Learning English with CBC
Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students
Based on CBC Manitoba Radio Broadcasts
October 26, 2012
Lesson 81: Teacher’s Edition
Level:
CLB 5 and up
Topic:
Driving Ability and Age
Language Skills and Functions:
Listening – listening to a short interview for
inference
Speaking – expressing opinions in a debate
Reading – reading a text for detail; reading a chart
and drawing conclusions
Writing
– writing a paragraph
Language Competencies:
Language Tasks:
Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking
Strategies, Socio-cultural/sociolinguistic Competence
Describing driving and driver licensing in your country
Using new vocabulary in context
Listening for inference in radio interview with seniors on the topic of the
risks associated with older drivers
Expressing feeling and emotions using verbal adjectives
Reading and analyzing collision rates by age group and drawing
conclusions
Reading a text about Ontario’s mandatory testing system for drivers 80
and over for detail
Expressing opinions in a debate on whether Manitoba should adopt
Ontario’s system for testing the abilities of senior drivers
Writing a paragraph about driving in your country
Essential Skills: Reading text, working with others, numeracy, oral communication, writing
Worksheets1: 1. Choose the Meaning That Fits the Sentence
2. Listen for Inference
3. Use Verbal Adjective to Express Feelings and Emotions
4. Read a Chart and Draw Conclusions
5. Read a Text for Detail
6. It’s a Debate!
7. Write a Paragraph to Describe Driving in Your Country
Appendices: Transcript of the podcast
Adapted Toronto Star article: Experts say Ontario is failing to weed out at-risk
drivers over 80
1
Answers to worksheets are in the self-study version of the lesson plan.
Manitoba Memo
Driving is second nature to most of us. We drive to work, to shop and to go to school.
We drive to other communities, provinces and countries. Those of us who live in large cities
have the option of public transportation. We can go without a vehicle if we choose. But
people who live in rural and northern communities don’t have that choice.
In Manitoba, the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation (MPI) has responsibility for
overseeing driver education, driver testing and licensing and vehicle insurance. The
administrative side of things is taken care of by Autopac agents in communities across the
province. These agents take your driver’s licence photo, accept payments for licence and
insurance fees and book appointments for road tests.
Manitoba has a no-fault, publicly owned, vehicle insurance system. Like many terms in the
English language, “no-fault” isn’t what it sounds like. In a no-fault system, if you are injured
or your car is damaged, you deal with MPI, regardless of who was at fault. You don’t have
to sue the other driver for vehicle damage or for other benefits. No lawyers are involved.
But it does matter who is at fault. If you are at fault, you pay more. Your driving record is
what affects the cost of your licence and your insurance, not your age or your gender. Safe
drivers pay less, while risky or accident-prone drivers pay more. MPI monitors all drivers in
the province. If you have poor driving habits, you will have to attend a hearing. At the
hearing, it is decided if you can keep your licence.
Manitoba also has a program for new drivers of all ages. It is called the Graduated Driver
Licensing Program. Under this program, new drivers go through three stages of licensing
over a minimum two year period. Each stage places restrictions on the new driver and helps
them gain driving experience. When all three stages are completed, a driver is fully licenced.
If you have a driver’s licence from another country, MPI requires specific information about
the kind of licence you already have so that they can determine what kind of licence you
should have in Manitoba.
MPI is also responsible for programs that help reduce risks and improve safety for all
drivers. One way it does this is through education and public information campaigns.
Another way is through the Driver Rating System which is directly related to your driving
record. If you drive safely, you move up the scale and receive what we call “merit” points.
The more merit points you have, the less money you pay for your driver’s licence and your
vehicle insurance. If you cause an accident or drive unsafely, you are given “demerit”
points. This means you move down the scale and pay more for your licence and insurance.
Driving records are assessed annually, so even if you have demerits, each year of safe
driving allows you to climb back up the scale.
In the final analysis, safe driving and safe roads are a community responsibility. We can all
improve our driving habits. And we can all take responsibility for ensuring that someone
who clearly is not able to drive – whether it is because of age-related illness or limitations,
impairment from alcohol or drugs, fatigue or any other issue – stays off the road.
