9 Listening
Before You Listen
Complete these pre-listening activities to help you notice social conventions and to understand conversations better.
Social Conventions Around Suggestions, Requests, and Instructions 
Sometimes in English, speakers give instructions and make requests that sound like suggestions. This is an indirect or softer way of giving instructions or asking someone to do something. Do you have a similar way of using softeners in your other language(s)?
Place the number of each sentence or question below along the scale to show how direct or indirect you think it is.
- Get in line.
- Could you hang on a second?
- I was hoping you might have a minute …
- If I could just get to you sign off …
- Would you mind if I just jumped ahead of you?
- Would you be able to call him?
- Why don’t you help yourself to a pop?
- You’d better take the keys and move the truck.
Vocabulary
In Chapter 1, there were some homographs, words that sound and are spelled the same although the meanings are different. In this chapter, there are homophones, words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. The pronunciation is the same, but the spelling is slightly different. The definitions are not at all the same.
Match one of the following words: POLE, POLES, POLL, or POLLS, with the word or phrase that has the same meaning in each of the sentences below.
- The campground has a flag flying at the top of a long piece of metal.
- Some campers walk through the forest with a walking stick.
- Claire may take a survey of her neighbours to get their opinion.
- The opinions of city and country people can be very far apart.
- The electricians are stringing power lines between tall, wooden columns.
Predictions
You will hear two face-to-face conversations. The first conversation is about a conflict between neighbours. The second dialogue is a meeting to solve several issues. Predict the answers to the following questions before you listen:
- How will age affect how directly people speak? Will young, middle-aged, or elderly people be more direct or indirect?
- How will familiarity affect how indirectly people speak? Will neighbours or strangers be more direct or indirect?
- How will location affect how people speak? Will they speak differently in their neighbourhood or at a public meeting?
- How will communicating directly or indirectly affect the way people feel?
Listening 1
Listen to a conversation at the campground. Notice how people make requests and suggestions and how they give each other instructions.
After You Listen
Comprehension
Complete the activities below to check your listening comprehension. These strategies focus on ideas and attention to exact words.
Strategy 1: Recognizing Facts
Listen again.
Choose True (T) or False (F) for each statement below.
- How do you know it is true or false?
Be ready to discuss evidence to support your answers.
| 1. | T | F | Roshan called Mr. Broz about his dogs. |
| 2. | T | F | Roshan and Gilles come from cultures that believe respecting elders is important. |
| 3. | T | F | The field is being cut to enlarge the campground. |
| 4. | T | F | Mr. Broz and his family have been beekeepers for a long time. |
| 5. | T | F | Claire thinks Ivan’s dogs are an inconvenience. |
| 6. | T | F | Mr. Broz wants Claire to cancel the folk festival. |
| 7. | T | F | Gilles suggests using a different field for the festival. |
| 8. | T | F | Claire is going to call the county office and complain about Ivan’s dogs. |
Strategy 2: Re-telling Details
Listen to different kinds of instructions. Take dictation to complete six sentences that you hear. Write the sentences (five to seven exact words) that you hear into the column on the right.
| Kind of Instruction | Sentence (Five to Seven Exact Words) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Instruction | |
| 2. | Demand | |
| 3. | Request | |
| 4. | Suggestion | |
| 5. | Demand | |
| 6. | Request |
Listening 2
Listen to another conversation. Notice how Gilles and others speak at a “town hall” meeting (an organized community meeting) about the upcoming folk festival. Notice how people make requests and suggestions.
After You Listen
Vocabulary
Strategy 1: Recognizing Cognates or Word Families
Many words belong to groups we can call word families (see Chapter 1, page 29). By adding suffixes or prefixes, or changing the spelling slightly, words can change grammatical roles between adjectives, adverbs, nouns, or verbs.
Select the best answer to complete each sentence below.
1. A long, hot meeting is likely to be ___ and uncomfortable for most people.
a) convenient
b) inconvenient
c) convenience
2. City people enjoy the ___ of living near several supermarkets.
a) convenient
b) inconvenient
c) convenience
3. The ___ of Aboriginal communities are greatly respected.
a) elders
b) eldest
c) elderly
4. In many traditions, children don’t call ___ people by their first names.
a) elders
b) eldest
c) elderly
5. An angry neighbour might ___ most of his community with his bad temper.
a) alienate
b) alien
c) alienating
6. Claire doesn’t always fit in with the country community. She feels like an ___.
a) alienate
b) alien
c) alienating
Strategy 2: Inferring Meaning from Context
Listen again while reading short parts of the Listening 2 conversation. Use the words of both speakers to choose the best meaning of the expressions in bold.
