Unit 7 Aspects of Education (Ⅰ)
Part Ⅰ Getting ready
A The following words and phrases will appear in this unit. Listen carefully and study the definitions.
1. extrovert: a person who likes to spend time in activities with other people rather than attending to his own thoughts and feelings
2. tyranny: the use of cruel or unjust power to rule a person or a country
3. plateau: a period of time during which the active development of something is not continued
4. posh accent: very fine and splendid way of speaking a language
5. intelligibility: speech or writing that can be understood
6. figure out: work out, understand by thinking
7. crossword puzzle: a game in which words are fitted into a pattern of numbered squares in answer to numbered clues in such a way that words can be read across as well as down when the game is completed
8. spoof: (哄骗)
9. distortion: something which twists the true meaning of something
10. mundane: ordinary, with nothing new in it
B You are going to hear some advice about learning a language. Complete the following paragraphs.
1.People are delighted if you can speak their language, and they don't care how well you speak it. They are not upset when you make mistakes. I think in order to learn, you mustn't be afraid of making mistakes.
2. I'm a very shy person and it's not easy for me to talk to strangers. But you have to force yourself to talk to people. That's what I did and it really helped me.
3. I think the best language learners are people with a sense of humor. Try to laugh at your own mistakes and don't take yourself too seriously. You'll find that other people will be sympathetic when you make mistakes.
4. I took two courses in business studies. I read, studied, listened to lectures and took notes in English. It was a very good experience for me because I didn't have time to think about the language. I recommend forgetting about the grammar and thinking about the meaning instead.
5. In my experience, learning a foreign language always involves a lot of time, a lot of boring work and lots of problems! In short, if you want to learn another language you have to work hard.
6. Try to read as much as you can. I think that's the best way to improve your English and to learn more new words. I always try to read something in English every day.
Part Ⅱ Are you a good language learner?
A You are going to hear some advice on how to be a good language learner. While listening for the first time, add more key words in the notes column. After the second listening, complete the following outline.
The topic I'd like to deal with this morning is what makes a good language learner. This is an eternal problem, and one to which there's no real solution. I would however like you to think about the situation of learners outside the classroom because in many ways it would be true to say that there are more people in the world who speak a foreign language or a second language who didn't learn it in a classroom than there are who did and I think this awareness of the success of out-of-classroom learning provides us with a key to how in-classroom learning can be successful.
Let us look then at the characteristics of a good language learner. I think motivation is certainly going to be very high on our list. Obviously there are different kinds of motivation; there is what we call instrumental motivation, this is the kind of motivation which in theory persuades a school pupil to learn a language in order to pass an examination — it's external motivation, something which is imposed on the learner. The opposite of this is integrative motivation, the kind of motivation which gets an immigrant in a country or someone who's married to a speaker of another language to master the tongue much more rapidly than someone learning in a classroom. Arguably most people possess mixed motivation although it would appear from research that integrative motivation does give much better results, certainly as far as speed of learning goes.
Personality is obviously another major factor to be borne in mind — not necessarily, I'm not necessarily saying that you need — er how shall I say? — extroverts to learn a foreign language, but someone who has the confidence to make mistakes is always going to learn much more quickly than someone who is afraid to experiment.
Intelligence isn't a factor, I feel, in language learning — I would prefer to use the term learning skills. Learning skills are those abilities which make one person progress at a much faster speed than the others; they include having a good ear, efficient revision, being able to monitor your own speech, suitable organization of learning generally.
However, if we go back to our starting point, which was the great, the much greater number of speakers of languages who have learnt outside classrooms I think it gives us the key to what I believe is the most important factor, and that's independence. A learner who frees him or herself from the tyranny of the teacher and the classroom and who makes use of twenty-four hours a day for learning, who, in a word, accepts responsibility for learning, is always going to be not just a good language learner but the best. Conversely, someone who won't accept this responsibility is always going to remain at what we call a plateau — they've failed to make progress and blame their teachers. In reality it is themselves that they should blame.
Part Ⅲ Foreign accents
A You are going to hear the first section of a passage by Sidney Rudgeon, a tourist guide, on his attitude to the way foreigners speak English. While listening for the first time, focus on the key words, add more key words if you can in the left-hand column. After the second listening, complete the summary in the right-hand column with the help of the notes.
A
Section I
As far as I'm concerned, I do tend to judge people I meet by their accents. I don't mean that I'm a sort of snob, and only like people with posh accents, but I never feel comfortable with a new person until I've been able to place them from the way they speak. If it's an English person, I feel much more at ease if I can say "Ah, he comes from Liverpool", or "He's probably been to public school". I suppose then I know what to talk about and what to expect from the other person.
The same is true of foreigners. Personally, I prefer a foreigner to speak with a recognizable foreign accent, so that I know that I'm talking to a Frenchman, a Ghanaian, a Pole, and so on. So for me, it seems a bit pointless for foreigners to try desperately hard to get rid of their national accent and try to speak BBC English. If someone is clearly French, I know there's no point in talking about cricket or making jokes about the Irish. And frankly, I think it even sounds more attractive. I can't really explain why, but if a person has a foreign accent, they seem to be more interesting, even if they are saying the most ordinary things.
B You are going to hear the second section of the passage by Sidney Rudgeon, a tourist guide, on his attitude to the way foreigners speak English. While listening for the first time, focus on the key words, add more key words if you can in the left-hand column. After the second listening, complete the summary in the right-hand column with the help of the notes.
