Learning English with CBC

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1 Lesson 84: Self Study Edition Learning English with CBC Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students Based on CBC Manitoba Radio Broadcasts December 14, 2012 Level: Topic: Language Skills and Functions: CLB 6 and up The Christmas Season Listening listening to a short interview for fact and detail Speaking expressing opinions Reading reading a text for main ideas Writing filling in a form Language Competencies: Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking Strategies, Socio-cultural/sociolinguistic Competence Language Tasks: Answer questions about holiday traditions in different cultures Use new vocabulary in context Listen for fact and detail in a radio interview about Operation Christmas Child, a gift-giving program for needy children Express opinions on the role of faith in gift-giving Use seasonal vocabulary - match words with pictures Find information about the Christmas Cheer Board on the organization s website and answer detail questions Fill out a Feed-A-Family form for the Christmas Cheer Board Use reading strategies to read the text Canadian Schools struggle with what to do about Christmas and summarize the main ideas Essential Skills: Reading text, oral communication, writing Appendices: Transcript of the podcast Text: Canadian schools struggle with what to do about Christmas Answers to Worksheets Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 1 of 20

2 Manitoba Memo It seems that the moment Halloween is over, the Christmas season begins. During November and December, the evidence of the holiday season is everywhere in Manitoba. Christmas lights go up on homes, storefronts and city streets. Shopping malls get ready for the bustle of Christmas shopping and play carols on their audio systems. Churches host carol services and display nativity scenes. Santa makes appearances all over town. Television and radio ads and newspaper flyers bombard us with gift-giving ideas. Supermarket isles are full of holiday treats like mandarin oranges, candy canes, shortbread and chocolate. Have the commercial aspects of Christmas taken over the spiritual message of the holiday? Although many continue to celebrate the religious roots of the holiday, Christmas is increasingly seen by many Canadians as a non-religious celebration. They see the season as one of traditions, family get-togethers and as a time to celebrate peace and goodwill toward others. Perhaps the movement away from a faith-based celebration is simply a reflection of changes in Canadian society. The percentage of Canadians who consider themselves Christians is declining, while the percentage of atheists and of non- Christian religions is growing. If Christmas isn t your holiday, what do you do when the sights and sounds of the season are all around you? That s a question Jewish immigrants to Canada have struggled with for decades. Do you effectively boycott the holiday, or do you join in? Jewish people in Canada have done a little of both. Some people of Jewish faith believe that the true meaning of their own December holiday, Hanukkah, has been overpowered by Christmas. They fear that the roots of Hanukkah have been forgotten and the message of Hanukkah and of Christmas have become intertwined. Some families have changed or added to the Hanukkah traditions of candles and small monetary gifts and moved toward giving their children larger gifts similar to those their children s friends would receive from Santa. Schools also struggle with how to maintain the Christmas traditions many enjoy, but at the same time, ensure that students who don t celebrate Christmas don t feel left out. What is the best way to accommodate those amongst us who don t celebrate Christmas? While some favour banning Christmas concerts and Christian symbols altogether, others believe these moves go too far. One suggested compromise is to encourage families from all faiths and cultures to build their own cultural and religious traditions throughout the year. Schools, workplaces and neighbours can then share aspects of these various celebrations with each other. Even if you do not celebrate Christmas, you can learn about it and participate in some of its traditions. You can volunteer with the Christmas Cheer Board or find another way to help a needy family. You can share in the many seasonal traditions that bring people together at this time of year. Then, when your own holidays and important events take place, you can invite friends and colleagues from other cultures to share some of your traditions. That s the kind of reciprocal sharing that helps build a strong multicultural society. Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 2 of 20

