The Reading / Listening - Blinking - Level 3

Blinking is something we do automatically, without thinking. We blink 15–20 times a minute. There are several reasons why we blink. One is to stop our eyes from becoming dry. This helps our vision. Another reason is to protect our eyes from dust or sudden insect attacks. Scientists in Canada think they have found another function of blinking. The researchers are from Concordia University in Montreal. They found that we blink less when we are listening to someone speak. This happens more when there is background noise. Lead researcher Penelope Coupal said blinking less means our brain has a little more energy. This allows us to focus on what another person is saying.

The research team conducted two experiments on 49 participants. All of the test participants listened to sentences being read aloud. In one experiment, there was no background noise. In the other test, there was background noise, which made it harder for the people to hear the sentences. The scientists said that people in the test with background noise blinked a lot less. When the background noise increased, blink rates dropped even further. Study co-author Dr Mickael Deroche said we automatically blink less "when important information is coming". Ms Coupal agreed. She said: "We don't just blink randomly. In fact, we blink systematically less when important information is presented."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Blinking - Level 0,  Blinking - Level 1   or  Blinking - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.sciencealert.com/want-to-know-if-somebody-is-truly-listening-count-their-blinks
  • https://www.earth.com/news/people-automatically-blink-less-while-listening-carefully/
  • https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1109190


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. BLINKING: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about blinking. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       blinking / eyes / vision / dust / insect attacks / scientist / listening / background noise
       experiments / sentences / reading aloud / hearing / important information / author
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. LISTEN: Students A strongly believe we all need to learn to listen more; Students B strongly believe we don't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. LISTENING: How can listening improve these things? What examples of these do you have in your life Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Improvements

My Experiences

Building trust

 

 

Arguments

 

 

Learning

 

 

Teamwork

 

 

Leadership

 

 

Friendships

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. BLINK: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "blink". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. LISTEN TO...: Rank these with your partner. Put the most important people to listen to at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Parents
  • Teachers
  • Religious leaders
  • Police officers
  • Elders
  • Friends
  • Doctors
  • Yourself

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. automatically a. What something does or is used for.
      2. several b. Give your attention to doing one thing.
      3. vision c. Done without a person thinking about it.
      4. dust d. More than two, but not many.
      5. function e. Very small, dry pieces of dirt.
      6. background noise f. Sounds you hear that are not important or not the main sound.
      7. focus g. The ability to see.

    Paragraph 2

      8. conducted h. Without a plan or order.
      9. participants i. More; or to a greater level.
      10. aloud j. Numbers that show how often or how much something happens.
      11. rates k. Done or carried out.
      12. further l. In a careful and planned way, step by step.
      13. randomly m. People who take part in or join something.
      14. systematically n. Spoken so that other people can hear.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Scientists say we think about blinking before we blink.     T / F
  2. The article says blinking can protect us against insect attacks.     T / F
  3. We blink less often when we are trying to listen to someone.     T / F
  4. Blinking less means our brain has a little more energy to use.     T / F
  5. Researchers conducted tests on nearly 500 people.     T / F
  6. When there is background noise, we blink more.     T / F
  7. We blink more when we want to understand important information.     T / F
  8. Another doctor said people do not simply blink randomly.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. automatically
  2. several
  3. vision
  4. function
  5. focus
  6. conducted
  7. experiment
  8. increased
  9. further
  10. important
  1. purpose
  2. valuable
  3. a number of
  4. did
  5. went up
  6. without thinking
  7. concentrate
  8. more
  9. eyesight
  10. test

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. Blinking is something we do automatically,
  2. There are several reasons
  3. This helps our
  4. we blink less when we are listening
  5. focus on what another
  6. The research team conducted two
  7. harder for the people to
  8. people in the test with background noise
  9. We don’t just blink
  10. when important information is
  1. blinked a lot less
  2. to someone speak
  3. why we blink
  4. experiments
  5. randomly
  6. person is saying
  7. without thinking
  8. presented
  9. hear the sentences
  10. vision

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
dry
less
focus
thinking
brain
dust
several
noise

Blinking is something we do automatically, without (1) ______________________________________________. We blink 15–20 times a minute. There are (2) ______________________________________________ reasons why we blink. One is to stop our eyes from becoming (3) ______________________________________________. This helps our vision. Another reason is to protect our eyes from (4) ______________________________________________ or sudden insect attacks. Scientists in Canada think they have found another function of blinking. The researchers are from Concordia University in Montreal. They found that we blink (5) ______________________________________________ when we are listening to someone speak. This happens more when there is background (6) ______________________________________________. Lead researcher Penelope Coupal said blinking less means our (7) ______________________________________________ has a little more energy. This allows us to (8) ______________________________________________ on what another person is saying.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
harder
when
dropped
conducted
agreed
aloud
test
automatically

