3ºESO Bilingual ACTIVITY 1

Britain, that islandIs Britain really very different from other places?

It could only be Britain.... But beyond the images, is Britain really very different?

Just off the north coast of continental Europe, there is an island called Britain. Today, this island is closely connected to the rest of Europe; there are direct trains to Paris and Brussels, and thousands of people, cars and lorries cross the Channel and the North Sea every day between British and continental ports. Britain is very much a part of Europe; however, most of the people in Britain (today, at least) do not want any more European "integration". "We're different, aren't we?" says Eddie, from London. "We do things differently. We don't want to become like other countries." Millions of people think the same as Eddie. For example, a large majority do not want Britain to join the Euro. They imagine that Britain's "identity" will be lost, if we say goodbye to our pounds and our pennies. They forget that things are also very different from one European country to another. It's quite a strange situation really; but it is a situation that can easily be explained. "Insularity" is a deep and historic part of British culture and society. Great Britain's borders have been fixed by nature for thousands of years. If you walk in a straight line for long enough in any direction, you will know when you have reached the edge of Great Britain; you will find yourself in salty water! If you want to go to another country from Great Britain, you have to take a ship, a plane, a train or a car; you can't just drive or walk across the border. Great Britain is physically separated from every other country; and this is the main reason why British people imagine that other countries are so "different". Of course, lots of things about Britain are different. We drive on the left, we like our pubs, we have sports like cricket, we have our own popular TV programmes, we use pounds and pennies and miles, we drink tea with milk in it, we don't carry identity cards, and our policemen don't carry guns. So yes, Britain is different, in these respects, from France or Germany or Spain, or Japan, or even the USA. Nevertheless Britain's "difference" is disappearing fast! Fifty years ago, British people drove British cars; today the cars in Britain are British, French, German, Italian, Japanese and more. Today we buy petrol in litres (not gallons) and fruit in kilos (not pounds). Fifty years ago, our favourite foods were fish 'n' chips and "bangers and mash". Among today's young people, the

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most popular foods and drinks are Italian pasta and pizza, Indian curry, American hamburgers and colas, Chinese take-aways, Continental beers and Mexican tacos. As far as culture is concerned, young Britons love their Britpop bands; but they also like American and Australian TV series, American films, and Japanese and British video games.... In fact, they like more or less the same things as young people all over Europe and North America! The real problem is perhaps not that we are very different. It's just that lots of people (in and out of Britain) imagine that Britain is different..... because "Continentals" speak other languages, and old ideas take a very long time to die.

WORD GUIDEbangers and mash: sausages and mashed potatoes - border: frontier -Channel: the English Channel, the sea between England and France -edge: end, side - insularity: being an island, imagining that one is different - integration: coming together, unity - main: principal - off: distant from - take-aways: ready-cooked meals, to take home.

http://linguapress.com/intermediate/britain-different.htm

WORKSHEETA. ExerciseUsing information from the article, copy and complete these sentences in your own words. Note the following expressions which may be helpful in your answers (you should include others):

different from - the same as - more ... than - less ... than – instead of - whereas

1. The seas separating Britain from Europe are ………………………………………………………………………….2. Eddie thinks that ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3. When they go shopping, British people use ……………………………………………………………………………4. Great Britain’s borders have not ……………………………………………………………………………………………5. People can’t leave Great Britain by ………………………………………………………………………………………..6. Identity cards …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………7. Fish ‘n’ chips were ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….8. Young Britons are not …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….B. Mini BrainstormThe text you have just read mentions some things that are different about Britain. With a partner, make a list of other differences. You will then be asked to tell the class your ideas.

The United Kingdom Spain and Other Countries1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.

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C. Do the quiz (this should be very easy)

What didn’t you know? Ask your classmates. If they don’t know, find the answer(s) for the next class and tell your teacher.