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Pre-listening activities
1. Discuss with a partner
Provide the class with a list of the following questions. Ask students to think about driving in
their country of origin. Do they have the language to describe how their country’s system of
driver licensing works? Can they compare it to the system in Manitoba?
 What kinds of vehicles are common in your country?
 Does everyone need a licence to operate a motor vehicle? Is there anyone who
doesn’t need a licence?
 If you need a licence, how do you get one? Do you have to take a test, pay a fee or
be a certain age?
 Can people lose their licence for some reason? If so, how?
 What are the most common causes of accidents? E.g. bad weather, crowded
roads, bad drivers?
 Do a lot of seniors drive? Is there an age restriction?
 How is driving in Canada different?
2. Vocabulary
Elicit or present key vocabulary that students need to understand prior to listening to
the podcast (see suggested vocabulary and explanations which follow). You can write
the words on the board and elicit possible meanings from the class or break students
into groups and give each group a few words to review. Groups can then present the
vocabulary to the rest of the class. You can also ask students to mark the syllables
and stress for each word, identify word families and practise pronouncing the words.
You may want to ask students to think of sentences that use the new vocabulary. If
your students keep a vocabulary journal, they can copy the vocabulary into their
journal.
Vocabulary
to monitor something
Driving Ability and Age
When you monitor something, you carefully watch
and check it to see how it changes over a period of
time. For example: Doctors monitor or carefully
check the health of their patients when they come
for a check-up.
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abilities
Your abilities are the things you are able or
capable of doing.
to be top of mind
This idiom means that something is at the forefront
of your thoughts or a priority for you.
a touchy subject
A touchy subject is a subject that is sensitive, or
that people don’t like to talk about.
to be critical to something/someone If something is critical to a person or a process, it
is considered to be very important or essential.
a person’s independence
Your independence is your freedom or ability to
make your own decisions in life without having to
ask others to help you.
to be under scrutiny
When something or someone is under scrutiny it
means it is being examined carefully and
thoroughly. For example: The ability of older
drivers should be under scrutiny and examined
thoroughly to ensure they are capable of driving
safely.
to be focused
If you are focused on what you are doing, you are
paying careful attention to what you are doing.
invariably
When something always happens or is always
true, we say it invariably happens. In other words,
there is no variation, it is always the same.
clicks
This slang word can be used instead of saying
kilometers. For example, 200 clicks is equal to
200 kilometres.
a decent reason
If you have a decent reason for doing something, it
means you have a good reason for doing it.
ageism
If you treat people unfairly or differently due to their
age, we sometimes call that ageism.
the reverse of something
When you change the usual order of things or the
usual way things are done, we say you’ve reversed
them. For example: Usually the teacher calls out
attendance by beginning with students whose last
name begins with the letter “a”. Today, she
reversed that practice and began at the end of the
alphabet with the student whose last name begins
with “z”.
a traitor
A traitor is someone who is not loyal to her/his
friends.
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to be at stake
When something’s at stake, you risk losing
something that is personally important or valuable
to you. For example: Joel invested heavily in his
friend’s business. He put his personal financial
situation and reputation at stake or on the line for
his friend.
to harm someone or something
When you do harm, you damage something or hurt
someone.
driving conditions
The state of the roads and the current weather are
what determine driving conditions. For example,
poor driving conditions include things like fog, icy
roads, heavy rain and blowing snow.
peripheral vision
Your peripheral vision is your ability to see things
to the side of you when look straight ahead.
3. Vocabulary Match
Hand out Worksheet 1. Ask students to work with a partner to complete it. Take up the
answers as a class.
4. Predict what the interview is about
In this interview, reporter Christopher Read interviews several seniors about their own
driving habits and asks them if they think there should be some kind of system for
testing older drivers. Ask students if they can think of opinions the seniors might
express on this topic.
Here are a few examples:
They might say … it’s younger drivers who are really the problem.
