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Learning English with CBC
Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students
Based on the podcast “Manitoba This Week”
Broadcast date: May 10, 2008
Lesson 25: Self Study Edition
Level:
Benchmark 5 and up
Topic:
Action on Climate Change
Skill areas:
Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing
Language tasks:
Listening – listening to a short interview for main
ideas, details and inference
Speaking – expressing opinions
Reading – reading an information text and answering
questions
Writing: writing a letter
Language competencies:
Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking
Strategies, Sociocultural/sociolinguistic Competence
Extend your learning:
Learn more about climate change
Calculate your own ecological footprint
Write a letter asking for action on climate change
Essential Skills1:
Writing, reading text, thinking skills, oral communication, numeracy
Appendices:
Transcript of the podcast
Answers to Worksheets
Attention students: You will need to print the lesson to be able to complete the
activities.
1
Essential Skills are the skills required to successfully participate in the Canadian Labour Market and they are a
natural extension of EAL lessons. In 2008, the Essential Skills that are included in Learning English with CBC
lesson plans will be noted on the cover page.
Self Study: Action on Climate Change
Learning English with CBC
Page 1 of 17
Manitoba Memo
Canadians love their cars. While record high gas prices may mean we drive a little
less, most experts believe it will take more than high gas prices to end our love affair with
our vehicles.
What are the downsides to having over 12 million vehicles on Canadian roads? For
decades we’ve been aware of the cost of building and maintaining streets and highways,
traffic congestion and noise and air pollution. But in recent years a new concern has
surfaced - vehicle emissions produce greenhouse gases. In fact, driving our cars and
heating and cooling our homes are the two major ways individuals contribute to the build
up of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. The fact that the earth is getting
warmer and the climate is changing is well documented by scientists.
Some steps to reduce greenhouse gases are being taken. The Manitoba government
has committed to meeting its Kyoto targets2. The government plans to reduce
greenhouse gases to a level which is equal (or better) to taking every car in the province
off the road. The City of Winnipeg is building more bike paths. The Government of
Canada is helping people make their homes more energy efficient. And many
corporations are working hard to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change is one issue where it really makes sense to “think globally and act
locally.” Greenhouse gases know no borders and reducing emissions will require
governments, industries and individuals to take action and make tough choices.
Background
1. Before you listen, read the Manitoba Memo and fill in a K-W-L chart
Every week, there are news stories about the causes and effects of climate
change. Fill in the chart which follows by writing down what you know about
climate change (column one) and what you would like to know (column two). At
the end of the lesson, you can fill in the third column (what you have learned
about climate change).
2
The Kyoto Protocol is the first international agreement to set targets to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions which
cause climate change. It was signed by most major industrial countries, including Canada. Although the current
federal government has said it will not meet the targets set out in the agreement, several provinces plan to keep their
commitment.
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Learning English with CBC
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I know
Self Study: Action on Climate Change
I want to know
Learning English with CBC
I learned
Page 3 of 17
2. Think about the following questions

How do people get to school or work in your country? Do most people
drive their own vehicles, do they take public transportation (bus, train,
subway, or do they walk or bike?

How busy are the roads in your country? Are they more/less busy than
roads in Winnipeg/Manitoba? Is the cost of gas higher or lower than it
is in Manitoba? Is there more or less air pollution?

How do you find public transportation? What do you like about it?
What don’t you like about it?
3. Words you need to know
Here are some words you need to know to understand the podcast. See if you
can use each one of them in a sentence.
Vocabulary
record high
If something is at a record high level, it is higher than it
has ever been before. For example, gas prices in
Manitoba are at a record high level. They have never
been higher.
automatically
If you do something automatically, it means you do it over
and over in the same way, like a machine. For example,
if you always turn right off your street in the morning, you
may do that automatically even when you actually need
to turn left to get to your destination.
convenient route
A convenient bus route is one that is handy or easily
accessible to you and meets your needs.
pet peeve
A pet peeve is something that annoys or bothers you on
a continual basis. For example, your pet peeve about
taking public transportation at rush hour could be that you
never get a seat.
shift work
People who work in hospitals or factories often do shift
work. They work for a specific period of time during the
night or day and then they are replaced by other workers.
There are always people working.
hitch a ride
An informal way of asking someone to drive you
somewhere for free. A hitchhiker is someone who stands
by the side of the road with their thumb raised in the air
hoping a driver will stop and give them a ride.
