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Self Study: Learning from the Experiences of Others Learning English with CBC of 23

Learning English with CBC Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students Based on CBC Manitoba Radio Broadcasts

December 12, 2011

Lesson 74: Self Study Edition Level: CLB 6 and up

Topic: Learning from the Experiences of Others

Language Skills and Functions: Listening – listening to a short interview for main ideas

Speaking – asking relevant questions; expressing opinions; expressing regret

Reading – reading a text for main ideas and detail; scanning a blog for information

Writing – writing a blog comment; writing questions

Language Competencies: Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking Strategies, Socio-cultural/sociolinguistic Competence

Language Tasks: Answer questions about attitudes toward elders across cultures

Listen for main ideas in a radio interview with Professor Karl Pillemer about what can be learned from our elders

Use vocabulary in context as a strategy

Read a text about blogs and complete a cloze exercise

Scan the Winnipeg Foundation blog for information

Write a comment in response to an entry on a blog

Discuss and plan a blog for newcomers about life in Manitoba

Write and prepare interview questions for contributors to your blog

Essential Skills: Reading text, oral communication, writing

Appendices: Transcript What is a Blog? Answers to Worksheets


Manitoba Memo When people tell their life stories, they offer us a window into their world. We learn about their work, their families, their culture and their communities. Often, we can identify with what they’ve been through. Their experiences may help us make better or different choices in our own lives. In today’s industrialized world, we have information and advice at our fingertips. We type “how to…” or “advice on…” into our internet search engine and we can find out just about anything. We can find advice on relationships or parenting. We can find out how to cook something or fix or renovate something. We can find out how to look for a job. If someone asks us how we learned to do something we’re apt to say, “I Googled it.” Sometimes we forget just how much things have changed. At one time, all the information in the world was passed on orally. People’s experiences were told and re-told, from one generation to the next. Cultures and traditions were maintained solely through the spoken word. Historical accounts, when they were finally written down, were based on people’s oral account of what had happened. A mere one hundred years ago, if you wanted advice on something, you asked your elders. You talked to your parents or grandparents. You sought advice and insights from the older and wiser members of your community. They taught you what they knew. They shared their experiences so that you could learn from them. Some cultures around the world consider their elders a major asset to their communities. They see them as wise and worthy of respect. They expect children to care for their aging parents and intergenerational living arrangements remain common. But in other cultures, respect for the life lessons of older people has been lost to some degree. Technology drives our society and sometimes it leaves older people behind. Most elders don’t live with their extended family. In some cases, they may not even live near their extended family. Urban, industrialized society tends to segregate people by age. Seniors often live in housing arrangements with other seniors. We sometimes forget how much older adults have to offer. We forget how valuable intergenerational advice can be. Our elders have lived through good times and bad times. They have great advice to give based on those experiences. So how can we bridge the generation gap? Perhaps we can meet each generation half-way by using websites and blogs, the technology of the younger generation, to share the experiences and advice of the older generation. It’s an idea with promise!


Background

1. Think about the following questions

�� How do family members express respect for older people in your culture?

�� Have attitudes toward older people/the elderly in your culture changed over time? How?

�� What tasks do grandparents perform in the family unit?

�� What kinds of homes do the elderly live in? Do aging parents live with other family members?

�� What kind of advice/wisdom/ information do older members of your community provide to younger members? How is it provided (e.g. in person, in writing, handed down through generations etc.)

2. Vocabulary definitions Here are some words you need to know to understand the CBC interview.

Vocabulary

elders The word elders is used to describe people who are older and who deserve respect.

a generation A generation is all of the people in the world who are about the same age. For example: There was no TV in my grandparent’s generation.

wisdom Someone who is wise or has wisdom has experienced a lot in life and has learned from their experiences. They give good advice and have good judgement.

an insight into something An insight is when you experience a sudden or clearer understanding of a topic, an idea, a process etc. For example: During the interview, she gained insight into how difficult life was for him during the war.

a philosophy of life Your philosophy of life consists of the attitudes and ideas that guide how you think, behave and act.

