learning english with cbc edmonton monthly …answering comprehension questions and discussion...

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Learning English with CBC

Edmonton

Monthly feature story:

“You’re Fired!”

December 2013 Learning plan created by Kim Chaba‐ Armstrong & Justine Light

http://www.cbc.ca/edmonton/learning‐english/ www.alberta.ca


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Feature Story Objectives

You’re Fired!

CLB competency outcomes Listening: Reading: Speaking: Writing:

L: Identifies main ideas, supporting details and implied meanings L: May use contextual clues to enhance comprehension L: Understands an expanding range of common idiomatic language R: Identifies main ideas, key details and some implied meanings R: Identifies layout and organization of text to find the information needed S: Uses explicit speech markers W: Develops control over complex sentence structures. W: Completes an extended form requiring detailed personal and online‐researched information.

Language skills Vocabulary: Use vocabulary words and idiomatic expressions in context.

Grammar: Identify and use present perfect, present perfect continuous and present perfect – passive.

Speaking: Recognize speech markers used to fill, pause and soften utterances.

Language Activities (in order of appearance in materials)

Answering comprehension questions and discussion questions about a short background text on losing a job and workers’ rights in Alberta Completing pre‐listening activities to build vocabulary and prepare learners for audio Listening to the audio to identify facts and details Identifying strategies for understanding new idioms in the audio Analysing meanings and labeling the perfect tenses in the audio Using three perfect tenses in writing Identifying speech markers used with multiple purposes Completing pre‐ reading vocabulary activity Using information to answer multiple choice and short answer questions & understand implied meaning using context clues Using the layout of a document to help one to get to needed information more quickly Fill out a table with personal and researched information


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Introduction ‐ Background Reading

It can be hard to find a job. It’s worse to lose a job, unless it was your choice to leave. People can

lose their jobs for many reasons in Canada. Being laid off at the end of a contract or seasonal

position can be easier to cope with than suddenly being let go for company financial reasons or for

poor performance.

There are laws that protect workers in Canada, and it’s important to know your rights and

responsibilities and where you can get help if you need it. Alberta Human Services is a resource for

the official employment information for Alberta. The ALIS, Alberta Learning Information Service,

has a section on Rights and Responsibilities under the Workplace Resources tab on the Alberta

Human Services webpage.*

Food for thought:

1. Does your home country have job security?

2. For what reasons can you lose your job?

3. How easy is it to find a job in your home country? Have you tried to find a job in Alberta? How does finding a job in Alberta compare with your home country?

4. What do you think are a few worker rights and responsibilities in Alberta? Check on the

Alberta Human Services website for answers. *Please see the Alberta Human Services website http://humanservices.alberta.ca/working‐in‐alberta/1474.html for more information.


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The Audio

In this audio, you will hear Edmonton AM host Mark Connolly and Edmonton AM columnist Margo

Ross‐Graham talking about getting fired. They share an example of a famous person firing someone

in an inappropriate way, and between the two of them, they also share a personal example, insights

into the dynamics of a termination situation and some advice for employers.

Before you listen:

What do you think would be the best way to fire someone? What would be a bad way?

Workplace columnist Margot Ross Graham (Used with permission: http://www.williamsengineering.com/company/leadership/margotross‐graham)

Getting Started

TIME SPEAKER SPEECH

0:00 Mark

Connolly

We’re going to talk about something that’s maybe a little unpleasant for some

people, though, firing people; one of the scariest parts about being the boss. But

there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. Here’s an example of the wrong way.

0:11 A boss If you think what’s going on right now is a joke, and you want to joke around about it,

you should pick your stuff up and leave Pat’s tonight. The reason is, and I’m going to

be very specific about this, is, Pat’s from an experienced… Able put that camera

down right now. Able you’re fired. Out.


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Pre‐listening Vocabulary The words below are from the audio. The definitions are next to the words. Read the definitions then complete the sentences on the following page.

Word/Phrase Definition

1. fire Verb: to take away someone’s job. Other terms: let someone go, terminate, downsize, sack(slang)

2. stuff Noun: your things such as supplies, clothing, books, papers

3. joke around Verb: to play and create a funny situation or story

4. AOL Acronym: America On‐Line; an internet company from the U.S.A.

5. CEO Acronym: Chief Executive Officer; the person who runs a company

6. creative director Noun: the person in charge of designing new things or ideas, for example, on a TV show, advertisements, movies, etc.