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English in the World

Countries in which English is the first language of the majority of the population are shown in dark blue      ; Countries where English is official but not a majority native language are shown in light blue)     Read this text and complete the instructions in bold

Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a "world language", the lingua franca of the modern era, and while it is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language. It is, by international treaty, the official language for aeronautical and maritime communications. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations and many other international organizations, including the International Olympic Committee. (What does “lingua franca” mean?)

English is studied most often in the European Union, and the perception of the usefulness of foreign languages among Europeans is 67 percent in favour of English ahead of 17 percent for German and 16 percent for French (as of 2012). Among some of the non-English-speaking EU countries, the following percentages of the adult population claimed to be able to converse in English in 2012: 90 percent in the Netherlands, 89 percent in Malta, 86 percent in Sweden and Denmark, 73 percent in Cyprus and Austria, 70 percent in Finland, and over 50 percent in Greece, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Germany. In 2012, excluding native speakers, 38 percent of Europeans consider that they can speak English. (Make an oral summary of this information)

Books, magazines, and newspapers written in English are available in many countries around the world, and English is the most commonly used language in the sciences with “Science Citation Index” reporting as early as 1997 that 95% of its articles were written in English, even though only half of them came from authors in English-speaking countries. In publishing, English literature predominates considerably with 28 percent of all books published in the world and 30 percent of web content in 2011 (from 50 percent in 2000). (What do you think the trend will be in the future?)

This increasing use of the English language globally has had a large impact on many other languages, leading to language shift and even language death, and to claims of linguistic imperialism. English itself has become more open to language shift as multiple regional varieties feed back into the language as a whole. (What does “language shift” mean?)

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(Wikipedia)

Watch this British Council video about English as a global language and do the exercises:

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/uk-now/video-uk/english-great

Before you read the following text, read the instructions immediately after it.

To understand the widespread influence that English has in today’s world, let us take a look at the evolution of the language, its cosmopolitan character, and its outreach. A Gift of the Anglo-SaxonsThe evolution of the English language can be traced back to the mid-fifth century AD. With the wane of Roman dominance, the Britons of England were left vulnerable to the attacks of various tribes from across the North Sea. The arrival of the Anglo-Saxon tribes in England brought with it a language that was heavily influenced by the dialects native to West Germanic tribes – English. The language became popular with the native Britons. While Latin had failed to make a mark during the Roman invasion of England, the Christian missionaries of the late sixth century AD were successful in introducing Latin words into the growing English vocabulary. The French ConnectionWith the arrival of the Northmen, the Vikings from Denmark, in about 800 AD, over 2,000 Old Norse words were adopted by the Anglo-Saxons of England. William the Conqueror and the Norman invaders came in 1066. Norman French was spoken as the language of the elite, while the common man still used English to communicate. The growing English language absorbed over 10,000 words from French. With the end of the Hundred Year War, English once again became the dominant language in the region.

Shakespearean EnglishWilliam Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) is credited with the invention of over 2,000 new English words and phrases such as addiction, auspicious, circumstantial, courtship, dishearten, fashionable, jaded, mimic, sacrificial, and tongue-tied. Linguists believe that while all of these words and phrases may not have been Shakespeare’s own inventions, they were popularized by the bard in his plays, thus playing an important role in their dissemination. The mass appeal of Shakespearean plays ensured that these words were brought into the common man’s language very quickly. The Biblical and the ScientificIn about 1604, the Puritans of the Church of England had started to complain about the complexities of translation resulting in a poor understanding of the Great Bible and the Bishop’s Bible. The King James Version of the Bible was written between 1604 and 1611. Forty-seven clergymen and scholars translated the Bible and introduced a number of new phrases and words. The growing popularity of the King James Bible with the Church and the masses resulted in the absorption of phrases such as ‘Labor of love’, ‘going the extra mile’, ‘God Forbid’, ‘the powers that be’, and ‘feet of clay’.