a blog The word blog is an abbreviation for Web Log . A blog is similar to a journal. It is a website consisting of a series of posts or writings that are arranged in reverse chronological order. The most recent posts are usually on the home page of the website and older posts are archived.


a technologically-driven society A technologically-driven society is one that depends

on technology to make it work.

to hit the nail on the head This idiom is used when someone understands perfectly or completely what another person has said.

to lose to some degree This expression means that you have a little less of something than you had before or you have lost a part of it. For example: Everyone uses a computer these days. The art of handwriting has been lost to some degree because people type almost everything they write.

to be stratified When something is stratified, it has layers. When there are different layers or different social classes in a society, that society can be described as stratified.

to be segregated Segregation happens when a group of people in society is separated from another by race, age, gender or other factors. For example: Today seniors are sometimes segregated in nursing home, away from the rest of society.

tried and true advice If you give someone tried and true advice, you are giving them good, proven advice.

to struggle with something When you struggle with something, you try extra hard to achieve a result, even though it is difficult.

a label A label is a word or phrase that identifies something or someone. For example: Please be sure to put a label on each box as you pack it. That way we’ll know what’s inside.

to be credible A person who is credible is someone who deserves to be trusted and believed. For example: My son’s pediatrician has been a doctor for 20 years. I think he’s a credible source of information on childhood vaccinations.

to experience hard times Hard times is an expression which means difficult or trying times. For example: In this economy, people who don’t have a job are experiencing or going through hard times.

a personal loss A personal loss is when something bad happens that affects you personally. For example, you experience a personal loss when someone close to you dies.


to dread something To dread something is to feel anxious or worried about something that is going to happen or may happen or to fear that the worst may happen. For example: I’m really dreading getting my English test results back. I don’t think I did very well.

to figure something out Figuring something out means solving a problem or trying to discover a way to do something.

to live in the moment If you live in the moment, you live each day as it comes and appreciate what it has to offer. You don’t spend too much time worrying about the past or thinking about the future.

to savour something If you savour something, you find it interesting or enjoyable. For example: As he listened to the symphony play, he closed his eyes and savoured every note.

3. Predict what the podcast is about

In this interview, Terry MacLeod interviews Professor Karl Pillemer. Professor Pillemer interviewed Americans seventy years of age and over to find out what wisdom and practical advice they’d like to offer the younger generation. Can you think of examples of the kind of advice or wisdom the people he interviewed might offer?

One piece of advice could be…that it’s important to find a job that you like. They could advise us to….take good care of our health. They might suggest…we try to get the most out of every day. They might offer advice ...that would surprise us. They might offer advice…that we could really take to heart.

4. Get ready to listen

In this podcast, you will hear three speakers. You will hear:

Marcy Markusa – host Terry MacLeod – interviewer Karl Pillemer – Professor, author and blogger


5. Listen for spoken language strategies

When you listen this time, listen for spoken language strategies. Professor Pillemer uses different strategies when he’s speaking, especially in lines 15-24. Here are some examples:

Strategy Example Line Gaining time to think by stalling by using fillers or hesitators

y’know ah… um…

throughout

Self-correction the only per people you could go to He began to say per(son) but changed it to people mid-sentence because he was actually talking about many people, not one person.

17/18

Reductions y’know: you know whaddaya: what do you

throughout 28

Long, run-on sentences. In written English, this passage might be two or three sentences.

And it’s true in our technological society we’ve lost that to some degree and in addition, our society is so dramatically stratified and segregated by age, ah that really, outside of our own families we aren’t around older people so much.

15-24


6. Listen for main ideas

When you listen to the podcast this time, listen for main ideas. Read the statements below and decide if they are true or false. The first one is completed for you as an example. 1. The author interviewed 150 Americans. True False

