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Skillful Listening and Speaking 2 TB Unit 9 Sample
Skillful Listening and Speaking 2 TB Unit 9 Sample
Skillful Listening and Speaking 2 TB Unit 9 Sample
Unit 9 Sound
Sound
students to number the factors as they hear them. Thus, the main takeaway here is that a fly buzzing
around our ears and fingernails scraping a chalkboard
share a reason for being annoying, which is that they’re
AUDIO SCRIPT 2.15 unpredictable. Of course, understanding the reason
Professor: Good afternoon. In my lecture today I’m why some sounds are annoying doesn’t help us feel less
going to focus on some research on what makes sounds irritated when we hear them.
annoying. I think we would all agree that loud sounds,
OK, are there any questions?
like the sound of a car alarm, or door banging can be
annoying. But, let’s consider what other factors come Student 1: Yes, what is ”pitch“?
into play. Professor: The question was: What is pitch? Pitch
First, a sound can be annoying because we don’t know means how high or low a sound is.
when it will stop. This uncertainty about how long the Student 2: What do you mean by frequency?
sound will persist is what irritates us. Even a distant Professor: You asked what frequency is. We will talk
bell or quiet beep can have this effect. At first you may about this more next week.
not notice the sound. But, if it continues, it becomes
distracting—and increasingly annoying.
This uncertainty factor is part of the common experience Answers
of being irritated by a stranger’s phone conversation 1 uncertainty about how long it will last
in a public place. Initially, you may hardly notice the 2 regular, repetitive
conversation. As the conversation continues, however, 3 unpredictability
you start to feel slightly annoyed. You may tell yourself
4 the pitch
it’s because the person is speaking too loudly, or
because you don’t want to know a stranger’s personal
details. Researchers, however, have found, it’s not Close listening
knowing when the conversation will end that makes it so
annoying. 1 Play the audio again and ask students to circle the
correct idea to complete each explanation for the
Second, something repetitive, like a dripping faucet,
factors. Go over the answers.
seems to be universally annoying. As we hear the
regular drip, drip, drip, over and over, we become
distracted by it. Over time, it seems to magnify in Answers
intensity until it is the only thing we notice. We become 1 we don’t know when they will end
increasingly annoyed. And, again it’s not knowing if the 2 repetitive
sound will ever cease that gets to us. 3 doesn’t stop
On the other hand, unpredictable sounds are also 4 an unpredictable way
annoying. Think about sounds in nature, like the sound 5 low
of a mosquito or a fly buzzing near you. Researchers
have found that one reason flies and mosquitoes bother 2 Put students into pairs to answer the questions.
us is because they fly in irregular patterns. Although we
know the sound will vary from loud to soft based on the
Answers
fly or mosquito’s proximity to us, we can’t know how
loud it will be the next time we hear it because flies and 1 Universally annoying means annoying to most people.
mosquitoes move about in a random way. Our brain 2 They are both unpredictable.
still attempts to predict the loudness of the next sound,
and when we will hear it, but unfortunately, it can’t
determine this. The result is we become increasingly Exam tip
bothered by the sound.
One task on the IELTS test requires students to read a
If you’ve tried to fall asleep with a fly or mosquito question and write a short answer. Their short answer
buzzing around in the room, you’ll know what I mean.
must use information from the listening text. This task
Someone’s fingernails scraping on a chalkboard also type limits the amount of words a student can use, so
seems to be universally annoying. Most of us assume
encourage the use of short answers for exercise 2.
it is annoying because it has a high pitch. However,
researchers have concluded that it isn’t the high pitch that
bothers us. So, pitch is the fourth factor. The scraping is Developing critical thinking
actually made up of a range of sounds from high to low
frequency. In turns out, we are irritated more by the low Before students discuss the questions, review the
sounds because our ears are more sensitive to them. Academic keywords box on page 89. Tell students
Moreover, as the fingernails travel down the board, the that these are key words used in the listening, and
volume changes from loud to soft in an unpredictable point out that attempt and factor can be both a noun
way. Researchers have concluded that this also and a verb. Ask them to copy the words into their
contributes to why it is so annoying. vocabulary notebooks.
Sound Unit 9 75
76 Unit 9 Sound
Sound
A stranger variation on phantom phone rings is phantom
phone vibrations, which is experienced by people who Open a discussion by asking students how they can
leave their phone on vibrate mode. They imagine they feel tell when someone is angry. Elicit general answers, but
their phone vibrating when there is no call or text. There is then focus on voice. Elicit answers such as their voice
actually a disorder related to this called phantom vibration
is louder or their tone changes. Ask students to read the
syndrome. Phone users who have this syndrome typically
carry their phone in the same place on their body
information in the Listening to interpret the speaker’s
regularly. It is thought that this leads the brain to become attitude box. Explain that words can help a speaker
trained to anticipate vibration from that part of the body; convey attitude. Tell students that if intonation is
for example, the right hip. Over time, though, the brain challenging, noticing words is a good strategy. Draw
starts to overanticipate vibrations. The result is that the their attention to the words in the Academic keywords
person thinks calls or texts are coming in even when they box. Check pronunciation and have them copy them
aren’t. Obviously, this can be distracting and annoying if into their vocabulary notebooks. Review information
someone is watching a movie or eating dinner. about intonation from unit 4 if necessary. For extra
The other example of sound perception—or rather, practice, ask students to write dialogues about sound.
misperception—is the phenomenon of hearing phantom Require them to include words that help convey
words—words that no one actually said. In one study, their attitudes about the sounds they are describing.
researchers had some volunteers listen to a recording. Consider printing the dialogues and asking students
The recording was made up of repeated words or
to guess the sound using just the words. Then ask
phrases, not sentences. The people weren’t told what
students to perform their dialogues using appropriate
was on the recording. After they listened several times,
they were asked to recall any words and phrases they intonation. Reinforce the idea that the combination of
had heard. Many reported hearing words and phrases intonation and words can be very powerful.
that weren’t on the recording. One explanation for 1 Ask students to read the notes. Play the audio
where these words and phrases came from is that the again and have them complete each blank with up
human brain tries to take meaningless noises it receives to four words.
and give it some sort of meaning.
