Listen to short clips narrated from an oral history and test your listening skills. Is what the narrator says what you hear?
Oral History Storytelling ~ Words and Meaning
Listen to each of the following clips and note what important information you are hearing and how it may relate to your studies. Do the words spoken always convey all the important facts?
Our Narrator: Maureen taught across the City with the Toronto District School Board until she retired in 1996. Born in 1930 in Toronto, she participated in family oral history interviews done by students in 2004.
CLIP ONE
Interviewer: How did girls dress when you were young?
Maureen: Oh, we wore skirts. Always, unless we were going out to a camping thing, or unless we were going hiking or we were going to be at a beach or something. We always wore skirts.
And you were not allowed to wear pants to school as long as I went to school.
Even after I was teaching you weren’t allowed to wear pants to school.
So we wore dresses, skirts, blouses and for gym class, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen those little bloomer outfits that we wore? Oh, they were stunners. They had elastic here you know mmhmmm, they were sort of like a romper set that a baby would wear.
And a whole bunch of us when I was about fifteen went down to Maple Leaf Gardens and put on a big gymnastics display in our super costumes!
CLIP TWO
Interviewer: What did your mother do for work ?
Maureen: My mother worked in a knitting mill.
She was very active in the union there, in organizing union workers.
She was very active in getting Blue Cross. Do yo know what Blue Cross is? It’s a kind of medical insurance.
She had been hospitalized for three weeks when she was in her thirties or forties, she had surgery and had something go wrong and she had to stay for three weeks.
And in those days there was no medicare, nothing like that. So, they had to pay a lot of money for that. So when they wanted to bring in Blue Cross insurance she was very active in signing up people to do it and explaining why you should do it. She was good at that kind of thing.
CLIP THREE
Maureen: Oh, the way we lived when I was a child. We didn’t have freezers and so every day we would take a walk up to the grocery store. We didn’t have carts back then they had baskets because most people didn’t have cars. So, you would only need a cart because you couldn’t carry home a basket of groceries. You would have to go out every day to get your meat.
If you wanted to have ice cream for dessert someone would, well, when you finished your main course someone would run down to the store. We’d get a little block of ice cream like that and cut it into four pieces.
It was a different kind of a time. We went to the butchers. The butchers would have sawdust on the floor and a big chopping block and they’d chop the meat for you.
It was kind of different, you didn’t do a weekly shop. You might get fruits and vegetables at the weekend and you could get canned goods of course but you didn’t get frozen goods because most people didn’t have freezers.
How Well Did You Listen? Check our tips on Clips One, Two and Three
CLIP ONE How you say it counts
Did you hear the humour and sarcasm in the narrator's voice when describing her gym uniform? Her words describe the outfits as 'stunners' and 'super' but her tone clearly conveys the impression that the bloomers were ugly. If you are not clear on what your narrator means, ask them!
Remember that tone of voice can be as important as the words being spoken.
CLIP TWO Mom's the Word
You heard the narrator speak about her mother. Did you also hear the bigger picture of a time before there was universal healthcare, unions were in their early stages and women were lobbying for change?
Did you consider asking what kind of response her mother's union organizing and health insurance lobbying received from her supervisors at the knitting mill?
Remember to listen actively to get the most out of an interview.
CLIP THREE Technology and What's In a Word ?
In this clip did you recognize the impact of technology on society?
The story of buying ice cream for dessert after dinner as they didn't own a freezer, illustrates how simple technology changed the way people live.
Did you catch the slip of the tongue?
We didn’t have carts back then, they had baskets because most people didn’t have cars. So, you would only need a cart because you couldn’t carry home a basket of groceries. "
It was clear the narrator meant to say that you would only need a basket because you couldn't carry home a cart of groceries. Sometimes those slips aren't as clear. Make sure you ask for clarification if you are not sure about something the narrator has said.
M. Miller
Maureen Miller
20th Century
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
© 2007, Scarborough Historical Museum. All Rights Reserved.
Your History is Important
Everyone is involved in making history every day. Every person will do things which are worth recording, preserving and sharing with those in the future.
Oral history comes from the tradition of storytelling. It gives us first person primary source material that adds context to historical events.
As historians/researchers we must keep in mind that we all interpret facts and sights a little differently. Information can be biased or incorrect. Can you rely on one person's interpretations and memories when researching an event?
As a researcher you have to back up your facts. Check your facts against primary and secondary sources for accuracy.
Once we book an interview with someone we must set the stage to get the best result.
Smoothing the Interview Process
This is not as easy as it seems, as two essential elements of the process are also key factors that can inhibit the flow of the interview.
Key Factor 1: Permission Forms
Participants must sign permissions forms filled with legal jargon.
