
10 / At home, they eat a mix of Canadian and Iranian foods because of their daughters.
11 / Maryam cannot understand why her daughters are picky when it comes to eating particular Canadian dishes.
12 / Mehdi and Maryam feel very at home in Winnipeg.
Worksheet 3: Using It and There in Impersonal Sentences
In many kinds of English sentences, you will find the word it or there in the subject position. We generally use it or there when there is no natural or logical subject for the sentence. Sentences using it or there as subject are called impersonal sentences. Here are some rules and examples to help you decide whether to use it or there.
When to use it / ExamplesTo talk about the weather / It’s snowing today.
It’s going to be very cold tomorrow.
To identify something / What is it?
It’s a pistachio nut.
Who is it?
It’s my sister.
To talk about time / What time is it?
It’s two o’clock.
What day is it?
It’s Sunday.
To talk about distance / How far is it from here to the Tehran Market?
It’s about a twenty minute drive.
It’s 10 kilometres.
The impersonal there is used to say that something exists in a particular place.
When to use there / ExamplesSingular / There is an Iranian market in Winnipeg.
Plural / There are a lot of Iranian foods for sale at the Tehran Market.
Working with your partner, complete the following sentences using the impersonal it or there.
1. _____is lots of help for newcomers who arrive in Manitoba.
2. At first, _____ is very difficult.