Interestingly, the researchers found that what people Answers
were thinking about prior to listening to the recording
1 the sounds it receives
had an effect on which words and phrases they heard.
2 stress
For example, a person who is trying to lose weight,
might hear phrases about food. A student preparing for 3 in the same place (regularly)
an exam, might hear words and phrases related to the 4 meaningless sounds
exam or to the subject being studied. 5 words and phrases
Another study was carried out, this time on language 6 weren’t on the recording
learners. Students of different nationalities who were all 7 students / language learners
learning English were played a recording in English. 8 own language
The researchers found some students heard words and
phrases in their first language while listening to the 2 Play the audio again. Encourage students to
recording. For example, Chinese students heard some interpret the attitude of the speaker to determine if
Chinese words in the recording, while students who the sentences are true or false. Ask them to correct
spoke Arabic or Spanish heard Arabic or Spanish the false statements.
words. What’s striking is that some students were even
convinced that Chinese, Arabic, or Spanish words had
Answers
been inserted into the audio track, even though this
wasn’t true. The same results were found even when the 1 T
students heard the recording several times. 2 F (researchers don’t understand)
3 F (other tasks are mentioned, not dreaming)
With both phantom phone rings and phantom words,
researchers aren’t certain why people hear what they do, 4 T
but it appears that the brain is working hard to interpret 5 T
sounds and give it meaning. Perhaps people would hear 6 F (they recalled different words, depending upon
fewer phantom rings if they paid less attention to their their nationality and what they had been thinking
phones, but that isn’t likely to change any time soon. about before listening to the recording)
7 F (several times)
8 T
Answers 9 T
1 A phantom ring is a phone ring that doesn’t
actually occur.
2 People feel their phone vibrating even when it isn’t.
3 Phantom words are words that no one actually said.
4 two
Sound Unit 9 77
78 Unit 9 Sound
Sound
stressed words. Play the audio more than once
a public place if necessary. After students listen to the audio,
ask them to repeat the sentences using the same
Grammar contrastive stress patterns. Circulate to check that
Define cleft sentence as a complex sentence that students are properly using the stress pattern.
highlights information by moving the most Consider having students record themselves so
important information to the beginning of the they can compare themselves to the audio.
sentence. Speakers use this so listeners will focus
on the important information. Read the form and Audio script 2.18
examples from the Grammar box aloud. This can 1 Low sounds actually affect us more than high sounds.
be a challenging concept for students. Provide more 2 Our ears don’t identify the sounds we hear, our
examples if necessary: It was my brother that we were brains do.
looking for at the shopping center. It’s Chinese food that I 3 Jung complained about the noise, but it didn’t bother
like better than any other. It was from the television that Wei.
she heard the news about the country’s new president. 4 Adan was annoyed by his neighbor’s radio, not by
his TV.
It was hearing about the university from the recruiter
5 Aida heard so many phantom rings that she ignored
that convinced me to apply. For advanced students, a real call.
mention that cleft sentences can also begin with
Wh- words: What he wanted more than anything was to
make the baseball team. What he hoped for was to find
Answers
a job when he finished school. Depending on your
1 low, high
population, ask them if cleft sentences are used in
2 ears, brains
their native languages. Clefts are used in French, Irish,
3 Jung, Wei
some Semitic languages, Turkish, and Tagalog, for
4 radio, TV
example.
5 phantom, real
1 Ask students to read the conversations with a
partner and identify the cleft sentences.
2 Tell students they will hear two pairs of sentences
with different stress patterns and must choose the
Answers correct meaning for each one, based on the stress.
1 It was at the science center. Play the audio.
2 It’s Wednesday she’s coming.
3 It’s the reading section that’s difficult for me.
Audio script 2.19
4 It’s soft sounds that get to me.
1 Ahmed’s new ringtone is very annoying.
2 Ahmed’s new ringtone is very annoying.
2 Check answers after students complete the 3 Ria was bothered by the traffic in the morning.
first conversation before asking them to go 4 Ria was bothered by the traffic in the morning.
on to practice it, and then role play the other
conversations. Circulate to make sure they are
using cleft sentences.
Answers
1 b 2 a
3 d
4 c
Extension activity
Ask students to find a partner and write their own
dialogues. Require that the dialogues include cleft Speaking skill
sentences and word + preposition combinations. Ask students what they worry about most when they
Schedule time for performances and consider have to give a presentation. Expect answers such as
videotaping the role plays as they are performed. nerves / anxiety, eye contact, pronunciation. Then
focus attention on the time after a presentation. Many
students worry about answering questions. Ask them
Pronunciation skill why this may be. Point out that there are phrases they
Ask students to read the information in the Using can use in English to deal with such questions. Ask
contrastive stress for emphasis box, then read the them to read the information and examples in the
examples aloud so they can hear how the different Fielding questions during a presentation box.
stress patterns change the focus of the sentence. 1 Repeat the audio more than once if necessary
before checking answers.
Sound Unit 9 79
80 Unit 9 Sound