Meet Marie. She’s an American who fell in love with Russia and moved there: to the relatively unpopulated Russian Far east in fact. In the three audios Marie talks about (1) developing an interest in Russia, (2) getting her first teaching job in the far eastern Chitinskaya Region, and (3) moving to a larger city, Birobidzhan, the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Region of Russia. Marie also talks about her future–staying in Russia permanently.

In Audio One (36 seconds), 27 words are missing. Yeah, that’s a lot! But they are little words, just one or two letters each. Read the text before listening and try to fill them in.

(1) ____ first was interested (2) ____ Russia when (3) ____ was 4 years old, after reading… I had just learned (4) ____ read. And (5) ____ started reading (6) ____ magazine about Russia. After becoming interested (7) ____ the country (8) ____ course (9) ____ read more. Classical literature. History. Russian classical music. Figure skating. Ballet. And when (10)____ was 21 or 22—I don’t remember—I had (11) ____ opportunity (12) ____ come (13) ____ Russia (14) ____ (15) ____ tourist for about three weeks. (16) ____ soon (17) ____ (18) ____ came into Russia, (19) ____ soon (20) ____ (21) ____ stepped out (22) ____ the plane (23) ____ the airport (24) ____ decided that (25) ____ wanted (26) ____ stay (27) ____ Russia.

Audio Two. (1:04). Develop your own listening activity.

Buryat: a person of one of several Asian nationalities in Russia.

So when I returned to the US after that trip I began looking for work [in Russia] and there was an agency. I think that it’s closed now. But there used to be an agency in Chitinskaya Oblact [in Eastern Russia]

that were looking for native speakers. Through this agency I found a school and they were willing to take me. I was willing to go. So that’s how I ended up there. I was a small village of about one thousand three hundred people. There were two Russian families; everyone else was Buryat. So I worked in a school for three years. I taught second through 11th grades. I enjoyed it very much but village life was very difficult so I decided I needed to move to a city, especially since I almost ruined my health completely.

Audio Three. (1:04). Develop your own listening activity.

I came to Birobidzhan because somebody mentioned it to me just in passing, and it was interesting because I’d also always been interested in Israel, and I thought I could hit two birds with one stone. So basically I telephoned the department of education, said that I would like to move here, could I find a job? They gave me the number of the Institute. I spoke to the dean. He said “Please come and we’ll sign a contract.” So, I came to Birodbidzhan and I like it. It’s very clean, quiet, calm, organized. It’s a nice city. And yes I do plan to stay here. In Russia permanently and

probably in Birobidzhan for quite some time. It’s possible to get permanent residence status. Personally, I would prefer to change my citizenship because I see no reason… I see no reason to keep my American citizenship if I plan to live the rest of my life in Russia. However I have… I’ve been told by different people, by Russian people, by my parents, that I would be very stupid to give up my American citizenship, so I don’t know. Personally, I would like to get Russian citizenship.

Complete Text, Audio 1: I first was interested in Russia when I was 4 years old, after reading… I had just learned to read. And I started reading a magazine about Russia. After becoming interested in the country of course I read more. Classical literature. History. Russian classical music. Figure skating. Ballet. And when I was 21 or 22—I don’t remember—I had an opportunity to come to Russia as a tourist for about three weeks. As soon as I came into Russia, as soon as I stepped out of the plane in the airport I decided that I wanted to stay in Russia.

 

 Marie 1: Interest in Russia [0:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (165)

 

 Marie 2: Teaching in a village, Chitinskaya Region [1:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (61)

 

 Marie 3: Moving to Birobidzhan [1:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (70)

Meet Venera. She’s from Tajikistan. In fact, this is a great way to meet Tajikistan itself, a country that few people know about. You can learn some of Tajikistan’s recent history from Venera’s talk.

Some words you should investigate before you listen to the audio below:

civil strife, break out, freelance, shooting, skirmishes, take care of

1. Listen and decide which of these sentences are true.

Tajikistan was not a part of the USSR
It was always safe to go outside.
There was shooting on the streets.
Teachers were paid decent wages.
Life was simple and easy during these years.

2. Do the following gap-fill. (Sometimes you have to fit two words into a blank; that’s because the words form strong partnerships).

My name is Venera. I (1)________ be a high school English teacher. But then the (2)________ (3)________ broke out, so we had to (4)________ at home for a couple of years ’cause there was much shooting, (5)________. It was very dangerous to go (6)________.

When we were not paid any (7)________ I had to take care of my sons, so I (8)________ that and started giving (9)________ English lessons, and now I’m a (10)________ English interpreter/translator. My name is Venera. I’m from Dushanbe, Tajikistan. I like my place, my country.

Answers: (1) used to  (2) civil (3) strife (4) stay (5) skirmishes (6) outside (7) salaries (8) quit (9) private (10) freelance

 

 Venera, Other Voices [0:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (98)

Here’s how to do a Rotation Dictation. It’s a lot of fun.

1. Put students in teams of three or four. One person will be a Writer. The others will be Runners.

2. Explain about the audio they will hear. A Rotation Dictation is a short piece of audio—in this case 45 words. When it reaches the end, it begins again. The audio features a woman named Venera from Tajikistan, and she talks about herself. The audio will repeat several times, for a total of about 2 minutes.

Play the audio quietly in a corner of the room, or even a bit outside of the room. A single Runner from each team will approach the audio player and listen.

They shouldn’t listen too long. Their job is to take a piece of this audio—several words or a whole sentence—and bring it back to their team. The Runner then tells the Writer what she heard.

Meanwhile the next Runner can go to the audio player and listen. Only one Runner per team can leave home base to listen.

The team will try to rebuild and reproduce the enitre audio text, writing it down.

At the end of two minutes, or more if necessary, teams will compare to see who has written the text most accurately.

Beforehand, or during (by writing them on the board) you could introduce  students to these terms they might not get aurally: “shooting,” “skirmishes,” “civil strife,” “break out.”
Text: My name is Venera.  I used to be a high school English teacher.   But then the civil strife broke out, so we had to stay at home for a couple of years ’cause there was much shooting, skirmishes.  It was very dangerous to go outside. 

 

 Rotation Dictation "Venera" [1:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (73)

I interviewed ten people at CATEC (the Central Asian Teachers of English Conference) in Issyk-Kuhl, Kyrgyzstan, and asked them to give me one adjective to describe the conference. In the brief audio you’ll hear 10 adjectives.

See if your students can write them all down. It’s just a 16-second audio.

Answers: impressive, large, incredible, riveting, awesome, creative, useful, international, effective, perfect

 

 Adjectives to Describe the CATEC Conference [0:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (81)

1. How old is Esmerelda?

2. When did she come to America?

3. Where does she work?

4. How long has she been in the United States?

5. What do people do at the Blue Rock Shoot, according to Esmerelda?

6 What does she like about the USA?

7. What does she miss about Mexico?

Transcription: Hi, My name is Esmerelda. I’m … I’m 21 years old, and I’m from Mexico. I’ve been working at the Blue Rock Shoot. Blue Rock Shoot is a place… It’s a coffee shop. It’s a place where you can eat your breakfast, use your computer, and relax for a while. I came to USA four years ago. I didnt’ know how to speak English when I came to this place, and I went to school for eight months, and now I’m still working on it. I really like USA because you can get a lot a stuff. Like, you work for a week, and you get money for… get something good… All the money that I make it’s just for myself. But it’s something that I, that I really miss from my country. My friends, sisters, my Mom that I didn’t see for seven years ago. And I was fourteen, I was fourteen years old the last time when I saw her. And right now I miss her.

 

 Esmerelda [1:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (397)