3 Background 1. Answer questions about holiday traditions Think about holiday traditions in your community and about ways that people share with others during these holidays. How would you answer the following questions? What is a main holiday that you and your family celebrate? How do you celebrate this holiday? Do you have family gatherings, special food, gift exchanges etc.? Does the holiday include special traditions where people share with others? For example, are there community events where large groups of people receive a free meal or give gifts to others? Who would organize this kind of community event? Would it be a temple, mosque, synagogue, church or another organization? Do faith groups incorporate a religious aspect into their gift giving? For example, are people who receive a free meal expected to attend a religious service? Would a gift include a message about the faith of the organization providing the gift? 2. Vocabulary definitions Here are some words you need to know to understand the CBC interview. Vocabulary a season a gift exchange Operation Christmas Child to participate in something a ministry A season is the usual time of time of year when something takes place. Examples of seasons are the Christmas holiday season and the flu season. A gift exchange is when you give a gift to someone and you get a gift back from them. Operation Christmas Child is the name of a program operated by a Christian Ministry called Samaritan s Purse. The Ministry works with churches and schools in many countries to collect shoeboxes filled with small gifts. The shoeboxes are distributed to needy children around the world. The gift is often accompanied by information on Jesus Christ and Christianity. If you participate in something, you take part in it. The work done by a religious person or group as a result of their religious beliefs is sometimes referred to as the work of a ministry. Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 3 of 20

4 essentially a global program typically a personal item impoverished children to put a heavy emphasis on something to be heavily weighted hygiene items a facecloth a bouncing ball to be squished up Essentially is a synonym for basically. It is used when you want to state the most basic facts about something. For example: Operation Christmas Child is essentially or basically a gift exchange program that gives gifts to children in many countries around the world. A global program operates in many countries. The word typically is used to describe the way a particular type of thing usually happens. For example: Typically, we don t usually do a lot of work in class the week before the Christmas holiday break. A personal item is an item that belongs or relates to one particular person, rather than to other people or to people in general. For example: Among the personal items I brought with me are my hairbrush and my toothbrush. If a child is impoverished, it means that they and their family are very poor. If you put or place a heavy emphasis on something, it means that you pay special attention to it or you stress its importance. If something is heavily weighted in a certain direction or a certain way, it means you give it a special advantage. For example: The contents of the shoeboxes are heavily weighted toward items that children could use at school. Most of the contents of the box are things like pencils and erasers. Hygiene items are items you use to help you stay clean. They can also help prevent disease. For example, using a hygiene item like soap to wash your hands reduces the likelihood you will become ill due to germs. A facecloth is a small square cloth that is used to wash your face. A bouncing ball is a ball that moves immediately up and away from a surface after it hits it. Bouncing balls are usually small in size. If you squish something up, you press it into a flatter and smaller shape. For example: After you let the air out of that beach ball, squish it up so it can easily fit in your suitcase. Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 4 of 20

5 a pump hoopla apparently to move someone emotionally A pump is a piece of equipment used to put air in something, for example, a tire or a ball. Hoopla is an expression used to describe a situation that gets a lot of attention and where people get very excited. For example: There was a lot of hoopla and excitement when IKEA opened its new store in Winnipeg. We use the word apparently when we want to say that we have heard something is true, but we aren t completely sure that s the case. For example: Apparently our school is going to put a float in the parade. That s what my friend heard and she s pretty sure it s true. If you move someone emotionally, you make them feel strong emotions, for example sadness or sympathy. For example: Our class was very moved when we heard our classmate s story. It made us sad to think about all the challenges his family faced before they came to Canada. 3. Can you match the vocabulary words with the correct definition? Can you find the definition for the following vocabulary words and phrases? Which of the answers is the correct match? The first one is completed for you as an example. Use an English Language Learners dictionary if you need help. 1. a season a) the best time for something to happen b) the usual time when something happens c) the exact date when something happens 2. a gift exchange a) a monetary donation to a cause b) a gift certificate c) when you give a gift to someone and you get a gift back from them 3. participating a) taking part b) practising c) waiting for Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 5 of 20

6 4. essentially a) especially b) hardly c) basically 5. a personal item a) something that belongs to you b) something that belongs to your family c) something that is private 6. impoverished a) powerless b) very poor c) imperfect 7. to emphasize a) to put special importance on something b) to recommend c) to increase in size 8. hygiene a) someone who works in a dental office b) beauty routines c) grooming habits that keep you healthy 9. to squish a) to twist b) to flatten c) to mix 10. a pump a) something used for weight training b) something used to put air in something c) a type of hammer 11. hoopla a) excitement b) a type of dance c) a child s toy Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 6 of 20

