Learning English with CBC Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students Based on the podcast Manitoba This Week Broadcast date: October 6, 2007 Self Study Edition: Lesson 4 Level: Topic: Skill areas: Language tasks: Language competencies: Benchmark 5 and up Hockey in Winnipeg s North End Listening, Speaking, Writing Listening to a short interview for main ideas, details and inference Speaking expressing opinions, giving advice, asking questions Writing thank you notes Vocabulary Development, Pronunciation, Listening Strategies, Sociocultural/sociolinguistic Competence Appendices: Transcript of the podcast Answers to worksheets Attention students: You will need to print the lesson to be able to complete the worksheets.
Manitoba memo Most Canadians consider hockey to be this country s national sport and many boys and girls grow up dreaming about playing hockey in the big leagues. There is even a Hockey Day in Canada and this year, that celebration will be held in Winkler Manitoba. The most common form of the game is road hockey, which is played year round on streets and sidewalks and requires very little equipment. During the winter, ice hockey is played outdoors at community centres and at indoor arenas. Some arenas keep their ice all year long. Around 10,000 young people play organized hockey in Winnipeg. This number would likely be higher if it did not cost so much to belong to a team. The average cost of registration fees, ice time and equipment is $1,000 a year and many families pay considerably more for their sons and daughters to participate in the sport. Winnipeg has a professional team, the Manitoba Moose, who play in the AHL (American Hockey League). However, for many Manitobans, the hockey scene hasn t been quite the same since the Winnipeg Jets, who played in the NHL (National Hockey League), left town in 1996. Background First read the Manitoba memo (above) for background on the story you are about to hear. In today s podcast, CBC radio's Leighton Klassen speaks with the teachers who are organizing the very first hockey team for St. John s High School, located in Winnipeg s North End. Many of the students who go to this school have never had the opportunity to play hockey. Let s get started! 1. Before you listen, think about the following questions What do you know about the game of hockey? How is it played? What equipment do players need? Write down all the words you can think of that have something to do with hockey. Have you ever been to a hockey game? Watched a game on TV? What did you think? What s the national sport in your country? What kind of equipment do you need to play it? Is that equipment expensive? Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 2 of 15
2. Words you need to know Before you listen to the podcast, try to complete these sentences using the vocabulary from the story, which is in the box below. You can use a dictionary or the internet to help you. After you listen, you can return to this exercise and fill in words you were unable to find before listening. 1. We are going to watch a hockey game at the. 2. Hockey players carry all their in a when they go to play hockey. 3. The place where hockey players put on their equipment and get dressed for the game is called a/an. 4. A goal is scored when a player hits the with his (or her) and it goes into the net. 5. Wayne Gretsky is a very famous hockey player. He wore a with the number 99 on the back. 6. Hockey players move quickly on the ice because they are wearing. 7. To show the they have the skills needed to play on a team, hockey players must go to the where they demonstrate how well they play hockey. hockey jersey dressing room equipment hockey bag tryouts stick puck skates arena coach Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 3 of 15
3. Predict what the podcast is about Now that you know a little about the topic, can you predict what the podcast might be about? Write down your ideas before you listen so you can see if your predictions are correct. Here is an example of what you might say and some ways to start your sentences. Maybe it s about playing hockey at school. Probably it s about. It could be / might be about 4. Get ready to listen Now you are going to listen to part of a story called Hockey in Winnipeg s North End. You will hear the following speakers: Marcy the host Leighton the reporter who is telling the story Tammy the teacher in charge Ralf a teacher who is helping Tammy Joseph a young hockey player Play the podcast for the first time and just listen to the voices. Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 4 of 15
5. Listen for the stressed syllables Stressed syllables have longer, clearer vowel sounds and are said more loudly than unstressed syllables. Syllable stress is important in English because it helps listeners understand the words you are saying. Listen for the stress patterns for the words on the list. Then highlight or underline the syllable, which has the main stress. You can use a dictionary to help you. The first one is done for you. teacher teach er community com mu ni ty clipboard clip board arena a re na money mon ey equipment e quip ment families fam i lies players play ers All these words are from the same word family. Are they adjectives, nouns, verbs or adverbs? 6. Listen for the repetition When you play the podcast again, draw attention to how teacher Tammy Friesen speaks when she talks about the number of students who have come to the hockey try-outs. She shows how excited she is about the team through her tone of voice and by repeating her feelings three times, using different words with similar meanings each time (blows me away, awesome, ahhhh). Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 5 of 15