2. His book and blog share insights on life from younger Americans. True False

3. Terry MacLeod wants to know if older people have anything to teach a generation that is so dependent on technology.

True False

4. Up until 100 years ago, everyone went to older adults for advice and assistance.

True False

5. There’s very little stratification by age in today’s society. True False

6. The author thinks that Terry MacLeod asks very good questions. True False

7. The author had a difficult time deciding how to refer to older adults in his book.

True False

8. Older adults know a lot about living through hard times. True False

9. They have survived personal losses, war and poverty and society can learn from their experiences.

True False

10. Older adults wish younger people could learn lessons about life at an earlier age than they did.

True False

11. Younger people who’ve read the author’s book don’t think it is relevant to their own lives or experiences.

True False

7. Using new vocabulary in context

Reading a new word within a sentence or in context can sometimes help us understand the meaning of the word. Read each of the sentences below. Then rewrite the sentence correctly using the words below each sentence. 1. Karl Pillemer shares older people’s insights and philosophies of living in a new book and on

a blog. a) knowledge b) a web log Karl Pillemer shares older people’s knowledge and philosophies of living in a new book and

on a web log. 2. Terry MacLeod hit the nail on the head when he asked if older adults can teach us

anything. a) asked the right question b) our elders ______________________________________________________________________


3. Society is much more stratified and segregated by age than it was in the past. a) layered b) divided ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

4. The book contains tried and true advice from credible experts. a) proven b) believable ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

5. Older people have survived personal losses and other things that young people dread. a) the deaths of loved ones b) fear ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 6. The younger generation should learn from their elders so they won’t have to figure

everything out for themselves. a) the older age group b) solve all their problems ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 7. One person’s lesson is to live in the moment and savour the pleasures of life. a) focus on the present b) enjoy and appreciate ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________


After you Listen a) Review your pre-listening predictions

Were you able to predict able to predict the kind of advice older people might give the younger generation? b) Expressing regret about the past

Some of the older people Professor Pillemer interviewed had regrets about their lives. There are things they wished they had done differently. Can you express regret about the past? The following chart shows how we use the past perfect and the word wish to express regret about past events. Subject Wish Subject Past Perfect

had/hadn’t + past participle Meaning

I wish I had finished high school. (but I didn’t) I wish I hadn’t dropped out of high school. (but I did) Note: For regular verbs, the past participle is formed by adding “ed.” For irregular verbs there is no standard rule. They have to be memorized. Can you write sentences to express regret about the past in response to each of the following scenarios?

1. Ruth never finished high school because of the Depression in the 1930’s. She always regretted

not completing high school. What does she say to express her regret?

I wish I had completed high school.

2. Olive always wanted to be a journalist. But there were few women journalists when she was

young. She has always regretted giving up her dream to become a journalist. What does she

say to express her regret?

I wish ____________________________________________________

3. Herman always had difficulty telling his children how much he loved them. He regrets that he

waited until his eighties to tell them how he feels. What does he say to express his regret?

I wish ______________________________________________________

4. Ivann always wanted to go back to Russia, but he never did. Now he is in poor health and

cannot go. What does he say to express his regret?

I wish ______________________________________________________

5. Ilona never married after her finance was killed in World War II. She has always regretted not

marrying and having children. What does she say to express her regret?

I wish ______________________________________________________


c) Read about blogs and find the correct word to complete the sentences

Read Appendix 2: What is a Blog? The following statements summarize the main ideas from that text. Can you fill in the missing details using the words from the box? 1. A blog is a type of website.

2. Blog entries (also called posts) are arranged in __________ chronological order, like a

___________.

3. The people who update blogs are called __________.

4. Blogs can include written comments, ________ and ___________.

5. Blogs are published on many different _________. Examples of blog topics are _________,

politics and ________ .

6. The ________ of a blog has the most recent entries.

7. The ________ feature on a blog helps visitors to the blog find older entries.

8. Blogs are usually assigned _____________. This means that visitors can search by topics

of interest to them.

9. Most blogs have a _________ section where visitors can post their own thoughts.

10. Visitor comments do not always appear on the blog. Comments may be ____________ or

____________ by the blogger or publisher.

11. Most blogs also have a _________ box where visitors can enter a key word and search for

information.

approved website homepage comments archive fashion bloggers videos

pictures journal rejected search topics food reverse categories


d) Scan a blog for information and write a comment for the blog

Can you scan or navigate a blog, find information and leave a comment? The Winnipeg Foundation has a blog called Community Conversations. Each month they feature a different post from their staff or from a guest blogger. In March 2011, the topic was Newcomers in Manitoba. Work through the following tasks.

