Post-reading activities. 1. Match the words on the left to those on the right

1. Match the words on the left to those on the right. Make 10 word partnerships and translate them into Russian.

1. widespread a. competitions

2. first b. meetings

3. modern c. tongue

4. summit d. settlements

5. telephone e. language

6. mother f. calls

7. sport g. computing

8. international h. language

9. present i. festivals

10.common j. standing

2. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following Russian collocations.

1. родной язык; 2. вспомогательный язык; 3. всего несколько миллионов людей; 4. из-за его установления; 5. в то или иное время; 6. идёт обратный процесс; 7. это предположение абсурдно 8. общее число людей, разговаривающих на английском языке; 9. самый распространённый язык на земле; 10. это, несомненно, будет продолжаться; 11. это предположение абсурдно

3. Choose the best alternative to complete the sentence.

1. English is the most …language in the world.

a) simplest b) wide-spread c) easiest d) ancient

2. Most of the world’s … is in English.

a) newspapers b) magazines c) mail d) journals

3. The number of people who speak English as an … language is about 325 million.

a) native b) first c) auxiliary d) mother

4. The process of contributing foreign words to English is now being …

a) reversed b) restored c) started d) proposed

5. The English language … as a mother tongue in all the continents of the world.

a) settled b) established c) assisted d) exported

4.Complete the sentences.

1. Now English is one of the most …

2. … began in the 17th century.

3. … has given the English language its present standing in the world.

4. English is the language of …

5. The process of contributing words to English is …

6. The proposition that all other languages will …

5. Say whether the following statements are true or false.

1. In Shakespeare’s time English was the most widespread language on Earth.

2. The exporting of the English language began in the 14th century.

3. English has contributed some words to other languages and the process is now being reversed.

4. The process of exporting English will no doubt continue.

5. The proposition that all other languages will die out is absurd.

6. Answer the following questions.

1. Why has English become a world language?

2. How many people speak the English language?

3. When did the exporting of English begin?

4. In what countries do people speak English?

5. How can you prove that English is an international language?

6. Is it possible that all other languages will die out? Express your own opinion.

7. Get ready to discuss the following.

Imagine that you’ve arrived in the United States. What language barriers can arise? Do you know any differences between the British English and the American English?

Read Text B using the dictionary and do the following tasks.

1. Think of the title to the text.

2. Make up 5-6 questions of different types.

3. Give a short summary of the text.

Text B

English is one of a family of languages called Indo-European. Three major periods can be distinguished in the evolution of English: Old English (to about 1100), Middle English (from 1100 to 1500) and Modern English (from 1500 to the present).

The language of the Angles and Saxons was Englise or Old English. They were farmers and many of their words are still in the dictionary today (sheep, dog work, field). During the Old English period, most additions to the English vocabulary were based on native English words. Old words were given new meanings; new words were formed by the addition of prefexes or suffexes or by compounding. During this period the English vocabulary was influenced most by Latin (such words as Monday, February) and Scandinavian languages (wrong, want, skin).

The Middle English period was marked by great influence of French on English after the Norman Conquest in 1066. French became the language of the upper classes in England and many French words entered the English vocabulary (amateur, ballet, attaché).

The first English dictionary appeared in 1775. It contained more than 40,000 words (today, the Oxford English Dictionary contains half a million).

As for modern English it still derives much of its learned vocabulary from Latin and Greek and also borrows words from nearly all the languages of Europe.

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