Section II
Mind you, there is a limit to intelligibility. If the accent is so strong that you have a struggle to understand what they are saying, then that gets in the way of the conversation, and the flow is broken while you try to sort out the sounds into meaningful bits. I don't mean an accent as strong as that. I'm talking about the kind of accent where you can tell immediately which country the person comes from, but where they've got enough English to carry on a good conversation without searching for words, or messing up the grammar so that you lose the thread. I suppose it's the kind of accent most foreigners have, really. To be honest, it's only a very few who have such a good ear that they produce more or less genuine British English, and even then it can be quite amusing because they may have picked up a clearly regional accent, or even a very upper-class accent which doesn't fit in with their character at all. But most foreigners who learn English are desperately keen to get rid of their foreign accents and waste a lot of time trying to do so.
Part Ⅳ More about the topic: How to Enlarge Your Vocabulary?
To language learners, vocabulary is important. They spare no effort to remember as many words and expressions as they can. With a large vocabulary, one can carry on a good conversation without searching for words. Yet the ways to enlarge one's vocabulary are different from person to person.
Woman 1:I learn a lot of new words by reading newspapers. I look up each new word in my dictionary.
Man:Yes, I like reading newspapers, too, but I don't use a dictionary. I can usually guess the meaning of new words. I also read sports magazines because I'm interested in sports and I can guess what the words mean.
Woman 2:It's different for me — I learn new words from TV and films. I try to figure out the words from the pronunciation. Then I look them up in a dictionary or ask my husband to explain.
Woman 1:You're lucky — I haven't got an American husband! I think the biggest problem is remembering new words. I know I should keep a vocabulary book but I'm too lazy so I don't.
Woman 2:Well, I keep vocabulary cards and I write each word with its translation.
Man:Oh, I think it's better to write the word in an English sentence. That's what I do in my vocabulary book. And sometimes I group together all the words related to one topic, such as football or camping.
Woman 2:That's a good idea. I used to try and learn ten words each day, but that didn't work.
Woman 1:No, it didn't work for me either. You can't remember the words if you don't use them. I do a lot of crossword puzzles and that helps me.
Woman 2:I try and use new words when I talk to people or write to them.
Part Ⅴ Do you know ...?
A The following words and phrases will appear in this part. Listen carefully and study the definitions.
1. Punch: a humorous, monthly magazine in Britain
2. Franglais: a version of French using many words and phrases borrowed from English
3. Franglais column: Punch has a regular feature on Franglais
4. adaption: adoption
5. the war: the Second World War 1939 - 1945
6. the box: television
Alex: Hello, Carole? Is that you?
Carole: Alex! What on earth are you doing ... a stupid question, you're doing the same as I am.
Alex: What are you laughing at?
Carole: Well, actually I'm just reading this article in Punch. It's the Franglais column. It's very funny.
Alex: Oh, yes, yes, er ...
Carole: I know this is only a spoof, but I think these adaptions of English into French or French into English can be very funny. How does it occur actually?
Alex: Oh, I suppose it came after the war, you know when the Americans were in France and a lot of English words and expressions came into French. Er ...
Carole: Oh, I see, yes, so ...
Alex: But after that there was a strong reaction against it, I think.
Carole: You mean people don't ... aren't very keen on it. A sort of linguistic imperialism.
Alex: Exactly, yes, er, take the ex ... example like "lift" you see. We've got no, no word in French for lift.
Carole: You mean lift, the thing that goes up and down ...
Alex: No, no. No, no, I mean, erm, would you like a lift home or something like that.
Carole: Mm.
Alex: Would you like a lift. What would you say in French? You would say something like, er, can I take you home with my car?
Carole: Oh, I see, so ...
Alex: It's so much easier to say er, would you like a lift, you see.
Carole: ... I see so, in fact it's often for words that there's no equivalent for in ...
Alex: Yes, that ... that's it, yes.
Carole: ... in French.
Alex: Yes.
Carole: Or something ... I suppose the same would apply to something like erm, "le weekend".
Alex: Yes, yes. That goes a bit ... that goes back a bit. Yes, I suppose it was something er, before, even before the first World War.
Carole: Oh, that one's really old. Are there any more recent examples?
Alex: Er, oh yes. "Speakerine" is a good example.
Carole: Speakerine?
Alex: Speakerine, yes.
Carole: That doesn't even sound French. That sounds more German.
Alex: Yes, it's a bit of a monster actually. You know, it means an announcer or a, a newsreader.
Carole: Oh, I see, on the, on the box!
Alex: Yes.
Carole: And there are other things, aren't there, that are distortions like that. Erm ... oh, what's the one I can, erm ... "le smoking" ...
Alex: Ah, le smoking, yes.
Carole: ... which means, er, dinner jacket in English ...
Alex: And we say smoking in French. It's very strange, in fact. But you've got another one, "the training", the training. And you ...
Carole: What's that?
Alex: Oh, it's like, it's like a pyjama in French. And you will say, I don't know, er ...
Carole: The pyjama?
Alex: ... children it's getting late, erm, put, put your training on and go to bed.
Carole: How peculiar, because I mean, training means something quite different. Are there any other reasons why we borrow, why the French borrow words, borrow English words?
Alex: Er, snob value, I suppose.
Carole: Oh, really.
Alex: Oh, yes. Er ...
Carole: You mean English words are snobbish in French?
Alex: Yes. They would, they would take a word like "building" and think it's much better to live in a building than to be — to live in a house.
Carole: How strange, because building is such ...
Alex: So we say building; we are living in the building.
Carole: It's such a mundane word in English. I mean, it sounds just so ordinary.
Alex: Yes, it is.
Carole: But surely, I mean something like "le parking" which is very common, that, that can't have snob value, can it?
Alex: No, no, of course, I mean just the French is cumbersome.
Carole: Mm.
Receptionist: Mrs. Harding, could you go through now please.
Carole: Oh dear! I've got to go.
Alex: Bye, bye, Carole.
Carole: I hope it's not too painful, Alex. Thanks, bye. |