30 Listening

Before you listen

Complete the following to help you prepare for the listening:

1. In this section, you are going to listen to Sima talk about performance reviews and setting goals.

Think about the following questions. Then discuss your answers.

a) What do you already know about performance reviews?

b) There are other names for performance Do you know of any?

c) One of the values of CDN Malls is “Empower people to do their ” Can regular performance reviews of its employees help CDN Malls do this? How?

d) What are goals? Why are they important to success?

e) What are some of your goals?

f) What points do you think Sima will discuss when she talks about performance reviews and goals?

2. Discuss what the following words and phrases mean. Listen carefully for these words and phrases while you are listening and think about their meanings.

Listening: Excerpt 1

Before you listen, read the questions in the Comprehension section so you have an idea of what the keywords are and what information to listen for.

Then listen to the information Sima presents at a meeting and answer the questions that follow.

After you listen

Comprehension

Answer the questions.

1. What is the focus of this listening?

a) Goal setting for employees at CDN Malls

b) The way performance reviews are done at CDN Malls

c) A quick introduction to performance reviews in general

2. According to the speaker, performance reviews are also called

a) performance appraisals

b) performance evaluations

c) both a and b

3. Performance reviews at CDN Malls are a tool to

a) determine salary increments and bonuses and help employees work well

b) determine salary increments and bonuses only

c) determine salary increments and bonuses and learn about the online system

4. The performance review process at CDN Malls involves four parts.

a) True

b) False

5. What do the check-in meetings help identify?

a) Employees’ training needs and goals

b) When the probation period ends

c) Both a and b

6. Updating the online management system regularly helps

a) management plan check-in meetings

b) employees remember their goals

c) both a and b

7. Performance reviews at CDN Malls are done at the end of the probation period

a) and then whenever it is necessary

b) and after that only at check-in meetings

c) and at the end of every year

Vocabulary

1. Listen to Excerpt 1 again. In the chart below, identify the words and phrases you heard. Talk about what the words and phrases mean. Compare them with the meanings you had discussed in the Before you listen section.

2. Use a dictionary to look up the words and phrases you identified above. Write down their meanings. Some words may have more than one meaning. Be careful to select the meaning of the word as it is used in the listening.
3. Write sentences using the words you wrote meanings for. Talk about your sentences.

Listening: Excerpt 2

Before you listen, read the questions in the Comprehension section so you have an idea of what the keywords are and what information to listen for. Then answer the questions that follow.

After you listen

Comprehension

1. What is the focus of this listening?

a) The purpose of goal setting

b) The importance of SMART goals

c) How to write goals that are specific and time bound

2. Goals can motivate you by giving you focus and direction.

a) True

b) False

3. “Improve my listening skills” is a goal that is

a) too general

b) very specific

c) SMART

4. When a goal is measurable, it helps

a) give you a definite date for completing the goal

b) determine your interests

c) you see how much progress you have made

5. Why is it important for a goal to be relevant?

a) It motivates you.

b) It ensures that you will finish it on time.

c) It tells you how to complete it.

6. What is an action plan?

a) A list of changes made to a goal

b) Steps that will help you achieve the goal

c) A document that has many SMART goals

7. Which of the following is the best example of a SMART goal for a student who finds reading for main ideas a challenge?

a) I want to improve my skill of reading for main ideas by the end of this To do this, I will read two texts of one to two pages a week, identify the main idea, and ask my teacher for feedback.

b) I want to improve my reading skills by the end of the term. To do this, I will read as many texts as I can.

c) I want to improve my skill of reading for main ideas by the end of the To do this, I will read newspaper articles and identify the main idea in each one.

Vocabulary

1. Listen to Excerpt 2 again. In the chart below, identify the words and phrases you heard. Talk about what the words and phrases mean. Compare them with the meanings you had discussed in the Before you listen section.

2. Use a dictionary to look up the words and phrases you identified above. Write down their meanings. Some words may have more than one meaning. Be careful to select the meaning of the word or phrase as it is used in the listening.
3. Write sentences using the words and phrases you wrote meanings for. Talk about your sentences.

Discussion

Go back to the questions in the Before you listen section. Think about what you heard in Excerpt 1 and Excerpt 2. Discuss the answers to these questions:

• Did you correctly predict what Sima was going to talk about?
• How did reading the questions ahead of time and thinking about what you were going to listen for help you understand?

Listening progress check

Read the comprehension questions first so you know what to listen for. Then listen to Raja and Paul talking.

Comprehension

Answer the following questions.

1. What is Raja anxious about?

a) His upcoming performance review

b) The CDN Malls performance review process

c) The Feedback Sandwich

2. When is Paul’s performance review?                                       

3. In the past, both Paul and Raja were satisfied with how their performance reviews were done.

a) True

b) False

4. How have the check-in meetings helped Raja?

a) They have helped him understand the Feedback Sandwich.

b) They have helped him reflect and set goals.

c) They have helped him get a bonus.

5. What mistake did Raja’s friend make?

a) She focused only on the positive points of her boss’s feedback.

b) She did not want to accept her boss’s feedback.

c) She paid attention to only the negative feedback from her boss.

6. What do you understand about the friend’s boss?

a) He is impatient and gave the friend a lot of trouble.

b) He is patient and culturally sensitive.

c) None of the above.

Vocabulary

Match each of the words or phrases below to its meaning.