Learn and enjoy!
domingo, 13 de marzo de 2016
History of English in 5 songs
This is a link of a video made by some students from the University of Cádiz. It tells the story of the English language in 30 minutes. Must watch!
martes, 10 de febrero de 2015
domingo, 20 de enero de 2013
English Worldwide: Practice 4.
Read the text and answer
the following questions
About one hundred
years ago many educated people learned and spoke French when they met people
from other countries. Today most people speak English when they meet
foreigners. It has become the new international language. There are more people
who speak English as a second language than people who speak English as a first
language. Why is this?
There are many
reasons why English has become so popular. One of them is that English has become
the language of business. Another important reason is that popular American
culture (like movies, music, and McDonald's) has quickly spread throughout the
world. It has brought its language with it.
Is it good that
English has spread to all parts of the world so quickly? I don't know. It's
important to have a language that the people of the earth have in common. Our
world has become very global and we need to communicate with one another. On
the other hand, English is a fairly complicated language to learn and it brings
its culture with it. Do we really need that?
Scientists have
already tried to create an artificial language that isn't too difficult and
doesn't include any one group's culture. It is called Esperanto. But it hasn't
become popular. But maybe the popularity of English won't last that long
either. Who knows? There are more people in the world who speak Chinese than
any other language. Maybe someday Chinese will be the new international
language.
Questions
1. What was the
world language 100 years ago?
2. Which group is
larger- people who speak English as a first language or people who speak
English as a second language?
3. What are two
reasons English has become an international language today?
4. What are two
reasons English isn't a good international language?
5. What is
Esperanto?
6. What might the
future international language be?
English Worldwide: Practice 3.
What do you
remember about English as a global language? Try the quiz below:
1. Which is the
world’s most widely spoken language?
2. How many people
speak English as a first language (mother tongue) worldwide?
3. In which
countries is English used as a mother tongue? And what is a mother tongue?
4. In which
countries is English used as a second language? What do you consider it is a
second language?
5. In which fields
of work is English a dominant language?
6. What is a
lingua franca?
7. If people cannot
communicate by using a common language, they tend to use body language. What
are the disadvantages of using body language?
Check this website in order to help you to
answer the quiz:
English Worldwide: Practice 2.
Complete the text with the
correct answers.
English is often used
as a ______________ when we have to communicate with people
with a different native language. Today, we have many _____________ of
English, one example is Japlish. People from Singapore speak _______________.
English has spread to all corners of the world because of the _______________.
In this way it has become a ___________ language. 80% of the
texts on the ____________ are published in English. Moreover,
English is used in many professions, for instance within ___________.
Due to cultural differences, ______________ cannot be trusted.
In Norway, English is used as an _______________ language,
whereas in India it is a ________________. When English is used as
a second language, it means that it is used within business and ______________ matters.
A _________________ is the first language learned as a
child. ______________ is a country where English is used as a
first language. There are more speakers of _______________ that
of English. _____________ means Received Pronunciation. That is the
English spoken by the ________________.
English Worldwide: Practice 1.
Watch the video and answer
the following question:
Global English with David Crystal
According to Crystal, why is English a global language?
Global English with David Crystal
According to Crystal, why is English a global language?
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