They could say … it’s a good idea to re-test older drivers.
Maybe they’ll say…that most seniors know when it’s time for them to stop
driving.
While-listening activities
1. Introduce the podcast
Tell students that in this podcast, they will hear five speakers. They will hear:
Marcy Markusa – host
Christopher Read – reporter
Three seniors
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2. Listen for inference
Handout Worksheet 2 and review it with students. Ask students to work with a partner
to complete it. Take up the answers as a class.
After-listening activities
1. Review pre-listening predictions
Ask students whether they were able to predict what the seniors had to say about older
drivers.
2. Using verbal adjectives to express feelings and emotions
Handout and review Worksheet 3. Ask students to work with a partner. Take up the
answers as a class.
Extension activities
1. Read a chart and draw conclusions
Handout and review Worksheet 4. Ask students to work in small groups. Discuss the
answers as a class.
2. Read a text for detail
Handout and review Worksheet 5 and Appendix 2. Ask students to work in small
groups to complete it. Take up the answers as a class.
3. Express opinions in a debate format on the topic: Manitoba should adopt Ontario’s
system for testing drivers 80 years of age and over
Handout and review Worksheet 6. Ask students to work in groups. Ask the groups to
perform their debate for the class. While the debate takes place, their classmate could
take notes. When the debate ends, the class could also vote on which team made the
best case.
4. Write a paragraph about driving in your country
Handout and review Worksheet 7. Students can work with a partner but each student
should write their own paragraph.
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Want to know more…
The news articles used in this story include:
www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/crash-spotlights-elderly-drivers-173650811.html
www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1129436--experts-say-ontario-is-failing-to-weedout-at-risk-drivers-over-80
The Manitoba Public Insurance website is:
www.mpi.mb.ca/english/english.html
Information specifically for older drivers can be found at:
www.mpi.mb.ca/english/rd_safety/vulnerableroadusers/older_wiser_drivers.html
Information on driver licensing is at:
www.mpi.mb.ca/english/dr_licensing/DriverLicensing.html
Information for people who have a driver’s licence from another country can be found
here:
www.mpi.mb.ca/english/dr_licensing/ForeignDL.html
For another Learning English with CBC Manitoba lesson related to driving, see Lesson
60: Distracted Driving – Are You at Risk?
CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites
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Worksheet 1: Choose the Meaning That Fits the Sentence
Look at the underlined word or phrase in each of the sentences. Read the sentence to
understand the meaning and of the word or phrase in context. Look at the three options for
words or phrases. Circle the option that has the same meaning as the underlined word.
The first one is completed for you as an example.
1. The question of how best to monitor the abilities of senior drivers is top of mind again.
a) watch carefully, check often
b) mend or repair
c) display
2. The question of how best to monitor the abilities of senior drivers is top of mind again.
a) talents
b) weaknesses
c) skills
3. The question of how best to monitor the abilities of senior drivers is top of mind again.
a) a priority
b) a possibility
c) understood
4. Seniors and their driving ability is a touchy subject.
a) critical
b) sensitive
c) common
5. I know some older drivers don’t stay focused. They sometimes mistake the gas pedal
for the brake.
a) healthy
b) concerned
c) attentive
6. Does the issue of older drivers deserve as much scrutiny it gets?
a) examination
b) ridicule
c) importance
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7. When I say that about my fellow seniors, I feel a little like a traitor.
a) a leader
b) a betrayer
c) an imposter
8. It’s not just our lives that are at stake. We can harm others too.
a) at risk
b) on trial
c) in the limelight
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Worksheet 2: Listen for Inference
Sometimes we can get a lot of meaning from a speaker by listening to the tone and
intonation of their voice. We can tell how they are feeling. Listen to the three seniors in the
CBC interview. Look at the emotions listed in the box below and select the emotion that
best tells how you think the speaker is feeling.
Speaker
Comments
Emotion in their
voice
a)
Senior #1
b)
Senior #1
c)
Senior#2
d)
Senior #2
I know some older drivers for some
reason don’t stay focused.