1. Google or search for the Winnipeg Foundation Blog on the internet. Or use this link: http://wpgfdn.wpgfdn-blogs.org/

2. Take a few minutes to scan the homepage of the blog. Check off the following items as you see them. ___ Information about the Winnipeg Foundation and a link to the organization’s website ___Information on what the blog is about ___A drop-down box where you can search the blog by categories ___A search box ___An invitation to leave a comment ___A link to older entries

3. What is the date of the most recent blog on the website? ______________

4. What is the topic of the most recent blog on the website? ___________________________________________

5. You want to find the March 2011 blog on newcomers. Can you find the blog using the older entries archive? Yes/No What other blog features could you use to find the newcomer entries? ____________________________________________________________________


6. Once you have found the March 2011 entries on newcomers, read the first entry, by a 15 year-old Eritrean youth.

Eritrean Youth, 15, arrived in Canada 6 weeks ago (via Sudan)

When I came out of the airport I feel so cold. It was so cold because in Sudan the weather was so hot. The school in Sudan was not bad but I hear in Canada it is better. My favourite thing in Canada is the new friends and the names of the streets. I don’t think I will be able to memorize all of the street names!

7. If you were writing a comment in response to this blog entry, what would you say? Do

you have any advice or experience to pass on to him/her? Here is an example of what you could write:

I have lived in Manitoba for five years now. I found the winters very

cold at first but I have gotten used to it! If you dress warmly, it’s not

too bad. Write your comment here: _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

8. Can you re-write the entry by the Eritrean youth so that it is grammatically correct?


e) Plan a blog for newcomers to Manitoba Now it’s your turn. Can you create a plan for a blog? The target audience for your blog will be newcomers to Manitoba. The experiences and advice of immigrants who have lived in Manitoba for several years (or decades!) will be posted on the blog. Write your answers to the following questions on the chart in point form.

Question Your Ideas 1. What would be a good name for your blog?

2. How would you find bloggers who would be willing to share their immigrant experiences and give advice on your blog?

3. What are some of the categories or topics you would suggest to potential bloggers? What kinds of experiences/advice do you think would be most helpful to newcomers to Manitoba?

4. How would you design your blog? What would it look like? What features would you use to make it easy to navigate and to find information?


5. Would you include pictures on your blog?

Videos? Other visuals? How might the use of visuals help visitors to your blog?

6. What language would you use for you blog? Would the blog be entirely in English or would you allow entries in other languages?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of

allowing entries in other languages? For example, what challenges would there be in editing or approving entries or comments? How would you handle these challenges?

7. How would you publicize your blog to its potential audience?

8. Do you think a blog of this kind would actually be useful for newcomers? Why or why not?


f) Can you write and ask relevant questions?

Karl Pillemer interviewed older people to find out about their experiences and to ask them for advice for the younger generation. These interviews are the basis of his book and blog. To get your blog started, you are going to conduct interviews with immigrants to Manitoba who have lived in the province for at least ten years. Do you have the speaking skills you need to conduct these interviews? You need to be able to:

� Explain the blog project � Explain the kind of information you are looking for � Ask relevant questions � Speak so that the listener can follow your questions � Take notes, so you can write an entry for the blog � Thank the person � Write the entry for the blog which summarizes what they had to say

Here are the steps you need to follow to prepare for the interview. Can you complete the following sentences to explain the project? First, explain what a blog is and the purpose of th e blog.

A blog is ____________________________________________ (define a blog).

We are creating a blog for newcomers to Manitoba. The purpose of our blog is to

_______________________________________________________________

(tell them what the blog is about).

We would like to ask you to participate because _______________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ (tell them why their life experiences are important).

Second, explain how the interview will work.

We have developed some questions we would like to ask you. We plan to take notes on

your answers and __________________________________________________

(tell them what you plan to do with the information). Third, ask:

Do you have any questions for us before we begin? Okay then, let’s get started.

Self Study: November is Financial Literacy Month Learning English with CBC of 23

Asking Good Questions

The first set of questions is similar to those Professor Pillemer used for his project. They are broad and general questions. Practice saying them out loud. The second set of questions is more specific and detail oriented. Practice writing and asking these questions. First Set of Questions

1. If a newcomer to Manitoba asked you, “What are two really important things you have

learned about the immigrant experience since you came to Manitoba,” what would you tell them?

