In this podcast you will hear about the cyclonic windstorm 'Xynthia', which recently hit Western Europe. Please complete the pre-listening activities prior to taking notes from the podcast.
Activity 1. Pre-listening. Useful Terms. Click on the terms below to be linked to Encarta On-line Dictionary for the definitions and pronunciation. Read all definitions before deciding which one fits this context. To navigate back to this blog page, simply click on the return arrow. The terms are also recorded on the podcast.
Xynthia, Lothar
From the list of vocabulary, we can see that the context of this podcast report includes references to the country of France, windstorms and some of their characteristics, the French Civil Defence Ministry, coastal phenomena, and mobile homes.
To reinforce your understanding of the above terms, do this simple matching activity alone or with a partner. (Answers are below in reverse order.)
1. Xynthia, Lothar
2. violent windstorm
3. Civil Defence
4. battering waves
5. The town was hard-hit by the cyclone.
6. mobile home park
7. sea wall
8. coastal development practices
a. devastated, struck, where much was destroyed
c. edifice that protects a coastline from high waves
d. organism of government that protects its citizens similar to the
e. seaside construction and planning, especially near residences
f. cyclone or tornado are types of violent windstorms
g. huge tidal water swells that cause flooding
h. Neighborhood of homes that are on trailers and can be towed
[e c g a g d f b ]
Activity 2. Pre-listening.
A. Content: Weather Patterns
With a partner, please click on
'cyclones', and familiarize yourself with some of the terminology used in describing these natural wind phenomena. Make a list of new and/or additional terms or interesting facts that you would use in discussing or reading about cyclones.
B. Connecting: Your Personal Background & Knowledge
Discuss any knowledge that you have of where previous cyclones have hit, the damage to those regions, the kinds of aid these areas received from the global community. How many could you name? Did you know anyone personally who was touched by these natural disasters?
Now listen to the podcast. On note paper, leaving large margins to each side of your sheet, begin writing as you hear the report. Note dates, places, people, events. As you write, leave space between items so that you can listen a second time, adding notes to embellish your note-taking. After listening twice, please work on the follow-up activities below, alone or with your partner.
Activity 3. Post-listening. Search for details. Please answer the following questions. If you cannot find the answers in your notes, listen to the podcast until you hear them.
1. What dates did Xynthia hit Western Europe? Describe the cyclone activity in detail.
2. In what year did Lothar hit?
3. Which countries in Western Europe were hard-hit by the storm?
4. Describe the types of damage which occurred in those countries, including death toll, damage to dwellings.
5. What was it that reached a height of 7 meters?
6. During what era was the sea wall near St. Aiguille-sur-mer built?
7. What kind of coastal development practice is being criticized in this piece and why?
8. What did 1 million French and 1 million Portuguese households lose during the storm?
9. What kind of delays were experienced in France and northern Spain?
10. What is the name of the Paris airport, and what transpired there during Xynthia?
11. Give the three wind gust measurements and the country where they were recorded.
With your partners, compare answers. Listen again to the podcast if necessary.
Activity 4. Post-listening. Search for meaning. Write a synopsis in your own words of this report on Xynthia, then with your partner, practice presenting the report to each other as if your were a TV journalist reporting the story.
To verify your answers, you may read the text of this podcast.
NOTE TO INSTRUCTORS OF ADVANCED ESL /EAP
Overall, the Wiki resource and others like it, would be beneficial for this type of weekly exercise for an EAP class. Topics could be geared to the schools, students' interests, scholastic needs, etc. It would take time for the instructor to set up every week, but if the topics are of high interest, contain lots of new vocabulary, or are provocative in nature, class discussions would be exciting. If several instructors are teaching the same section, the weekly duty of selecting and setting up the podcast could be shared. Obviously public radio and other emissions can be used, but making one's own podcast enables the teacher's knowledge of students' interests to be taken more into account.
Varieties of pre-listening and post-listening can be done by having students work individually, in pairs or in threes. The advantage of paired work is combined knowledge, using the vocabulary to communicate. The advantage of working alone is that students will more easily identify their weaknesses. A combination of paired and group work would bring more variety, and would make students accountable to each other.
Just start at wikipedia.org and search the latest articles.
An additional post-listening activity could be done if pairs of students are each given a separate podcast to listen and prepare for class 'broadcasts'. This would entail using of all skills, and they would be required to use their new vocabulary in their class 'broadcasts'.
Yet another post-listening activity could be that each week a different group could post their findings on a wiki page, or a blog. And even more engaging (and time-consuming) could be a weekly newspaper that would afford students the opportunity of setting up sections, focusing on various areas of THEIR interest, by groups. Their activities could be construed as a service to fellow students. Discussion threads could be begun on one article per week, for example, or on all the topics if students are willing to moniter/answer them!
Happy podcasting!
