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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. Self Study: Action on Climate Change Learning English with CBC Page 2 of 17 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. Self Study: Action on Climate Change Learning English with CBC Page 4 of 17 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. Self Study: Action on Climate Change Learning English with CBC 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.” Self Study: Action on Climate Change Learning English with CBC 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. Self Study: Action on Climate Change Learning English with CBC Page 8 of 17 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. Self Study: Action on Climate Change Learning English with CBC Page 9 of 17 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.) Learning English with CBC 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? Learning English with CBC 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 Learning English with CBC 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 ___________________________________ Self Study: Action on Climate Change Learning English with CBC 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) Self Study: Action on Climate Change Learning English with CBC Page 14 of 17 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. Self Study: Action on Climate Change Learning English with CBC Page 15 of 17 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 Learning English with CBC 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 Page 17 of 17