This is a
listening activity addressed to 4th E.S.O. students.The activity consists on:
a) Completing the text while listening to the audio provided. The students
will have two chances to do this activity. Then they will check it in groups
and we will correct it all together.
b) Answering some questions about the text they just completed. They will
do this in pairs so they feel more comfortable with the activity. After
this, we will correct it all together.
c) We can propose as a closing activity a debate about the necessity of TV
and new technologies, the economical aspect and share opinions about how
technology is changing our lives.
*The debate is the
cause of choosing a 4th E.S.O. level, as it will be a good topic for them to
debate on. At the text we can see a lot of verb tenses that is why the level
needs to be high. The main purpose of the activity is to practice listening and
speaking skills, such as comprehension and understanding of a listening,
sharing ideas with the classmates, getting into an agreement and debating about
current issues such as technologies and the media.
LISTENING ACTIVITY FOR ESL CLASS
1) While listening to the audio file, try to complete this text, then compare the answer with your classmates.
A YEAR WITHOUT TV
Starting in February 2009, broadcasts of all TV _______________ will be digital, replacing current analog signals. For _________________who have cable or satellite TV, this is ____________________ non-issue, because their reception will not be affected. ____________________people who use rabbit ears or outside antennas _______________ ’t be able to receive the new digital signals.
______________’ll have to buy a converter for each TV, _____________will cost about $50 each. For Chris, that ___________ too much. Instead, Chris was simply going to _________________his two TVs away to a thrift shop. ______________ he would wait until the prices went way _______________ on digital tuner TVs, and buy one when __________________ price was right.
He loaded the TVs into ________________ car. The lady at the thrift shop wasn’t ________________ at first. She changed her mind when he _______________ that they were only 13” TVs, and that __________________ worked perfectly. He was relieved when she accepted ____________. Had she not, he would have had to ______________ them at a hazardous waste facility, which meant ________________________ in line, in his car, for hours on ________________ . Chris got home feeling good. Now he was _______________ to enjoy at least a year of no ______________.
The “idiot box” was a good name for ________________ waste of electricity. He felt like a new ________________ for having got rid of his two TVs. __________________ Donna called that night, he proudly told her __________________news. Donna, whose native language was Chinese, was ____________________happy. “What do you mean, you have no ____________________?” she yelled over the phone. “How are you __________________ to teach me anything when I call to ___________________you about new vocabulary on the 11 o’clock ___________________?” She had a few more things to say. ____________ sighed.
When she finished, he promised her he __________buy a new digital TV the very next day.
2) Answer these questions about the text in partners: (YES/NO questions)
a) Will Broadcasts of all TV signals be digital?
b) Will digital signals replace analog signals?
c) Will reception for cable TV or satellite TV be affected?
d) Will rabbit ears work with the new digital signals?
e) Will people who use rabbit ears have to buy a converter?
f) Will the converters cost about $5 each?
g) Was Chris going to buy a converter?
h) Was he going to give his two TVs away?
i) Would he wait until the prices went way down?
j) Did he load his TVs into his pickup truck?