2. Some people say that although the immigrant experience can be stressful and difficult,

they have learned important lessons during the more difficult times. Is that true for you? What are a couple of the lessons have you learned?

3. When you look back on your years in Manitoba, do you see any turning points? Were

there events or experiences that changed the course of your life or set you on a different track?

4. What would you say you know now about living a happy and successful life as an

immigrant that you didn’t know when you first arrived?

Second Set of Questions 5. You want to know how they adapted to the cold winters in Manitoba. Question: Can you tell me how you adapted to the cold winters in Manitoba? 6. You want to know how long it was before they began to really feel part of the community

where they live in Manitoba. Question: _______________________________________________________________ 7. You want to know if they still feel homesick for their home country. Question: _______________________________________________________________ 8. You want to know if they have advice on employment/finding a job to pass on to the next

generation of immigrants. Question: _______________________________________________________________


9. You want to know if they have regrets about their decision to immigrate. Question: _______________________________________________________________ To conclude the interview: Tell them you enjoyed speaking with them and thank them for their time. _______________________________________________________________________

g) Can you conduct an interview?

Do you know an immigrant who has lived in Manitoba for ten years or more who would agree to be interviewed? Try asking them these questions and see what you can learn from their experiences!

Want to know more…

The website for the Legacy Project can be found at: http://legacyproject.human.cornell.edu/

The website Voices of Wisdom: Celebrating and Recounting Canadian Multicultural History Through the Spoken Word of Our Elders can be found at: http://www.411seniors.bc.ca/Vow/

The information for “What is a Blog” is from: http://www.quackit.com/create-a-blog/what_is_a_blog.cfm

CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites


Appendix 1: Transcript

November 22, 2011(broadcast date)

Speaker Podcast Line

Marcy Hi I'm Marcy Markusa and you're listening to Learning English

with CBC. Do you listen to your elders? Do you take your

elders advice on life? Do you think about what their

experiences can teach today’s generation? Well Professor

Karl Pillemer interviewed over 1,500 Americans seventy years

of age and over to find out what wisdom and practical advice

they’d like to offer the younger generation. He shares their

insights and philosophies of living in a new book and on his

blog. Terry recently spoke with Carl Pillemer.

5

Terry I’m very curious about your book and what you learned along

the way because it seems in this kind of cell phone, internet,

technology-driven society that older adults don’t have anything

to teach us anymore. What did you find when you began to

work on this?

10

Karl Y’know, you’ve hit the nail on the head of why I wrote this

book. Ah, y’know, it’s it’s one thing, it’s very easy for us to

forget ah that up until about um a hundred years ago, the only

per people you could go to for advice were the oldest people

you knew for almost anything that you needed to do, or have

done, or problems to solve. And it’s true in our technological

society we’ve lost that to some degree and in addition, our

society is so dramatically stratified and segregated by age, ah

that really, outside of our own families we aren’t around older

people much.

15

20


Terry But why do you why do you call it tried and true advice from the

wisest Americans? What makes them so wise?

25

Karl Y’know, that’s a great question. In the book, I struggled for a

long time with whaddaya call older people? Y’know, do we

say, people don’t like seniors, golden agers, I finally settled on

a label for them which you’ll see in the book, called the experts.

And the reason why I called them the experts is that we may

not go to older people for advice on how to program the VCR

but they are the most credible experts we have on how to live

well through hard times. Y’know, they’ve been through war,

they’ve been through poverty, they’ve been through personal

losses that most of us younger people, y’know, dread. And

they’ve survived through those.

30

35

Terry So there are lessons in this book that you think that the rest of

us can apply to our lives before we’re ninety and figure it out

ourselves?

40

Karl Y’know, I do. I think that the one thing which the older people I

interviewed really do believe is that they’ve learned things that

people feel you can only learn if you’ve lived as long as they

have, ah, and they would like younger people to learn them

now. So as one person said to me, it took me sixty-eight years

to learn to live in the moment more, y’know to savour the

pleasures of life. I wish I could have learned this when I was

thirty. So I think, in in talking to younger people now who’ve

read the book, I think they are able to take some of the lessons

and use them almost immediately to experience some changes

in their own lives.