Well I feel a little bit like a traitor here, but I
do feel that when we get up around the
60s and 70s, we should be tested.
The attention should be on teenage
drivers who are drinking and coming home
from parties.
I recognize my age and if it’s stormy or
late at night, I don’t go out.
Words to Describe Emotions
The following words can be used to describe emotions. You can use a dictionary to help
you if you aren’t sure what the words mean.
ambivalent or unsure
defensive
realistic or practical
critical
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Worksheet 3: Use Verbal Adjectives to Express Feelings and Emotions
Feelings and emotions are often described through verbal adjectives. There are two forms of
verbal adjectives:
Form
“ed” ending
“ing” ending
Meaning
To describe how a
person feels.
To describe the
experience that
caused that feeling.
Example
I felt frightened.
She felt frightened when the lights
went out.
Finding our way out in the dark was
frightening but we made it.
It was a frightening experience for
all of us when the lights went out.
Read the following sentences about driving with your partner. Complete each sentence with
the correct form of the adjective. The first one is completed as an example.
1. When the driver hit the child it was a terrifying experience. Everyone felt terrified.
terrified, terrifying
2. After the accident, there were so many things happening at once. It was an
____________ situation. The driver and the victim both felt ______________.
overwhelmed, overwhelming
3. Driving on the ice-covered roads was a _________ experience. I was ____________
throughout the whole trip.
frightened, frightening
4. I was _________ when I saw the driver ahead of me go through a red light and just miss
hitting another car. It was a ___________ thing to see.
shocked, shocking
5. I felt really __________ when I went to take my road test and realized I’d left the papers I
needed at home. It was an _________ experience.
embarrassed, embarrassing
6. I found it __________ when the driver in front of me would not let me merge into the
turning lane. I was very _________ at her.
annoyed, annoying
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Worksheet 4: Read a Chart and Draw Conclusions
Can you read a chart with information shown in percentages, analyze that information and
draw conclusions? The chart below provides information on the collision rate and the fatal
collision rate for each age group of drivers. It also tells you what percentage of drivers in
Manitoba belong to each age group.
If there were no differences in driving abilities and driving records by age, you would expect
that each age group would have fatal collision and collision rates that are the same as the
percentage of drivers in their age group. For example, drivers between the ages of 16 and 24
are 14% of all licenced drivers in Manitoba, which means they should account for 14% of fatal
collisions and 14% of all collisions. But as you can see in the chart below, younger drivers
are over-represented in both collision categories.
Age Group
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and over
Percentage of
Drivers
Percentage of
Fatal Collisions
14%
16%
18%
21%
15%
16%
21%
18%
20%
16%
11%
14%
Percentage
of All
Collisions
39%
14%
13%
12%
10%
8%
Discuss the following questions with your partner. Can you find information on the chart to
help you answer them?
1. In the interview, Senior #2 says that younger drivers are more of a problem than older
drivers. Do the statistics support her views? Why or why not?
2. Which age group has a fatal collision rate that is five percent lower than its percentage of
drivers?
3. Can you draw conclusions from the chart to support the mandatory testing of senior drivers
80 years of age and over, as is done in Ontario? Why or why not?
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Worksheet 5: Read a Text for Detail
Often there are many points of view on a topic. Sometimes an idea that sounds good in
theory is more complex than we initially think. The Toronto Star article in Appendix 2
provides an example the complexities of an issue like mandatory testing of senior drivers.
Read the article. Can you answer the detail questions below?
1.
Ontario drivers over the age of 80 must take a written test and get
their eyes checked every two years to renew their driver’s licence.
True False
2.
According to the newspaper article, the Ontario testing program
has successfully gotten the majority of high risk older drivers off the
roads.
True False
3.
The Ontario program does not include a road test.
True False
4.
The written test asks true and false questions about traffic rules
and signs.
True False
5.
The written test is unable to test for all of the driving skills that may
be affected by aging.
True False
6.
Physicians in Ontario are required to report health conditions that
could make it dangerous for their patients to drive.
True False
7.