Speaking Tip: If you are excited, upset or feel strongly about something, you can convey how you feel through tone and through repetition and re-phrasing. 7. Re-tell the story Can you re-tell the story? Think about what you have heard and pretend you are telling the story to another student. What would you say? You can write down a few notes first and then try re-telling the story. Practice aloud if you can. Here are some sentence starters you could use. 8. After you listen The first thing that happened The second thing that happened The main point was Then she/he said Finally she/he said. a) Pronunciation tip reductions and shortened words In spoken English, it is common for words which are not stressed to be shortened or reduced. The shortened or reduced words are used in speech, but they are generally not acceptable spellings in written English. Here are some examples taken from the podcast. Practice saying the words both ways. spoken English cupula yago gonna livin cause written English couple of you go going to living because b) Review your pre-listening predictions Quickly review your pre-listening predictions. Were you able to guess some of the content of the interview from the pre-listening clues? Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 6 of 15
c) Listening for meaning asking and answering wh questions Answer the example questions below and practice writing your own wh questions about the story. WHY Example question: Why do you think CBC radio thought this would be a good story to tell their listeners? Your question: Why? WHAT Example question: What did the vice-principal do when he found out one of the students did not have skates? Your question: What? WHERE Example question: Where are the hockey try-outs being held? Your question: Where? WHO Example question: Who is Ralf? Your question: Who? Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 7 of 15
d) Listen for the speaker When there are many people talking, it can be difficult to remember who said what. Sometimes that s not important. But other times, thinking about who is speaking can help you better understand the meaning of what s being said. Here is a list of some statements that were made in the podcast. See if you can match each statement with the speaker who said it. You can use the first letter of their name. The first one is done for you. If you need help, listen to the podcast again and then check the transcript. Statements That just totally blows me away Dressed in an oversized orange hockey jersey, holding a clipboard There was a kid and he wants to skate. So I said to my boss So we said, There you go, now you got no excuses boy Joseph Bruyere leans on his stick outside the boards I really wanted to play on this team Speaker T Speakers to choose from: T Tammy (teacher/organizer) L Leighton (CBC reporter) J Joseph (hockey player) Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 8 of 15
e) Think about what you have learned and write a thank you letter to the teacher who organized the hockey team Pretend you are Joseph s Mom or Dad. You are very happy that the school is giving your son the opportunity to play on a hockey team. You are writing a thank you note to Ms. Friesen, the teacher who has organized the team. Use the format below to write your letter. Fill in the return address (your name) (your address) Fill in today s date,, (day, month, year) Who are you writing to? Start with why you are writing the letter Dear : I am writing to thank you for Provide additional information We really appreciate Close the letter I hope to meet you Yours, (sincerely or truly) Sign your name Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 9 of 15
f) Think about what advice would you give the city of Winkler s Hockey Day in Canada organizing committee Read the background information on Hockey Day in Canada, which will be held in Winkler, Manitoba this year. Then think about the advice you would give the organizers. CBC s Hockey Day in Canada On February 9, 2008, CBC s Hockey Day in Canada will come to Winkler Manitoba. This is the 8 th year for this event, which celebrates hockey in Canada. The theme this year is how people s lives are shaped and changed by the game of hockey. Winkler is Manitoba s 7 th largest city and describes itself as a hockey city. Many new immigrants are settling in Winkler and the population is growing. Famous hockey players have played for the local team, which is called the Winkler Flyers. In addition to having well-known CBC hockey hosts in town for Hockey Day, former NHL players will visit schools and there will be hockey lessons for young players. Winkler also plans to have activities and celebrations all week long. The local organizers of Hockey Day in Canada hope that some of the activities will be of interest to new immigrants who have made their home in Winkler and that hockey will become a part of their lives too. What kind of things could Winkler do to get new immigrants involved in the week of activities for Hockey Day in Canada? What advice would you give the committee organizing the event? What kinds of activities and events do you think would be of interest to newcomers? Think of at least three things the city could do. And if you want more information on the event, check the websites in this lesson plan. For example, you could suggest: I think the organizers should hold a hockey game where they invite all the new immigrants to attend. Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 10 of 15
