1. LISTENING SKILLS March 6 th 2012

2. World’s Population Reaches 7 Billion (From Voice of America, voanews.com) The United Nations estimates that there are now seven billion people on Earth. _____________ are growing faster than ____________ in many poor countries in Africa and Asia. At the same time, low _______ rates in Japan and many European nations have raised concerns. There may not be enough people to fill jobs in the future. Population experts at the United Nations estimate that the world’s population reached six _________ in October 1999. They predict it will reach nine billion by 2050, and ten billion by the end of the century. China has a population of 1.3 billion, which is currently the world's _____________. India is second at 1.2 billion. But India is expected to pass China and reach 1.5 billion people around 2025. India will also have one of the world's ____________ populations. In India, young people will gain many skills in their country’s growing economy. At the same time, other countries will have ___________populations. But economists say that current growth rates, although high, may not create enough jobs. Populations economies birth billion largest youngest aging

3. Also, the public education system is _____________. There are too many students in many places. Schooling is often of poor quality. Another concern is health care. Nearly half of India’s children under the age of five are malnourished. Sarah Crowe at the United Nations Children's Fund in New Delhi says these two problems "could keep India back." SARAH CROWE: "That child is unable to really grow to its ability and will remain in a state of stunting and not be able to learn when it goes to school -- when he or she goes to school, and indeed later earn and really pay back and pay into the economy and help the country and the region move forward. We have, you know, out of every two hundred _________ children who start school, only ten percent complete grade twelve." Michal Rutkowski is the director of human development in South Asia at the World Bank. He says the seven billionth person was likely to be a girl, born in ________ Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is one of India’s poorest and most crowded states, with nearly 200 million people. He says reaching seven billion people in the world is a good time for a call to action. failing million rural

4. Listening Skills Without good listening skills, clear communication becomes VERY difficult.

5. What do you need to learn?! Why is it easier to READ English than LISTEN?

6. What do you need to learn?! Why is it easier to READ English than LISTEN? Because speech behaves much differently from text.

7. Things found in speech (not in writing) Linking sounds The central vowel/ the weak vowel Assimilation Elision Ellipsis Intrusion Intonation

8. Examples Linking sounds When a word ends in a consonant sound and the next word starts with a vowel the words link together. The ending consonant "jumps over" to the next word. “She work si na nol doffice” WHAT?! “She works in an old office.”

9. Examples The weak vowel The vowels in “grammar words” or “function words” of sentences, prepositions, conjunctions, articles, etc become weak and are pronounced very lightly. “She wants t go t Canada t go skiing” WHAT?! “She wants to go to Canada to go skiiing.”

10. Examples Mixed sounds (assimiliation) Some sounds mix together to make new sounds. Sometimes when two consonants come together, one at the end of one word and one at the beginning of another, they mix and make a new sound. “Wha di jew do?” WHAT?! “What did you do?”

11. Authentic Canadian conversation Bob: Hey Doug, jyeet? Doug: No, jew?

12. Examples Lost sounds (elision) Sometimes, sounds disappear. Usually, aspirated sounds /h/ and /t/. “Did you see ‘im las’ nigh’?” WHAT?! “Did you see him last night?”

13. Examples Dropped syllables (ellipsis) Sometimes, an entire word disappears. “You got the time?” WHAT?! “Have you got the time?”

14. Examples Helping sounds (intrusion) When a word ends in a vowel and the next word starts with a vowel, a “helping sound” comes between them so they are easier to say (usually “y”, “w” or “r” “No wagreement” sea yotter WHAT?! “No agreement.” “sea otter”

15. Examples Intonation (turn taking) Intonation drops when we finish speaking a turn. The falling tone tells the listener that the speaker has finished

16. Activity Partner interview. Ask your partner some questions. Listen carefully, and write down their answers (briefly). Sounds easy, right?!

17. BUT… You must sit back to back.

18. Friday Listening practice Talk about listening journal Look at study schedule.

19. Homework Go to our class website, and download the mp3 file we listened to today (“Files” section). - listen to the file ONCE while looking at the paper. - listen once WITHOUT the paper.