Communication Beginnings: An Introductory Listening and Speaking Text for English Language Learners

Script and Answer Key 86 Script and Answer Key Chapter 1 • Listening activity 1 script Kaori is an English learner from Japan. She is in her first semester at a university in the U.S. state of Oregon. She is very excited to be learning English. In class, Kaori feels a little shy and mostly sits by another Japanese student. Together they translate words and talk in Japanese during the break. Sometimes her teacher calls her name to answer questions, but otherwise, Kaori doesn’t raise her hand or speak much during class. She is afraid of making a mistake when she speaks. On the weekends, Kaori chats with her family in Japan and watches movies in Japanese on the computer. Kaori has been in the United States for two months now, but she doesn’t feel like her speaking and listening skills are improving. She is disappointed. • Listening activity 2 script Kaori, an English student from Japan, went to talk with her teacher about her listening and speaking skills. She told her teacher that she didn’t feel like she was improving, and that she was having a hard time with her English studies. Her teacher gave her some ideas, and Kaori tried some of them that week. Instead of sitting by the other Japanese student in her class, Kaori sat by Mohammed, a student from Kuwait. They spoke in English the whole class and agreed to be study partners outside of class as well. Kaori also started going to the conversation partners and practiced her English outside of class. In class, Kaori tried raising her hand when the teacher asked questions. Suddenly, Kaori felt like her English was really improving. The changes that she made helped her learn English more quickly and easily. • Activity 3 Answer Key On the first day of English class, there is a lot of ________ information ________ that you will talk about and________ discuss ______________ with your teacher and classmates. It is very ______ import nt_ ___________that you pay attention, so you don’t miss anything. Your teacher will ask you questions and will wait for your ________ response ___________. In American classrooms, the ______ environment_ ___________ is interactive, which means the teacher and the students talk to each other a lot. Also, it is common for the students to talk in groups or pairs a lot and share ideas or ________ _opinions __________ about something. On the first day, your teacher might share a new learning_____ _strategy ________ or tip that will help increase your ____ success __________ in the class. Before too long, you will have a lot of _____ knowledge ______ in your brain, and you will improve your English in no time. You might even use your new English skills to ______ apply _______ for a student job or a place on a university team! Good luck! Chapter 2