The research team (9) ______________________________________________ two experiments on 49 participants. All of the test participants listened to sentences being read (10) ______________________________________________. In one experiment, there was no background noise. In the other test, there was background noise, which made it (11) ______________________________________________ for the people to hear the sentences. The scientists said that people in the (12) ______________________________________________ with background noise blinked a lot less. When the background noise increased, blink rates (13) ______________________________________________ even further. Study co-author Dr Mickael Deroche said we (14) ______________________________________________ blink less "when important information is coming". Ms Coupal (15) ______________________________________________. She said: "We don't just blink randomly. In fact, we blink systematically less (16) ______________________________________________ important information is presented."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Blinking is something we do ______
     a.  automatically, without think in
     b.  automatically, with doubt thinking
     c.  automatically, within thinking
     d.  automatically, without thinking
2)  We blink 15–20 times a minute. There are several reasons ______
     a.  why we blink
     b.  why they blink
     c.  why us blink
     d.  why we've blink
3)  Another reason is to protect our eyes from dust or ______
     a.  sudden insect attacks
     b.  suddenly insect attacks
     c.  sudden insects attacks
     d.  sudden insecticide
4)  They found that we blink less when we are listening ______
     a.  to someone speaks
     b.  to someone speech
     c.  to someone speak
     d.  to someone spoke
5)  This allows us to focus on what another ______
     a.  person is said
     b.  people is saying
     c.  person is saying
     d.  person is say in

6)  All of the test participants listened to sentences ______
     a.  being read allowed
     b.  being read aloud
     c.  being read a loud
     d.  being read all loud
7)  In the other test, there ______
     a.  was background noisy
     b.  was background nosey
     c.  was background noise
     d.  was background nice
8)  The scientists said that people in the test with background noise blinked ______
     a.  a lots less
     b.  a lot less
     c.  a loads less
     d.  allot less
9)  When the background noise increased, blink rates ______
     a.  dropped even farther
     b.  dropped even further
     c.  dropped evens further
     d.  dripped even further
10)  In fact, we blink systematically less when important ______
     a.  information is present it
     b.  information is presentation
     c.  information is presents
     d.  information is presented

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Blinking is something (1) __________________________________________________, without thinking. We blink 15–20 times a minute. There are (2) __________________________________________________ we blink. One is to stop our eyes from becoming dry. This helps our vision. Another reason is (3) __________________________________________________ eyes from dust or sudden insect attacks. Scientists in Canada think they have found (4) __________________________________________________ blinking. The researchers are from Concordia University in Montreal. They found that we blink less when we are listening to someone speak. This (5) __________________________________________________ there is background noise. Lead researcher Penelope Coupal said blinking less means our brain has a little more energy. This allows us (6) __________________________________________________ what another person is saying.

The research team conducted (7) __________________________________________________ 49 participants. All of the test participants listened (8) __________________________________________________ read aloud. In one experiment, there was no background noise. In the other test, there was background noise, which (9) __________________________________________________ for the people to hear the sentences. The scientists said that people in the test with background noise (10) __________________________________________________ less. When the background noise increased, blink rates (11) __________________________________________________. Study co-author Dr Mickael Deroche said we automatically blink less "when important information is coming". Ms Coupal agreed. She said: "We don't just blink randomly. (12) __________________________________________________ blink systematically less when important information is presented."

Comprehension questions

  1. How many times a minute do people blink?
  2. What does blinking prevent happening to our eyes?
  3. What might suddenly attack out eyes?
  4. When do we blink less?
  5. What does our brain have more of when we blink less?
  6. How many people took part in the blinking experiments?
  7. What did the test participants listen to being read aloud?
  8. What increased that made people blink even less?
  9. Who is Mickael Deroche?
  10. What kind of information makes us blink less?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  How many times a minute do people blink?
a) 10-15 times
b) 15–20 times
c) 20-25 times
d) 30–40 times
2)  What does blinking prevent happening to our eyes?
a) crying
b) blurred vision
c) drying out
d) blindness
3)  What might suddenly attack out eyes?
a) viruses
b) infrared light
c) UV light
d) insects
4)  When do we blink less?
a) When we speak.
b) When we listen to someone speak.
c) When we study.
d) When we are stressed.
5)  What does our brain have more of when we blink less?
a) energy
b) cells
c) electricity
d) thoughts