7. conference call Noun: a phone call that can include 3 or more people on the same telephone connection from 3 or more locations; usually for business purposes

8. jerk Noun: slang for someone who is not nice to people

9. tricky business Noun: a complicated situation because the outcome might not be what you want no matter what you do

10. astounded Adjective: to be very surprised

11. warrant Verb: something that is needed or deserved

12. wrack Verb: try really hard to do something or to think of an idea

13. counter‐intuitive Adjective: against, opposite to, what feels should be right

14. performance manage Verb: to talk with an employee about improving their work

15. volatile Adjective: a dangerous situation; potentially explosive circumstance


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Use the vocabulary words to complete the following sentences. Answers can be found in the appendix.

1. We often like to relax and unwind after work on Fridays, so we often tease each other, act silly and __________________ at a local restaurant.

2. I hope I don’t ever get __________________ from a job. I want it to always be my choice to

stop working for someone. 3. If you get computer equipment for the office that comes from the U.S.A., ________ often

provides complimentary software which you can later buy. 4. I was really nervous about the ____________________ I needed to do with colleagues from

Calgary and Red Deer. I had never done business over the phone before. 5. For safety reasons, we are not allowed to store any ____________ on top of the filing cabinets

at work. We need to ____________ our brains for other storage solutions. 6. Did you know that the ______________________ for the new radio station writes all the

commercials herself? She has a great imagination for advertising. 7. One day you’ll be running this business as the ____________ and then you’ll be on top.

8. I was ___________________ by the number of emails I received yesterday. It took too much

time to read them all. The amount of time spent on emails isn’t _____________.

9. It seems _____________________ to put the offices on the top floor and all the photocopiers in the basement.

10. I thought my brother was being a __________ when he refused to drive me to work, so we got

into an argument and the situation became quite ___________________.

11. My supervisor is trying to __________________________ the various employee issues in the office to make it a better place to work; however, it’s ____________________ because not everyone believes there is a problem in the office; it’s complicated.


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Listening for Meaning

Listen to the interview and answer the following questions. Answers can be found in the appendix.

1. Which title below is the best title for this listening (think of the main idea)? a. Getting Fired is a Horrible Experience b. What You Should NOT Do When Letting Someone Go c. Advice For People Who Terminate Employees

2. Why did Margo think the AOL CEO speech to fire someone was a joke?

a. the action to terminate the worker was very sudden and done in public b. letting someone go is tricky business so of course it was a joke c. the boss had very strong feelings about the situation, which was frustrating

3. Make a list of the advice that Margo gave or would give about the process of letting employees go?

4. According to the two speakers, why is a termination an emotional process for an employer?

5. Do you believe that the employer feels just as strongly about the termination as the employee being fired? Why or Why not?

6. Mark was fired. Was he able to “see the writing on the wall” (idiom: know that something is going to be a certain way; expecting something)? How do you know?

7. If you were the boss, and you were a good boss, what should you do with your employee during the termination process?

8. Who should be surprised about a termination? 9. Are terminations done publicly or privately in your culture? Which do you prefer? Why?

10. How long did it take Mark to get over his termination?

11. What helped him “get (emotionally) back up on his feet again” (idiom: recover)?


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Listening Strategies: The goal of the listening strategies section of the monthly feature lesson is to help you to improve your listening skills for all listening situations– not just this audio.

Idioms Idioms are used constantly by native speakers of English, so how do we learn them? Learning new vocabulary words is done best in context. The same is true for idioms. In conversation, if you get to see the script, look at the sentences, phrases and words surrounding the idiom to help you understand its meaning. Knowing how the people feel about the subject they are talking about will also help with the meaning, i.e. are their tones angry, happy, sad, bored, excited?

Follow these steps to learn idioms:

1. Listen or read an idiom in context. 2. Make a list of them and try to use the context to figure out their meanings. If you still don’t

understand them, google them or look in an idiom dictionary for definitions. 3. Look in an idiom dictionary or online for other example sentences of idioms in use. 4. Write sentences of your own using the idiom. 5. Try to use the idiom in a conversation. Remember, mistakes are a natural part of learning a language,

so don’t be afraid to make them, and be prepared to paraphrase your idiom in case of a usage mistake.

Listen to the dialogue again, and match these idioms to their definitions. Answers found in the appendix.

