CELPIP Listening Part 6 · Viewpoints · set 7 of 10

A Four-Day School Week for Rural Students?

A CELPIP Listening Part 6 practice set (Viewpoints): the transcript, 6 questions and the answer key with an explanation for each answer. No sign-up needed. This page prints the transcript and has no audio; on the real test you hear the recording once and cannot replay it.

The task

You will hear a parent on a regional podcast give her view on a proposed four-day school week. Listen once, then answer the questions.

You hear the audio only once.
The speaker presents a point of view: follow the argument and the position, not only the facts.

Questions: 6
Time: 4 minutes
Practice set: 7 of 10

Transcript

The test plays this once, as audio. For real practice, answer the questions first, then check the transcript.

Our school division in rural Manitoba has proposed moving to a four-day school week starting next September. Students would attend Monday to Thursday, with each day about forty minutes longer, and Fridays off. As a parent of two kids, aged eight and thirteen, I've gone to every meeting, and I want to share where I've ended up. The division's reasons are genuine. Our area has had trouble hiring teachers. Last year, three positions stayed empty all year. The superintendent believes a four-day week would attract applicants, especially younger teachers who'd like a long weekend. The division also expects to save around three hundred thousand dollars a year on buses, heating and substitute teachers. And some of our kids already ride the bus for an hour each way, so one fewer trip a week sounds attractive. I'll be honest. When I first heard the idea, I liked it. My older son plays hockey, and free Fridays would make tournament travel easier. But the more I learned, the less convinced I became. My main concern is the younger children. A day that's forty minutes longer is a lot to ask of an eight-year-old who's already up at six-thirty to catch the bus. Teachers at our meeting said the last period of the day is already when attention is lowest. Then there's the Friday problem. For families where both parents work, a day without school is a day of childcare. In a small town, there's no daycare with spaces to spare. The division says it might offer optional Friday programs, but it hasn't said who would run them or what they'd cost. And I'm worried about kids who rely on school for more than lessons. For some students, the school breakfast program is the most reliable meal they get. Take away Friday, and you take away that meal, too. I'm not saying the answer is to do nothing. The teacher shortage is real, and we need to solve it. But I'd rather see the division try other things first, like housing support for new teachers, before changing the week for every child. If we do go ahead, let's start with a one-year pilot, and let's measure what happens to the youngest students.

Questions and answer key

1What is the speaker's position on the four-day school week?
1. ✓She is not convinced and wants other solutions tried first.
2. BShe fully supports the change because the teacher shortage is so serious.
3. CShe opposes it mainly because of her son's hockey schedule.
4. DShe wants it to begin next September as planned.
Answer: A
She says 'the more I learned, the less convinced I became' and would 'rather see the division try other things first'. Hockey was actually a reason she first liked the idea, not a reason to oppose it.
2How would the school day change under the proposal?
1. AIt would start forty minutes earlier on Fridays.
2. ✓Each school day would be about forty minutes longer.
3. CClasses would end at noon on Thursdays.
4. DThe bus ride would be shortened to one hour.
Answer: B
Students would attend Monday to Thursday, 'with each day about forty minutes longer.' There would be no school on Fridays at all, and the hour-long bus ride is the current situation.
3Why does the division believe the change would help with hiring?
1. ATeachers would be offered higher salaries.
2. BThe division would spend less on substitute teachers.
3. ✓A long weekend could appeal to younger teachers.
4. DFewer teachers would be needed in each school.
Answer: C
The superintendent thinks it would attract 'younger teachers who'd like a long weekend.' Savings on substitutes are a budget reason, not a hiring reason.
4How did the speaker feel when she first heard about the proposal?
1. AShe was worried about her children's bus ride.
2. BShe thought the savings had been exaggerated.
3. CShe was against it because of childcare.
4. ✓She was in favour of it.
Answer: D
'When I first heard the idea, I liked it.' Her childcare concern came later: 'the more I learned, the less convinced I became.'
5What does the speaker suggest about the division's optional Friday programs?
1. ✓The plans for them are too vague to depend on.
2. BThey would be run by local daycares.
3. CThey would be free for all families.
4. DThey would replace the breakfast program.
Answer: A
The division 'hasn't said who would run them or what they'd cost', so parents can't count on them. Daycares are mentioned only as having no spaces, not as running the programs.
6What does the speaker recommend if the division goes ahead with the plan?
1. AOffering housing support to all families
2. ✓Running a one-year trial and watching the youngest students
3. CExpanding the change to every rural school division across the province
4. DMoving the breakfast program to Thursdays
Answer: B
She says 'let's start with a one-year pilot, and let's measure what happens to the youngest students.' Housing support is for new teachers, and it is an alternative she prefers, not part of going ahead.

Take it as audio, timed: free account, no card

In the practice runner this set plays as a recording you hear once, with the questions timed as on the test, and your score is checked for you.

Create a free account Log in and answer it