7 4. Predict what the interview is about In this interview, Joff Schmidt interviews Lori Bettig of Grant Memorial Church. Lori is involved in a gift exchange called Operation Christmas Child. In this gift exchange, shoeboxes filled with small gifts are sent to needy children in many different countries. Can you predict what kinds of items might be packed in the shoeboxes? Here are a few examples: 5. Get ready to listen One item that might be packed in the shoebox is shoes. Maybe the shoeboxes are packed with small toys and books. I wonder if they pack candy or other food. Perhaps they pack sports equipment. In this podcast, you will hear three speakers. You will hear: Marcy Markusa host Joff Schmidt interviewer Lori Bettig Volunteer for Operation Christmas Child 6. Listen for facts and details Listen to the CBC interview about Operation Christmas Child. Do you have the listening skills to listen for facts? Listen carefully for specific facts and details. Decide if each statement is true or false. The first question is completed for you as an example. 1. The name of the gift exchange is Operation Christmas Gift True False 2. Lori is a member of a synagogue. True False 3. Lorie s group does this project alone. True False 4. This global gift exchange opens locations in seven countries every November. True False 5. The shoeboxes contain food. True False 6. The shoeboxes are distributed to over 100 countries. True False 7. Shoeboxes contain school supplies. True False 8. Sometimes a shoebox might include soap and a tooth brush. True False 9. Soccer balls can t be included. True False 10. Children who receive a shoebox might get a picture and a note from the sender. True False Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 7 of 20

8 After you listen a) Review your pre-listening predictions Were you able to predict able to predict things that were packed in the shoeboxes? b) Think about the role faith play in gift-giving What is the role of faith in gift-giving during the holidays? For example, should people who come for a holiday meal at the Salvation Army or another faith-based organization be asked to participate in hymns or prayers before the meal is served? Is it fair for organizations to try to recruit people to their faith in exchange for a meal or a gift? Do you have the vocabulary you need to offer your opinion on this topic? Think about Operation Christmas Child. The organization s website says that where it is considered culturally appropriate, the shoeboxes also contain a book about Jesus and Christianity. This book has been translated into 130 languages. Following the shoebox distributions, local churches and ministry partners are prepared to teach the children who receive the shoeboxes a 12-lesson Bible study course. The website says the course introduces children to Jesus, shows them how to receive Him and follow Him, and equips them to share their faith with family and friends. What do you think about the organization s effort to recruit the children who receive the shoeboxes and their families into their faith? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Why? What if you had to share your thoughts with another person? Can you give reasons to support your opinion? Try expressing your opinions on this topic out loud. Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 8 of 20

9 c) Match the correct word with the picture Find the word to match each picture from the Christmas season. Do the words give you any clues? Write the word beside the picture. holly ornament gift bells candy canes stocking carolers Santa hat stars reindeer The Grinch 1. candy canes Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 9 of 20

10 Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 10 of 20

11 d) Can you navigate a website to find the information you need? Do you have the reading skills to navigate a website for the information you need? The Christmas Cheer Board is a volunteer-run organization that provides food and gifts to needy families in Winnipeg this time of year. To find out more about the Christmas Cheer Board, go to their website. Search for Christmas Cheer Board, Winnipeg and answer the following questions. 1. Where is the Christmas Cheer Board warehouse located? The warehouse address is: 2. What is one of the addresses you could use if you wanted to mail a donation to the Christmas Cheer Board? You can mail your donation to: 3. The Christmas Cheer Board has a long history. What year was the Christmas Cheer Board started? It was started in. 4. Who started it? It was started by. 5. If you want to contact the Christmas Cheer Board about volunteering, what address should your application be sent to? The address for volunteering is: e) Fill out a Feed-A-Family request form There are several forms on the Christmas Cheer Board website. One of these forms is for groups or individuals that agree to feed a family. The Christmas Cheer Board provides a profile of the family and a list of the food and gifts required. Volunteers purchase the food and gifts, assemble the hamper and deliver it to the family. You have decided to volunteer to feed a family this year. Can you complete the form on the next page using your personal information? Practise writing information about yourself. Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 11 of 20

