1.1 )) ME AND MY LANGUAGES rece Dee ee ey yo LANGUAGE 1 A Read questions 1-10. What do the words in bold mean? Check with other students or your teacher, then think about your answers to the questions. 1 Why are you learning English? For work, exams, travel, etc.? 2. Do you speak any languages apart from your mother tongue and English? 3. Who isthe best language learner in your family? 4 Did you use any learning strategies when studying your second language? Which? 5 When was the first time you used a foreign language outside the classroom? 6 Doyou have the chance to speak/write to native speakers regularly? 7 sit important for you to learn slang or jargon in English, or do you only want to learn standard English? 8 Which is more important to you when you learn to speak a language: fluency or accuracy? 9 Which skills the hardest for you: speaking, listening, reading, or writing? Which is the easiest? 10 Do you know anyone who is bilingual? What advantages might they have in life? B Work in groups. Discuss your answers to questions 1-10. 2 Answer the questions. 1 Which words in bold in questions 1-10 have silent letters? 2 What are the silent letters in these words: science, talk, listen, know, right, wrong, hours, guess? 3. Which statement (a orb) do you think is true? {a Most words in English are spelt differently to how they are pronounced. Under twenty percent of words in English are spelt differently to how they are pronounced. speakout TIP ‘Around fourteen percent of English words have irregular spelling; they are spelt differently to how they are pronounced, When you learn new words, try to hear them, Watch out for silent letters! BILINGUALS: EXOTIC BIRDS OR EVERYDAY PEOPLE? by Johan Acosta randpa shouts, ‘Dinner's ready” inDanish. My mother asksme in English to lay the table. As do so, catch the theme tune of the Brazilian soap opera on TV in theliving room, where any sisteris relaxing. She speaks perfect Portuguese. My father asks her to record the programme in his native Spanish, and wwe take ourplaces atthe table. And what’s con the menu? Italian meatballs. Weknow we aren't a normal family. At any moment, you might hear conversations In our diferent languages, and almost everyone understands almost everything. But what is normal these days? My mother ishalEDanish,halfEnglish, and my father, ‘who is from Bolivia, speaks Spanish and Guarani, Because of my mother's work (she’s now retired), welived in Brazil, taly and Germany, so we picked up three more languages. Now as adults, my sister and T both speak sislanguages. 3A. Read the title of the text. What do you think it will discuss? Read to find out. B Read the text again and answer the questions. 1 What six languages do you think the writer and his sister speak? 2 How do you think the writer learnt each of his languages? 3. How many of the world’s people are thought to be bilingual? 4 What are those who learn their second language as children better at compared to those who learn a second language as adults? 5. What health benefit of being bilingual is mentioned in the text?Being bilingual, or in our case multilingual, has so many advantages. All the recent research suggests ‘we benefitn many ways: social, cultural, economic, academic, and intellectual. The research has also destroyed some of those persistent myths. One ofthe mythsis that bilingualism is uncommon, as we bilinguals are ike rare, exoticbirds, The truth i. ‘that around fifty percent of the world’s inhabitants are bilingual. The continents with the most linguistic diversity are Asia and Arica. In Nigeria alone, 500 languages are spoken, in India 400. Some people believe that you have tolearn both languages asa child tobe truly bilingual. My sister and T are fortunate in thisrespect, but we know countless people who have mastered a second language as adults. They ‘may not have such perfect pronunciation as those who acquire their second language as children, but they are stil completely fluent and accurate, Another myth about bilinguals concerns identity. Some people think we have spit personalities. Askids, my sister ‘and I were often asked “But where are you really from? Don’t you get confused?” Nota all. am me, the product of many cultures. can switch languages easily, according to where Iam and who I'm with, and this seems completely natural tome. sor the benefits bilinguals do better on certain tests, are better protected against mental illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, gain insightsinto other cultures, have ‘access to more of the world’s information, and are in some contexts more employable. Being bilingual has made me who am, and for that 'm grateful. 6 one of the myths is that bilingualism is uncommon as if we bilinguals are like rare, exotic birds. g C Underline words or phrases in the text that match meanings 1-6 below. 1 relating to the language you grew up speaking (paragraph 1) 2 learnt by listening/watching other people (paragraph 2) 3. speaking many languages (paragraph 3) 4 false ideas that people continue to believe and repeat (paragraph 3) 5 learn without needing to try hard, eg. a language (paragraph 5) 6 understand important truths about a subject (paragraph 7) Discuss the questions with other students. 1 Doyou agree with the writer's list of the advantages to being bilingual? 2 Doyou think there any disadvantages to being bilingual? 3. Doyou know any families that are bilingual or ‘multilingual? Are they similar to the family in the text? CLV QUESTION FORMS 4 A Read sentences 1-6 and answer questions a)-e), 1 Do you speak other languages? 2 Did you use any leaming strategies? 3 Who did you talk tor 4 What happened? 5 What did you talk about? 6 Who is the best language learner in your family? 1) Underline the main verb in each question. (The first has been done for you) b) Circle the auxiliary verbs. Which auxiliary refers to the past? Which refers to the present? ¢) Which two questions are yes/no questions? <) Which two questions end in a preposition of, by, ete? €) Which two questions use wh- words to refer to the subject (the person who does the action, or the action itself) and don't use an auxiliary verb? D> page 128 LANGUAGEBANK B DTT) intonaTion: wh- questions Listen to the ‘questions in Exercise 4A. Are the question words (wh- words) in 3-6 said in a higher or a lower voice? C Listen and say the questions at the same time. 5 A Put the words in the correct order to make questions, 1 do/every/ you / day / study ? 2 your / any /did / languages / teach / parents / you /other? 3 is/leamer /who / the /best /you / language / know? 4 was / teacher / your / English / fist / who ? 5 do/do/ you / remember / what / English / to / words /in? 6 languages / you / what / do / to / like / listening ? 7 do/what / watch / you / English / in /TV/ programmes? 8 foreign / did / speak / first / when / language /a/ you? B Choose three of the questions to ask other students. 6 A Write four dates, four names and four places that are important to you. Dates: 7 May 2008 - My son was born. Names: Places: B Work in groups. Take turns to explain what you wrote. As you listen, think of questions to ask afterwards,