Physicians receive all the training they need to be able to
determine which of their older patients are capable of driving
safely.
True False
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Worksheet 6: It’s a Debate!
In the CBC interview, the Ontario system for testing drivers age 80 and over is mentioned as
one model that Manitoba could follow. Some people think that Manitoba’s system is better
because it doesn’t assume that older drivers are bad drivers compared to other age groups.
Other people think that although the Ontario system isn’t perfect, it is better to have some
kind of regular testing of older drivers. The chart that follows compares the two systems.
Topic
Written test
Manitoba’s system
No mandatory written test. A safety
questionnaire for older drivers is
available on the MPI website.
Vision test
Optometrists are required to report
any patient whose ability to drive is
affected by their vision.
MPI provides information on their
website and in publications for older
drivers. Workshops/education
sessions are offered but are not
mandatory.
Drivers of any age who have bad
driving records must attend a
hearing. The outcome of that
hearing may place restrictions on
their driving or lead to their licence
being suspended.
More education
Other requirements
Ontario’s system
A multiple choice test on
knowledge of traffic safety
and rules must be written
every two years after
someone turns 80.
Anyone over 80 who wants to
continue to drive must have a
vision test every two years.
Drivers over 80 years old
must attend an education
session every two years. The
sessions focus on how aging
can affect driving ability.
Drivers over 70 who have an
accident and are at fault must
take a road test. They must
pass the test or their licence
is removed.
Preparing for the debate
1. Divide your group into two teams. One of the teams agrees with the following statement:
Manitoba should adopt Ontario’s system for testing senior drivers at age 80. The
other team disagrees. They argue that Manitoba’s current driver licensing system is
working.
2. Each team takes 5 to 10 minutes to think about their best arguments. Write them down in
point form so you have them handy for the debate. Your teacher will moderate the debate
and set an end time. A coin toss will decide which team goes first.
3. Decide which of your arguments is the strongest. That is the argument you should lead
with when the debate begins.
4. When the debate begins, each team presents their opening argument. Then the teams go
back and forth, presenting other arguments to support their position, or disagreeing with or
questioning the arguments of the opposing team.
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Worksheet 7: Write a Paragraph to Describe Driving in Your Country
Think back to the questions you discussed with a partner at the beginning of the lesson. Can
you write a paragraph to describe driving in your country? Here are the basic steps we use
when we write a paragraph:
1. Brainstorm for ideas
2. Organize your ideas
3. Choose a topic sentence
4. Choose the supporting details
5. Choose a concluding sentence
6. Edit your work
Use the outline below to help you write your paragraph.
Begin with a topic
sentence. The
topic sentence
introduces what you
want to talk about. It
makes the reader
want to know more.
Let me tell you about what it is like to drive in my country.
Add two or three
supporting
sentences. The
supporting
sentences will tell
the reader about
your driving
experiences or
those of other
people in your
country.
Driving in my country is quite (similar/different) than it is in Canada.
For example, _________________________________________
_____________________________________________.
(Add another one or two supporting sentences here)
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Write a concluding
sentence. It
summarizes what
has been said.
Driving Ability and Age
So, as you can see, driving in my country ______________________
________________________________________________________
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Appendix 1: Transcript
October 12, 2012 (broadcast date)
Speaker
Podcast
Line
Marcy
Hi I'm Marcy Markusa and you're listening to Learning English
with CBC. The question of how to best monitor the abilities of
senior drivers is top of mind again, after a recent accident
where an 86 year old man seriously injured a young girl. He
was backing up in a parking lot. It’s a touchy subject because
5
for many seniors, being able to drive is critical to their
independence. We asked reporter Christopher Read to talk to
senior drivers about senior drivers. Let’s listen to what he found
out.
Christopher
Do you think the issue of older drivers deserves as much
10
scrutiny as it tends to get?
Senior 1
In some cases, yes. I know some older drivers for some
reason don’t stay focused and when they do that, they forget
that the brake pedal isn’t the gas pedal and invariably they get
into trouble.
15
Christopher
Do you mind me asking, how old are you?