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4. Predict what the podcast is about
In this podcast, reporter Leighton Klassen interviews two men who use their cars
to get to work instead of taking the bus. Can you predict some of the reasons the
men may give for not taking the bus?
Here are some sentence starters and some examples of what you could say:
One reason might be….that taking the bus isn’t convenient.
Another possible reason is …that they are shift workers.
Maybe…they just like to take their car.
It could be….that they don’t feel safe on the bus.
Possibly…
5. Get ready to listen
In this podcast, you will hear three speakers. You will hear:
Marcy Markusa – interviewer and host
Sean Sidel – worker
Dennis Wilman – worker
Play the podcast for the first time.
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Page 5 of 17
6. Listen for the main ideas
Read the following questions. When you listen to the podcast again, see if you
can find the answers.
Why does Marcy think Winnipeggers will be taking the bus more often?
What are Sean’s reasons for not taking the bus? Are these good reasons
in your opinion?
What are Dennis’ reasons for not taking the bus? Are these good reasons
in your opinion?
7. Listen for the missing questions
This podcast is only part of the whole interview – we don’t hear the questions
reporter Leighton Klassen asks the two men. We just hear what Sean and
Dennis respond.
Listen to the podcast again. What questions do you think Leighton asked Sean
and Dennis?
8. Listen for common strategies of spoken English
This time, listen carefully to Sean’s comments. His response has many
strategies which are common to spoken English. Take a look at the transcript
and see if you can find the following examples.
Lines
9/10
17/18
Example
uhm, ah
13/14
I mean, really I mean and I
don’t understand
14/15
I just figured everybody would,
everybody, most people would
Really difficult, a kind of a, kind
of a pain in my side actually
17/18
Strategy
These are fillers and they are used
as a time gaining strategy – they give
the speaker time to think about what
they want to say next
Repetition and re-phrasing is often
used to clarify what is being said or
while a speaker is searching for the
word or expression they want to use.
Hedging (kind of) is often used to
soften what’s being said, to make is
sound less harsh.
Does your first language have some or all of these kinds of features?
For a bonus point, can you correct the grammatical error in line 16?3
3
It should be “there were no convenient routes.”
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Page 6 of 17
After you listen
a) Review your pre-listening predictions
Quickly review your pre-listening predictions. Did you correctly predict the kinds
of reasons the men gave for not taking the bus?
b) Use the verb “to find” to talk about travel
We use some verbs to describe thoughts, feelings and opinions. An example is the verb
“to find.” The verb is followed by an object, an infinitive (usually the verb “to be”) and an
adjective in formal language. In informal language, the verb “to be” is often left out. For
example:
I find the bus to be convenient. (formal)
I find the bus convenient. (informal)
Practice using the informal structure to find + noun or pronoun + adjective. Ask
yourself the questions below and answer using an adjective from the suggestion box.
Here’s an example:
Question:
How do you find the bus system in Winnipeg?
Possible Answers: I find it convenient.
I find the bus convenient.
Questions
What about the public transportation system in your country? How do you find it?
What do you think of travelling by train?
How do you find airplane travel?
What do you think of the condition of the roads in Manitoba?
What do you think of the traffic in big cities?
How do you find cycling in Winnipeg?
Adjective suggestion box
convenient
expensive
inconvenient
crowded
bumpy
inefficient
inexpensive
difficult to use
efficient
Self Study: Action on Climate Change
stressful
relaxing slow
easy to use
confusing difficult
a hassle
easy
Learning English with CBC
fast
enjoyable
Page 7 of 17
c) Learn more about climate change and answer questions
Read the following information about climate change and then answer the questions
which follow.
Our Climate is Changing4
What is climate change?
Most scientists in the world believe climate change is a serious threat to the planet.
Climate change is the term used to describe the warming of the earth’s temperature
(also called global warming) and the severe and unusual weather conditions which
result.
What causes climate change?
Climate change is caused by excessive greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The
most common gas is carbon dioxide. The earth naturally produces the perfect amount
of greenhouse gas, but when we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas, we add
more. The more greenhouse gas we produce, the thicker the blanket around the
earth’s atmosphere becomes. This blanket traps heat around the planet and makes it
hotter. The 1980’s and 1990’s were the warmest decades on record.