Letter Idiom Definition 1. 2. 1. on the spot a. when a person gets angry or loses their temper

3. 4. 2. wracking my brain b. a person who has been put in a difficult or embarrassing situation

5. 6. 3. in this day and age c. under control, kept quiet

7. 8. 4. wrapped up in the 9. moment

d. presently, currently; usually to show surprise that something is still the same after a length of time

5. lost his cool e. know and check that the information you have is correct

6. (keep your emotions) in check

f. thinking really hard and long about something, usually to find a solution to a problem

7. have your facts straight g. to be thinking about or interested in only one thing

Extra idioms from the listening: change in direction – to do something completely different from the way things have been done keep it between the two of us – the information is private and should stay with the people involved; like a secret


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Grammar Activity – Perfect Tenses The first perfect form taught by teachers is usually the Present Perfect. Celce Murcia & Larsen Freeman (1999)1 provided the following adapted meanings for the perfect tenses:

Present Perfect Form: Subject + have/has + verb (past participle) Use: ‐ Tells us about a past event at an unspecific time, and is used to connect past events to the present time. Example: Sam has taken that class. He won’t take it this semester.

‐ A situation that began in the past and continues into the present. Example: Bob has played soccer since he was five years old. Present Perfect Continuous Form: Subject + has/have + been + V‐ing Use: ‐ A situation or habit that started in the past, has continued to the present and may continue in the future. Example: I have been thinking about changing careers. ‐ An action in progress that is not yet completed Example: They have been swimming in the ocean for 5o minutes. Notes: The present perfect continuous is more about the action and the present perfect is more about an experienced event/achieving something. Example: She has been reading that book. (possibly still ongoing) She has read that book. (prior event) Present perfect continuous implies continuation but with the present perfect it might not continue. Example: He has been working here for 15 years. (and he wants to stay another 15 years) He has worked here for 15 years. (so now he might do something different) Present perfect continuous could be an incomplete event and the present perfect could be completed. Example: We have been fixing the car. (incomplete) We have fixed the car. (complete) Present Perfect –Passive Form: Subject + has/have + been + past participle Use: When the subject of the sentence has been acted upon by another agent, we need to use the passive not the active form. Example: The jobs have been given to the skilled workers (by the employers). The jobs did not do the action, the employers did the action. The cookies have been eaten (by Santa). The cookies did not eat themselves.

1 Celce‐Murcia, M,. & Larsen – Freeman, D. (1999). The grammar book. Heinle & Heinle. Adapted


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Listen for the following examples of perfect tenses from the listening. Label the examples with the correct form of the perfect. Numbers 3‐5 are in the same section in the listening.

Sentence from Listening Perfect Form 1. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think about a time that anyone

should be publicly fired.

2. …despite what anyone who’s been terminated thinks…

3. What it means is that as the leader or the manager, you’ve done a couple of things:

4. You have talked and tried to performance manage the individual…

5. And why I say that is that means that you and the employee have had a very private conversation.

Please write two examples of your own for each of the different perfect forms. Present Perfect: _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Present Perfect Progressive: _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Present Perfect ‐ Passive: _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

When you are practicing your English, and you are talking about your past, think about what you are trying to say about the event. Will it continue? Has it been completed? Do you want to emphasize continuity?


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Building Speaking Skills: Speech Markers

In spoken, mostly informal, English, it is common for people to use speech markers (also called discourse markers), often at the beginning of sentences or phrases of new information. These speech markers don’t change the meaning of the sentences. They are there to make the speech sound continuous, to give the speaker time to think, and sometimes to soften the comments that you are about to make. Common speech markers used include ah, um, well, okay, so, and you know. 1. Go back to page 4 and listen to the Boss’ section again. Three speech markers have been deleted

from his speech where the boss may have needed time to think. Insert the markers on page 4. 2. Please look at the following excerpts from the listening and listen to this section again, paying

attention to the speech markers. Underline the speech markers below.

