Learning English with CBC
Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students
Based on CBC Manitoba Radio Broadcasts
March 5, 2009
Lesson 43: Teacher’s Edition
Level: Benchmark 5 and up
Topic: Manitoba Homecoming 2010
Language Skills and Functions: Listening – listening to a short interview for detail
Speaking – participating in a group discussion
Reading – reading a text and summarizing key points
Writing – writing a plan for a homecoming social; writing an ecard
Language Competencies: Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking Strategies, Sociocultural/sociolinguistic Competence
Language Tasks: Discussing how quality of life issues affect where people live
Listening for detail in a radio interview with Kevin Walters, the Executive Director of Manitoba Homecoming 2010
Reading sentences with words ending in the suffix –tion for syllable stress
Reading a text about Manitoba socials and summarizing key points
Scanning a wedding social poster for details about the event
Writing and discussing a plan for a homecoming celebration
Writing and designing a poster to promote the celebration
Writing an ecard using the Manitoba Homecoming 2010 website
Essential Skills: Reading text, working with others, thinking skills, oral communication
Worksheets[1]: 1. Listen for Detail
2. Words Ending in -tion
3. Write a Summary
4. Scan a Poster
5. Plan a Social
6. Write and send an ecard
Appendices: Transcript of the podcast
Reading text: Manitoba Socials
Wedding social poster
Manitoba Memo
Between 1996 and 2001, Manitoba experienced a net loss of 18,600 residents to other provinces. The largest out-migration was in the 15 - 29 age group. The second most likely group to leave was 30 – 44 year olds. Economic and employment opportunities were among the main reasons Manitobans moved to other provinces. Lifestyle options, climate and other factors also played a role in some people’s decision to move elsewhere.
Manitoba has been working to reverse this trend of out-migration. By 2008, the annual out-migration rate was about half of what it was in the 1990’s.
Current statistics show that fewer Manitobans are looking for greener pastures in other provinces. In fact, some Manitobans who moved away are moving back. Manitoba’s relatively steady economic performance, low unemployment rate and lower cost of living are encouraging them to return.
The government is also hoping to encourage students to stay in Manitoba after they graduate. In January of 2007, the Tuition Fee Income Tax Rebate was introduced. Anyone who graduates with a degree, diploma or certificate from a post-secondary institution anywhere in the world is eligible for the rebate as long as they work and pay taxes in Manitoba. The one stipulation is that the Canada Revenue Agency must recognize the institution where they studied. Eligible students are entitled to receive a 60% income tax rebate on their tuition fees to a maximum of $25,000. The rebate can be claimed over as little as six years or over as many as 20 years.
New promotional campaigns launched by the Manitoba government and Destination Winnipeg are designed to ensure expatriates and current residents know Manitoba is a great place to live and work. Will these campaigns succeed? The out-migration statistics over the next few years will answer that question.
Pre-listening activities
1. Discuss these questions as a class
} Your quality of life, or your lifestyle, is how you live. Things like housing, job availability, income and recreation are all considered part of your quality of life. How does your quality of life in Manitoba compare to your quality of life in your home country? Is it better or worse, or about the same?
} What about in five years time? Do you think your quality of life in Manitoba will be better or worse, or about the same as it is now?
} Do you think people decide to move to other countries or regions mainly for quality of life reasons? What are some of the other things that might influence someone’s decision to move away? What are some of the things that might influence their decision to move back to their home country or region?
2. 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
Homecoming 2010 A year long celebration of Manitoba’s 140th birthday. Organizers are inviting Manitobans who don’t live in the province anymore to come home in 2010 and re-discover what Manitoba has to offer.
the mother of all parties An idiom. The mother of all parties is the biggest party you can imagine.
Guinness World Records Guinness World Records is an organization that keeps track of world records and awards titles to people and places that hold records. They also publish the Guinness Book of World Records. Manitoba currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest outdoor skating trail, which is the river trail at the Forks.
a social In Manitoba, many couples hold a social before they get married. A social is a party for friends and family. Couples sell tickets to the social and raise money to help pay for their wedding. Socials can also be held to raise money for causes, such as a sports team or a family in need.
expat A short form of the word expatriate. An expatriate is someone who used to live in Manitoba, but now lives in a different province or country. For example, Manitoba plans to invite all the expats who moved to other provinces to come back to visit during Homecoming 2010.
kick off An idiom that has its roots in the sports world. A kick off is the beginning of a football game but the expression is also used to refer to the beginning of other events. For example, “The concert is the kick off for a week of celebrations.”
inclusive An inclusive event is an event that attempts to involve everyone who is interested in participating. No-one is left out unless they choose to be left out.
slogan A short, easy to remember phrase which is used to advertise or promote something.
lifestyle Lifestyle, or quality of life, is the way people live. Common elements of lifestyle are housing, employment, income and recreational activities.
kielbasa Also called Polish sausage, kielbasa is a smoked sausage of coarsely chopped beef and pork, flavored with garlic and spices.
3. Predict what the podcast is about
In this story, Marcy Markusa interviews Kevin Walters. Kevin is the Executive Director of Manitoba Homecoming 2010. Homecoming 2010 is planning a year round party for the entire province. Ask students what they think might be good ways to celebrate living in Manitoba. Here are some sentence starters to write on the board.
One thing the province could celebrate is the diversity of its population.
Another thing they could celebrate is winter and winter sports.
I think the province could/should celebrate…
Ask students if they can think of ways they can say they have no ideas to share. For example:
Formal
I don’t have any idea what Manitoba could celebrate.
