Was Galileo Great? Critical Listening

50-minute English Lesson

In this critical listening activity, learn about Galileo and answer the question, “Was Galileo great?”

Critical listening story about Galileo
Galileo had a different idea about the sun and earth

Read the story

Galileo

Can one person change the world? Sometimes yes. That’s why Galileo is such a critical figure. He transformed our understanding of the world and taught us the importance of science.

Galileo’s story begins in Italy in 1609. He was a math teacher. One day, he heard about an invention. It was a telescope. It didn’t work especially well, so he modified the glass to increase the zoom power.

He gazed into space and studied stars, planets and moons. He watched them reveal orbits and discovered patterns. When he combined this knowledge with math, he created astronomy.

He wrote numerous books. His first one in 1610 was called Starry Messenger. It made him a celebrity. People loved reading about distant stars that were not visible.

Not everyone enjoyed his books. The Catholic Church thought they were dangerous. And that was a problem.

The Church was powerful. Disagreeing with or criticizing its rules, stories or philosophy was considered a serious offence. Opponents of the Church were injured or killed.

Church leaders declared Earth the centre of the universe. How did they know that? Because of some sentences in the Bible. That was the proof.

Galileo had a different opinion. Earth was not the centre. How did he know that? He developed theories based on scientific principles and knowledge.

In 1616, the Church issued a warning to Galileo. Stop writing books that say the sun is the centre of the universe.

For years, Galileo agreed, but in 1632 he published another book. He used science to say some Church stories were inaccurate. Science, not the Bible, helps us understand the world.

Catholic leaders were angry. They forced Galileo to admit he was mistaken. If he refused, he would be tortured. Galileo agreed, but he did not believe it. The Church put him under house arrest for the rest of his life. He died ten years later in 1642.

Galileo wanted to tell the truth based on experiments and proof, not fear and stories. Because of his achievements, science was able to achieve great things in the years ahead. And it’s all thanks to a man with a telescope.

Listen to the story without reading

critical Listening story about the Galileo

Audio

Here is the listening file for this lesson.

Listening level: 5
Audio file: 2:39 min
Story length: 347 words
[quiz-cat id=”7162″]
In this critical listening activity, learn about Galileo
Galileo improved the telescope and studied objects in space

English listening lesson: Gap Fill

LISTEN TO THE STORY AGAIN AND FILL IN THE BLANKS.

Can one person change the world? Sometimes yes. That’s why Galileo is such a __________ figure. He __________ our understanding of the world and taught us the importance of science.

Galileo’s story begins in Italy in __________ . He was a math teacher. One day, he heard about an invention. It was a telescope. It didn’t work especially well, so he __________ the glass to increase the zoom power.

He gazed into space and studied stars, planets and moons. He watched them __________ orbits and discovered __________ . When he combined this knowledge with math, he created __________ .

He wrote __________ books. His first one in __________ was called Starry Messenger. It made him a celebrity. People loved reading about distant stars that were not __________ .

Not everyone enjoyed his books. The Catholic Church thought they were __________ . And that was a problem.

The Church was powerful. Disagreeing with or __________ its rules, stories or philosophy was considered a serious offence. __________ of the Church were injured or killed.

Church leaders declared Earth the centre of the __________ . How did they know that? Because of some sentences in the Bible. That was the __________ .

Galileo had a different opinion. Earth was not the centre. How did he know that? He developed __________ based on scientific principles and knowledge.

In 1616, the Church issued a __________ to Galileo. Stop writing books that say the sun is the centre of the universe.

For years, Galileo agreed, but in __________ he published another book. He used science to say some Church stories were __________ . Science, not the Bible, helps us understand the world.

Catholic leaders were angry. They forced Galileo to __________ he was mistaken. If he refused, he would be tortured. Galileo agreed, but he did not believe it. The Church put him under house __________ for the rest of his life. He died ten years later in __________ .

Galileo wanted to tell the truth based on __________ and proof, not fear and stories. Because of his achievements, science was able to __________ great things in the years ahead. And it’s all thanks to a man with a __________ .

ESL discussion questions

TALK ABOUT THE Critical Listening story.

  1. What kind of story is this?
  2. What improvements did Galileo make to the telescope?
  3. Describe how Galileo was a critical thinker.
  4. Was the Church right to punish Galileo?
  5. Was Galileo great?
  6. Do you think people are free to express ideas that go against the dominant narrative?

ESL reading activities: synonym match

MATCH THE WORD OR PHRASE ON THE LEFT WITH THE CORRECT SYNONYM.

1. transform
2. modify
3. proof
4. theory
5. figure
a. proposition
b. revolutionize
c. alter
d. individual
e. validation

English listening lesson anagrams

MOVE THE LETTERS. MAKE A WORD FROM THE listening skills exercise.

  1. USDEREF
  2. IFESICTCNI
  3. NIRVSEUE
  4. IEORSSU
  5. TSROMYANO
  6. FEIIDDOM

Writing practice

WRITE THE FIVE SENTENCES. PUT THE WORDS IN THE CORRECT ORDER.

  1. principles / theories / knowledge / based / on / developed / scientific / and / He
  2. he / an / about / One / invention / heard / day
  3. admit / Galileo / was / mistaken / he / They / forced / to
  4. patterns / them / orbits / discovered / He / and / reveal / watched
  5. reading / about / visible / not / loved / People / that / were / distant / stars

More ESL reading activities

Another listening skills activity? Try this free English listening comprehension lesson about ketchup, the world’s favourite condiment.

Watch a short video and take notes

Do you like critical listening exercises like this one? Here’s another. Watch a YouTube video called 10 facts about the sun.

  1. Watch the video.
  2. Take notes.
  3. Make a list with at least eight facts.

ESL reading activities: get the worksheet

Want to print out these listening skills exercises? Click to download the PDF worksheet.

The image used in this post is believed to be in the public domain.

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