6)  How many people took part in the blinking experiments?
a) 49
b) 59
c) 69
d) 79
7)  What did the test participants listen to being read aloud?
a) names
b) letters of the alphabet
c) short stories
d) sentences
8)  What increased that made people blink even less?
a) wind speeds
b) the temperature
c) background noise
d) the number of participants
9)  Who is Mickael Deroche?
a) a communications expert
b) an optician
c) an expert on blinking
d) the study's co-author
10)  What kind of information makes us blink less?
a) unnecessary information
b) important information
c) tourist information
d) basic information

Role play

Role  A – Parents
You think parents are the most important people to listen to. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their people aren't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): teachers, friends or yourself.

Role  B – Teachers
You think teachers are the most important people to listen to. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their people aren't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): parents, friends or yourself.

Role  C – Friends
You think friends are the most important people to listen to. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their people aren't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): teachers, parents or yourself.

Role  D – Yourself
You think it's most important to listen to yourself. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their people aren't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): teachers, friends or parents.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'blinking'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'listening'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • thinking
    • several
    • protect
    • function
    • someone
    • focus
    • two
    • read
    • other
    • a lot
    • coming
    • fact

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Blinking

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'blink'?
    3. What do you think of blinking?
    4. Why do we blink?
    5. What do you do if your eyes are dry?
    6. For how long can you not blink?
    7. Do you think you blink less when you listen to people?
    8. What can we do to listen more actively?
    9. What can we do to give our brain more energy?
    10. What does the phrase "Blink and you'll miss it" mean?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'listen'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Do you ever think about blinking?
    5. What kinds of background noises do you think are annoying?
    6. What things make it hard to listen to people?
    7. Are there any people you don't want to listen to?
    8. What was the last piece of important information you heard?
    9. What does the phrase "in the blink of an eye" mean?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the researchers?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    Blinking is something we (1) ____ automatically, without thinking. We blink 15–20 times a minute. There are several reasons (2) ____ we blink. One is to stop our eyes from becoming dry. This helps our vision. Another reason is (3) ____ protect our eyes from dust or sudden insect attacks. Scientists in Canada think they have found another function (4) ____ blinking. The researchers are from Concordia University in Montreal. They found that we blink less (5) ____ we are listening to someone speak. This happens more when there is background noise. Lead researcher Penelope Coupal said blinking less means our brain has a little more energy. This allows us to focus (6) ____ what another person is saying.

    The research team conducted two experiments (7) ____ 49 participants. All of the test participants listened to sentences being read aloud. In one experiment, there was (8) ____ background noise. In the other test, there was background noise, which made it (9) ____ for the people to hear the sentences. The scientists said that people in the test with background noise blinked a lot less. When the background noise increased, blink rates dropped even (10) ____. Study co-author Dr Mickael Deroche said we automatically blink less "when important information is coming". Ms Coupal (11) ____. She said: "We don't just blink randomly. (12) ____ fact, we blink systematically less when important information is presented."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     done     (b)     do     (c)     doing     (d)     does    
    2. (a)     what     (b)     how     (c)     why     (d)     which    
    3. (a)     for     (b)     at     (c)     to     (d)     of    
    4. (a)     to     (b)     by     (c)     as     (d)     of    
    5. (a)     when     (b)     what     (c)     which     (d)     that    
    6. (a)     at     (b)     on     (c)     of     (d)     by    
    7. (a)     by     (b)     at     (c)     in     (d)     on    
    8. (a)     not     (b)     no     (c)     non     (d)     none    
    9. (a)     hardly     (b)     harden     (c)     harder     (d)     heard    
    10. (a)     furrier     (b)     further     (c)     future     (d)     farther    
    11. (a)     agreeing     (b)     agreement     (c)     agree     (d)     agreed    
    12. (a)     On     (b)     In     (c)     To     (d)     Of

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. something we do aaolmcyttailu
    2. There are varslee reasons why we blink
    3. This helps our ivosin
    4. otcrtep our eyes from dust
    5. another niocftnu of blinking
    6. kbangrudoc noise

    Paragraph 2

    1. The research team cdduotcne two experiments
    2. test stptraiicapn
    3. eenetcssn being read aloud
    4. blink rates dropped even hurterf
    5. Study co-tahrou Dr Mickael Deroche
    6. We don’t just blink donmalyr