1. “It’s always something with Mr. Broz …” means
a) Mr. Broz is always satisfied
b) Mr. Broz is always busy
c) Mr. Broz is always complaining
2. A “line of attack” means
a) a way to attack someone
b) a way to handle a problem
c) a way to create a problem
3. “To field questions” means
a) to ask several questions
b) to answer several questions
c) to avoid several questions
4. “Along the same line” means
a) usually
b) probably
c) similarly
Discussion
The first listening was about a conflict between two neighbours.
NOTICE how requests and instructions became more, or less, direct depending on the personality of the speakers and the situation or context they were in.
FIND examples of how Claire makes requests and suggestions.
DISCUSS her communication style (direct or indirect) when she speaks with
a. Gilles
b. Ivan
IDENTIFY possible reasons for Claire to change how direct she is. How does Ivan’s directness make Claire and Gilles feel? Are you more comfortable and familiar with Claire’s style, Ivan’s style, or Gilles’ style? Why?
FIND examples of how Ivan makes requests and suggestions.
DISCUSS his communication style (direct or indirect) when he speaks. How do you feel when someone speaks to you like Ivan does? How do you think about (perceive) people who make requests and suggestions like Ivan does? Why?
FIND examples of how Gilles makes requests and suggestions.
DISCUSS his communication style (direct or indirect) when he speaks with
a. Claire
b. Ivan
IDENTIFY possible reasons for Gilles to be indirect.
DISCUSS how you feel when someone like Gilles makes requests and suggestions indirectly. How do you think about (perceive) people who make requests and suggestions like Gilles does? Why?
TALK ABOUT how directness can affect how people feel and think about (perceive) you. How does directness affect or change the way people perceive others?
TALK ABOUT your experiences in your community. Are there people who communicate like Ivan or Gilles?
TALK ABOUT ways people say “no” or respond negatively to suggestions or requests. What are some different ways people say “no”? Do you usually say “no” directly or indirectly? Do you always understand when someone says “no” indirectly? How does it make you feel when someone says “no” directly or indirectly? Why?
The second listening was a public meeting. The community was concerned about possible problems and solutions regarding the folk festival at Bear Bottom Campground. Gilles and the reeve had different ways of answering each question. They are listed in the table below.
| Words and expressions meaning “Yes” | Words and expressions meaning “No” |
|---|---|
| 1. That’s a great point.
2. Sure. 3. That might be possible. 4. Great. 5. You bet. 6. Okay. 7. I’m with you on that. |
8. Absolutely not.
9. Hmm. I hadn’t realized that. |
Place the number of each word or expression along the scale to show how direct you think it is.
Listening Progress Check
Test your understanding of direct and indirect speech between people in close or distant relationships by listening to a couple of short audio clips from this chapter’s video.
Answer the questions below while you listen. Listen as many times as you need to..
Part A
1. Choose True (T) or False (F) for each statement you hear.
| T | F | Kerry speaks directly to Ivan and Roshan. |
| T | F | Ivan gives a reason for his demand. |
| T | F | Speaking more quietly softens Kerry’s direction to Roshan. |
2. Choose True (T) or False (F) for each statement you hear.
| T | F | Ivan speaks formally and indirectly. |
| T | F | Using titles and surnames makes Ivan sound more distant from Claire. |
| T | F | Claire’s sighing matches the politeness of her words. |
Part B
Fill in the blanks with the missing word or words in the following conversations in which people are being very demanding with each other.
1.
Gilles: Perfect timing Claire. Mr. Broz here seems a little upset.
Ivan: Upset? ___________ furious. What are _________ doing to ________ field?
Claire: _________ field? That field is a part of campground.
2.
Claire: How about we talk about your ___________ for a moment?
Ivan: I __________ your pardon? My ___________?
Claire: Yes, your ___________. I just got off the phone with Kerry Ames, who has been stuck up a pole for the last half-hour because your dogs trapped him there. He ____________ do his job because your dogs are __________________ him around the campground. _____________ you keep them on a leash?
Ivan: Madam, they are ______________ dogs. They work. They do _________ sit at home on a leash.
Claire: Call off your dogs.
