Language learning

Dialogue: be ready to act it out in the class.

A: Which should be the official world language - English or Esperanto?

B: In my opinion, there's only one choice - English!

A: But that's not a neutral choice. Think of all the advantages English-speaking

countries have. Not only do you save money by not having to learn a second language, but you can make a lot of money by teaching your native tongue. Besides, the choice of a European language is unfair to people from other continents.

B: Actually, Esperanto is closer to European languages than any others.

A: But at least it's culture free. With Esperanto as the world language, no country would be accused of exporting both its language and its culture.

B: Well, I'm not sure whether you can really separate language from culture.

The two have developed alongside one another. One would be very impoverished without the other.

A: That may be true, but then you're inviting political conflict. Who is going to

decide whether North American culture is superior to Chinese culture?

B: Nobody really has to decide. All you really have to do is to see which language is already being used for international business, trade and political negotiations. That language is English.

A: It doesn't mean that the situation will be the same in the future. China could well emerge as the world's strongest economy.

B: That may be so, but the economic strength of Japan hasn't led to much teaching of Japanese. You also have to consider the vast size of the knowledge base available to English speakers - academic research, scientific reports and an infinite number of books and periodicals.

A: Much of that knowledge base has already been translated.

B: I doubt that many other languages can match the size of the English dictionary,

especially any single Chinese dialect. Look how many languages have had to borrow

from English, for example, computer terms such as ESCAPE and RETURN.

A: But English has borrowed from the Romans, the Vikings, the Saxons and the

French.

B: Yes, but over a long period of history. Besides, these borrowings illustrate the

both the breadth and flexibility of the English language. You just can't begin to compare Esperanto with English as a tool for communication.

Discussion questions:_ask and answer

1. Describe "the good language learner" according to the following criteria:

· woman or man

· old or young

· extrovert or introvert

· other characteristics

· habits

· abilities (including study skills)

· motivation and interests

2. In what ways are you a good or bad language learner?

3. How many languages can you speak and how well can you speak them?

4. "Fluency in a language is more important than accuracy". Do you agree?

5. Are you satisfied with the way languages are taught in your country?

6. Do tourists often try to speak your language when they visit your country?

7. "Every child should learn to speak a second language." Do you agree?

8. Which should be the official world language - English or Esperanto?

GRAMMAR: Departure from the rules of the sequence of tenses

The changes in the subordinate clause when the verb in the main clause is in the past are required by the rules of the sequence of tenses, but the changes also depend on the context and do not take place in all cases. Compare:

He said, "I will visit her tomorrow."

He said that he would visit her the following day. (If "tomorrow" was in the past at the moment of speaking, it is replaced with "the following day".)

He said that he would visit her tomorrow. (If "tomorrow" was still in the future at the moment of speaking, it stays in the sentence as "tomorrow".)

He said, "I went to the park yesterday."

He said that he had gone to the park the day before. ("Yesterday" was no longer "yesterday" at the time of speaking.)

He said that he went to the park yesterday. (If "yesterday" was still "yesterday" at the time of speaking, the Simple Past and "yesterday" remain unchanged.)

She said, "I like this town."

She told me that she liked that town. (The speaker is in some other town at the moment of speaking.)

She told me that she liked this town. (The speaker is in this town at the moment of speaking.)

In the cases when it is necessary to keep the adverbs of time that indicate specific time in the past in the subordinate clause (for example, yesterday, last year, a month ago, in 1995), the Simple Past remains unchanged in the subordinate clause, because according to the rules of the usage of tenses, the Past Perfect can't be used with such adverbs. This is also true of other object clauses, not only of those in reported speech.

I knew that he left for New York two months ago.

I was sure that she came back last week.

He said, "I visited Paris in 1995." – He said that he visited Paris in 1995.

He said, "I was watching TV when the telephone rang." – He said that he was watching TV when the telephone rang.

It is necessary to add, that in many cases the Simple Past may remain unchanged in the subordinate clause when a completed action in the past is meant.

She said that Mike told / had told her about it.

He said that he bought / had bought a car at that car dealership.

He said that he built / had built a house for his son.

He said that he didn't find / hadn't found them.

In everyday speech, when the speaker feels that the action in the subordinate clause is still relevant to the present, the Present tense may be used in the subordinate clause despite the fact that the Past tense is used in the main clause.

Anna said that she feels tired. Let's go home.

He wrote in his letter that he is going to see Dr. Crosby tomorrow, so we will be able to find him at the clinic.

She repeated several times that she wants to talk to you tonight. Do you know what it is about?

Language learners should follow the rules of the sequence of tenses strictly, especially in formal speech and writing as well as in various oral and written tests of English.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14