Answers, and other examples of speech markers and extra softeners noted below, are highlighted on the transcript starting on page 26. Note: In formal spoken English, for example when giving a presentation or doing a job interview, you should try to reduce the number of these markers. You should be especially careful with the ‘ah’s and ‘um’s because you are the expert in these situations, therefore you shouldn’t need pauses with your information. Go back to the transcript again, and look at the sections that have very few markers. These are the sections that are less about having a conversation and more about providing facts and expert information. Next time you are speaking with someone in English, pay attention to the speech markers they use to begin new sentences and phrases. Extra Softener Speech Markers: (most of which can be found in the listening) if you will ‐ a speaker uses this so they don’t have to fully commit to the information they’ve just given. maybe, probably, might – used to lessen the degree of factualness about what you say kind of, sort of – used to lessen the degree of certainty about what you say I think – used to show that it’s your opinion and doesn’t have to be taken as fact by the listener

0:52

Margo

You know, the first time I listened to it I was; I thought it was actually a joke. I thought maybe this couldn’t possibly be right, and I listened to it again, and realized, no, in fact this actually did happen, so I was astounded that this really could happen, ah, and the more you listen to it, the more you realize he was high in emotion, but even still…

1:34

Margo

Well, I think in, what was really odd about this circumstance, and, ah, maybe it’s common, is that a person in a very senior leadership role, so he was in a role, he was very emotional, very public.

3:30

Margo

Properly? So, ah, in your case you mentioned that you were kind of expecting it, and so I think, um, as hard as it is to be terminated, that probably was a good thing,

5:31 Mark So I hope that you’re having a very lovely day everyone, and that no one gets fired today;


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Reading Activity ‐ Pre‐reading Vocabulary The following vocabulary activity will help you to understand the reading below. Match each word to its correct definition. The first one is done for you. Answers can be found in the appendix.

Letter Word/Phrase Definition

d arise a. Verb: get; receive

transferable b. Noun: benefits, positive results

obtain c. Adjective: knowledgeable; having the needed information for decisions

rewards d. Verb: to come up

informed e. Adjective: able to move or use something from one situation in another

pursue f. Noun: personal history, i.e. education and experience

industries g. Verb: try to get something; try to acquire; go after something

background h. Verb: trying to find new employees

recruiting i. Noun: areas/fields, of work, i.e. health care, oil and gas, tourism

record j. Noun: history of doing something

in demand k. Adjective: employment; work (market)

annual l. Adjective: someone who has passed a professional exam for a career

considering m. Adjective: yearly; every year

labour n. Verb: thinking about

registered o. Phrase: high number of requests for something, i.e. employees, a job

estimates p. Noun: the sides, parts of something

seek q. Noun: guesses about the amount of something

dimensions r. Adjective: thinking of new ideas or ways of doing something, i.e. initiative

innovative s. Verb: look for

ethics t. Noun: a set of beliefs and behaviours about what is good or right in life


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Reading Text:


14


15


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The reading was taken from: Working in Alberta: A guide for internationally trained and educated

immigrants. Government of Alberta, Alberta Employment and Immigration (2009).


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Reading for Meaning Answer the following questions about the reading. Answers can be found in the appendix. 1. Based on the reading, if you live in Alberta, can you expect that you will voluntarily change jobs? Why

or why not?

2. In your own words, give a detailed description of what the OCCinfo website can help you with?

3. Why do you think it would be good to learn to talk about your skills rather than your job title?

4. Why are transferable skills valued more than technical skills by employers?

5. In detail, describe the kind of person that Alberta employers are looking for.

6. What does fundamental mean using the context of this reading?

7. Check the boxes on the two pages that are true for you. Do you have something checked in each section? How many checks do you have? What skills are you going to work on in the near future to increase your set of skills?

8. Looking at the subheadings under Personal Management Skills, how would you explain the phrasing, “drives one’s potential for growth,” meaning how do these skills allow someone to grow as a person?

9. Under the subheading of Be Adaptable, use the context to define ‘constructively’ in the point, “Be open and respond constructively to change.” Which answer below is not a good interpretation?

a. Think of as many ideas as you can about the change. b. Ignore the change and continue working hard. c. Be positive about and helpful with the change.

10. Do Alberta employers value ‘Life Long Learning’? How do you know?

11. The reading defines ‘Teamwork Skills’ as the skills and attributes needed to contribute productively. To whom and/or what does the team contribute?

12. List the three different groups of skills. Compare and contrast these groups of skills to those valued in your country?


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Reading Strategies ‐ Reading Headings

The goal of the reading strategies section of the monthly feature lesson is to help you to become a better reader of all reading texts – not just this text.

