AF_AG01_Managing a farm
Unit 3: Listening

In this unit you will practise your listening skills. In order to achieve this purpose, do the following activities.

1.1 Audio of the reading text

The first activity consists on listening to the reading text of Unit 1. In order to achieve it, follow the following instructions:

·  Open the webpage Google Translator.

/ Google translator

·  In one of the boxes, select the English language.

·  Copy the first paragraph of the text from the following link:

/ Organic Farming

·  Paste the paragraph in the English box of Google Translator.

·  Click on the speaker icon.

·  The website will provide sound to the written text.

·  Pay attention to the pronunciation of each word.

·  Repeat the same process with the rest of paragraphs.

1.2 Take notes of a video

In this activity you will take notes of a video related to organic farming. The goal of this activity is to outline the main points of the video. This activity will help you to get the main idea of an audio.

HIGHLIGHTS
In order to write your outline, follow these advices:
·  While you listen, do not try to understand everything.
·  Speech is not linear. People tend to raise their voices when they want to give importance to some points, so they emphasize some words more than others. Therefore, pay attention to the intonation, especially words said in a higher tone. They are the most important in the speech.
·  Do not spend time writing details like names or numbers; just focus on the main points, general ideas.

You can pause and play the audio as many times as you need.

You can find the video in the following link:

/ Visiting an organic farm in Thailand

Write the outline in a different file.

1.3 Listen to the video 1 (low level)

In the next activity, you will listen to a low level video sourced from the internet.

HIGHLIGHTS
Herein you can find the methodology you should use when you listen to an audio. Follow these instructions in order to improve your listening skills.
·  Read the questions several times and try to understand them before listening to the audio.
·  If the audio belongs to a video, watch the video as you listen. The images can give you an idea of the meaning. You will understand more if your ears and eyes are working together.
·  Listen to the audio three times, twice without reading the transcription and the third one while you are reading the transcription and after answering the questions.
·  The first listening is aimed to get a general idea of the meaning. You should be able to answer questions like: Who is speaking? What is the audio related to? You are supposed to understand 30-40% of the audio.
·  The second listening is to get more detailed information. You are supposed to understand 70-80% of the audio. You must have answered the maximum number of questions by this time.
·  The third listening is performed while reading the transcription of the audio. It’s the moment to get every word of the audio. You must focus on the words and expressions you couldn’t understand before.
·  After that, look up on the dictionary all the words and expressions you could not understand before and review their pronunciation to learn them.

Following these instructions, you can watch and listen to the video in this link:

/ What is organic?

While listening, answer the following questions according to the video. In order to facilitate you the task, every question provides the time of the video showing the answer.

Write your answers in a different file.

·  What is organic? (0:21)

·  What is the purpose of the decisions made by the organic farmer? (0:55)

·  Outline the differences between conventional and organic farmers. (1:08 to 2:46)

·  What are the consequences of using conventional and organic farming methods? (3:08)

·  How can a consumer know what he is getting is truly organic? (3:28)

1.4 Listen to the video 2 (high level)

In the next activity, you will listen to a high level video sourced from the internet. Follow the given instructions.

/ Organic vs. Conventional Farming

While listening, answer the following questions according to the video. In order to facilitate you the task, every question indicates the time of the video showing the answer.

Write your answers in a different file. Write your answers in a different file.

·  What is the goal of this video? (0:15)

·  Which system produces healthier products: conventional or organic? (0:39)

·  According to Jodi Koberinski, does organic farming uses herbicides and insecticides? (1:10)

·  Which practice does Henry Van Ankum use in his farm? (1:44)

·  Does Henry Van Ankum use herbicides and pesticides? (2:02)

·  What material is incorporated into Dough & Dave Johnston‘s fields? (2:36)

·  Can you give one of the reasons of organic farmers for choosing it? (2:50 to 3:00)

·  Can you give one of the reasons of conventional farmers for choosing it? (3:00 to 3:41)

·  According to Jodi Koberinski, what are the concerns of organic farmers? (4:43...)

·  What drives organic farming? (5:00)

·  What is the response to those values? (5:06)

TO KNOW MORE
If you want to practise more your listening skills, you can find another video in the following link:
/ Organic Farming

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AF_AG01_Managing a farm / Unit 3