Transcriptions of Videos for

Suggested Learning Activities of Wk 10/11 Lecture

Suggestion for Listening Practice
Train your listening skills by attempting to understand the videos on your own, without
reading the transcriptions first. You should only read the transcriptions afterwards.

Videos of PolyU ELC website <http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/EAP/Audio-visual/>: Unit 3, Activity

8 (transcribed by William Tsang)

Handling questions: Version 1 (Bad Example) (0:45)

Q: Mr. Robson…
A: Dr. Robson, actually…
Q: Sorry, Dr. Robson. I have a question about your research method. I…
A: You mean the questionnaire survey?
Q: Yes, the questionnaire survey. I was just wondering whether you can make any generalization
about reading habits, given your sample…
A: What d’you mean?
Q: Well, do you think your findings provide an average picture of reading in English at the PolyU?
A: Of course, they do. If you listen to the first part of my presentation, you’d remember I said that
707 students filled in the questionnaire. That’s a lot of students, so I think the results are truly
representative. Next question.

Handling questions: Version 2 (Good Example) (1:29)

Q: Mr. Robson. I have a question about your research method. I was just wondering whether you
can make any generalization about Hong Kong tertiary student’s reading habits, on the basis of
your survey.
A: Well, thank you for your question. Can I just clarify one point? Do you mean tertiary students
generally in Hong Kong or just students at the PolyU?
Q: Sorry, yes, I meant students here at PolyU. Do you think your findings provide an accurate
picture of the English language reading habits at PolyU?
A: Well, as I mentioned earlier, findings are based on the responses of 707 students. And I took care
to ensure that these students were representative of the student population of PolyU, for example,
by ensuring a roughly equal balance of arts and science students. Before I carried out my survey,
I talked to a number of colleagues specializing in statistics, and they said that a sample of around
700 students gives me a fairly accurate picture of students’ reading habits. Of course, there are
always limitations to surveys, but overall I am quite confident that the results are representative of
reading habits at PolyU. I don’t know whether that answers your question.
Q: Yes, it does. Thank you.