In Canada, the size of the text has meaning. Let’s look at an example in writing. If you are writing an email, you don’t write your message in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS or all bolded letters, because the former could imply to some people that you are shouting, and with both that every single word you are typing is important. In this reading, the font (the letters) for the headings is a different colour and size than the rest of the text. The main idea of the text, sometimes the title, is the biggest and bolded, and then come main headings (usually bolded), then subheadings (usually bolded) and so on. You already answered questions in the previous section that made you look through the various headings. Were you able to do questions 8, 9, and 12 quickly?

The formatting for an article like the one above, a resume, an advertisement, etc., is as follows:

TITLE Heading 1

Subheading 1

Detailed text ‐ no smaller than 10 point font; the average is 11 or 12 point font

Heading 2

Subheading 2

Detailed text ‐ no smaller than 10 point font; the average is 11 or 12 point font

Knowing this strategy for reading can help you to look through texts more quickly, a form of scanning. If you want the main points of the text, look at the headings with the largest font, and then if you need more details about one point, you might read only that section. This is a very useful strategy for scanning through the amount of material you will need to read if you are doing or plan to do a college or university program.

Go through the reading text again. Write an outline of headings similar to the one above, including size and bolding, of the text. Answers can be found in the appendix.

Note that each heading does not need to have all of the current subheadings, but also that there could be more subheadings. Also, the headings have been tabbed over to make it visually easier to see the different levels of headings, but as you can see in this text, this is not usually how headings will look.

Please see the Links section for 2 websites that show how headings are written in college and university papers.


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Writing Activity – Write About Yourself Think about four jobs that you might like to have. Fill out the chart below. Try using the perfect tenses when you are writing about your qualifications.

The above writing was taken from: Working in Alberta: A guide for internationally trained and educated immigrants. Government of Alberta, Alberta Employment and Immigration (2009).


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Links

To learn more about employment rights and responsibilities in Alberta visit the Alberta Human Services:

http://humanservices.alberta.ca/working‐in‐alberta/1474.html

To see the descriptions of jobs and careers in Alberta visit:

http://alis.alberta.ca/occinfo

To look for a job in Edmonton and surrounding areas visit:

http://www.edmontonjobshop.ca

To improve your reading skills and learn more about interview questions and answers visit:

http://www.davidgrant.ca/50_most_common_interview_questions

To improve your grammar with explanations and exercises:

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english‐grammar/verbs

To improve your listening watch videos and/or listen to talks on employment topics with:

http://www.ted.com/search?cat=ss_all&q=employment

To learn about college and university level writing expectations visit:

1. APA style ‐ http://www.apastyle.org/ 2. MLA style ‐ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

(Your instructor will tell you which format to use in their class.)


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Appendix ‐ Answer Keys

Pre‐Listening

1. We often like to relax and unwind after work on Fridays, so we often tease each other, act silly and joke around at a local restaurant.

2. I hope I don’t ever get fired from a job. I want it to always be my choice to stop working for someone. 3. If you get computer equipment for the office that comes from the U.S.A., AOL often provides

complimentary software which you can later buy. 4. I was really nervous about the conference call I needed to do with colleagues from Calgary and Red Deer.

I had never done business over the phone before. 5. For safety reasons, we are not allowed to store any stuff on top of the filing cabinets at work. We need

to wrack our brains for other storage solutions. 6. Did you know that the creative director for the new radio station writes all the commercials herself? She

has a great imagination for advertising. 7. One day you’ll be running this business as the CEO and then you’ll be on top. 8. I was astounded by the number of emails I received yesterday. It took too much time to read them all.

The amount of time spent on emails isn’t warranted. 9. It seems counter‐intuitive to put the offices on the top floor and all the photocopiers in the basement. 10. I thought my brother was being a jerk when he refused to drive me to work, so we got into an argument

and the situation became quite volatile. 11. My supervisor is trying to performance manage the various employee issues in the office to make it a

better place to work, however, it’s tricky business because not everyone believes there is a problem in the office; it’s complicated.

