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Quarter 2, Fall 2016

Name: _______________________________________________________________

ID Number: _______________________________ Sec. No. ___________________

Teacher: ______________________________________________________________

Teacher: ______________________________________________________________

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PROJECTTIMELINE

PROJECTQUESTION

1. Brainstorming

2. Reading

Youwillbrainstormideas,readarticlesinthereadings

bookletorWritingProjectiBookanddoInternetresearch.

3. EssaystructureYouwilllookatessayorganization,particularlyparagraphs

andconnectingwords.

4. Outline

5. FirstDraft

Youwillcompletetheessayoutlineinclass(100minutes-

twolessons).

Youwillcompletethefirstdraftinclass(100minutes–two

lessons).

6. Feedback

7. Revising

Yourteacherwillgivefeedbacktoyou,andwillalso

providefurtherhelpwithgrammarandessaystructure.

8. FinalDraft

Youwillcompletethefinaldraft(100minutes–exam

conditions).

Yourteacherwilltellyouexactlywhenyouwilldoeachofthestepsbelow.

UAEuniversitiesrequirestudentstostudycoursesinEnglish.However,some

peoplethinkArabicshouldbethelanguageofinstructioninsteadofEnglish.

Whatisyouropinion?Givereasonsforyouranswer.Writeatleast250words.

Youmustwriteatleast250words.

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Foundationcourses

PutP T F

Wedofoundationcoursesafterwehavefinishedstudyingforourmajor.

Doingfoundationcoursesmakesourstudiesatuniversityshorter.

WedofoundationcoursesbecauseweneedbetterEnglish.

Foundationcoursescostalotofmoneyfortheuniversity.

English&Arabic–YourOpinion

PutP T F

ListeningtolecturesinArabiciseasierthanlisteningtolecturesinEnglish.

WritingessaysinArabiciseasierthanwritingessaysinEnglish.

Englishhasbecomethemostpopularlanguageintheworldtoday.

IwanttostudyformymajorusingEnglish,notArabic.

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READING1:TeachingUniversitySubjectsinEnglish.

InmostuniversitiesintheUAE,subjectsaretaughtnotinArabicbutinEnglish.However,Arabicisthelanguageusedforteachingsubjectsingovernmentschools.ThismeansthatmanystudentswhostartuniversitydonothaveveryhighlevelsofEnglish,andtheymustdofoundationcoursesinEnglish(e.g.UGRU)beforetheycangotoFaculty–seeFigure1.Asaresult,somepeoplethinkthatuniversitiesshouldchange,andtheyshoulduseArabic–notEnglish–forteachingtheircourses.

Thefirstreasonthesepeoplegiveisafinancialone.TheysaythatEnglishfoundationcoursesareveryexpensivefortheuniversity.KathrynLewisoftheGulfNewssaysthat“Governmentuniversitiesreportthattheyspendalotoftheirfinances(money)onimprovingstudents’English.”Thisisbecausemostlecturersonfoundationcoursescomefromabroad,anditisexpensivetobringthemtotheUAE,toprovidethemwithhousingandtopaythemhighsalaries.IfArabicisthemainlanguageatuniversity,studentswillnotneedEnglishfoundationcourses.Asaresult,thegovernmentanduniversitieswillsavemoney.

TherearealsoeducationalreasonswhyArabic–notEnglish–shouldbeusedforteachingsubjectsatuniversity.Itwillbenefitthestudents,bymakingtheirstudieseasier.StudentscanlistenmoreeasilyandwritebetteressaysinArabicthaninEnglish.ThisisbecauseArabicistheir1stlanguageor“mothertongue”.ListeningtolecturesinEnglishandwritingessaysinEnglishwillalwaysbemoredifficultforthem.Inaddition,iftherearenoEnglishfoundationcoursesatuniversity,studentswillbeabletogostraightfromschooltoFaculty.Therefore,theywillcompletetheirstudiesinmuchlesstime.Thisisbetterforthestudentsanditisbetterfortheuniversity.

