English as an international language

Today, when English is one of the major languages in the world, it requires an effort of the imagination to realize that this is a relatively recent thing – that in Shakespeare’s time only a few million people spoke English, and the language was not thought to be very important by the other nations to the rest of the world.

English has become a world language because of its establishment as a mother tongue outside England, in all the continents of the world. This exporting of English began in the 17^th century, with the 1^st settlements in North America. Above all, it is the great growth of population in the United States, assisted by massive immigration in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, that has given the English language its present position in the world.

People who speak English fall into one of three groups: those who have learned it as their native language; those who have learned it as a second language in a society that is mainly bilingual; and those who are forced to use it for a practical purpose – administrative, professional or educational.

Besides, basic characteristics of English also contribute to the situation that nowadays English is the most spread language on Earth. These characteristics are: simplicity of forms (very few endings); flexibility (the same word can operate as some different parts of speech); openness of vocabulary (involves the free admissions of words from other languages and the easy creation of compounds and derivatives). Most world languages have contributed some words to English at some time, and the process is now being reversed.

Geographically, English is the most widespread language on Earth. It is the language of business, technology, sport and aviation. This will no doubt continue, although the idea that all other languages will die out is absurd.

2. In pairs/groups discuss the following questions:

· When did the exporting of English begin?

· In what spheres of life is English most widely used?

· Why is English considered the world’s language? Name at least three reasons and explain.

· How many groups do people who learn English fall into? What are they? Characterize each of them.

· Why, in your opinion, have people been interested in having one language for a long time?

3. In pairs/groups ask at least 3 questions based on the article English as an international language. Report to other groups / the whole class to compare answers.

4. Recall your history of learning English, from what age, teachers, books, media, feelings etc. and tell it to your groupmates.

5. Think of adjectives describing your opinion/feelings regarding the studying different aspects of English language. In pairs describe the process of learning English, using the adjectives suggested below.

concerned difficult poor (un)interested bored/boring lazy (un)successful patient numerous determined eager helpful proud great confident

6. Face each other in pairs and engage in the following 2-minute debates. Students A are assigned the first argument, students B the second. Rotate pairs.

(a) English is an international language. vs. It depends on where you are in the world.

(b) English will be the most important language in the world. vs Chinese will be.

(c) English should be recognized as a national language in many countries. vs. A national language needs strong and long cultural roots.

(d) English should be recognized as the official world language. vs. But in the future other languages will overtake English.

(e) The world should learn either British or American English. vs. The world should learn international English.

7. Read the following statements and mark them (ν) if you agree, (×) if you disagree, and (?) if you are not sure. Explain why (produce not less than 6 sentences).

a) I am more likely to use English to native speakers (e.g. British and American people) than I am speak to other non-native speakers.

b) All learners of English should try to pronounce the language as closely as possible to the way native speakers do.

c) It is important for learners of English to have a good command of British and American idioms.

d) People can’t understand you when you speak a foreign language unless you use the grammar correctly.

e) English doesn’t just “belong to” British or American people. It belongs to everyone in the world who uses it.

f) When I speak English I don’t want to imitate a British or American person. I want to keep my own identity.

8. Listen to Dr. Jennifer Jenkins talking about “English as an

International Language”. Which statements above does she agree/disagree with? Why?

9. Dr. Jenkins mentions the following difficulties of English language as examples. Have you had any problems with any of them?

The pronunciation of th British and American idioms Uncountable nouns like information The third person ‘s’ in the Present Simple

10. Point out your own difficulties when studying English and the ways of their overcoming. Work out some useful advice for yourself and your partner how to improve your language skills.

11. What does Jennifer Jenkins think may happen to these things as English as International Language develops? How does she think dictionaries in the future will be different? Listen again if necessary.

12. Do you agree with Dr. Jenkins? Has she made you change your mind about any of your answers to Exercise 7 above? Why? Explain.

13. Interview your groupmate and find out what he/she thinks. Think of at least three questions to ask him/her.

14. Work in pairs and answer the following questions.

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1) Which foreign languages do most people learn in your country? Why?

2) Do you think English is an easy language to learn or not? Why/why not? Explain.

3) Which of these areas of the language are the easiest/hardest for foreign students do you think: grammar, pronunciation, spelling or vocabulary? Why?

4) Is your language easy for foreigners to learn? Why/why not?

5) How do think age affects a person's ability to learn a new language?

6) What's the best way to learn a language?

7 )In what ways do you expand your English vocabulary?

8) How would your life be different if you spoke not a word of English?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1) Why are you learning English?

2) Are you a successful learner? Why?

3) Some people get very embarrassed when they have to speak in a foreign language. Does this happen to you? What suggestions would you give to somebody who suffered from this problem?

4) In what ways do you expand your English vocabulary?

5) What do you think your level is (beginning, intermediate, advanced)? Why? Give your reasons. How happy are you with your English level?

6 )What typical mistakes do you make?

7) What do you use to improve your listening ability?

8) How did English come to be so important?

15. Role-play the situation.

Situation 1.

Student A:

You are going to take some language courses to improve your language skills.

Student B:

Ask your partner:

· why he wants to learn foreign languages;

· if he thinks it’s hard and time-consuming;

· what language he is interested in;

· why he is interested in it;

· what courses he wants to attend;

· what his hopes for this course are.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-24