Listening for Meaning

1. Which title below is the best title for this listening (think of the main idea)? a. Getting Fired is a Horrible Experience b. What You Should NOT Do When Letting Someone Go c. Advice For People Who Terminate Employees

2. Why did Margo think the AOL CEO speech to fire someone was a joke?

a. the action to terminate the worker was very sudden and done in public b. letting someone go is tricky business so of course it was a joke c. the boss had very strong feelings about the situation, which was frustrating

3. Make a list of the advice that Margo gave or would give about the process of letting employees go?

‐ Don’t fire someone publicly ‐ Keep your emotions in check; be calm ‐ Always plan; be prepared ‐ Have your facts straight; know exactly what’s going on ‐ Don’t let your employees be surprised about being fired ‐ Performance manage the employee first


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‐ If it’s a financial situation, talk about it openly with employees ‐ If the company is changing direction, talk about it openly with employees ‐ Keep the terminations private between the employer and employee ‐ Don’t say, “I know how you feel,” to the employee.

4. According to the two speakers, why is a termination an emotional process for an employer?

The person who’s actually doing the termination is extremely stressed out about the fact that they have to go to this point.

5. Do you believe that the employer feels just as strongly about the termination as the employee being fired? Why or Why not? Various answers.

6. Mark was fired. Was he able to “see the writing on the wall” (idiom: know that something is going to be a certain way; expecting something)? How do you know? Yes, because he said he was prepared for it.

7. If you were the boss, and you were a good boss, what should you do with your employee during the termination process? Do some performance managing with them, and talk to them about the changing situations.

8. Who should be surprised about a termination? Everyone else but the employee being fired. 9. Are terminations done publicly or privately in your culture? Which do you prefer? Why? Various

answers. 10. How long did it take Mark to get over his termination? 8 years

11. What helped him “get (emotionally) back up on his feet again (idiom: recover)?” Going to the Olympics Listening Strategies: Letter Idiom Definition

b 1. on the spot a. when a person gets angry or loses their temper f 2. wracking my brain b. a person who has been put in a difficult or embarrassing situation d 3. in this day and age c. under control, kept quiet g 4. wrapped up in the

moment d. presently, currently; usually to show surprise that something is still

the same after a length of time a 5. lost his cool e. know and check that the information you have is correct c 6. (keep your emotions)

in check f. thinking really hard and long about something, usually to find a

solution to a problem e 7. have your facts

straight g. to be thinking about or interested in only one thing


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Grammar Sentence from Listening Perfect Form

1. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think about a time that anyone should be publicly fired. Present Perfect Progressive

2. …despite what anyone who’s been terminated thinks… Present Perfect ‐ Passive

3. What it means is that as the leader or the manager, you’ve done a couple of things:

Present Perfect

4. You have talked and tried to performance manage the individual… Present Perfect

5. And why I say that is that means that you and the employee have had a very private conversation. Present Perfect

Pre‐Reading Vocabulary Letter Word/Phrase Definition d arise a. Verb: get; receive e transferable b. Noun: benefits, positive results a obtain c. Adjective: knowledgeable; having the needed information for decisions b rewards d. Verb: to come up c informed e. Adjective: able to move or use something from one situation in another

g pursue f. Noun: personal history, i.e. education and experience i industries g. Verb: try to get something; try to acquire; go after something f background h. Verb: trying to find new employees h recruiting i. Noun: areas/fields, of work, i.e. health care, oil and gas, tourism j record j. Noun: history of doing something

o in demand k. Adjective: employment; work (market) m annual l. Adjective: someone who has passed a professional exam for a career n considering m. Adjective: yearly; every year k labour n. Verb: thinking about l registered o. Phrase: high number of requests for something, i.e. employees, a job

q estimates p. Noun: the sides, parts of something s seek q. Noun: guesses about the amount of something p

dimensions r. Adjective: thinking of new, never been done before, ideas or ways of doing

something, i.e. showing initiative r innovative s. Verb: look for t ethics t. Noun: a set of beliefs and behaviours about what is good or right in life


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Reading for Meaning 1. Based on the reading, if you live in Alberta, can you expect that you will voluntarily change jobs? Why or

why not? Yes, because the reading says that many Albertans change their careers. The reading has a positive tone to it, so the chance that career changes are voluntary is very high.

2. In your own words, give a detailed description of what the OCCinfo website can help you with? Answers may vary in form, but should include information such as: showing different career options, helping people make informed decisions about changing careers, which industries are hiring, which companies are recruiting, company information, career outlooks, occupation qualifications, salaries.

3. Why do you think it would be good to learn to talk about your skills rather than your job title? Answers

may vary in form, but could include ideas such as: it’s important to know what your skills are, and be comfortable sharing them at work or even interviews.