    Put the text back together

    (    )   agreed. She said: "We don't just blink randomly. In fact, we blink systematically less when important information is presented."
    (  1  )   Blinking is something we do automatically, without thinking. We blink 15–20 times a minute. There are several
    (    )   Dr Mickael Deroche said we automatically blink less "when important information is coming". Ms Coupal
    (    )   energy. This allows us to focus on what another person is saying.
    (    )   function of blinking. The researchers are from Concordia University in Montreal. They found that we blink
    (    )   less when we are listening to someone speak. This happens more when there is background
    (    )   less. When the background noise increased, blink rates dropped even further. Study co-author
    (    )   noise. Lead researcher Penelope Coupal said blinking less means our brain has a little more
    (    )   participants listened to sentences being read aloud. In one experiment, there was no background noise. In the other
    (    )   protect our eyes from dust or sudden insect attacks. Scientists in Canada think they have found another
    (    )   reasons why we blink. One is to stop our eyes from becoming dry. This helps our vision. Another reason is to
    (    )   sentences. The scientists said that people in the test with background noise blinked a lot
    (    )   test, there was background noise, which made it harder for the people to hear the
    (    )   The research team conducted two experiments on 49 participants. All of the test

    Put the words in the right order

    1. is   Blinking   we   something   automatically   do,   thinking   without   .
    2. There   several   are   why   reasons   blink   we   .
    3. Another   is   reason   protect   to   from   eyes   dust   .
    4. blink   We   when   less   are   we   listening   .
    5. focus   To   what   on   person   another   saying   is   .
    6. All   the   of   participants   test   to   listened   sentences   .
    7. one   In   there,   experiment   no   was   noise   background   .
    8. This   it   made   for   harder   to   people   hear   .
    9. people   The   the   in   with   test   noise   background   .
    10. We   less   blink   important   when   is   information   coming   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Blinking is something we do automatic / automatically, without thinking. We blink 15–20 times a minute. There are several reason / reasons why we blink. One / Once is to stop our eyes from becoming / become dry. This helps our vision. Another / Other reason is to protect our eyes from dust or sudden insect attacks. Scientists in Canada think they have found another function of / to blinking. The researchers are from Concordia University in Montreal. They found that we blink few / less when we are listening to / for someone speak. This happens more when there is background noisy / noise. Lead researcher Penelope Coupal said blinking less means our brain has a little more energy. This allows us to focus in / on what another person is saying.

    The research team conducted two experiments on / in 49 participants. All of the test participants listened to sentences being read loud / aloud. In one experiment, there was no background noise. In the another / other test, there was background noise, which made / make it harder for the people to hear the sentences. The scientists said that people in the / a test with background noise blinked a lot / loads less. When the background noise increased, blink rates / rate dropped even further. Study co-author Dr Mickael Deroche said we automatically blink less "when important information are / is coming". Ms Coupal agreed. She said: "We don't just blink random / randomly. In fact, we blink systematically less when important information is presented / presentation."

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    Bl_nk_ng  _s  s_m_th_ng  w_  d_  __t_m_t_c_lly,  w_th__t  th_nk_ng.  W_  bl_nk  15–20  t_m_s  _  m_n_t_.  Th_r_  _r_  s_v_r_l  r__s_ns  why  w_  bl_nk.  _n_  _s  t_  st_p  __r  _y_s  fr_m  b_c_m_ng  dry.  Th_s  h_lps  __r  v_s__n.  _n_th_r  r__s_n  _s  t_  pr_t_ct  __r  _y_s  fr_m  d_st  _r  s_dd_n  _ns_ct  _tt_cks.  Sc__nt_sts  _n  C_n_d_  th_nk  th_y  h_v_  f__nd  _n_th_r  f_nct__n  _f  bl_nk_ng.  Th_  r_s__rch_rs  _r_  fr_m  C_nc_rd__  _n_v_rs_ty  _n  M_ntr__l.  Th_y  f__nd  th_t  w_  bl_nk  l_ss  wh_n  w_  _r_  l_st_n_ng  t_  s_m__n_  sp__k.  Th_s  h_pp_ns  m_r_  wh_n  th_r_  _s  b_ckgr__nd  n__s_.  L__d  r_s__rch_r  P_n_l_p_  C__p_l  s__d  bl_nk_ng  l_ss  m__ns  __r  br__n  h_s  _  l_ttl_  m_r_  _n_rgy.  Th_s  _ll_ws  _s  t_  f_c_s  _n  wh_t  _n_th_r  p_rs_n  _s  s_y_ng.

