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JR:
Well, that’s one way of looking at it, but
we need to think long term. We just can’t
go on in the same old way.
DR:
You’re absolutely right, because oil and
gas will run out eventually. Well, really,
my reason for calling, John, is that I’d like
to know when you think we should have
the first public meeting about Sparrow Hill.
You know, to stop any rumours.
JR:
Well, it’s a bit too early. I’m totally
convinced that we should wait until we get
further with the process, as there’s likely to
be a lot of trouble about this.
DR:
You have a point, but don’t you think we
should have a meeting and put our case
early? I mean, I’m sure we’ll be able to get
some supporters to attend. I was wondering
if holding a public meeting sooner rather
than later could really help.
JR:
Mmm, I see what you mean, but I’m just
worried that it could get very noisy – you
know a lot of people feel strongly about
this sort of thing. Though ... thinking about
it, I’m interested in knowing what sort of
local support you think we’re likely to get.
It could also be a great chance to see how
people who live in the area really feel.
DR:
Yes, exactly. I just think if we want it to
get public approval, we need to persuade
people it’s right for the area from the start,
and this would be a good opportunity.
JR:
That’s very true, because without local
support we’re probably not going to get
much further very quickly.
DR:
OK, I’ll sort out a venue for some time
in July and organise some publicity and
security. I think that’s important in case
things get out of hand.
JR:
I’d go along with you there, because some
of these environmental groups can get
quite violent. But, don’t worry, I’m sure it
will be OK. I really believe all the really
great ideas are unpopular at first.
DR:
Yes, OK, John. Goodbye.
JR:
Goodbye.
LESSON 2.5 RECORDING 2.5
L = Lecturer, S = Student
L:
It’s not easy to design a good questionnaire,
Paula. I’m not surprised you’re having
problems. How can I help?
S:
Well, a few tips would be useful. I mean,
what are the key points?
L:
Erm, OK, when you design your
questionnaire, remember two things. Firstly,
you need to ask the right questions so you
get the information you’re looking for. And
secondly, you want to make sure you get
enough data to analyse. You need as many
questionnaires as possible to be completed
and returned to you. OK?
S:
OK, so I have to choose good questions and
get as many responses as possible.
L:
Exactly. Now would you like me to give you
a few tips about the wording of questions?
Of course, the type of question depends on
what the aims of the questionnaire are, but
there are certain rules, I’d say …
S:
Oh, yes?
L:
Mmm, first of all, use simple, short
sentences. And avoid questions which are
too long. Some people just won’t bother
to answer them if they’re long, and other
people just won’t understand them.
S:
OK, short and snappy questions, I’ve got it.
L:
Another thing, Paula. Try to use open and
closed questions in your questionnaire. Mix
them if possible.
S:
Hold on, can you explain, erm, open and
closed questions?
L:
Sure. Open questions, well, they allow
people to answer as they wish, for example,
if you ask people, ‘How do you feel about
the quality of the teaching you received?’
it’s an open question. You’ll probably get a
variety of answers. But closed questions are
questions to which the answers are given, so
the person answering has a limited choice.
For example, a question like, ‘How satisfied
are you with your course? a) satisfied, b)
not satisfied, c) don’t know. Circle the
appropriate answer.’ Well, that’s a closed
question; the choices are given to you. OK?
S:
Right. I suppose you get more information
with open questions.
L:
Yes, you do, but it takes a lot longer to
analyse all the answers!
S:
Yeah, I can see that.
L:
Oh, a word of warning about open questions.
Ask for only one piece of information at a
time. For example, if you ask, ‘What is your
opinion of the course materials and teaching
method?’, that’s not really a good question.
It’s really two questions, and it would be
better to use two separate questions, not one,
to get your information.
S:
I see, OK.
L:
Another thing about questions. All questions
should be clear and well structured. In other
words, respondents should be able to see
the point of the question; they shouldn’t be
thinking, ‘What on earth does that mean?’
Also, it’s good to start with fairly simple
questions which people can answer easily.