This is essential as the institution needs legal permission to use the information gathered in the interview in our research projects.
Key Factor 2: Recording Equipment
Recording equipment is a visual distraction that can be intimidating.
The equipment is key to recording and preserving for the future the information the narrator is sharing.
Steps to increase the comfort level:
• Have a pre interview to get to know the narrator
• Explain the permission forms and have them completed in advance
• Explain the interview process
• Choose a safe interview location (away from noises, distractions)
• Determine where the equipment will be placed in advance
Prompt the narrator to gather memory aids such as photo albums
M. Miller
M. Callaghan, R. Schofield
Scarborough, Ontario, CANADA
© 2007, Scarborough Historical Museum. All Rights Reserved.
This is a quick activity that helps students understand the importance of good communication, listening, and body language in interactions with others.
Step One: Print the Interview Rules listed below. Cut and separate into individual rules.
Step Two: Give pairs of students one rule.
Step Three: Have them create a scenario that completely breaks the rule.
Step Four: Have the pairs of students act out the scenario for the class.
Step Five: At the end of each skit, the class tries to determine which rule was broken and recommends ways to make the interview a more positive experience.
Note: We call the person being interviewed the ‘narrator’ because they are telling us the story.
RULES FOR GREAT INTERVIEWS
1. Be ready!
Know your equipment and have it ready to use. Make sure it is working!
Have the permission form that allows you to use the interview ready to be signed by the narrator ~ if not completed in pre interview meeting. Read More
This is a quick activity that helps students understand the importance of good communication, listening, and body language in interactions with others.
Step One: Print the Interview Rules listed below. Cut and separate into individual rules.
Step Two: Give pairs of students one rule.
Step Three: Have them create a scenario that completely breaks the rule.
Step Four: Have the pairs of students act out the scenario for the class.
Step Five: At the end of each skit, the class tries to determine which rule was broken and recommends ways to make the interview a more positive experience.
Note: We call the person being interviewed the ‘narrator’ because they are telling us the story.
RULES FOR GREAT INTERVIEWS
1. Be ready!
Know your equipment and have it ready to use. Make sure it is working!
Have the permission form that allows you to use the interview ready to be signed by the narrator ~ if not completed in pre interview meeting.
Have your list of interview questions ready.
2. Make the narrator as comfortable as possible.
Be polite and friendly.
Introduce yourself and talk about the project for which you are interviewing them.
3. Take the time to find a quiet spot to conduct the interview.
Ticking clocks or loud appliances can add distracting noises to the recording.
Before you start the tape, ask if the narrator is ready to begin.
4. Begin the interview with simple questions that the narrator can answer easily.
5. Ask questions one at a time. Don’t rush the narrator to answer.
Silences will make for a better interview;
pause at least ten seconds before asking a new question.
6. Ask open ended questions!
This is really important as they encourage the narrator to tell stories
rather than to give yes or no answers.
"Tell me about..." is a great opener.
For example, use "Tell me about where you were born?" NOT "Were you born here?"
7. Listen actively to the narrator’s answer then ask follow up questions like,
“what happened next?” or “how did you feel about that” to bring out more details before you go on to the next question on your page.
Respond appropriately to the narrator.
Pause or say something like “that must have been difficult” if the narrator describes a painful memory.
8. While listening, nod your head to acknowledge what is being said, instead of using 'uh huhs' or other sounds of acknowledgement that we often make.
It can be distracting when the tape is played back to hear the murmurs of the interviewer muffling the story.
9. Don’t contradict or correct your narrator and keep your personal opinions to yourself as much as possible. Don’t ask leading questions.
For example, use: "Tell me how you felt..." NOT "Tell me how angry that made you feel..."
10. Don’t rush the end of the interview. Have a good closing question that helps the narrator summarize or come to a conclusion. Always thank your narrator for the time and generosity in helping with this project.
Adapted from a lesson plan by Paula J. Paul, published in OAH Magazine of History, Volume 11, # 3, Spring 1997
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Additional Activity 1
Ask students to create open ended questions that they can use to interview each other or other potential narrators.
Additional Activity 2
If you have a camcorder, record the students and have them review the tape to understand how voice tone and body language can affect an interview.
Useful weblink
Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History
© Judith Moyer 1993, Revised 1999
Judith Moyer's in depth guide to oral history from start to finish can be found at http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html
© 2007, Scarborough Historical Museum. All Rights Reserved.
Learning Objectives
Users will be able to
- Gather information on Canadian History and current events
- Formulate different types of questions
- Evaluate the credibility of sources and information
- Distinguish fact from opinion and detect bias
- Identify and apply principles of listening
