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Listening to Manitobans - Learning about Manitoba
The stories and interviews presented in the podcast use real language – spoken by real people about real events. They haven't been modified for EAL learners and present language with the speed, intonation, pronunciation and slang used in everyday Manitoba conversations.
The lessons allow you as a teacher to examine and use the language and issues your students will encounter outside of the classroom. This may be a bit of a challenge, as you will find some people speak very quickly on radio! The use of this resource will allow you and your students the extra time needed to reflect on and examine the skills they need to become effective listeners in the real world. It will give them time to ask questions about the idioms, cultural assumptions and pronunciation that may not be captured by standard EAL listening resources.
Most lessons would be best used for upper-intermediate to advanced speakers, for Canadian Language Benchmark levels five and above. You may however want to modify lessons to focus on shorter segments of the story for students at lower levels.
Each week we will list the cultural focus and language points that are within each lesson. We will also suggest the broader functional learning objectives that these lessons may complement.
Pre-listening
Students will be asked context-setting questions to introduce them to the week's topic. Targeted vocabulary-development exercises will be presented to prepare students for possible new words specific to the story, and they may be asked to perform predictive exercises.
While you listen
Students may be asked to firstly listen for the gist of the story, and then listen again a number of times for increasing detail and information. It is important to stress to students that they not worry about understanding the whole story right away. They do not have to understand every word or every sentence for that matter. Let them know that you will be playing the audio a number of times, and that they will have the chance to get the answers they need.
It may also be helpful to let students know that listeners who have English as their first language may not catch every word. Sometimes people do not speak perfectly clearly and first language speakers often have to infer meaning from what is said before and after unclear words or sentences. Remind them that this is all a part of improving their listening skills and not just coming to a point where they understand every word that is said. It is more important to learn how to listen for the main message and key details in a conversation.
After Listening
After students have listened for the general idea and have a good understanding of the new vocabulary, themes and language functions used in the story, the lesson may introduce an expanded activity that makes use of their new knowledge.
The stories and interviews presented in the podcast use real language – spoken by real people about real events. They haven't been modified for EAL learners and present language with the speed, intonation, pronunciation and slang used in everyday Manitoba conversations.
The lessons allow you as a teacher to examine and use the language and issues your students will encounter outside of the classroom. This may be a bit of a challenge, as you will find some people speak very quickly on radio! The use of this resource will allow you and your students the extra time needed to reflect on and examine the skills they need to become effective listeners in the real world. It will give them time to ask questions about the idioms, cultural assumptions and pronunciation that may not be captured by standard EAL listening resources.
Most lessons would be best used for upper-intermediate to advanced speakers, for Canadian Language Benchmark levels five and above. You may however want to modify lessons to focus on shorter segments of the story for students at lower levels.
Each week we will list the cultural focus and language points that are within each lesson. We will also suggest the broader functional learning objectives that these lessons may complement.
The lessons found on this site will vary in their presentation, however most lessons will be structured in three parts.
Pre-listening
Students will be asked context-setting questions to introduce them to the week's topic. Targeted vocabulary-development exercises will be presented to prepare students for possible new words specific to the story, and they may be asked to perform predictive exercises.
While you listen
Students may be asked to firstly listen for the gist of the story, and then listen again a number of times for increasing detail and information. It is important to stress to students that they not worry about understanding the whole story right away. They do not have to understand every word or every sentence for that matter. Let them know that you will be playing the audio a number of times, and that they will have the chance to get the answers they need.
It may also be helpful to let students know that listeners who have English as their first language may not catch every word. Sometimes people do not speak perfectly clearly and first language speakers often have to infer meaning from what is said before and after unclear words or sentences. Remind them that this is all a part of improving their listening skills and not just coming to a point where they understand every word that is said. It is more important to learn how to listen for the main message and key details in a conversation.
After Listening
After students have listened for the general idea and have a good understanding of the new vocabulary, themes and language functions used in the story, the lesson may introduce an expanded activity that makes use of their new knowledge.
Feedback
Email UsWe welcome any feedback and suggestions that can help us make these lessons relevant for your classroom. Please contact us with your suggestions.