Finally,thereisstudentidentitytolookat.SomepeoplesaythatArabuniversitiesintheArabianGulfshoulduseArabic–andnotEnglish–asthelanguageofstudyfortheircourses.Englishisaforeignlanguageforthesestudents.Itisnottheirlanguage;itissomeoneelse’slanguage.Arabstudentswillhaveastrongernationalidentity,iftheycanstudyfortheirmajorsusingtheirownlanguage,Arabic.

Figure1:National2009

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QuestionsforReading1

1) Whydosomanystudentsneedfoundationcourses?

2) WhatarethefinancialreasonsforhavingArabic,insteadofEnglish,asthemainlanguageofteachingatuniversity?

3) GivetwoeducationalreasonsforchangingfromEnglishtoArabic.

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LanguagesusedbyinternationalorganisationsEnglish 85%French 49%Arabic <10%Spanish <10%German <10%Figure2:Crystal1997

Reading2:EnglishasaWorldLanguage

Today,Englishhasbecomethemostmostpopularandmostwidelyusedlanguageintheworldtoday.Wecanseethisinanumberofdifferentareas.

Englishhasbecomethelanguageofinternational

politics.Whengovernmentsofdifferentcountriescommunicatewitheachother,theyoftenuseEnglish.Thisisbecauseitisthelanguagethatmostpeopleunderstand.Today,mostlargeorganizationssuchastheUnitedNations(UN)useEnglishastheirmainlanguage.(seeFigure2).FarfewerorganizationsuseFrench,andlessthan10%ofinternationalorganizationsuselanguagessuchasArabic,SpanishandGermanastheirmainlanguage.

Ifwelookatpublishing,more

booksarewritteninEnglishthaninanyotherlanguage(seeFigure3).Thiswillincreaseinthefuture,asEnglishbecomesmorepopular,andmorepeoplewanttostudyitastheirsecondlanguage.

Englishhasalsobecomethe

mostimportantlanguageofacademicresearch.Today,mostresearchinscienceandtechnologyisdoneinEnglish,morethananyotherlanguage.Thisisbecausescientistswantpeopleinotherpartsoftheworldtoknowabouttheirresearch.TheeasiestwaytodothisistopublishtheirresearchinEnglish.

Englishisalsothemostcommonlanguageinworldmedia.InTVandradio,Englishhasthestrongestposition.Fiveofthelargesttelevisioncompaniesintheworld(CNN,NBC,CBS,BBCandCBC)showtheirprogrammesinEnglish.Inaddition,ontheinternet,therearemorewebsitesinEnglishthaninanyotherlanguage(seeFigure4).

Figure3:Unesco1997

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1) Give4examplesofhowEnglishisaworldlanguagetoday.

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WebsiteResearchThefollowingwebsitesoffermoreinformationonthiswritingtopic.

1. Arabic'sfuture.Youneedonlyreadthefirst9paragraphsofthisarticle(theyaresmallparagraphs).http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/international/2010/mar/Arabic-s-Uncertain-Future-has-Troubling-Cultural-Implications.html

2. UNESCOinteractivemapofendangeredworldlanguages.Thisisaninterestingsitetofindareasintheworldthathaveendangeredlanguages.

http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00206

3. ThiswebsitelooksatanumberofissuesconcerningendangeredLanguages.(Thiswebsitealsohasa

numberoflinkswithinthetext.)http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/international/2009/april/Map-Shows-Thousands-of-Dead-or-Dying-Languages.htm

4. PositiveAspectsofLearningEnglish.Averyshortweb-pagewithsomeimportantpointsabouttheadvantagesoflearningEnglish.http://www.gifu-net.ed.jp/kyoka/eigo/CommunicativeEnglish/05-7%20Positive%20Aspects%20of%20Learning%20English.htm

5. WhatAretheBenefitsofLearningEnglish?ThiswebsitegivesalistofbenefitsforlearningESL.http://www.ehow.com/about_5042474_benefits-learning-english.html