Senior 1
Seventy-seven.
Christopher
How has your driving ability changed with age?
Senior 1
I wanna do it less. I travelled a lot in my time, sometimes
20,000 clicks a month and now, I only like to drive where I’m
20
going if there’s a decent reason.
Christopher
In our society we can’t get a licence until we’re sixteen, which
you know is a kind of ageism, ah, which is accepted, so why
not do the reverse, you know, set an age at which everyone’s
licence is automatically re-tested, like they do it in Ontario at
80, whaddya think about that?
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25
Senior 1
Well I feel a little bit like a traitor here but I do believe that when
we get up around the 60’s and 70’s we should be tested
because it’s not just our lives at ah stake here, we can do
some very, very bad harm.
Senior 2
30
The attention should be on teenage drivers who are drinking
and coming from parties. If you watched the news, the list of
accidents, it was least with senior drivers.
Christopher
Has your driving ability changed with age do you think?
Senior 2
No. But I recognize my age and if it’s stormy or late at night, I
35
don’t go out. I think that older drivers have to recognize the
weather and the conditions.
Christopher
Do you know people in your own life who have ah had to get
re-tested or who have had their licence taken away?
Senior 3
Yes, because of ill health. I have a friend who gave up her
40
licence herself. She didn’t do it because of the doctor,
because she lost her peripheral vision and so she just gave up
her licence. I had another friend who had to give up her
licence because her legs, they said her legs weren’t working
properly for her to control a car. And I had another friend that
45
had to give it up because of heart problems.
Christopher
And how did they take that?
Senior 3
Two of them were fine and the other one was very angry. The
person with the heart problem was the one that was angry
about it.
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Appendix 2: Experts say Ontario is failing to weed out at-risk drivers over 802
Published in the Toronto Star on Sunday February 12, 2012
By Moira Welsh and Julian Sher
Ontario drivers over the age of 80, must take a written test and get their eyes checked every
two years to renew their licence. More than 121,000 seniors took the test in 2011.
But we’ll never know with any certainty how many drivers over 80 should be getting their
licence renewed — or removed. That’s because the official tests the Ontario Ministry of
Transport uses to certify drivers over the age of 80 are seriously flawed.
Currently, to renew their licences seniors over 80 must get a vision test, answer a multiplechoice questionnaire on traffic rules and signs, and then attend a group education session.
The vision test of course will of course catch failing eyesight.
Experts say the Ontario system doesn’t test how well drivers can manipulate the controls, or
quickly process information or be able to handle a crisis or problem solve on the road.
If the Ontario system is failing to spot the riskiest drivers by the time they reach 80, it’s having
even more problems identifying potentially dangerous senior drivers where it would be most
effective — earlier on, at their doctor’s office. That should be the front line in senior road
safety since, more than any other driving age group, seniors tend to have regular visits with
their physicians. But that is not what is happening.
Physicians in Ontario are required under the province’s Highway Traffic Act to report any
patient who is suffering from a condition that “may make it dangerous for the person to
operate a motor vehicle.” Six other provinces have similar rules.
“The problem with the evaluation of medical fitness to drive is that nobody in Canada is
training physicians to do it,” says Dr. Jamie Dow, of Quebec’s motor vehicle department.
“It’s just taken for granted that because you’re a physician you can judge driving fitness,
which is not true,” he says. “Most physicians know absolutely nothing about the effects of a
given medical condition on driving.”
“It’s really hard to report a patient, yes. And it can really mess up your relationship with the
patient, yes,” Dow says he tells them. “But if you have any doubts, ask yourself the following
question: would you let this person drive somebody you love? If not, then do what you have to
do.”
Even with more training, however, doctors will still face another serious roadblock in trying to
spot senior drivers at risk: there is still no reliable and simple test they can perform in their
office to measure the levels of cognitive impairment in their patients that might affect their
driving.
2
This article is condensed and adapted from the original which can be found at:
www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1129436--experts-say-ontario-is-failing-to-weed-out-at-risk-drivers-over-80
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