45

50


Appendix 2: What Is a Blog?

A Definition of a Blog

The term Blog is a shortened version of the term Web Log (sometimes written as Weblog).

A Blog is a type of website that is updated with new content on a fairly regular basis. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual who makes regular entries, in much the same way as a person would keep a journal. The entries, or posts as they are often called, may include written comments, pictures or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. The most recently added information is always at the top. The people who write and update blogs are called bloggers. There are blogs on just about every topic you can imagine. Travel, advice, cooking, politics, personal experiences, products, fashion, sports, culture, and the environment are just some blog topics.

Like websites, blogs have many features. They include:

Blog Feature Purpose A Homepage The homepage of most blogs provides a list of the latest entries.

There are usually around five to ten new entries, followed by a link to older entries.

Archives Some bloggers post hundreds (or even thousands) of entries each year. An archive feature provides an easy way for visitors to view older entries.

Archives are accessed by a link. The links are usually date-based. You select the month and the year to see older entries.

Categories Each blog entry is usually assigned one or more categories at the time it is published. Visitors to the blog can view all of the entries in a particular category.

Categories are usually accessed by a link. Here are some examples of categories from the Winnipeg Foundation’s blog: Youth, Immigrants, Newcomers and Charitable Giving.

Comments Most blogs include a comments section. Comments are usually located at the bottom of each entry. Visitors can post their own thoughts on that blog entry or their thoughts on someone else's comment.

Comments may not appear immediately. Often the blogger will want to approve (or reject) comments before they're displayed to the world.

Search Similar to traditional websites, most blogs have a search box that allows the visitor to search through all of the entries on the blog using key words.


Examples

Check out the following blogs. Can you see some of the features you have just read about?

The Winnipeg Foundation: http://wpgfdn.wpgfdn-blogs.org/ The Legacy Project: http://legacyproject.human.cornell.edu/ The Spice Spoon: Cooking Without Borders: www.thespicespoon.com/blog/


Answers to Worksheets

Listen for the Main Ideas 1. F 2. F 3. T 4. T 5. F 6. T 7. T 8. T 9. T 10. T 11. F Using Vocabulary in Context (answers will vary)

1. Karl Pillemer shares older people’s knowledge and philosophies of living in a

new book and on a web log. 2. Terry MacLeod asked the right question when he asked if our elders can teach

us anything. 3. Society is much more layered and divided by age than it was in the past. 4. The book contains proven advice from believable experts. 5. Older people have survived the deaths of loved ones and other things that

young people fear. 6. The younger generation should learn from the older age group so they won’t

have to solve all their problems themselves. 7. One person’s lesson is to focus on the present and enjoy and appreciate the

pleasures of life.

Expressing Regret (answers will vary)

1. I wish I had completed high school. 2. I wish I hadn’t given up my dream of becoming a journalist. 3. I wish I had told my children how much I loved them more often. 4. I wish I had gone back to Russia when I was in good health. 5. I wish I had married and had children.


Read about Blogs and Complete the Sentences

1. website

2. reverse, journal

3. bloggers

4. pictures, videos or videos, pictures

5. topics; food, fashion or fashion, food

6. homepage

7. archive

8. categories

9. comments

10. approved, rejected or rejected, approved

11. search

Re-write the Blog Comment (answers will vary)

When I came out of the airport I felt so cold. I felt so cold because in Sudan the weather is

so hot. School in Sudan was not bad but I hear it is better in Canada. My favourite

things in Canada are my new friends and the names of the streets. I don’t think I will be able to memorize all of the street names!

Asking Questions (answers will vary)

6. How long was it before you felt part of the community where you live in in Manitoba?

7. Do you still feel homesick for your home country?

8. Do you have advice to pass on to the next generation of immigrants about employment

and finding a job?

9. Do you have any regrets about your decision to immigrate to Manitoba?

To conclude: I really enjoyed speaking with you. Thank you very much for your time.

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