Learning English with CBC Edmonton Weekly newscast December 16th 2011 Lessons prepared by Justine Light & Jennifer Foote Objectives of the weekly newscast lesson to develop listening skills at the CLB 4 level to increase vocabulary among learners to increase knowledge of news stories to provide a self study tool, as well as, an ESL classroom resource www.alberta.ca www.cbc.ca/edmonton/eal/
News story #1 Before you listen to the first news story, complete this vocabulary activity. It will help you to understand the listening more easily. Vocabulary Match the words with their definitions. The first one is done for you. Answers are at the end of the lesson. Answer Word Definition e 1. ban a) when someone says something is wrong 2. citizenship b) a promise made about a legal matter 3. ceremonies c) the legal right to be a citizen of a country 4. oath d) a rule that is based on what you think is right 5. complaint e) to officially say someone must not do something 6. principle f) an event for a very special occasion 7. religious g) something that you must do 8. obligation h) related to religion Extra definitions to help you understand the listening: burqa: Clothing that covers the head and body, with holes for the eyes, worn by some Muslim women niqab: Clothing that covers the face worn by some Muslim women veil: A thin piece of fabric that is worn by women to cover their faces Listening Activity: True/False Decide whether the statements below are true or false. Write your answer in the blanks. The first one is done for you. Answers are on the last page. 1. False New Canadians are not allowed to wear a face covering after they become citizens. 2. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says some officials have complained about women wearing the face covering during the citizenship ceremony. 3. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says it is also a matter of principle. 4. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says it is not necessary for the oath of citizenship to be taken openly. 5. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney believes that all Muslim women must wear the niqab.
News story #2 The words below are from the first news story. Choose the group of words in the box below that best matches those words. The first one is done for you. Answers are on the last page. Answer Word Related words c 1) withdrawn a. climate earth natural world 2) environment b. agree to authorize confirm 3) conference c. take out leave back out 4) current d. goals plans aims 5) targets e. now present today 6) signed f. meeting discussion 7) penalties g. fail be unsuccessful miss 8) fall short h. fines costs losses Now listen to the second news story from the audio file. Listening activity: Multiple choice Choose the best answer to complete the sentences. Answers are on the last page. 1. Which international agreement has Canada left? a. The Kyoto Protocol b. The UN Refugee Convention 2. Who is the minister for the environment? a. Jason Kenney b. Peter Kent 3. When did Canada sign the Kyoto protocol? a. The 1980 s b. The 1990 s 4. How much money does the government state Canada will save after withdrawing from the agreement? a. $14 billion b. 40 million
News story #3 Before you listen to the third news story, complete this vocabulary activity. It will help you to understand the listening more easily. Vocabulary Words and Definitions Traded when a professional sports player s contract is bought or sold among teams Franchise A sport s team in a professional league Veteran A person with long experience Quarterback a football player who calls the plays and leads the offense Entire whole or complete part of something Titles a championship Shocked to be surprised and upset Come to terms with accept a sad situation Use one of the vocabulary words below to complete the sentences. Answers are on the last page. 1. The captain of the hockey team is a player with 20 years experience. 2. The team has a terrible flu bug. 3. The has a lot of responsibility to lead the team to victory. 4. After winning many in different sports in the 1980 s and 1990 s, Edmonton used to call itself city of champions. 5. After the death of my mother, it took a long time for my father to the situation. 6. I was when I heard that two people had died in a car accident close to my house. 7. Every professional sport player knows they could be at any time. 8. The Toronto Maple Leafs is the most valuable hockey in Canada. Listening Activity: Short Answer Read and answer the questions below. Answers are on the last page. 1. Which Edmonton Eskimos player was traded? 2. How many years had this player been in Edmonton? 3. Which Canadian city was he sent to? 4. Which players came to Edmonton in the trade? 5. How did the player leaving Edmonton feel about the trade?