Want to know more? For information on programs which can help parents pay the cost of participating in organized sports go to: http://www.sportmanitoba.ca/programs/kidsport.php For more information on Hockey Day in Canada, go to the City of Winkler website: http://www.cityofwinkler.ca/ and CBC Sports website: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hdic-feedback.html For more information on previous Hockey Day in Canada events, go to: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hdic2006/whatareyoudoing/manitoba.ht ml and http://www.gameofhockey.com/highlights.html (Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites) Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 11 of 15
Appendix 1 Transcript for lesson 4: Hockey in the North End Speaker Podcast Line Marcy Hello, I'm Marcy Markusa and you're listening to Learning English with the CBC. Today you will hear a story about a teacher determined to make a difference in her student s lives. With help from her school and the sports community, Tammy Friesen is starting the very first hockey team at St. John s 5 High School in Winnipeg s north end. Leighton Dressed in an oversized orange hockey jersey, holding a clipboard, Tammy Friesen stands at the front of Billy Mosienko Arena directing players to the dressing rooms. It s the first day of tryouts and just seeing the turnout is enough to 10 make Friesen s day. Tammy We ve got about 19 on the ice. That s like, that just totally blows me away, it s like awesome, it s just like ahhh! Leighton It s such a surprise for Friesen because she knows the north end is such a poor area. Kids and their families don t have a 15 lot of money. Tammy I know they want to play hockey, they re just afraid of a couple of the first thing is money, the second thing is equipment and that was also a big one because everybody knows, hockey equipment s not cheap. 20 Leighton She told them to show up to the first try-out anyway. She said she would have free equipment. During the past few months she landed some education grants for registration and ice time. Friesen then made a call out to sports organizations for equipment. Ten full hockey bags came in from Sports Manitoba and fellow staff members at the school made up the rest, with some equipment coming in right up until the puck dropped, thanks to the school s vice principal. 25 Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 12 of 15
Tammy Leighton Ralf Leighton Joseph There was a kid and he wants to skate. So I said to my boss, uhm so and so says he that ah the reason he can t skate is because he doesn t have decent skates. So he says, We ll fix that right up so he took him shopping at three o clock to the store on McPhillips and bought him a brand new pair of skates. So we said, There you go, now you got no excuses boy. But he s on the ice so I m happy. It s making others happy as well, like fellow teacher Ralf Grubert. He s going to help coach and he wants to give the kids an opportunity that they ve never had. Many one parent families, ah grandma s raising some of these kids, ah living some living on the streets, some of them don t have a home life to go to. Some of them are, when they showed up last time and you could just see the smiles on some of their faces they re out on the ice and it was like, some of these kids well they say they ve never seen these kids smile at school or anywhere else and here they were on the ice, with big smiles on their faces. Joseph Bruyere leans on his stick outside the boards during warm-up, grinning ear to ear. I really wanted to play on this team because it s my first chance at ice hockey team. Never got an opportunity like this before because it s like no teams in the north end. 30 35 40 45 50 Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 13 of 15
Answers to Worksheets Vocabulary gap fill 1. We are going to watch a hockey game at the arena. 2. Hockey players carry all their equipment in a hockey bag when they go to play hockey. 3. The place where hockey players put on their equipment and get dressed for the game is called a dressing room. 4. A goal is scored when a player hits the puck with his (or her) stick and it goes into the net. 5. Wayne Gretsky is a very famous hockey player. He wore a hockey jersey with the number 99 on the back. 6. Hockey players move quickly on the ice because they are wearing skates. 7. To show the coach they have the skills needed to play on a team, hockey players must go to the tryouts where they demonstrate how well they play hockey. Answers for syllable stress teacher community clipboard arena money equipment families players teach er com mu ni ty clip board a re na mon ey e quip ment fam i lies play ers All these words are from the same word family. Are they adjectives, nouns, verbs or adverbs? They are all nouns. Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 14 of 15
Answers to wh questions Why answers will vary What He took the student to a store to buy new skates. Where The hockey tryouts are being held in an arena. Who Ralf is a teacher from the school who is helping to coach the team. Answers to Who Said It? Statements That just totally blows me away Dressed in an oversized orange hockey jersey, holding a clipboard There was a kid and he wants to skate. So I said to my boss So we said, There you go, now you got no excuses boy Joseph Bruyere leans on his stick outside the boards I really wanted to play on this team Speaker T L T T L J Self Study: Hockey in the North End Learning English with CBC Page 15 of 15