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With religion influencing English, scientists were not to be left far behind. The English language was struggling to keep pace with the rapidly growing number of discoveries and inventions of the late seventeenth century. Latin was inadequately equipped to handle the needs of the average physicist’s and the physiologist’s lexicons. Words such as Acid, Gravity, Pendulum, Telescope, Tonsils, and Cardiac were quickly developed and absorbed by the English language.

The Spread of Colonialism – And EnglishThe spread of the English language to the far reaches of the globe commenced with the imperial conquests of the British. From the late sixteenth century until the early twentieth century, the British Empire followed a policy of aggressive colonial expansion, exploration, and maritime trade. The official language, English, spread across continents and in turn was enriched by the absorption of words from the native languages of these lands. Caribbean languages, languages from the Indian subcontinent, the African tribal tongues, and the aboriginal languages of Australia contributed to the English language. When the British Empire was at its greatest extent, it covered over 13 million square miles and was home to over 460 million people. While the natives adopted English, English began to evolve into new forms in different parts of the world. Meanwhile, back in England a number of efforts were made to study and organize the language. Dictionaries and thesauruses took shape even as the need to add more words was recognized with each edition. American EnglishThe British first arrived in America in the early seventeenth century. Their interactions with the Native Americans gave them a whole new set of words to learn. From the moment English language landed in America, it was no longer just the language of Britain. A number of European immigrants including Italians, Dutch, and Germans landed in America, and English again grew to absorb other European languages. The Gold Rush and the staggering immigration brought many cultural influences from all parts of the world. Capitalism and the growth of industries and enterprise brought its own vocabulary. American English soon diverged from the English spoken in Britain. “Lifts” became “elevators;” “autumn” became “fall;” and “flat’ became “apartment.” Currently, over two-thirds of the entire global population of native English speakers lives in the United States. English is the official language of twenty-eight of the fifty states.

The Web of WordsModern English as we know it has outgrown its Germanic roots. Words from over 350 languages find a place in every-day English vocabulary. The advent of the Internet has been the most singular event in the past six decades to have influenced the evolution of the English language. While commonly used English words such as web, surf, bookmark, chat, virus, and mouse, have taken on very different connotations, the advent of the World Wide Web brought on a host of new words including email, blog, website, webcam, messenger, geek, and nerd, were added to the lexicon. An increasingly high number Internet slang words including the ubiquitous LOL, infographic, lappy, unfollow, and NSFW, have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.According to a study by W3Techs, about 56% of the websites on the Internet have English content. German comes second with 6.6% followed by Japanese and Russian with 4.9% and 4.8% respectively. According to Internet World Stats, a popular website providing internet usage data, over 32.7% of the world population uses the Internet, and the growth over the

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past decade has been a whopping 528%. About 26.8% of all Internet users communicate in English, according to World Internet Stats. About 24.2% of users prefer Chinese, 7.8% communicate in Spanish, and 4.7% in Japanese. The spread of the English language with the Internet has been pronounced in the Middle East, in Asia, and in Africa. English Speaking Countries of the World“Ethnologue”, an online catalogue of world languages, suggests that there are over 341 million native speakers of English in the world – the second largest language after Chinese. In addition to this, there are an estimated 167 million people in the world who speak English as a second language. English is the official language of over 56 countries of the world.

Antigua and Barbuda Kiribati Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Bahamas Lesotho Samoa

Barbados Liberia Seychelles

Belize Malawi Sierra Leone

Botswana Malta Singapore

Cameroon Marshall Islands Solomon Islands

Canada Mauritius South Africa

Dominica Federated States of Micronesia South Sudan

Eritrea Namibia Sudan

Ethiopia Nauru Swaziland

Fiji New Zealand Tanzania

Gambia Nigeria Tonga

Ghana Pakistan Trinidad and Tobago

Grenada Palau Tuvalu

Guyana Papua New Guinea Uganda

India Philippines Vanuatu

Ireland Rwanda Zambia

Jamaica Saint Kitts and Nevis Zimbabwe

Kenya Saint Lucia

Besides these nations, English is the common language of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. A number of countries like India and Pakistan use English extensively for official communication and education, despite being non-natives. Hong Kong alone has over 7 million English speakers. A number of countries like Bangladesh use English as a major language, though it is not the official language of the country. The Other ContendersChinese is naturally the best contender for the title of Official Language of the World. Putonghua Mandarin is spoken in the People’s Republic of China (including Tibet), Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau, and Indonesia. Chinese (including all the dialects) is a language spoken by a majority of the world’s population. According to Ethnologue, about 1.14 billion