Appendix Transcripts of Weekly news stories Introduction Story 1 Story 2 Story 3 DECEMBER 16TH WEEKLY NEWS STORIES Hi, this is Don Bell. You re listening to Learning English with CBC news for December 16th. There is now a burqa ban at Canadian citizenship ceremonies. New Canadians will have to remove any face coverings, such as the Islamic niqab or burqa, while they take the oath of citizenship. Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney says he's had complaints from MPs and citizenship judges who say that it's difficult to be sure that people whose faces are covered are really taking the oath. Kenney says it's also a matter of principle. He says new Canadians should be taking the oath in front of their fellow citizens. Kenney adds, the oath must be taken freely and openly and that he doesn't accept that it's a religious obligation to wear a veil. The Conservative government has withdrawn Canada from the Kyoto protocol. Environment Minister, Peter Kent made the announcement as soon as he returned from a United Nations climate conference in South Africa. But the move was a long time coming. Canada signed the Kyoto protocol in the late 1990s, but neither the current Conservative government nor the Liberal government before had met targets for cutting greenhouse gases. The Tories have always said that to meet Canada's Kyoto commitments would wreck the economy. The environment minister said the move saves Canada $14 billion in penalties for not meeting its Kyoto targets. New Democrat environment critic, Megan Leslie says there are no penalties under Kyoto, but that pulling out means the Tories do not have to report that Canada is falling short of its Kyoto targets. The Edmonton Eskimos have traded away the face of their franchise. The Canadian Football League team sent nine year veteran Ricky Ray to Toronto, for fellow quarterback Steven Jyles, Canadian kicker Grant Shaw and the No. 2 pick in next year's Canadian College Draft. General Manager, Eric Tillman, says the trade makes the Eskimos a younger team. Ray has spent his entire CFL career with Edmonton, leading the Eskimos to two Grey Cup titles in that time. Ricky Ray says he was shocked by the trade. But Ray also said, during a news conference in Toronto, that he's coming to terms with the trade and is anxious to begin with his new team. TIME 0:00 0:12 1:10 2:25
Answer keys News story 1 Vocabulary: Answer Word Definition e 1. ban a. when someone says something is wrong c 2. citizenship b. a promise made about a legal matter f 3. ceremonies c. the legal right to be a citizen of a country b 4. oath d. a rule that is based on what you think is right a 5. complaint e. to officially say someone must not do something d 6. principle f. an event for a very special occasion h 7. religious g. something that you must do g 8. obligation h. related to religion Listening 1. False New Canadians are not allowed to wear a face covering after they become citizens. 2. True Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says some officials have complained about women wearing the face covering during the citizenship ceremony. 3. True Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says it is also a matter of principle. 4. False Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says it is not necessary for the oath of citizenship to be taken openly. 5. False Immigration Minister Jason Kenney believes that all muslim women must wear the niqab. News Story 2 Vocabulary Answer Word Related words c 1) withdrawn a. climate earth natural world a 2) environment b. agree to authorize confirm f 3) conference c. take out leave back out e 4) current d. goals plans aims d 5) targets e. now present today b 6) signed f. meeting discussion h 7) penalties g. fail be unsuccessful
Listening: miss g 8) fall short h. fines costs losses 1. Which international agreement has Canada left? a. The Kyoto Protocol b. The UN Refugee Convention 2. Who is the minister for the environment? a. Jason Kenney b. Peter Kent c. When did Canada sign the Kyoto protocol? a. The 1980 s b. The 1990 s d. How much money does the government state Canada will save after withdrawing from the agreement? News Story 3 a. $14 billion b. 40 million Vocabulary: 1. The captain of the hockey team is a veteran player with 20 years experience. 2. The entire team has a terrible flu bug. 3. The quarterback has a lot of responsibility to lead the team to victory. 4. After winning many titles in different sports in the 1980 s and 1990 s, Edmonton used to call itself city of champions. 5. After the death of my mother, it took a long time for my father to come to terms with the situation. 6. I was shocked when I heard that two people had died in a car accident close to my house. 7. Every professional sport player knows they could be traded at any time. 8. The Toronto Maple Leafs is the most valuable hockey franchise in Canada. Listening: 1. Which Edmonton Eskimos player was traded? Ricky Ray 2. How many years had this player been in Edmonton? Nine years 3. Which Canadian city was he sent to? Toronto 4. Which players came to Edmonton in the trade? Steven Jyles, Grant Shaw and the No. 2 pick in next year's Canadian College Draft 5. How did the player leaving Edmonton feel about the trade? Shocked but he is coming to terms with it.