What are some of the effects of climate change?
Scientists are concerned about how climate change affects the earth’s physical and
biological systems. Examples of physical changes are shrinking glaciers, melting
permafrost and warmer oceans. Biological changes include earlier spring blossoms and
bird migrations, insect surviving in parts of the world where they’ve never survived
before and threats to wildlife populations (like the polar bears).
Who’s responsible for climate change?
Industry, governments and individuals all produce greenhouse gases. The emissions
produced by individuals are about 25% of the total. Eighty percent of these emissions
are from vehicles and home heating and cooling. Greenhouse gas emissions are often
referred to as “carbon footprints.”
Does climate change affect all countries equally?
When it comes to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the world is like a single
country. The earth’s atmosphere is a resource to all and it has no borders. But
countries don’t produce the same level of greenhouse gases and they have different
carbon footprints. And although the world’s poorest people have the smallest footprint,
their countries are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, like tsunami’s,
cyclones and drought.
4
The sources for the text are: Brochure on climate change published by the Kawartha Region in Ontario; Global
warming effect’s widespread, Winnipeg Free Press, May 15, 2008; United Nations Human Development Report
2007/2008 – Fighting Climate Change.
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What can be done?
Even if we were able to freeze the world’s greenhouse gas emissions at today’s levels,
scientists believe that the climate is already committed to significant warming for
hundreds of years to come. They believe environmental organizations, industry, the
United Nations, countries around the world and individuals must all work together to
confront this serious problem. The planet is sending out an SOS5 and it needs all of us
to respond.
Think about the following statements and decide whether they are true or false.
Question
1. Climate change and global warming are two terms which describe the
same thing.
2. A small number of scientists believe climate change is a severe threat to
the planet.
3. The greenhouse gases we produce form a blanket around the earth
which makes it hard for heat to escape.
4. All greenhouse gases in the atmosphere come from industry,
government and individuals.
5. Scientists are concerned about the physical and biological changes to
the earth which are caused by climate change.
6. If Canadians took public transportation and stopped driving cars to work
and school, our country’s carbon footprint would be much smaller.
7. Countries which produce the highest level of greenhouse gases are
most likely to be affected by climate change.
8. If individuals and industries stopped producing greenhouse gases
tomorrow, the world would soon return to its normal temperature.
T or F
T
Here are a couple more questions to think about:
1. How concerned are you personally about climate change and how it is affecting the
planet? Here are some ways you could start your answer.
I’m very concerned because…
I’m not very concerned because…
I’m not sure what to think because…
2. Do you think it will be easy or difficult to get individuals, industries and governments
to change their behaviour and make reducing greenhouse gases a priority? Here are
some ways you could start your answer.
I think it will be very easy/difficult because…
I think it will be easier for ______ to change their behaviour than
_____because….
I think the only way to get _________ to change their behaviour is…
5
An SOS is a call for help.
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d) Calculate your ecological footprint
Canadians are the second largest producers of greenhouse gases in the
world. Answer the following questions by checking the answer that
applies to you. At the end, add up the points for each of your answers to
determine your personal greenhouse gas contribution.
At Home
5. Do you turn down the heat at night
and when you are away?
1. How many people are in your
household?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
5 or more
4
3
2
1
10
15
20
25
30
A)
B)
C)
points
points
points
points
points
Solar or wind
energy
B) Natural gas
C) Electricity
D) Wood
E) Oil
A)
B)
C)
D)
0 points
30
40
40
50
points
points
points
points
B)
C)
Apartment or
condo
Semi-detached
House
20 points
30 points
40 points
4. Have you draft-proofed your
windows?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Yes
Windows only
Doors only
No
0 points
30 points
40 points
50 points
Self Study: Action on Climate Change
Don’t have one
Only when it’s
extremely hot
Only when it’s hot
Every summer day
0 points
20 points
30 points
50 points
On the Road
7. What type of vehicle does you or
your family own?
3. What type of home do you live in?
A)
0 points
30 points
60 points
6. If you have an air conditioner, how
often do you use it?
2. How is your house or apartment
heated?
A)
Always
Sometimes
Never
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
F)
G)
None
Motorcycle
Small compact
vehicle
Mid-sized vehicle
Full-sized vehicle
Sports utility
vehicle or van
Pick-up truck
0 points
15 points
35 points
60 points
75 points
100 points
130 points
(If you have more than one vehicle, add
the appropriate number of points for each.
