3 Listening
A) Listening Text Instruction and Pre-listening Discussion Questions
You are going to listen to a TED Talk by Candy Chang, an artist, called Before I die I want to... Before you listen, discuss in your groups the following questions:
- How well do you know your neighbours? What kinds of things do you share with them?
- Have you ever thought about any of the things you would like to do before you die?
- Do you think there should be more art in public spaces, where it is free for all to enjoy?
B) Vocabulary Preview
Complete the vocabulary table below with definitions and sample sentences.
| Word | Meaning | Used in a Sentence |
| wisdom (N)
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| vacant (adj)
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| soothe (V)
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| abandoned (adj)
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| stencil (V)
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| piracy (N)
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| cavalry (N)
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| constructive (adj)
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| empowering (adj)
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| enlightening (adj)
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C) Listening for Main Ideas and Details:
Link to the Listening:
https://www.ted.com/talks/candy_chang_before_i_die_i_want_to?language=en
First Listening: As you listen to the talk, follow the main ideas given in the chart below. You don’t need to write anything. Think about how the TED Talk has a 7-part structure.
Second Listening: Now look at the details provided in the column on the right. As you listen a second time, complete the notes with details that come before or after the provided notes. Click Check and Show Solution to see if your note covers the same information. Your notes don’t have to be exactly the same as the solution.
| Topic | Main Idea | Expressions Used to indicate it |
| Topic 1 | Sharing with neighbours in public places |
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| Topic 2 |
Love for New Orleans
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| Topic 3 |
Death of Joan
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| Topic 4 |
Abandoned house becomes a chalkboard
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| Topic 5 |
Neglected space becomes a constructive one
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| Topic 6 |
Others are inspired
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| Topic 7 |
Death inspires life
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D) Listening Comprehension Questions
Use your notes to answer the questions below. Compare with a partner and with the given solutions.
E) Reported Speech
Reported speech expresses information that was originally expressed as quoted speech or “live” speech. When we report speech, we use a variety of reporting verbs, such as stated, expressed, mentioned, determined, clarified, etc., followed by a that noun clause.
Example:
Reported speech: The student stated (that) [he didn’t want to add items to his bucket list until he had fully explored the items already on his list].
Now, we can reverse engineer this sentence to arrive back at the original quoted speech. We don’t need the subject The student, nor the reporting verb stated; all we need is the student’s original “live” speech in the 1st person. The quotation marks make the speech live and in the moment.
Quoted speech: “I don’t want to add items to my bucket list until I’ve fully explored the items already on my list.”
Notice the changes is tense. Moving from direct speech to reported speech, we’ve gone from simple present negative [don’t] to simple past negative [didn’t] in the main clause.
Similarly, in the dependent clause, we’ve gone from present perfect [‘ve explored] to past perfect [had explored]. This is called a tense shift. Now, why would we shift tenses in this way? The reason is that when we report speech, we look back in time to when the original speech took place; therefore, we need past tense verbs to express this. Also, because the original speech is being reported by someone other than the original speaker, there is also a shift in pronoun use from 1st person ‘I’ to 3rd person ‘he’ and from possessive pronoun ‘my’ to possessive pronoun ‘his’.
Look at the following direct speech quotations from the TED Talk. Change each to reported speech. Be sure to shift tenses back one level and make pronoun changes. Use the simple past of the reporting verb given in [brackets] and use ‘She’ for Candy Chang. Include that to introduce each of your noun clauses. Your answer must be exactly correct, including spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammar. Follow closely the order of sentence elements from the original and change only what is necessary. If you get an “X”, inspect your answer carefully, and then repeat your attempt before checking the solution.
Example:
Quoted speech: “In 2009, I lost someone I loved very much.” [say]
Reported speech: She said [that] in 2009, she had lost someone she had loved very much.
F) Grammar Focus: Gerunds & Infinitives
Gerunds and infinitives are also called verbal nouns. They look like verbs, but act like nouns. Therefore, they can be subjects, objects or complements. Review the information boxes below and play the acordians for further details and examples. Then complete the tasks that follow.
Gerunds: Function
Can serve as the following functions:
Infinitives: Form
-to + base form of the verb
Infinitives: Function
Can serve as the following functions:
*Note: A few of these sentences look the same as ones from the gerund explanation box. This is to show that sometimes we can use either a gerund or an infinitive to express the same meaning.
a. Gerund and Infinitive Identification
b. Identifying Function
c. Writing Practice
In the space below, write 5 sentences: 2 gerund sentences (1 using a gerund as object of a verb and 1 as a noun complement); 2 infinitive sentences (1 using an infinitive as subject and 1 as an adjective complement); and 1 sentence that uses a gerund in one clause and an infinitive in another clause. Mix your use of single gerunds/infinitives with gerund/infinitive phrases.
G) Wrap Up Discussion
- Do you think a “Before I Die, I Want To…” wall would be popular on the university campus? What about in your hometown or city? Why do you think so?
- Do you think a wall like this, in public space, can help bring a community together?
- What other things might neighbours want to share on such a wall?
- If you had a chance to write on Candy Chang’s wall, what would you write?
H) Summary Statement
Summary Clue: A summary should capture only the main ideas and important details. It excludes examples and other fine details. A summary statement is a very economical summary.