“Why English?”
I. Warm-up.
Answer the following questions:
- When did Russian people begin to study foreign languages as a subject?
- What first foreign languages were studied in Russia?
- When did Russians begin learning English?
- How many languages are there in the world?
- What language is spoken in Mexico?
- What language is spoken in France?
- What language is spoken in Brazil?
- Where do people speak Mandarin?
- Is English the official language of Russia?
- What is the official language of Russia?
- Where is English the official language?
About 5000; about 250 years ago; Spanish; Classical languages: Greece, Latin; later German and French; In China; at the end of XIX century; the USA, Canada, British Isles, Australia, New Zealand; Portuguese; Of course, not; French; Russian.
II. Language work
1. Complete the table:
2. English is the world’s top tongue. Prove it. Speak in pairs.
| The main reason is that… | More than 750 mln people speak English. |
| Then… | It’s practically all over the world. |
| More than that… | It’s spoken as a mother tongue in Great Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. |
| There is no doubt… | It’s the language of computers, science, business, politics. |
| It’s the official voice of the air and sea. | |
| The largest broadcasting companies transmit in English. | |
| It is the language of sports and beauty. |
3. Study the bar chart and fill the gaps in the sentences with the appropriate modifiers from the box.
• More than one modifier is possible.
The 12 most spoken world languages (in millions)
836.2
| 1. Mandarin Chinese is spoken by ... 836 million. | at least |
| 2. ... 333 million speak Hindi. | over |
| 3.Spanish is spoken by ... 332 million. | nearly |
| 4.The number of native English speakers is ... 322 million. | about |
| 5.Bengali and Arabic are spoken by ... 190 million each. | more than |
| 6.Russian is spoken by ... 170 million people. | around |
| 7.Portuguese has ... 160 million speakers. | fewer than |
| 8.Japanese is the native language for... 125 million. | |
| 9.Then follow German, French and Malay with ... 100 million speakers. |
4. What will the role of the English language be in the twenty-first century? What's your opinion on the following statements? Please comment.
- Before the middle of the twenty-first century another language besides (кроме) English will become the world's main language.
- English will remain ( остаться) the world's language for international communication.
- The role of English in personal development( в личном развитии) will be very important.
- American English will be the world's standard variety (разновидность) of English.
- British English will be the dominant variety of English in the world.
- Many languages will die out ( вымрут) during the next century.
- There will be a rise ( подъем) of spoken English at the expense (за счет) of written English.
- The most popular foreign language in the future will be Chinese.
- 50% of the worlds periodicals are printed in English.
- May be it will be Chinese, because of the population of China. As far as we know Mandarin Chinese is spoken by more than 836 mln.
- No doubt.
- It develops our mind and memory. People can travel abroad. It enlarges knowledge and understanding of the world.
- It may be because America is the fourth largest country in the world.
- Why not. If a small nation dies, the language will die out too.
- May be.
- Really China is the most populated country in the world and Chinese people are everywhere.
5.Why do you study English? Speak in pairs:
| First… | Why? I want (’d like) |
| Second… | to study at the university ( college) |
| Then… | to communicate with people of the world |
| Finally… | to do business |
| There is no doubt… | to understand films and songs in English |
| to get a better job | |
| to like the language | |
| to want to live in an English-speaking country | |
| to travel abroad |
|
| have to study it at school it’s easier than other subjects you could study |
|
| it gives a chance to meet new people |
6. Read the text:
You are a doctor of medicine from Japan. You are at an international meeting in Switzerland. You want to communicate with a doctor from Senegal. What language do you speak with him? The answer is probably English.
Today, nearly 600 million people around the world use the English language. Only half of these people speak English as their first language.
Why is English useful for international communication? For one thing, many books and papers in special fields are in English. As a result, specialist in these fields often learn English. Specialists from different countries can use their English for international communication. English is truly a world language.
A. Are the following statements true or false?
- The person from Japan is a doctor.
- The meeting is in Europe.
- English is the first language of nearly 600 million people.
- English is useful for international communication.
- Many papers in special fields are in English.
- All specialists learn English.
B. Fill the blanks with the correct prepositions.
- He is a doctor ________ medicine.
- They are _______ an international meeting.
- He wants to communicate _______ them.
- Millions _______ people _______ the world use English.
- Half ______ these people speak English as their first language.
- Many books _______ special fields are _______ English.
- He is a specialist _______ the field of medicine.
- There were specialists _______ different countries at the meeting.
C. Say the following: specialist, international, communicate
- Which word is a noun? a verb? an adjective?
- Mark the stress in each word, as in the examples:
Paper, remember, success - Use each word in a sentence.
D. Discussion
- What is your first language? Can you speak a second language?
- Do you work in a special field? Is English useful in your field? How is it useful?
- According to the reading, English is useful in many special fields. What are some of these fields, in your opinion?