Learning English with CBC
Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students
Based on CBC Manitoba Radio Broadcasts
March 25, 2010
Lesson 57: Self Study Edition
Level: CLB 6 and up
Topic: Brandon: Manitoba's Second Largest City
Language Skills and Functions: Listening – listening to a short interview for main ideas and inference
Speaking – asking questions; providing information
Reading – reading a map for detail; scanning a text for information
Writing – writing questions
Language Competencies: Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking Strategies, Socio-cultural/sociolinguistic Competence
Language Tasks: Discuss the advantages / challenges of immigrating through a foreign worker program
Listen for main ideas and inference to a radio interview with CBC reporter Louise Charette about the influx of newcomer students into the Brandon School Division
Read a map of Manitoba and answer detail questions about where Brandon is located
Write pre-arrival questions for an immigrant to Brandon
Scan a fact sheet to find information to answer pre-arrival questions
Access and talk about information from a website about a Brandon attraction or institution
Essential Skills: Reading text, numeracy, thinking skills, oral communication, writing
Appendices: Transcript of the podcast
Map of Manitoba
Brandon Fast Facts
Answers to Worksheets
Attention students: You will need to print the lesson to be able to complete the activities.
Manitoba Memo
Brandon is Manitoba's second largest city. It is the economic, education, health and retail centre for the 180,000 people who live in Southwestern Manitoba. Often referred to as the Wheat City, Brandon's history is rooted in agriculture. Today, the city has a more diversified economic base.
Brandon has approximately 46,000 residents. The city's population has increased by 3,000 since 2001, largely due to immigration. About ten percent of the population is First Nations.
The majority of newcomers to Brandon come to work at Maple Leaf Consumer Foods, a large meat packing plant. For the past several years, Maple Leaf has recruited foreign workers to work at its plant. Most come initially as temporary workers with a work VISA. After six months, they can apply to immigrate to the Manitoba through the Provincial Nominee Program. If their application is accepted, they can then apply for permanent residence to Canada for themselves and for their spouse and children. It can take up to two years after a worker arrives in Brandon before they and their family receive permanent visas.
Economic Development Brandon projects that between June 2007 and March 2011, a total of 3,257 family members will arrive in Brandon to join their spouses. There are nearly 50 countries of origin represented. The main language groups of the newcomers arriving are Spanish, Mandarin, Ukrainian/Russian and French.
The arrival of so many newcomers in such a short time frame has been a challenge. English as an Additional Language programming in the community and in Brandon schools has grown exponentially. Other services, such as policing, health care, child care, settlement programs and public transit, have also had to expand and adapt. Translation services are in high demand.
While there are some Brandon residents who are less than enthusiastic about the transformation of their city and the cost of providing services to the newcomer population, most residents are giving a warm welcome to their new neighbours. They like the diversity in culture and traditions newcomers bring to their city.
Ninety-five percent of the foreign workers recruited by Maple Leaf decide to stay in Brandon and bring their families to live there. Clearly, they share the belief of long-time Brandon residents that the city is a safe, quiet place to work and a good place to raise a family.
In the words of an international student attending Brandon University:
"Brandon is a small city but it's not too small. It has everything you need."
Background
1. Think about and the following questions
} When newcomers are recruited to Canada as foreign workers, it is common for one family member (often the husband) to come first. Their spouse and children remain living in their country of origin for up to two years before they are permitted to come to live in Canada. What do you think are some advantages of immigrating to Canada through a foreign worker program? What do you think are some of the disadvantages for families who immigrate this way?
2. Pre-listening vocabulary development
Before you listen, see if you can find the correct vocabulary word to fill in the blanks. Use the clue provided, the context of the sentence and the paragraph, and an English language learners' dictionary to help you. The missing words are in the box at the bottom on the page. The first sentence is completed for you as an example.
When Maple Leaf Foods in Brandon could not find enough local workers for its meat processing plant, it began to recruit (actively look for) foreign workers. These workers came to Manitoba on temporary work permits. First there was only a ______(small number) of foreign workers, but before long, there was an ______(sudden arrival) of foreign workers. Most of these workers decided to stay in Brandon and eventually brought their families to live with them.
Newcomers to Brandon are ______(changing) the Wheat City.
Welcoming so many newcomers has put a ______(stress) on the Brandon School Division. Teachers and School Board officials have had to ______(deal with a difficult situation) with classrooms that are ______(full of) with children who do not speak English. It is ______(common) for a classroom to have children from many different countries.
The Brandon School Division plans to set up a ______(place which greets and helps people) to assist students and their families.
influx trickle packed cope reception centre
recruit transforming typical strain
Vocabulary Definitions
an influx of The sudden arrival of a large number or amount of something. For example: When potential immigrants to Canada heard what Brandon could offer them, there was an influx or a large number of inquiries about how they could apply to work and live there.
to be transformed To be completely changed or totally different from before.
typical The usual or common qualities of a particular group or thing.
elementary school The first years of education for children.
principal The person in charge of a school and responsible for what happens at that school.