12 Christmas Cheer Board Feed-A-Family Request Form Please answer the following questions and return the form to the Christmas Cheer Board: 1. Number of families you wish to sponsor. 2. Name of business/church/club (if applicable): Address: 3. Contact person: 4. Daytime/Business phone #: Evening phone # (important & confidential): 5. Fax #: 6. address: 7. What size/type of family do you wish to sponsor? Size: Old age pensioner: Single parent: 8. What area of the city? Doesn t matter, Inner City, North End, North East, North West, South East, South West Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 12 of 20

13 f) Read a news story and summarize the main ideas Can you read an article in a newspaper and understand the main ideas? There are many strategies you can use! Reading strategies are especially helpful when a text is longer, or when the topic you are reading about is unfamiliar to you. Follow the strategies below to read the text in Appendix 2: Canadian schools struggle with what to do about Christmas. Step 1. Read the title and subtitle First, read the title and subtitle (both are in bold lettering in the text). The title and subtitle of a news story usually contain key words that you will need to know to understand the story. Think about the following questions: Are there key words in the title or subtitle you don t understand? Can you figure out the meaning of these words from the context? Do you need to use an English Language Learner s Dictionary to help you? Step 2. Predict what the text may be about and activate your prior knowledge on the topic Can you predict what the story is about using the information in the title and subtitle? How would you answer the following questions? What do you think the story might be about? Have you read or heard anything about this topic before? What do you personally know about this topic? Step 3. Break the text into sections or chunks to make it more manageable Sometimes it helps to break a longer text into chunks or sections. The story in Appendix 2 is divided into four sections. If you don t have time to read the whole text, practise using the strategies by reading section 1. Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 13 of 20

14 Step 4. Read for the main ideas There are different strategies you can use when you read for the main ideas. Try some of the following strategies? Don t read every word. Ignore words that are unimportant or difficult. You may not need to understand those words to get the gist of what is being said. If you aren t sure of the meaning of a key word, use the context to try to guess the meaning. If you need to, use an English Language Learner s Dictionary. When you are reading for main ideas, skim the text. Focus more on key words and concepts and less on specific details and facts. Break longer sentences into manageable chunks. For example, pay attention to commas and dashes (-). They are often used to break up the ideas in a sentence. Step 5. Summarize the main ideas Write one or two sentences summarizing the main ideas of each section of text. Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 14 of 20

15 Appendix 1: Transcript November 18, 2012 (broadcast date) Speaker Podcast Line Marcy Hi I'm Marcy Markusa and you're listening to Learning English with CBC. Well it is the season of gift-giving and in today s podcast, Joff Schmidt interviews Lori Bettig about a special gift exchange called Operation Christmas Child. Lori is a member of Grant Memorial Church in Winnipeg. Her church is one of 5 many participating in this project. Joff So ah first of all tell me a little bit about the Operation Christmas Child project. How does it work? Lori Well Operation Christmas Child is a wonderful ministry as you said of Samaritan s Purse and essentially what it is is a global gift exchange program that was adopted by them in So essentially what it does is it opens thousands of locations across eleven countries every November, and typically it s at churches or schools, and it collects shoeboxes filled with toys, shoes, um school supplies, personal items and other gifts. And these then are distributed as Christmas gifts throughout um many different countries of the world, up to actually over 100 countries in the world to impoverished children in poor communities. Joff So they re shoeboxes filled with gifts. Give me an idea of what 20 a typical shoebox might look like, like what what would be inside when it s opened up. Lori Well we try to put a heavy emphasis, especially on school supplies, a lot of children around the world do not have things as simple that we have as pencils, sharpeners, erasers, so we try to be more heavily weighted with those things. Hygiene items are very important, soap, facecloths, toothbrushes, those sort of things that would help them feel good about themselves. 25 Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 15 of 20

16 Lori (continued) Joff Lori Um toys, anything small enough, bouncing balls, um even a soccer ball squished up with all the air out of it sent along with a pump can bring so much joy and and satisfaction to so many kids that otherwise wouldn t have gifts like this. Ya. And of course, I mean this does all come down to people connected with other people all around the world. How have you been personalizing the the shoeboxes that you re sending out? Well, this year we as well tried to let people know that it s more than just the gifts inside, I think once all the hoopla is over, these children opening their school these shoeboxes, and taking a look inside, they re very excited for the gifts of course but when they re personalized with a picture of the person who actually sent it, even a short note just to say, I m from Winnipeg, this is what it s like here, this is where I go to school, this is what I love. You know children, apparently, as they are able to open their boxes, and see those notes and have them translated for them, are just so moved to think somebody on the other side of the world must really love them to have built a shoebox for them and it s just such a great thing Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 16 of 20