4. Why are transferable skills valued more than technical skills by employers? Employers prefer to hire

people who already have a good skill set, so they won’t have to take the time and money to do extra training. Transferable skills are also harder to teach than technical skills.

5. In detail, describe the kind of person that Alberta employers are looking for. Alberta employers are

looking for people who: have the skills to perform a set of tasks; have transferable skills such as good interpersonal and communication skills; are responsible; can plan, manage their work and solve problems; work independently or on teams and interact well with others.

6. What does ‘fundamental’ mean using the context of this reading? The base, the important layer that

everyone should have. 7. Check the boxes on the two pages that are true for you. Do you have something checked in each

section? How many checks do you have? What skills are you going to work on in the near future to improve your set of skills? Answers will vary.

8. Looking at the subheadings under Personal Management Skills, how would you explain the phrasing,

“drives one’s potential for growth”? How do these skills allow someone to grow as a person? Answers may vary in form, but could include ideas such as: the phrase means that in Alberta, the skills in the subheadings are the important elements necessary to be the best that a person can be. Skills such as the ones listed in the subheadings are expected in an Alberta workplace; without them, keeping your job would probably be hard to do; with them you will probably be quite successful in a workplace with colleagues, employers and in learning new technical skills.

9. Under the subheading of Be Adaptable, use the context to define ‘constructively’ in the point, “Be open

and respond constructively to change.” Which answer below is not a good interpretation? a. Think of as many ideas as you can about the change. b. Ignore the change and continue working hard. c. Be positive about and helpful with the change.

10. Do Albert employers value ‘Life Long Learning’? How do you know? Yes, because in this reading, which is

a list of what Alberta employers value, there is a heading for ‘Learn Continuously’.


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11. The reading defines ‘Teamwork Skills’ as the skills and attributes needed to contribute productively. To whom and/or what does the team contribute? Answers may vary in form, but could include ideas such as: to the positive atmosphere of the workplace; to the company itself; to the relationships between colleagues.

12. List the three different groups of skills. Compare and contrast these groups of skills to those valued in

your country? Fundamental Skills, Personal Management Skills, and Teamwork Skills. Then answers may vary in form, but should include comparisons of the three groups, any of the subheadings, and/or the individual skills.

Reading Strategies ‐ Reading Headings

Researching new work possibilities Choosing a new kind of work Research can help you decide Where to find information about other work possibilities Transferring your skills to different work situations

Defining your skills – Exercise Fundamental Skills Communicate Manage Information Use Numbers Think and Solve Problems Personal Management Skills Demonstrate Positive Attitudes and Behaviours Be Responsible Be Adaptable Learn Continuously Work Safely Teamwork Skills Work with Others Participate in Projects and Tasks My main skills

Writing Strategies Answers will vary depending on jobs and careers chosen.


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Appendix – Transcript

TIME SPEAKER SPEECH

0:00 Mark

Connolly

We’re going to talk about something that’s maybe a little unpleasant for some

people, though, firing people; one of the scariest parts about being the boss. But

there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. Here’s an example of the wrong way.

0:11 A boss If you think what’s going on right now is a joke, ah, and you want to joke around

about it, ah, you should pick your stuff up and leave Pat’s today, and the reason is,

and I’m going to be very specific about this, is, ah, Pat’s from an experienced… Able

put that camera down right now. Able you’re fired! Out!

0:30 Mark That is AOL CEO Tim Armstrong firing his creative director earlier this month while on

a conference call with about a thousand people. What a jerk.

0:39 Margo What a jerk is right.

0:40 Mark Margo Ross‐Graham is our workplace columnist. She joins us with advice with

handling the tricky business of letting someone go. That’s not the way to do it, right?

0:48 Margo That is absolutely not the way to do it, Mark.

0:51 Mark What do you think of that?

0:52 Margo You know, the first time I listened to it I was; I thought it was actually a joke. I

thought maybe this couldn’t possibly be right, and I listened to it again, and realized,

no, in fact this actually did happen, so I was astounded that this really could happen,

ah, and the more you listen to it, the more you realize he was high in emotion, but

even still…

1:11 Mark Yah.

1:12 Margo …it doesn’t, it doesn’t warrant anything like that.

1:14 Mark Is there ever a time anybody should be fired, publicly, on the spot like that?

1:18 Margo You know what? I can’t think… I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think about a

time that anyone should be publicly fired, ah, but I really can’t think, in this day and

age where…

1:28 Mark Where it would make sense.


