Monday’s assignment
Hello all,
I hope that you have enjoyed your time off.
Now, back to our writing and reading theme. Today we will practice note
talking. Please read the following explanation and follow the tasks
below.
By the way, since this Friday is off, our
weekly presentation will be on Thursday, please check it and start working on
it!
Note Taking While
Reading
When reading for study purposes, it is common
to take notes. People take notes for different reasons: to stay focused on what
they are reading or listening to, to remember information better, or to deepen
their understanding of the information. Here are some steps for note-taking
focused on what they are reading or listening to, to remember information
better, or to deepen their understanding of the information.
Here are some steps for note-taking:
1.Define your purpose for reading. Is it to
get a general understanding of the text? To find specific information for a
class assignment? Or to be able to recall information during an exam? Thinking
about the purpose will help you stay focused on the information in the text
that is relevant to your needs.
2.Preview the text to get a general sense of
its content and how the information is organized. For example, skim headings,
sub-headings, chapter summaries and charts. Getting a sense of how the entire
text is organized and what the main ideas are will help you organize your
notes. For example, the headings in the text (or table of contents) can be used
as headings for your own notes.
3.While reading the text, try to differentiate
between the main points and supporting details. It is helpful to read the
introduction to the text and topic sentence of each paragraph for the main
points. Take notes of the main points and supporting details.
Skim the following text to find out what it is
about.
In today’s economy, more and more workers are
being laid off and relying on the employment
insurance program. Today we’re featuring the
history of Canada’s Employment Insurance program. When did it start? Why did it
start? What’s it like today?
The history of EI
The Employment Insurance program was launched in response to severe economic
conditions during the Great Depression. The
Depression lasted from 1929 right up until the Second World War in 1939. During that time, millions of Canadians
were out of work. With no government aid, families were forced to rely on
whatever community aid was available. Many
Canadians lost their homes, and many more were unable to provide for their
families.
The need for EI
There was a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of an unemployment insurance
program (as it was then called). People who were in
favour of unemployment insurance said it would give families enough income
to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. But others felt that such a program would encourage people to stay
unemployed.
The pros and cons about the UI
Despite the debate, the Unemployment Insurance
Act came into effect in 1941. In 1971, the program expanded, and began to cover maternity and sickness benefits. In
1996, the program changed its name to Employment Insurance. Today, EI places an
emphasis on skills training. The program
encourages laid-off workers who receive benefits to attend training programs before re-entering the workforce.
4 periods of EI
Employment Insurance operates like any insurance program: workers pay into a fund, and can apply for
benefits under certain conditions.
Workers most commonly receive benefits when
they are laid off. However, they can also
receive benefits when caring for a newborn or
newly adopted child (maternity, parental and adoption benefits), when
suffering from a long-term illness
(sickness benefits), or when caring for a family
member who is seriously ill
(compassionate care benefits). Not all
workers are eligible for benefits. Eligibility
depends on how long workers have been
employed and what type of work they have
been doing.
The current content of EI
Adapted from information on
www.hrsdc.gc.ca
Task 1:
1.
Highlight the
information you think you need to take notes on.
2.
Compare and discuss
with a partner.
3.
Take notes on the key
information.
4.
Use your notes to
write one paragraph summary of the text.
This article mainly talks about the history
and the current situation about Canada’s Employment Insurance Program(as EI was then called).
First of all, it expresses the need of EI,
what was created to deal with the Great Depression from 1929, and to provide
Canadians’ family when they get lost their work. Than, it describes the pros and cons of the EI. Some ones say this is a good beneficial
aid for poor unemployed persons and others say it will due to laziness. At the end, it explains
the 4 periods of the EI what came into effect in 1941, expanded to cover
maternity and sickness benefits in 1971, changed name from the Unemployment
Insurance Act to Employment Insurance in 1996, and currently places an emphasis
on skills training before re-entering the workforce. In addition, the article
outlines the current contents and the different blanches of EI.
Note Taking While
Listening
Most of the strategies for note taking while
reading also apply to note-taking while listening: you need to think about your
purpose for listening, recognize the main ideas, and make decisions about what
information is relevant to your purpose. But there are two important
differences. First, your note-taking must keep up with the speaker, so you have
to take notes quickly. And second, your initial notes will follow the order and
outline of the speaker’s talk, so you may need to review and re-organize your
notes later so that they make sense to you.
Here are some tips for effective note taking
while listening:
1.Listen carefully to
the introduction of the presentation because most presenters will give an
overview of their talk in the introduction.
2.Use symbols and
abbreviations to speed up the process of taking notes. You can develop your own
system of symbols and abbreviations, but make sure you use them consistently so
that you always remember what they mean.
3.Listen for phrases
(signposts) that indicate how the presentation is organized and signal
different parts of a presentation/lecture. For example:
a) Introducing the topic: The topic of my
presentation today is ...; I intend to show that ...
b) Indicating the organization: First, I’d like
to talk about ...; In the second place ...; And finally..
c) Reviewing information: As I mentioned
previously ...; It’s clear that ...; You probably remember that ...
d) Emphasizing information: I’d like to stress
that ...; The main point is that ...
e) Starting a new point: I’d like to move on to
...; Now let’s turn to ...
4.Listen for logical
connectors that express the relationship between ideas. For example, as a
result of, in contrast to, although.
Task 2:
1.
How many parts are in
the talk?
2.
Write the main topics
that the presentation will address. Take notes on key information.
3.
Write headings for
your notes.
4.
Compare your notes
with two of your peers and discuss the strategies you used (listening for key
words, using abbreviations, using a chart).
5.
List all the new vocabulary that you have
picked from the presentation and use them in sentences of your own.
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