17 Appendix 2 Canadian schools struggle with what to do about Christmas 1 December 16, 2011 By DAKSHANA BASCARAMURTY AND JOE FRIESEN As demographics change, some schools cancel Christmas celebrations so as to accommodate the growing number of non-christians Section 1 When the principal at Cambridge Public School in Embrun, Ont., a small community east of Ottawa, cancelled the Christmas concert this year to accommodate nine students who didn't want to participate, she thought it might upset a few families. She underestimated the backlash. Principal Mhairi Rowland received more than 300 s from across Canada, many of them vicious. The kinder critics called her a Grinch and accused her of cancelling Christmas. Embrun's tempest is just one example of the increasingly angry reaction to what some perceive as excessive accommodation of non-christians at Christmas. Instead of having the nine students sit in the office during rehearsals, Ms. Rowland decided the school should instead have a February concert not tied to any religion. While some parents were happy, others lamented the loss of a local tradition. Section 2 Christmas has become for many Canadians a non-religious celebration. Although statistics show they are increasingly less likely to attend services or profess a formal religious faith, many Canadians clearly cherish a secularized idea of Christmas as a time to unite in peace and goodwill. These situations may become more common as demographic change continues to alter the Canadian cultural landscape. Non-Christian religions are growing steadily, while Christianity is in decline. As long-standing and irreligious Canadian families mix with recent immigrants who hold different traditions, all areas of the public sphere from schools to government to social services are looking for ways to compromise and accommodate. 1 Adapted from the Globe and Mail. Read the complete article at: Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 17 of 20

18 Section 3 As is so often the case with multicultural issues, it's the communities with the highest rates of immigration that have adapted the fastest. Tony Pontes, the director of education at Peel District School Board one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse in Canada sent a memo this month encouraging staff to celebrate Christmas with their students, but also Ashura, Hanukkah, Yule and Kwanzaa. "If schools are acknowledging and celebrating all faiths and all holy days throughout the year, there need not be any issue or discomfort around Christmas." Section 4 When the parent council president at Surrey, B.C.'s Newton Elementary School proposed holding a Christmas concert this year, the room fell silent. Most of the kids at Newton are of South Asian descent, and the parent council president, Bindi Gill, is a Sikh. They hadn't put on a Christmas concert in years until this week. Ms. Gill, who was born in Canada, has fond memories of Christmas as a child but things have changed in the last 20 years in her community, she says. She wonders how many even know the story and customs behind Christmas. On Thursday afternoon, parents filed into the school to watch their children, decked out in reindeer ears and Santa hats, sing off-key renditions of the Twelve Days of Christmas and Jingle Bells. It was a change from the usual multicultural gala. "We're having a Christmas concert during the day with Christmas music and there's no bhangra in there. Save it for Diwali or Visakhi or something else you're going to celebrate," Ms. Gill said. Want to know more The website for the Christmas Cheer Board is: The website for Operation Christmas Child is: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 18 of 20

19 Answers to Worksheets Vocabulary Match 1. b 2. c 3. a 4. c 5. a 6. b 7. a 8. c 9. b 10. b 11. a Listen for facts and details 1. T 2. F 3. F 4. F 5. F 6. T 7. T 8. T 9. F 10. T Match the word with the picture 1. candy canes 2. Santa hat 3. ornament 4. holly 5. The Grinch 6. gift (also called a present) 7. reindeer 8. stars 9. stocking 10. bells 11. carolers Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 19 of 20

20 Find information on the Christmas Cheer Board website 1. Warehouse Address: Unit Ellice Ave., Winnipeg 2. You can mail a donation to either of the following: The Spirit of Christmas Winnipeg Free Press 1355 Mountain Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6 or The Empty Stocking Fund Winnipeg Sun 1700 Church Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3A2 3. It was started in It was started by a number of Winnipeg churches. 5. The address for volunteering is ccbvol@mts.net. Self Study: The Christmas Season Learning English with CBC Page 20 of 20