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1:29 Margo …where it would ever make sense that you would do that to somebody.

1:31 Mark So, what would you have done differently in a scenario like this?

1:34 Margo Well, I think in, what was really odd about this circumstance, and, ah, maybe it’s

common, is that a person in a very senior leadership role, so he was in a role, he was

very emotional, very public. He was very emotional about the topic, as you heard. It

was a serious thing that was happening in his organization. It was very heartfelt to

him, and so he was really wrapped up in the moment, and in this case, he let

whatever Able was doing, which as it turns out was taking a photo, ah, get to him to a

point where he just lost, he just lost his cool if you will. And so the advice I would

always have to anybody in a terminating situation is that, whether or not you’re

terminating someone, ah, for a good reason or for a ‐ you’re not quite sure exactly

what’s happening, you always have to keep your emotions in check, because it is an

emotional time; it’s emotional for you, the person who’s doing the termination, ah,

because despite what anyone who’s been terminated thinks, the person who’s

actually doing the termination is extremely stressed out about the fact that they have

to go to this point, and then for the person who’s getting terminated, it’s extremely

emotional for them. They’re losing their job, their life is about to change, the

problem is they don’t actually know. You know you’re about to change someone’s

life, but that person doesn’t. So, you have to always plan, be prepared, be calm, ah,

have your facts straight, know exactly what’s going on.

2:58 Mark I was fired from a radio job, um, this was 1989, 6 months after I got married, and

actually one of the people who was firing me was actually crying during the whole

thing. I was actually the calmest of all. I kind of was prepared for it. Um. But it was

done, fairly, I thought, in a very professional way. But what tips do you have for

people who are, I mean probably, because that was a very public firing too, because

it was in the paper. My mother told me, “Don’t tell anybody you got fired.” I said,

“well it says it in the paper.”

3:26 Margo That’s right.

3:27 Mark What tips do you have for firing someone properly?


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3:30 Margo Properly? So, ah, in your case you mentioned that you were kind of expecting it, and

so I think, um, as hard as it is to be terminated, that probably was a good thing,

because what it meant is that there were things that were leading up to make you

think, “huh, there’s going to be a change in interaction here.”

3:45 Mark Right.

3:46 Margo So, the tip that I’d always have someone is, firing someone, nobody should be

surprised that they are getting fired. And I know that sounds a bit counter‐intuitive,

but what it means is that as the leader or the manager, you’ve done a couple of

things: 1. You have talked and tried to performance manage the individual to help

them get better at their job if it’s a performance problem, or if it really is, um,

potentially a financial situation that you just have to change; you can’t afford to have

employees, then you would have talked about it, so the individual would be prepared

and aware. If it is a change in direction in the corporation, then you will have talked

through it. So, I think if you have done all you can to help this individual, then they

shouldn’t be surprised. Everybody else should be surprised. And why I say that is

that means that you and the employee have had a very private...

4:36 Mark Right.

4:36 Margo … conversation

4:37 Mark Just between yourselves.

4:38 Margo It’s between the two of you, and that’s what goes wrong in most organizations, is

that, they don’t keep it between the two of you. When it’s a volatile situation, the

manager talks to too many people, gets frustrated, talks badly about the employee,

and that’s when things go really, really badly.

4:54 Mark Yah, probably because they’re really struggling with it themselves, I would think, um.

4:58 Margo Yah, it’s hard to do, and the worst thing a manager could say to someone who’s

about to get fired is, “I know how you feel.” And that’s very common, because the

person who’s doing the termination is so stressed about it…

5:09 Mark They’re trying to make themselves feel better.

5:11 Margo Exactly, and you, you really have to think about, there’s nothing about this situation


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that’s going to make the individual getting terminated feel better.

5:18

Mark Margo, thanks very much for this, and I would tell you that I didn’t recover from that

really, totally, until about eight years later when I went to the Olympics, then I felt

really good about myself. Hahaha. Thank you very much.

5:29 Margo Have a great week Mark.

5:31 Mark Margo Ross‐Graham is our workplace columnist, and vice‐president at Williams

Engineering. She joins us Tuesdays at 7:45 here on Edmonton AM. So I hope that

you’re having a very lovely day everyone, and that no one gets fired today; would be

a bad day for that no doubt about it.

learning english with cbc edmonton monthly …answering comprehension questions and discussion...

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