Informal
Beats me.
I have no idea.
I don’t have a clue.
While-listening activities
1. Introduce the podcast
Tell students that in this podcast, they will hear several speakers. They will hear:
Marcy Markusa – host and interviewer
Kevin Walters – Executive Director of Manitoba Homecoming 2010
Play the podcast for the first time.
2. Listen for detail
Hand out Worksheet 1. Review it with students and have them work in pairs to complete it.
Take up the answers as a class.
After-listening activities
1. Review pre-listening predictions
Review the student’s ideas about ways to celebrate Homecoming 2010. Were any of their ideas mentioned in the interview?
2. Pronunciation
Remind students that in every word of two or more syllables, one of the syllables is stronger than the others. Stressed syllables helps us identify words when we’re listening and pronounce words so that others can understand them.
Write the word celebration on the board. Ask students to identify the syllables in the word and which syllable is stressed. Practice saying the word aloud as a class.
Remind students that the rule for stress for words with certain suffixes[2], including –tion and -sion, is that the syllable immediately before the suffix is stressed. So celebration is pronounced cel/e/bra/tion.
Hand out Worksheet 2 and review the instructions with students. Ask students to work with a partner.
Extension activities
1. Read about Manitoba socials and summarize key points
Before beginning this activity, find out what the class knows about the tradition of socials. For example, you could ask:
Have you ever attended a wedding social or fund-raising social in your country or in Manitoba? What was it like? Did you enjoy the experience?
Tell students that they are going to learn more about the Manitoba tradition of holding wedding or fundraising socials. Divide the class into four groups. Review the instructions for Worksheet 3 and hand out Appendix 2. Assign roles in the groups so you have a note-taker, a time-keeper, a group leader and spokesperson. Review the responsibilities of each of these roles before the activity begins.
Give each group one of the topics on Manitoba socials to read and summarize.
Have the spokesperson for each group present the summarized information to the class.
OR
Organize the reporting as a one stray activity. In a one stray, the spokesperson travels to each of the other groups and repeats the summarized the information on their group’s topic to each group. One stray gives students a chance to re-tell the same information several times and builds confidence.
2. Scan a wedding social poster and find information
Hand out Appendix 3 and Worksheet 4. Ask students to work with a partner to answer the questions.
Take up the answers as a class.
3. Plan a Homecoming 2010 social for the class, school or community
Students work in small groups for this activity. Tell students that their class, EAL program or community (choose one!) has decided to join in the Homecoming 2010 celebrations by organizing their own social. The social will be a fundraiser for a community non-profit organization that helps immigrants and refugees. (One example would be N.E.E.D.S. Inc., which supports immigrant and refugee families.) Hand out Worksheet 5 and review the instructions with students.
Discuss the plans the students have made as a class.
4. Write and design a poster to promote the social
Working with the same groups, have students write the content and mock-up a design for a poster to promote the event they have planned. If students have computer access, this activity could be completed using the computer.
Students can use the Wedding Social poster as an example of what information they need to include.
5. Send an ecard to a friend or relative to promote Manitoba Homecoming 2010
If your students have computer access, they can finish the lesson by sending an email to a friend or relative to promote the homecoming celebrations. Hand out Worksheet 6 and review the instructions. If students don’t want to send an ecard to a friend or family member, they can send one to themselves, or to you! You could also have students work with a partner for this activity.
Want to know more…
The Homecoming 2010 site has several features you could use to extend the lesson. For example, if you teach outside of Winnipeg, your students could enter your community in a competition to host one of the official birthday parties. The organizers will bring the cake and entertainment to the winning communities. Communities are asked to submit a story, a photo or a video to enter the contest which end March 31, 2009. Find out more at: http://www.manitobahomecoming2010.com/
Destination Winnipeg’s website incrediblycool.ca has lots of information on Winnipeg and why it’s a good place to live. Go to: http://incrediblycool.ca/
For a current review of Manitoba’s economic situation, go to:
http://www.manitoba.ca/finance/pdf/highlights.pdf
More information on Manitoba’s tuition rebate program can be found at: http://www.manitoba.ca/tuitionrebate/index.html
The Guinness World Records website is: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/2009/
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites)
Worksheet 1: Listen for Detail
Read the true/false questions below with your partner. When you listen this time, listen for details that will help you answer the questions.
Answer true or false for the following questions. The first one is completed for you as an example.
1 / The Federal government is hosting a homecoming party. / F
2 / The organizers hope the social they’re planning for May will set a Guinness World Record as the largest social ever held.
3 / The party is this year.
4 / The main goal is to get former Manitobans to come back to the province to visit.
5 / The celebration will be held in Winnipeg.
6 / The kick off for the summer events will be in the spring.
7 / Organizers want to include couples that are getting married. They’d like them to hold their wedding socials on May 15th.
8 / Organizers are hoping that 15,000 Manitobans will come back.
9 / A secondary purpose of the event is to remind people what Manitoba has to offer and get expats to think about moving back.
10 / One slogan for the celebration is Come back and see what we have to offer.
11 / Kevin Walters thinks the province has a lot to offer.
Bonus question:
Do you think Kevin Walters is joking or is he being serious when he tells Marcy he is off to the butcher’s to buy kielbasa right after the interview? Why do you think that?
Worksheet 2: Words Ending in -tion
In every word of two or more syllables, one of the syllables is stronger than the others. We say that syllable is stressed because we say it more loudly when we speak. Stressed syllables help us identify words when we’re listening and they help us pronounce words so that others can understand us when we speak.