For example, if you have a compact car
and a van, give yourself 135 points.)
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Page 10 of 17
8. How often do you fill up your gas
tank?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
F)
Not applicable
Once a month
Every two weeks
Once a week
Twice a week
More than twice
a week
0 points
15 points
25 points
35 points
70 points
95 points
Scoring
Add up your total points to find
the size of your ecological
footprint!
9. How do you get to school / work?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Walk
Bicycle or roller
blade
School bus or
transit
Carpool
Own vehicle
Congratulations! You are keeping
your greenhouse gas emissions low
and helping the planet! Can you
persuade others to follow your lead?
0 points
0 points
20 points
135 – 400: Medium footprint
25 points
50 points
10. Did you fly last year?
For every one way flight you took, add
30 points.
Other
11. Do you shop for locally produced
products and food?
A)
B)
C)
Always
Sometimes
Never
0 points
20 points
40 points
Cold water
Warm water
Hot water
Self Study: Action on Climate Change
Good start, you’re doing your part
helping out future generations.
Challenge yourself to cut your
emissions even more.
405 – 695: Big footprint
It’s a start, but you’re not doing
enough to protect the planet from
Greenhouse gases. It’s time to learn
ways to improve.
700 or over: Giant footprint
12. When you do your laundry, do you
mostly use…?
A)
B)
C)
40 to 130 points: Small footprint
10 points
20 points
40 points
Whoa! You can’t go on this way. You
need to start now to cut back your
greenhouse gas production and
energy use.
This quiz was adapted from the 1999 City of
Toronto Ecological Footprint Questionnaire
and from Canadian Living.com – What’s
your ecological footprint?
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Page 11 of 17
e) Write a letter on climate change
Political leaders are influenced by public opinion. One of the best ways to let them
know that you are concerned about an issue is to write to them.
Tips on writing a good letter on an issue of concern to you:
 Be polite. You want the person to listen to your views
 Be personal. Use your own words.
 Recommend action. Ask for something specific, for
example, a ban or a law on something.
 Ask for a reply. This shows you are serious about
your concerns.
 Make sure you have the correct name and address.
Your phone book lists your elected representatives.
What if I don’t know who to write to?
Here’s how it works if you live in Manitoba. Generally, you write to the Mayor, Reeve
or councilors for local issues, to your Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for
provincial (Manitoba) issues and to your Member of Parliament (MP) on federal
(Canadian) issues. If you live in Manitoba and don’t know who your representatives
are, you can try to locate them by following the prompts on the following websites:
City of Winnipeg
Go to http://cms00asa1.winnipeg.ca/
Type in your address and select search to find out the name of your Ward and
councilor.
Cities, towns and municipalities outside Winnipeg
Check the local government website or community paper.
Province of Manitoba
Go to www.electionsmanitoba.ca
Select “voter information”. Select “what is my electoral division” and follow the
instructions.
Government of Canada
Go to www2.parl.gc.ca
Select “Elections and ridings”
Select “Ridings / Constituencies” and follow the instructions.
What should I write about?
You can choose any climate change topic that interests you. If you are having
difficulty deciding on a topic, read the case study at the end of this Worksheet for
ideas on action you could ask political leaders to take.
Self Study: Action on Climate Change
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Page 12 of 17
Use the following outline to help you write your letter.
Your name and address
so they know where to
send the reply
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
R __ __ __ __ __
Name, title and address
of the person you are
sending the letter to
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
__ __ __ __ __ __
Today’s date
_______________________
Dear ________________:
Start with why you
are writing the letter
I am writing to ask you to take action on climate change. I am
concerned about climate change because _______________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
What action do you want
the government to take?
I think that the government should _____________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
This is important because _____________________
_________________________________________________
Close the letter
I look forward to your reply.
Yours ___________, (sincerely or truly)
Sign your name
___________________________________
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Page 13 of 17
Case study: City of Bogota, Colombia
Many of us think it’s practically impossible to get people out of their cars. But
Enrique Penalosa, the Mayor of Bogota Colombia from 1997 to 2000, had a different
view.
