A lesson in memory of Nelson Mandela

Transcription-listening can do magic

by Mehdi Safavi | Jul 14, 2019 | Listening, Vocabulary

Listening for comprehension is very common in English classes, and of course learners should listen to a lot of English every day. But is that all? In this lesson, you will learn how to improve your English by transcribing speeches.

Transcription – listening and writing down the contents of an audio file word by word – is another form of listening practice that:

improves your spelling
directs your attention to details and improves your accuracy
enhances your prediction skills

For this week’s lesson, we have selected an excerpt from the speech by the late Nelson Mandela announcing African National Congress (ANC) election victory in 1994. Let’s try transcribing it.

A lesson in memory of Nelson Mandela

by Artist Name

After transcribing the speech word by word, compare your work with the transcript below.

Transcript

Speech by Nelson Mandela announcing ANC Election victory

2 May 1994

To the people of South Africa and the world who are watching: this is indeed a joyous night for the human spirit. This is your victory too. You helped end apartheid, you stood with us through the transition.

I watched, along with you all, as the tens of thousands of our people stood patiently in long queues for many hours. Some sleeping on the open ground overnight, waiting to cast this momentous vote.

South Africa`s heroes are legend across the generations. But it is you, the people, who are our true heroes. This is one of the most important moments in the life of our country. I stand before you filled with deep pride and joy – pride in the ordinary, buy gabapentin 600mg online humble people of this country. You have shown such a calm, patient determination to reclaim this country as your own. – and from the rooftops [proclaim] – free at last!

And I stand therefore before you humbled by your courage, with a heart full of love for all of you. I regard it as the highest honor to lead the ANC at this moment in our history, and that we have been chosen to lead our country into the new century.

I pledge to use all my strength and ability to live up to your expectations of me as well as [of] the ANC.

About the Author

CEO and Co-founder of Juice Academy

Mehdi Safavi is a Cambridge certified English teacher (CELTA Grade A), IDP-trained IELTS expert, Sussex Downs College TESOL with 17+ years of teaching & teacher training experience. More about him →