English language
Questions
How long have you been studying English?
(1) Why is English so important?
(2) What are the things you like most and least about English?
(3) Do you think English is more or less difficult than your language?
(5) What's more important: speaking, reading, writing or listening?
(6) How important is English for you in your job or future?
(8) Do you worry about making mistakes in English?
Why do you study English?
Is English easier or more difficult to learn than other languages? Why do
you think so?
When it comes to English, what are your strengths and weaknesses?
Choose from vocabulary, grammar, fluency, pronunciation, reading,
listening, writing, and knowledge of idioms. Which do you most want to
improve?
Many native English speakers do not learn to speak other languages well.
Should they? Why? What are the benefits of learning another language?
Many languages have adopted English loanwords. Which words has your
native language borrowed from English?
Is it important to learn slang in English? Why or why not?
Will technology end the need to learn other languages? How?
Do you watch television shows in English to help improve your English
skills? How effective is this method? Can you recommend any shows to
watch?
How do you feel when you speak with a native speaker of English?
Will another language replace English as the major global language? If so,
how long will it take? Which language will be the next global language?
VOCABULARY
global language - міжнародна мова
lingua franca - міжнародна мова
General Language Terms
1. Language
2. Dialect
3. Accent
Speaking & Communication
11. Translation
12. Interpreter
13. Multilingual
14. Bilingual
Language Learning & Barriers
21. Foreign language
22. Native language
23. Mother tongue
24. Second language
25. Fluent
26. Basic level
27. Misunderstanding
28. Pronounce
29. False friends
What must a good language learner know and do?
/Fluently, fast, quickly, carefully, accurately, grammatically, effectively, native speakers/
1. He must speak …
2. He must learn …
3. He must read …
4. He must feel confident about …
5. He must express himself …
6. He can speak and is understood by …
«Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom»
«He who does not know
foreign languages of a culture»
«A different language is to possess a second
soul»
«To have another is a different vision of life»
language
does not know anything
«Language is the road about his own»
map
«Language is the dress to learn»
«It is never too late of thought»
FACTS
1. Over 30% of English words are derived from other languages
The origins of over 30% of words in the English language can be traced to French, Latin, Sanskrit, Japanese, Spanish
and many more languages! For example:
7. English is the most commonly used language on the internet
English is often referred to as the lingua franca of the internet. This means that people from different countries who
speak different languages use English to communicate with each other online. In fact, about 80% of the information
stored electronically around the world is in English. It is also the common language used in many professions, such as
science, medicine, and air traffic control. Additionally, the computing language is based on English vocabulary.
8. ‘E’ is the most common letter in the English language
Did you know that the letter “e” in the English language is the most commonly used letter? It appears in
approximately 11% of all words in the English language, which is about 6,000 more words than the runner-up letter,
“A”. You probably use this letter a lot without even realizing it! It is the letter which is usually stuck on a keyboard
and is also the second most popular key after the space bar. This letter appears in many common words like “time”
and “be”, as well as in pronouns like “he”, “she”, “me”, and “we”, and tens of thousands of words that end in “-ed”
and “-es”.
9. The word ‘run’ in English can be used in over 600 different ways
Did you know that the word 'run' in English has over 600 different uses? It's one of the most versatile words in the
language. You can use it to talk about so many things, such as running a race, running a business, running to the
shop, if the fridge is running, or even saying that apps run on your smartphone. This word has evolved over time, and
the reason why it has so many uses is because of the rise in technology. There are many other words like 'set' and
'go' that have lots of uses too. Can you think of any without looking them up?
10. An average person knows about 20,000-35,000 English words
Although it is difficult to count the number of words in the English language, it’s safe to say that it’s somewhere
between 1 and 2 million or maybe even more. Even though there are so many words available, on average, a person
knows only about 20,000 to 35,000 English words. A pretty interesting English fact, right? You might be surprised to
learn that adult native English speakers learn around 1 new word each day until middle age. Unfortunately, that's
when the learning stops.
9. English is the official language of the sky! It doesn’t matter which country they are from, all pilots speak in English
on international flights.
1. 1/4 of the world’s population speaks at least some English.
Over 80% of the information stored on computers worldwide is in English.
Носії: Рідна мова: 380 млн; L2 мовці: 750 млн+; Іноземна мова: 600–700 млн
Countries and territories where English is the native language of the majority
Countries and territories where English is an official or administrative language but not a majority native
language