This encourages them to complete the
questionnaire.
S:
Yes, I see! OK, I’ve got all that.
L:
One final piece of advice. Before designing
your questionnaire, you need to look ahead
and think carefully about how you’re going
to analyse the data. People often forget to
do this when they design a questionnaire,
and they find out they can’t analyse the data
very easily. It’s too late then!
LESSON 2.5 RECORDING 2.6
D = Donna, E= Eduardo, S= Sophie
D:
OK, let’s talk about the questions we’ll put in
our questionnaire. Eduardo, you’ve done some
work on this, what have you come up with?
E:
OK, well, I think we all agree that we
need to get some basic data about the
respondents in our sample. You know, we’ll
need to know their age, sex, marital status,
that sort of thing. And their educational
qualifications, of course.
D:
Yes, and also get something about their
current employment situation. Are they
employed or still students?
E:
Exactly. And I’d add a question about their
nationality – that could be very useful for us
to know.
D:
True, let’s get that as well. OK, the next
thing is … what issues do we want to
include? Sophie, I think you’ve got some
ideas about that.
S:
Yeah, I’ve done a bit of research, the key
issues are … let’s see … in no particular
order: nuclear power; climate change; air
pollution; real food, in other words, there’s
a lot of concern about genetic engineering
of food products – GMOs. Those are the
four key issues. OK?
D:
It’s a good list. How about protecting
rainforests?
S:
It’s an important issue, I agree, but I think
four issues are enough.
D:
OK, we’ll go with those. Now, what other
questions …
LESSON 2.5 RECORDING 2.7
D = Donna, E = Eduardo
D:
Now, what other questions shall we
include? Any suggestions, Eduardo?
E:
Yes. We’ll need to know how important each
issue is for our respondents; that’ll be the first
question. So, I think we should ask them to
rank the issues in order of importance, with
one being the top issue. And then we should
have a second question asking them to give
reasons for their choice. Of course, that
would be an open question, and the answers
might be more difficult to analyse.
D:
Yes, but it’d be a useful question, so let’s
include it. Anything else?
E:
We’ll need to find out how
aware
they are
of all the issues, and how
worried
they are
about them. Those could be questions three
and four. Probably for question four they
could fill in a chart with headings like ‘very
worried’, ‘fairly worried’, ‘not worried at
all’, and they put ticks in the appropriate
boxes to show their opinion.
D:
Great idea. Just one final point. I’d like to
have a question asking if they’re prepared to
help us, you know, by working in the office,
interviewing people, taking part in campaigns,
or raising money for us – that’s very important.
Let’s put one in – a final question – to find
out if they want to join us. Right, time to get
started writing the questionnaire.
LESSON 3.2 RECORDING 3.1
I = Interviewer, KC = Kevin Coles
I:
How long have you been doing karate?
KC:
OK. My time in karate is just over 32
years now. I started back in 1981 in my
final year at university down in Bath and
I’ve been training ever since on the basis
of something like between two and five
times a week. So, 32 years in karate. Like,
we say it takes about five to six years to
get to black belt – that’s what we say is
the beginning of karate. So I achieved my
black belt in 1987 and since then I’ve been
working my way as a black belt through
the various levels and I’m now at the fifth
level of black belt.
I:
What gives you the most satisfaction in
teaching karate?
KC:
Well, I think I’m going to sum it up with
one word. Impact … having an impact
on people – our students – students who
now these days range from four to … I was
going to say 64, but we’ve had someone of
73 in one of our clubs.
We can measure progress through different
belts – something which was introduced
in the West. These days people need to
measure their achievement and that’s good.
It’s a way to distinguish different levels. And
when students achieve their new belt … I
take tremendous joy in seeing their reaction,
you get smiling faces, you get some children
coming up and saying, ‘Wow, it’s the best
day of my life.’ I mean, for the adults it
may be simply an expression of relief – the
fact that they’ve got through an exam 20
years after having left school and not taking
anything of this like before.
But I’d like to take that a step further. I take
greatest satisfaction from witnessing the
