Maharashtra Board Class 9 English Unit Four Chapter 4.1 Please Listen PDF Download

Unit Four - 4.1 Please Listen!

Warming Up!

Twenty Questions

Form groups of 6-8. One person (leader) chooses one item - a picture, a paragraph or a lesson from any one of the 9th standard textbooks and writes the reference on a slip of paper and folds it. Others ask him/her questions and try to guess what it is, from his/her answers. Follow the rules given below.

The maximum number of questions the rest of the group can ask is 20.

You cannot ask a direct question like 'What do you have in mind?'

You can ask 'Wh-' questions or 'Yes/no' questions.

The leader has to give truthful answers.

Teacher's Note

This game helps students learn to ask better questions. In India, students often play this game in schools during English class time.

Exam Trick

Remember: Ask 'Wh-' questions (What, When, Where, Who, Why, How). Never ask yes/no questions only. Mix both types to guess faster.

Points to Remember

Maximum 20 questions only in this game.
Ask 'Wh-' questions and yes/no questions together.
The leader must answer truthfully.
You cannot ask direct questions.
Think carefully before asking each question.

Agreements And Disagreements

Form pairs. List the things on which you have the same opinion and also the ones on which you have different opinions. Prepare a list of ten things in all and see how far you agree or disagree with your friend. Some useful phrases are given alongside.

You could talk about:

Clothes, latest fashion.

Performance of sportsmen and women.

Traffic/Transport in your area.

Cleanliness and hygiene in your area.

Future occupations/Careers.

Latest news items.

TV programmes

Mobile Apps

Any subject of your choice.

Teacher's Note

Students learn how to agree and disagree politely. In India, we do this at home when discussing cricket matches or school activities.

Exam Trick

Remember: Use polite words like "I suppose" and "Not necessarily" instead of saying "No". This shows respect for your friend's opinion.

Points to Remember

Always listen to your friend's opinion first.
Say "I agree" or "I disagree" politely.
Use phrases like "I suppose so" for partial agreement.
You can say "Let's agree to disagree" when you cannot agree.
Ask "What do you think?" to know your friend's opinion.

Please Listen! (Poem)

When I ask you to listen to me
and you start giving me advice,
you have not done what I asked.

When I ask you to listen to me
and you begin to tell me why
I shouldn't feel that way,
you are trampling on my feelings.

When I ask you to listen to me
and you feel you have to do something
to solve my problem,
you have failed me,
strange as that may seem.

Listen! All I ask is that you listen.
Don't talk or do - just hear me.
Advice is cheap; 20 cents will get
you both Dear Abby and Billy Graham
in the same newspaper.

And I can do for myself; I am not helpless.
Maybe discouraged and faltering,
but not helpless.

When you do something for me that I can
and need to do for myself,
you contribute to my fear and
inadequacy.

But when you accept as a simple fact
that I feel what I feel,
no matter how irrational,
then I can stop trying to convince you

and get about this business
of understanding what's behind
this irrational feeling.

And when that's clear, the answers are
obvious and I don't need advice.

Irrational feelings make sense when
we understand what's behind them.

Perhaps that's why prayer works, sometimes,
for some people - because God is mute,
and he doesn't give advice or try
to fix things.

God just listens and lets you work
it out for yourself.

So please listen, and just hear me.

And if you want to talk, wait a minute
for your turn - and I will listen to you.

- Author Unknown

Think, Guess And Answer

How old is the speaker in the poem?

Who is he/she talking to?

What must have happened before the speaker says all this?

What's the difference between 'hear' and 'listen'?

Think, Discuss And Answer

Is the speaker aware of his shortcomings?

Does he/she want to improve?

Is he/she confident that he/she can improve?

How does he/she want to work it out?

Is the poet willing to listen to others?

Discuss how you can be a good listener.

Teacher's Note

This poem teaches us that listening is very important. When your mother is sad, she wants you to listen, not give advice.

Exam Trick

Remember: The poet says "just hear me" but means "listen to me with your heart, not your ears". Hear = sound. Listen = understand with feeling.

Points to Remember

The poet asks for listening, not advice.
Good listening means accepting other's feelings.
People can solve their own problems if you listen.
God helps by listening, not by fixing things.
A good listener waits for their turn to speak.

English Workshop

1. The poet uses a free, conversational style in his poem. It is also called Colloquial style. Pick out and write down such lines or expressions that support the above statement

(a) you have not done what I asked.

(b) .................................................................................................

(c) .................................................................................................

(d) .................................................................................................

(e) .................................................................................................

(f) .................................................................................................

2. Put the following expressions in a table of Do's and Don'ts as expressed by the poet.

(a) Please listen.

(b) give me advice.

(c) tell me why.

(d) solve my problem

(e) just hear me.

(f) accept as a simple fact

(g) contribute to my fear

(h) wait a minute

Teacher's Note

Students learn to organize information into two groups. This is like sorting clothes into clean and dirty piles at home.

Exam Trick

Remember: Do's = positive actions (Please listen, just hear me). Don'ts = negative actions (give advice, solve my problem). Read the poem carefully to find all the words.

Points to Remember

Do's are things you should do when listening.
Don'ts are things you should not do when listening.
The poem clearly tells both do's and don'ts.
Making tables helps you remember better.
Read the poem twice before making the table.

3. Write in your own words:

(a) What does the listener do when the poet asks him to just listen? Give 3 points.

(b) Why does the poet remark that advice is cheap?

(c) Which two facts show that the poet is confident of overcoming his irrational feeling?

4. According to the poets, how does God help people, when they pray to him for help?

5. Why should one learn to tackle ones problems by one's own self?

6. Why should seniors not over-protect or over-pamper juniors?

7. Find out and write down some proverbs/axioms/quotations that convey a message similar to 'Self help is the best help.'

8. Maintain a diary at least for a week. Write about your interactions with other people in your surroundings in 3-4 lines. Also write whether you find the interactions happy-unhappy, satisfactory-unsatisfactory, enjoyable-stressful, etc.

9. Write an informal letter from a teenager to his/her parent, expressing a few thoughts from the poem.

(My dear ..../Dearest ....../Hi! ..... Are you surprised to see this letter? I wanted talk to you about this, but then I thought I will be able to express myself better in a letter.... Love,/Yours lovingly/Yours ............)

10. Read aloud a couple of stanzas of the poem 'Invictus' and 'Please Listen'. In what ways do they differ? Think and fill up the table with 'Yes' or 'No'.

'Invictus' is an example of Traditional Poetry. 'Please Listen' is an example of Free Verse.

Teacher's Note

Comparing two poems helps you understand poetry better. In India, CBSE exams ask you to compare poems like this.

Exam Trick

Remember: Traditional Poetry has rhyming and rhythm (like a song). Free Verse has no pattern (like normal talking). Just listen to both poems - you will hear the difference.

Points to Remember

Traditional Poetry = rhyming words and steady rhythm.
Free Verse = no rhyming and no fixed rhythm.
'Invictus' follows a pattern like songs do.
'Please Listen' sounds like real talking.
Compare poems by reading them aloud to hear the difference.

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