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native speakers use Chinese as their primary language, but when it comes to secondary language, it ranks low with just about 197 million speakers. In an overall comparison with English, more people of the world (about 1.34 billion) speak Chinese, while in all about 508 million people speak English. English, however, can boast of a much wider outreach than any other language in the world. It is perhaps the only language that is used extensively on every continent.Spanish, with about 358 million native speakers, is the next contender. Spanish is spoken by about 59 million non-native speakers across the globe, making the total number of Spanish-speakers about 417 million. Spanish is also not a very popular language in Asia. The growth of services and enterprises in Asian countries such as China, Russia, and India makes Spanish dominance uncertain. French again has the most number of non-native speakers apart from English.

Which are the Official Languages of the UN?All United Nations documents are written in one of the six official UN languages – Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Russian, and Spanish. These are also the languages used in all UN meetings. This means that member nations are free to speak in one of them. All UN documents are published in all of these six languages. On July 19, 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution on multilingualism providing each of the six languages equal resources and working conditions conducive to their growth. The attempt to equally endorse these six languages is a welcome one but the acceptance of the languages by a global audience still remains to be seen. As George (Eric Orwell) says in Animal Farm, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others” Does the World Need an Official Language?Some of the strongest arguments against the imposition of a global official language are raised by critics of cultural imperialism. A growing sentiment in the United States and the United Kingdom is that a presumption that knowledge of English is adequate to travel or communicate across the globe has led to an inadequate cultural exchange and has festered miscommunications on an international level. In 2008, travel blogger Terry Dip wrote, “Our entire concept of everyday reality is shaped around language. If you speak multiple languages, you start to see things in many more shades because some concepts just cannot be translated, directly or indirectly. Language, more than anything else, I think, defines a people. You can’t fully understand a culture without first learning the language.”The idea of a global official language finds its support in travelers and globetrotters, international businessmen, and in many statesmen who acknowledge that the world is quickly shrinking. With faster Internet, air travel, international partnerships, and cooperation becoming the norm rather than the exception, the world needs a simplified official language to foster healthy economic and political ties and to promote a sense of harmony. With a uniform language, travel would become much easier than it is currently, educational uniformity would seem achievable, and more miscommunications could be avoided. Is English “The Chosen One?”

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Does the world need an official common language? And if it does is English the perfect solution? Can English stake claim to being the language of the world despite more Mandarin Chinese speakers populating the globe? Does the imposition of the English language amount to cultural imperialism? On the other hand, can we ignore the growing popularity of the English language among the people of the world? With English taking the lead in digital media, and with more people in the world learning English than any other foreign language, is the title not well deserved?http://www.mapsofworld.com/infographics/poll/should-english-be-official-language-of-world-text.html

INSTRUCTIONS1. Read the text as quickly as you can, underlining an unknown words or expressions. Ask your teacher for an explanation in English.2. The teacher will divide the class into small groups of two or three and will then assign to each group a section of the text. The groups must re-read their section and practice presenting the information orally, without reference to the text. The groups will then present their information to the rest of the class in order.3. Class Discussion: Using the information contained in the text, and any other additional facts, discuss the following questions: Is English the world's lingua franca? Why has this language become so important globally? What are the pros and cons of having a world language? What may happen in the future?4. As you are listening to your classmates’ opinions, note them down in your exercise books. The teacher will be looking at your notes.5. Using the information you have gathered, write an essay with the following title:

“English, a Global Language”

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