Learning English with CBC
Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students
Based on CBC Manitoba Radio Broadcasts
November 29, 2010
Lesson 62: Self Study Edition
Level: CLB 6 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: Tell a personal story about an experience
Extend vocabulary through word families
Answer questions about why newcomers come to Winnipeg and Manitoba
Listen for main ideas and detail in a radio interview with a couple from Iran who have lived in Winnipeg for over 10 years
Write impersonal sentences using there or it
Scan a numerical table showing Winnipeg’s immigration numbers by continent and country and answer detail questions
Scan a text about Manitoba’s immigration program for detail and answer true/false questions
Write a recipe for a dish from your country
Essential Skills: Reading text, numeracy, oral communication, writing
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
Answers to Worksheets
Background
1. Describe a personal experience
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. Do you have the language to describe a personal experience you have had that made you feel welcome somewhere?
Use the following questions as a guide to help you tell your story.
} Where were you when the experience happened? 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?
When you tell a personal story, it helps if you use sequence markers like the ones listed below. Using sequence markers helps you tell your story clearly and makes it easier for the listener to understand what happened.
first / first of all / to begin with
then / next / after that
in the end / finally
Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt unwelcome? Try describing that situation too.
2. Think about the following questions
} 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” in a new country? 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 definitions
Here are some words you need to know to understand the CBC interview.
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 podcast 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. What kinds of things do you 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.
5. Get ready to listen
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.
After you listen
a) Review your pre-listening predictions
Were you able to predict some of the things Mehdi and Maryam talked about in the interview?
b) Extend your vocabulary through 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. Can you find the missing words in the table below? All of the missing words were in the CBC interview. Can complete this 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
c) 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 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.
d) Use “it” or “there” in an impersonal sentence
In many English sentences, you 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.
Take a look at line 42 in the transcript. Maryam says: Ya, it’s very good, like it’s everything here, everything Iranian. Can you find the error in this sentence? 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.
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.
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.
3. _____ is a group of 1,000 people who were born in Iran and who now live in Winnipeg.
4. When newcomers first come, _____is often very lonely.
5. _____ is very cold in the winter in Manitoba.
6. _____ is a large network of programs available in Manitoba to help newcomers.
7. Mehdi says that _____is friendly Manitoba.
8. Miriam says that _____ is very good here.
9. Tehran Market customers say _____ are many wonderful Iranian foods to choose from in the new market.
e) Scan a numerical table for detail
In the interview, Ruth Shead says that the latest census information she could find shows that there are about 1,000 people who were born in Iran now living in Winnipeg. Chances are she would have looked a table similar to the one in Appendix 2 to find that information. At work and at home, we often have to find information or details on a chart or in a table.
The first step is to figure out how the information is organized. In a table, look at the headings, columns and at information which is bolded/ highlighted/italicized. Understanding how the information is organized makes it easier to find specific details.
Scan the three page table in Appendix 2. This table is from a spreadsheet that contained similar information for cities across Canada. Can you figure out how the information is organized? Answering the following questions may help you. Underline or circle the correct answer.
1. How is the information in the table organized? Is it organized by:
a) continent
b) country
c) both
2. Column two shows:
a) total immigrant population numbers by continent and country
b) immigrant population totals by continent and country for the years 1996-2006
3. Column three shows:
a) total immigrant population numbers by continent and country
b) immigrant population totals by continent and country for the years 1996-2006
4. The highlighted lines are:
a) the subtotals[1] of the immigrant population by continent
b) the subtotals of the immigrant population by country
Now that you understand how the table is organized, can you scan it to find the answers to the following questions?
1. From 1996 to 2006, how many countries had immigrant populations of over 2,000 come to Winnipeg?
a) two
b) five
c) seven
2. From 1996 to 2006, how many countries on the list had immigrant populations of 20 or less come to Winnipeg?
a) ten
b) twelve
c) fourteen
3. From 1996 to 2006, which country had the highest number of immigrants come to Winnipeg?
a) the United Kingdom
b) the Philippines
4. Which continent did the majority of immigrants to Winnipeg come from prior to 1996?
a) North America
b) Asia and the Middle East
c) Europe
5. What about your own country of origin?
How many immigrants from your country came to Winnipeg prior to 1996? ______
How many came between 1996-2006? ______
Do these numbers surprise you? Why or why not?
Bonus question: