EC113_Guide.pdf

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ENGLISH CAFÉ – 113

TOPICS

Gallaudet University, U.S. call signs for radio and TV stations, outfit versus gear

versus equipment, pronouncing law and low, so versus very

_____________

GLOSSARY

deaf – unable to hear; without the physical ability to hear

* Many deaf people are very good at “reading” lips.

hearing-impaired – unable to hear or with very poor hearing

* I’m hearing-impaired, so I usually have to ask people to speak more loudly so I

can hear them.

student body – the group of all the students who study at a school, college, or

university

* Jack was elected president of the high school student body.

American Sign Language – ASL; a language that lets deaf people “speak” by

moving their hands

* I know the alphabet in American Sign Language, but I don’t know any words.

to appoint – to officially put someone into an important position or job

* Professor Jenkins was appointed the dean of the department in 1998.

Board of Trustees – the group of people who lead a university or other

organization, making important decisions and hiring the president

* The Board of Trustees has decided that the University should add a department

for medical studies.

faculty – the professors, instructors, and other teaching staff at a school, college

or university

* The students want to have a shorter semester, but the faculty thinks it should

be even longer.

to change (one’s) mind – to change one’s opinion or idea; to have a different

opinion, belief, or idea from what one had before

* They had planned to go to Anchorage for vacation, but then they changed their

mind and decided to go to Honolulu instead.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ENGLISH CAFÉ – 113

disability – not being able to use one’s body well; or not being able to do

something physically that others can

* The Special Olympics is an athletic competition for children with disabilities.

to grandfather (someone) in – to receive a right or benefit that one wouldn’t

normally receive, because one was part of an earlier version of something

* The company has decided that all new employees will receive dental insurance,

and it grandfathered in all the current employees who have worked there for at

least five years.

acronym – a word made from the first letter of each word in a longer phrase or

name

* NATO is an acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

unique – unlike anything else; one of a kind; different; without anything like it

* Carol wanted to look unique at the party, so she wore a yellow dress, even

though she knew that everyone else would be wearing black.

outfit – the clothes that one wears at one time; pieces of clothing that are worn

together

* Peggy Sue bought a new outfit for her interview.

gear – equipment and/or clothes needed for an activity, especially for an outdoor

activity

* The scout leader packed all the gear for the trip: tents, sleeping bags, cooking

supplies, and a medical kit.

equipment – tools and other things that are needed for an activity

* We went to the store to buy a new copier, fax machine, and other office

equipment for the business.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ENGLISH CAFÉ – 113

WHAT INSIDERS KNOW

Helen Keller

Helen Keller was born in Alabama in 1880. When she was only 19 months old, a

disease made her deaf and blind. This disability meant that she couldn’t

communicate with her family or other people. She was completely “isolated”

(alone, without contact with other people) and wasn’t able to “develop” (grow and

become more mature) normally.

In 1888, Helen’s mother “contacted” (communicated with) a teacher named Anne

Sullivan. Anne came to Helen’s home and began to try to communicate with the

little girl. It took a lot of time and energy, but “eventually” (after a long time) she

had success. Anne put one of Helen’s hands under “running water” (water that is

moving) and started making small movements on Helen’s other hand. Eventually

Helen understood that the movements that Anne was making were a way to talk

about water. Helen soon began learning the words for many other objects. Later,

Helen learned how to speak by touching the lips and throats of other people as

they spoke. Then she learned how to read “Braille” (writing for blind people,

made by putting bumps on a piece of paper instead of letters).

In 1904, Helen became the first deaf and blind person to graduate from college.

Later she became a famous “author” (writer) and speaker. She wrote an

“autobiography” (a book about the author’s life) called The Story of My Life .

Helen died in 1968.

