Studying English

STUDYING ENGLISH

 

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Facts about English

·         Did you know that English is the most widespread language in the world and is more widely spoken and written than any other language?

·         Did you know that over 400 million people use the English vocabulary as a mother tongue, only surpassed in numbers, but not in distribition by speakers of the many varieties of Chinese?

·         Did you know that over 700 million people, speak English, as a foreign language?

·         Did you know that of all the world's languages (over 2,700) English is arguably the richest in vocabulary; and that the Oxford English Dictionary lists about 500,000 words, and a further half-million technical and scientific terms remain uncatalogued?

·         Did you know that three-quarters of the world's mail, telexes and cables are in English?

·         Did you know that the main language used throughout the world on the internet is English?

·         Did you know that more than half of the world's technical and scientific periodicals are in English?

·         Did you know that English is the medium for 80% of the information stored in the world's computers?

·         Did you know that English is the language of navigation, aviation and of Christianity; it is the ecumenical language of the World Council of Churches?

·         Did you know that 5 of the largest broadcasting companies in the world (CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC and CBC) transmit in English, reaching millions and millions of people all over the world?

1. Where did you first hear English spoken?

2. Which English words have been adopted into your native language?

3. Where is English most commonly used in your native country? Why?

4. Do advertisements sometimes use English words? Why?

5. When did you first study English? Were you excited, bored, or indifferent?

6. How long have you studied English? What inspired you to study it? Where have you studied English?

7. Have you had any negative experiences learning English?

8. What method of learning seems to work best for you? Why?

9. Have you found an excellent tool for learning English? What?

10. Do you have a good bilingual dictionary?

11. What’s your favorite English word or expression?

12. Do you listen, speak, read, and write English every day?

13. Where do you usually speak English? Why?

14. What materials do you read in English? Why?

Vocabulary

Please circle the words that you know, and find out the meaning of the other words. Use several vocabulary words to write three questions.

adopt..........................................................................................................

inspire........................................................................................................

bilingual.....................................................................................................

audiobook..................................................................................................

monolingual...............................................................................................

eavesdrop...................................................................................................

subtitle........................................................................................................

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exclusive.....................................................................................................

inclusive.....................................................................................................

offer............................................................................................................

 

THECONVERSATIONCONTINUES…

1. Have you ever listened to an audio book? Which one? Was it enjoyable? Did you learn many new words?

2. Do you ever eavesdrop, or just listen intently, to conversations around you?

3. Do you listen to the radio? Do you have some favorite shows? Why?

4. Do you watch American movies with subtitles? Why?

5. What are some characteristics that make learning English difficult?

6. Should all government agencies exclusively use English? Why or why not?

7. Would you like to take any English test?Why? Why not?

8. What would you not feel comfortable doing in English now?

9. Where would you like to feel more comfortable speaking English?

10.In your opinion, why has English become more popular in the last 20 years?

 

English language interesting facts:

 

The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.¨

Of all the words in the English language, the word 'set' has the most definitions!

"Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

"Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel.

The shortest complete sentence in the English language is “I am.”

The most used letter in the English alphabet is ‘E’, and ‘Q’ is the least used!

Goddessship is the only word in the English language with a triple letter.

The sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” uses every letter of the alphabet!

The world’s longest-named lake has 45 letters (Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg).

In the U.S. there are 18 doctors called Dr. Doctor, and one called Dr. Surgeon. There is also a dermatologist named Dr. Rash, a psychiatrist called Dr. Couch and an anesthesiologist named Dr. Gass.

The longest word in the English language is ‘pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis’ which describes a lung disease caused by breathing in particles of volcanic matter or a similar fine dust.

In the English language there are only three words that have a letter that repeats six times. Degenerescence (six e’s), Indivisibility (six i’s), and nonannouncement (six n’s).

The only three words in the English language to have 2 consecutive u’s is vacuum, residuum, and continuum.

The very first dictionary “The American” took Noah Webster 20 years to put together.

Quotations

Read aloud all the quotations. Pick your favorites and discuss.

1. “I speak two languages, Body and English.”—Mae West (1892–1980), actress

2. “Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country.”—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. President

3. “Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to speak it to?”—Clarence Darrow (1857–1938), American lawyer

4. “England and America are two countries divided by a common language.”—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish playwright, Nobel Prize winner

5. “Next to money, English is the leading international language.”—Evan Esar (1899–1995), American humorist

6. “The most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.’”—Ronald Reagan (1911–2004), 40th U.S. President

7. “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”—Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936), British author and Nobel laureate

8. “In this country, it doesn’t make any difference where you were born. It doesn’t make any difference who your parents were. It doesn’t make any difference if, like me, you couldn’t even speak English until you were in your twenties.”—Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947–), California Governor and American actor

9. “Apparently Arnold was inspired by President Bush, who proved you can be a successful politician in this country even if English is your second language.”—Conan O’Brien (1963–), American talk show host