When Penalosa was elected he decided to do something about the cars which had
taken over the streets and sidewalks of his city. He wanted a city that was built for
children and people, not business and automobiles. Instead of building more roads,
he built sidewalks, bicycle paths, parks and pedestrian only streets. He banned 40%
of vehicles from the roads during rush hour. He raised gas taxes and used the
revenues to fund a rapid bus system.
He showed other cities that change isn’t so much about spending a lot of money as
it is about making choices and changing behaviour.
In 2000, the city held a “Car-Free Day” and it was so popular residents voted to
make it an annual event. The city also voted to ban cars during morning and
evening rush hour from 2015 onward.
Want to know more…
For background on Manitoba Climate Change initiatives go to:
http://www.gov.mb.ca/stem/climate/index.html
Go to Winnipeg Transit’s website to find out why taking transit is so environmentally
friendly:
http://winnipegtransit.com/interestingtransitfacts.jsp
The Canadian government’s initiatives can be found at:
http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca/index-eng.cfm
There’s lots of climate change information on David Suzuki’s website:
http://davidsuzuki.org
For the summary of the United Nations Human Development Report - Fighting Climate
Change go to: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_20072008_summary_english.pdf
An interview with the former Mayor of Bogota can be found at:
http://www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/placemakers/epenalosa
Al Gore’s official website can be found at: http://www.algore.com/
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites)
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Appendix 1: Transcript
May 10, 2008
Speaker
Podcast
Line
Marcy
Hi I'm Marcy Markusa and you're listening to Learning English with
CBC. Well, you'd think that record high gas prices would
automatically lead to more and more Winnipeggers taking the
bus. But some people say that won't happen until we have a better
transit system throughout the city. Reporter Leighton Klassen
5
interviewed Sean Sidel and Dennis Wilman to see why the current
system isn't working for them. Here's what they had to say.
Sean
Hi, I’m Sean Sidel. Well I used to, I do live in Charleswood, it’s a
suburb obviously everyone knows southwest of the city, I ah had
worked at Sport Mart in ah the Unicity Mall and uhm I had I had to
10
open up the shop at about 8:30 in the morning however there were
no buses coming from my area and dropping off at ah Unicity ‘till
‘till 9 o’clock so I mean really I mean and I don’t understand
considering most people do start at around 9 o’clock, it’s a mall, I
mean I just figured everybody would everybody, most people
would be starting work around that time but there was no
convenient routes ah going there so I found it really difficult, kind of
a, kind of a pain in my side actually, and ah yeah that that was my
biggest pet peeve.
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15
Dennis
Hi, my name’s Dennis Wilman. Why do I drive a car? Well I work
shift work so uhm it’s just not convenient for me to take a bus. Uhm
20
if I were to take a bus it would probably take an hour, an hour and
a half. Now to take a bus t’ work for three o’clock in Murray
Industrial Park from Pembina Highway probably would take about
40 minutes. To get home at 11 I’d have to uh either hitch a ride
with a buddy to Portage Avenue or t’, some guys live by Polo Park,
25
then I’d have to wait for a a bus there. That would probably take
another hour I think it’s taken me when I have done it so to get
home at like 12:30, go to sleep, get up, spend some time with my
kids, get them to school, would ah, it’s just, it’s too much time.
It’s pretty frustrating because uhm I do enjoy taking the bus. It
gives me time to relax and read, I can eat, and I can just, you
know, think about stuff whereas with my car I have to be a little
more lucid, a little more aware of what’s going on.
Self Study: Action on Climate Change
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Page 16 of 17
30
Appendix 4: Answers to Worksheets
Question
1. Climate change and global warming are two terms which describe the
same thing.
2. A small number of scientists believe climate change is a severe threat to
the planet.
3. The greenhouse gases we produce form a blanket around the earth
which makes it hard for heat to escape.
4. All greenhouse gases in the atmosphere come from industry,
government and individuals.
5. Scientists are concerned about the physical and biological changes to
the earth which are caused by climate change.
6. If Canadians took public transportation and stopped driving cars to work
and school, our country’s carbon footprint would be much smaller.
7. Countries which produce the highest level of greenhouse gases are
most likely to be affected by climate change.
8. If individuals and industries stopped producing greenhouse gases
tomorrow, the world would soon return to its normal temperature.
Self Study: Action on Climate Change
Learning English with CBC
T or F
T
F
T
F
T
T
F
F
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