Maple Leaf Consumer Foods The name of a corporation that processes and packs meat and meat products.
to recruit foreign workers To look for and find workers from other countries who are willing to come and work in your community.
a trickle A little bit; a small number or a small amount of something.
to be packed with To be so full of things or people that there is little or no room to add any more. For example: So many people had come to hear her speak that the room was completely full. It was packed with people who could hardly move.
to cope with To succeed in dealing with a difficult problem or situation.
Board Chair The elected person who runs the meetings of a board of directors for an organization.
to assess To make a judgement about a person or situation after gathering information.
to put a strain on something To put an organization or individual in a stressful situation, where they have limited resources, and have to work hard to deal with the challenges they face.
to register students To put a student's name on an official list so they can attend a particular school.
a division A school division is the name of the geographic area a school board represents.
a reception centre A place where people are greeted and provided with help and assistance when they arrive somewhere.
3. Predict what the podcast is about
CBC reporter Louise Charette is researching a story on Brandon, Manitoba. The story is about the influx of newcomers to the community and how the school classrooms in Brandon are being transformed. Louise also talks about the challenges the local school division is facing. Can you predict what kinds of changes and challenges Louise will talk to Terry MacLeod about in the interview?
I think she'll talk about ...how crowded the classrooms are.
She might talk about...a shortage of EAL teachers.
She could talk about...
Maybe she'll talk about...
I expect she'll talk about...
I don't know what she'll talk about.
4. Get ready to listen
In this podcast, you will hear four speakers. They are:
Marcy Markusa – host
Terry MacLeod – interviewer
Louise Charette – CBC reporter
George Buri - Chair, Brandon School Board
Play the podcast for the first time.
5. Listen for main ideas and inference
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 main ideas and inference. What are the key points we need to know to understand the story? What conclusions can we infer from what we hear? Read the question list with your partner. Then see if you can answer the questions in point form. The first one is completed for you as an example.
1. Why did Maple Leaf Consumer Foods decide to recruit foreign workers?
} they could not find enough local workers
2. If you visited a Brandon elementary school classroom today, what kinds of things might be different than if you had visited that classroom 10 years ago?
}
}
3. What are some of the challenges the Brandon School Division is facing in meeting the needs of its newcomer students?
}
}
}
4. How does the school division plan to meet these challenges?
}
}
}
6. Use of last names only in spoken English
Did you notice how Louise Charette referred to Brandon School Board Chair George Buri? The first time she mentions him (line 29) she calls him by his first and last name. But when she refers to him the second time (line 39) she uses only his last name.
Using last names to refer to someone is common practice in news reporting. But it's not as common outside news circles. If you were talking about this individual, you would likely call him Mr. Buri (formal) or George Buri. If you knew him well or felt quite familiar with him, you might call him George. But it's unlikely you would ever refer to him as "Buri".
There are other instances in spoken English when you may hear people referred to only by their last name. Here are a few examples:
a) During a roll call, or when a list of names is being read in a public place. For example, an airline might page "passenger Buri."
b) When people talk about well-known sports personalities, for example, Gretzky or Beckham. This isn't always true though. Tiger Woods has generally been called by both his first and last name throughout his career.
Interestingly, it is less common for women sports personalities, or well-know women in other fields, to be referred to by only their last name.
c) When someone is so well-known that we assume everyone knows them, we may talk about them only using their last name, for example, Gandhi or Picasso or Mozart.
d) Sometimes people will talk informally about a close friend or work colleague using only their last name. Men tend to use last names to talk about other men but they are less likely to use last names to talk about women. Women are less likely than men to refer to their friends by their last name.
After you listen
a) Review your pre-listening predictions
Were you able to correctly predict the changes and challenges Louise Charette talked about?
b) Read a Manitoba Map to find out where Brandon is located
Throughout our lives we read many different kinds of maps. There are geographical maps, highway maps, tourism maps and building maps. Most maps are drawn to scale. Once you know the scale of a map, you can determine the distance from one place to another. Maps usually tell you which way is north so that you can tell which direction is south, west and east. The legend on a map helps you read it. The legend provides information on what the symbols on the map mean.
There is a map of Manitoba in Appendix B. This map shows Manitoba's larger communities and some of the province's major highways. Take a close look at this map. Can you find out more about where Brandon is located by answering the questions below? Underline or circle the correct response for questions one to nine. The first one is completed for you as an example.
Questions
1. Brandon is located (north, south, east, west) of Winnipeg.
2. Brandon is located (north, south, east, west) of Dauphin.
3. Brandon is located (north, south, east, west) of Virden.
4. Brandon is located (north, south, east, west) of Flin Flon.
5. Brandon is located (north, south, east, west) of the United States.
6. Brandon is located (north, south, east, west) of Nunavut.
7. The scale on this map is a) 1.2 millimeters equals 75 kilometers