    Th_  r_s__rch  t__m  c_nd_ct_d  tw_  _xp_r_m_nts  _n  49  p_rt_c_p_nts.  _ll  _f  th_  t_st  p_rt_c_p_nts  l_st_n_d  t_  s_nt_nc_s  b__ng  r__d  _l__d.  _n  _n_  _xp_r_m_nt,  th_r_  w_s  n_  b_ckgr__nd  n__s_.  _n  th_  _th_r  t_st,  th_r_  w_s  b_ckgr__nd  n__s_,  wh_ch  m_d_  _t  h_rd_r  f_r  th_  p__pl_  t_  h__r  th_  s_nt_nc_s.  Th_  sc__nt_sts  s__d  th_t  p__pl_  _n  th_  t_st  w_th  b_ckgr__nd  n__s_  bl_nk_d  _  l_t  l_ss.  Wh_n  th_  b_ckgr__nd  n__s_  _ncr__s_d,  bl_nk  r_t_s  dr_pp_d  _v_n  f_rth_r.  St_dy  c_-__th_r  Dr  M_ck__l  D_r_ch_  s__d  w_  __t_m_t_c_lly  bl_nk  l_ss  "wh_n  _mp_rt_nt  _nf_rm_t__n  _s  c_m_ng".  Ms  C__p_l  _gr__d.  Sh_  s__d:  "W_  d_n't  j_st  bl_nk  r_nd_mly.  _n  f_ct,  w_  bl_nk  syst_m_t_c_lly  l_ss  wh_n  _mp_rt_nt  _nf_rm_t__n  _s  pr_s_nt_d."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    blinking is something we do automatically without thinking we blink 1520 times a minute there are several reasons why we blink one is to stop our eyes from becoming dry this helps our vision another reason is to protect our eyes from dust or sudden insect attacks scientists in canada think they have found another function of blinking the researchers are from concordia university in montreal they found that we blink less when we are listening to someone speak this happens more when there is background noise lead researcher penelope coupal said blinking less means our brain has a little more energy this allows us to focus on what another person is saying

    the research team conducted two experiments on 49 participants all of the test participants listened to sentences being read aloud in one experiment there was no background noise in the other test there was background noise which made it harder for the people to hear the sentences the scientists said that people in the test with background noise blinked a lot less when the background noise increased blink rates dropped even further study coauthor dr mickael deroche said we automatically blink less when important information is coming ms coupal agreed she said we dont just blink randomly in fact we blink systematically less when important information is presented

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Blinkingissomethingwedoautomatically,withoutthinking.Weblink15
    –20timesaminute.Thereareseveralreasonswhyweblink.Oneistostop
    oureyesfrombecomingdry.Thishelpsourvision.Anotherreasonistopr
    otectoureyesfromdustorsuddeninsectattacks.ScientistsinCanadathi
    nktheyhavefoundanotherfunctionofblinking.Theresearchersarefro
    mConcordiaUniversityinMontreal.Theyfoundthatweblinklesswhenw
    earelisteningtosomeonespeak.Thishappensmorewhenthereisbackg
    roundnoise.LeadresearcherPenelopeCoupalsaidblinkinglessmeanso
    urbrainhasalittlemoreenergy.Thisallowsustofocusonwhatanotherpe
    rsonissaying.Theresearchteamconductedtwoexperimentson49parti
    cipants.Allofthetestparticipantslistenedtosentencesbeingreadaloud
    .Inoneexperiment,therewasnobackgroundnoise.Intheothertest,the
    rewasbackgroundnoise,whichmadeitharderforthepeopletohearthes
    entences.Thescientistssaidthatpeopleinthetestwithbackgroundnois
    eblinkedalotless.Whenthebackgroundnoiseincreased,blinkratesdro
    ppedevenfurther.Studyco-authorDrMickaelDerochesaidweautoma
    ticallyblinkless"whenimportantinformationiscoming".MsCoupalagre
    ed.Shesaid:"Wedon'tjustblinkrandomly.Infact,weblinksystematical
    lylesswhenimportantinformationispresented."

    Free writing

    Write about blinking and listening for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    We all need to listen more to everyone we talk to. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. BLINKING: Make a poster about blinking. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. LISTENING PRACTICE: Write a magazine article about all of us having how-to-really-listen-to-people lessons. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on blinking. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on blinking. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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