新西兰英语 809 International Languages Week

 　　This week, from 18th to 24th, is International Languages Week. Listen to International Languages Week 2012 to hear about this.

　　A recent report by the Royal Society of New Zealand said that more than 160 languages are spoken in New Zealand. We have a large diversity of cultures and languages in our country.

　　However, we are not doing well with language learning¹ in schools. The report said that we need more people who can speak Asian languages if we want our country to succeed internationally. Australia is starting to add Asian languages to the school curriculum² and we should do the same, especially Indonesian. Indonesia is our nearest Asian country, it has the 4th largest population in the world and it has a fast growing economy.

　　Vocabulary

　　?diversity – variety, many differences (it has a positive meaning)

　　?school curriculum – subjects that are studied

　　Questions

　　What do you think “succeed internationally” means? Does it mean sell our exports internationally? Does it mean become important politically? Does it mean to attract more international students?

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 curriculum   

n.课程，（学校等的）全部课程

参考例句：

• Is German on your school's curriculum?你们学校有德语课吗？
• The English curriculum should stress both composition and reading.英语课程对作文和阅读应同样重视。