Many books, plays, and movies with the title of The Miracle Worker have been

made about Helen’s life. A “miracle” is something that happens even though

people thought it was impossible and could be only a work of God. Many people

believe that Helen’s success “in spite of” (even though something is true) her

disabilities was a miracle. Many American children learn about Helen Keller in

school and she is one of the most well known people in recent American history.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ENGLISH CAFÉ – 113

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 113.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café episode one-one-

three (113). I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for

Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Take a look today and download the Learning Guide

for this episode. You can also take a look at our new ESL Podcast Blog, where

you can get the latest information and some additional help in learning English.

Our topics today are going to be Gallaudet University, a very interesting

university here in the United States that you may not have heard of. We’re also

going to talk about radio call signs in the U.S., what they mean, and how you can

understand them better. As always, we’ll answer a few of your questions. Let’s

get started.

Our first topic is Gallaudet University. This is a university that is supported in part

by the U.S. government. It’s located in Washington, D.C., and has been around

for about 150 years. The reason that Gallaudet University is so interesting is

because it was the first school, and still the main university, in the U.S. for those

who are deaf and hearing impaired. When we say someone is “deaf” (deaf), we

mean that they cannot hear. Another term that you will hear is “hearing

impaired.” When someone is “impaired” (impaired) they can’t do something as

well as other people, so “hearing impaired” would be people who don’t hear as

well. We also might use the older expression “hard of hearing,” meaning

someone who has difficulty hearing. It’s the only university in the world that is

primarily for people who are deaf and hearing impaired. All of its majors – all of

its classes are designed for people who are deaf.

The university started back in 1856, and the U.S. government decided to support

it very soon after it started. One year later, it began to give money to the

university. It’s named after the first director of the university, Thomas Gallaudet.

It’s an interesting university, not a big university. There are only about 2,000

students at the university, both graduate students and undergraduate students.

There are almost 200 sign language and professional study students in that

group. There are also international students from other countries; about seven

percent of the student body is from another country. The expression the “student

body,” means the group of students – all of the students are called the “student

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ENGLISH CAFÉ – 113

body.” Not your body – physical body – it means the group of students, the

“student body.”

Gallaudet is a bilingual community, where you can hear English but you will also

see a lot of “American Sign Language,” which is the special language that is

used by the deaf and hearing impaired to communicate. Instead of talking, you

use your hands and arms to communicate ideas. It’s not necessary to pass a

sign language test in order to get into Gallaudet University as an undergraduate

– as someone who’s getting a bachelor’s degree – though it is required for some

of the graduate programs.

I actually know someone who went to and graduated from Gallaudet University.

My sister-in-law’s sister is deaf, and graduated from this university, so it’s a very

well known university, especially among those in the deaf community. It’s also

well known because there was a controversy about Gallaudet College – or

Gallaudet University, it involved the president of the university. Back in 1988 the

president of the university decided to resign, and so the university had to

“appoint,” or select, a new president. We use that verb, to “appoint,” when we

are referring to some official position, usually a high position in an organization or

in the government. The president appoints the members of the executive branch

– the people who are the leaders of different parts of the government.

Gallaudet University appointed a new president. However the president was not,

herself, deaf. Now, all of the presidents of Gallaudet College up to 1988 were

hearing presidents, that is, they could hear, they were not deaf. There were

many people in the student body, among the faculty – the teachers, we call the

teachers, the university teachers especially, the “faculty” (faculty). There were

many faculty members and students who wanted a deaf president to be head of

the university, so there was some very public demonstrations.

Now, it’s important to understand that in American university culture, although

there are political protests, just like at every university, probably, in the world, it’s

not as an important an activity as it is in other countries. It’s very rare, for

example, for the students to go on strike – to stop going to classes, to stop the

university from functioning. It doesn’t happen very often in the U.S., but it did

happen in 1988 at Gallaudet University. After a week of protests, the university

decided to “change its mind,” to make a different decision, and hired a deaf

president, the first deaf president.

Everything was fine until September of 2005 when this first deaf president – his

name was Jordan – decided to retire. The university then had to pick a new

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: