Конспект уроку "The importance of learning foreign languages".

Olena Linchuk,

A teacher of English,

Secondary school #7,

Dubno,

Rivne region

         The importance of learning foreign languages.

Objectives: by the end of the lesson students will be able to

- enrich vocabulary on the topic;

- improve their speaking skills maintaining free discussion;

- interact with their peers on the topic;

- develop creative imagination in communicative activity, critical thinking, and abilities to bring knowledge and skills into a new situation;

Equipment: handouts.

                                                       Procedure.                                                                                                                                                  

I. Introduction. Warm-up.

Hello, students, glad to meet you again. I would like to start our lesson with a joke. “Once the cat tried to catch a mouse. But the mouse runs into his hole. The cat stood by the hole and started barking. The mouse thought: if a dog barking, the cat surely ran away – and came out the hole. The cat got him, brought the meal to his children and told them: now you understand why it is important and very useful to learn foreign languages!“                          So the topic of our today’s lesson is clear for everyone, isn’t it?

    The previous lesson you learned some interesting facts about English language from the article “THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE” and got acquainted with different sayings about foreign languages. Now I’ll distribute the strips of paper with the parts of sayings. You may move around in the classroom and find a person with the appropriate part of the saying. Match these parts and join in with the partner to continue our work during the lesson in pairs.

T: Well done. I guess it is time to turn to your home assignment.

II. Main part

1. Checking home assignment.  Speaking.

T: For today’s lesson you were to prepare your comments on these sayings. Will you give your arguments and explain why it’s necessary for you to know foreign languages. If you accept the other person’s viewpoint express your agreement using the following expressions: That’s true.  I completely agree with you. That’s exactly what I think. I fully agree with this opinion. Absolutely. That’s right.

P1: From my point of view, everybody knows mother tongue but it is useful to know foreign languages. I agree with the quotation «He, who knows no foreign language, doesn't know his own one”, that’s why it is very important to know at least one foreign language - English, German, French, Spanish or any other one. English is a very popular language. It is studied at schools, colleges and universities. English is spoken practically all over the world. Nowadays more than 1 billion people speak English. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. English is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the Republic of South Africa and the Irish Republic. It is also spoken as a second language by many people in India, Pakistan. English is one of 6 official languages of the United Nations Organization and other political organizations.

P2: That’s true. I suppose that “English is the key which opens the door of the world” because it is the language of a great literature. It's the language of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, O’ Henry, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll Oscar Wilde, Alan Milne, Ernest Hemingway and many other writers and poets. Everyone, who is interested in science, business, and medicine and knows English, can read scientific and medical literature in the foreign newspapers, magazines and books in the original.

P3:  I completely agree with you. We can see a lot of advertisements signboards, and names in the streets. If we don’t know any foreign languages well, we can’t read and understand them. Now we buy many clothes from other countries and if we didn’t know English we couldn’t read anything about the size of this or that thing. It would not be clear for us what it was made of.  So I am sure that “The limit of your language is the limit of your world”.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

P4:  That’s exactly what I think because to know English today is absolutely necessary for every educated person, for every good specialist. English is the language of international communication of aviation, shipping and sports, science and great literature, business and politics, tourism and technology. It is also the major language of diplomacy. English is the main language of popular music, advertising, home computers and video games. English is a global language nowadays.

P5:  Absolutely. English is very important to get a good and well-paid job. Some people learn languages because they need them for their work, to operate a computer and use the Internet (it’s the language of computer technology). Knowing English people can exchange experience and share information, participate in cultural and educational projects, cooperate in trade companies.

P6:  I fully agree with this opinion. As for me, it's interesting to know more about culture and traditions of other foreign countries. “So many languages you know, so many times you are a man” It is difficult to travel abroad without knowledge of any foreign language. If you want to ask something, you can use English. Speaking English, you will not have problems looking for a room or a meal anywhere in the world. When you speak English to people, they are often more friendly and helpful because the greatest luxury in the world is the luxury of human communication.                                                                                                                                                                

P7: That’s right. I believe that “Language is a dress of thoughts” because                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

knowledge of any foreign language can help us express our feelings and needs. Knowing English we can apologize and persuade, describe different things and prove our ideas. Problems of the 21st century, such as the problems of war and peace, ecology, demography, democracy and many others cannot be solved if people do not speak the same language. Knowledge of English gives us opportunities to understand culture and traditions of other countries, develop friendship and understanding among people. So to avoid misunderstanding we should have a good command of the language.                                                                                        

2. Pair work.

T: I see you are aware of importance of learning foreign languages. Let’s find out whether you are a persistent English learner or not. Do the quiz in pairs. Interview each other and report on your partner’s results.    

                                         LANGUAGE LEARNER QUIZ

 1. Do you find it easy to talk to people who you don’t know? 

a) No, it’s difficult and I don’t like it. (0)

b) Yes, it’s easy and I enjoy it. (2)

c) I like it, but I find it difficult. (1)

2. Are you usually the person who does the talking in your group of friends?

a)  Yes, usually. (2)

b) Yes, sometimes. (1)

c) Not usually. (0)

  3. Do you like talking English in front of all your class?

a) No, not at all – (0)

b) I don’t mind– (1)

c) Yes, I enjoy it. (2)

4. Are you interested in English people and things?

a) Yes, I am interested in everything English. (2)

b) I am interested in some things. (1)

c) No, they don’t interest me at all. (0)

5. Are you good at imitating accents?

a) Not bad. (1)

b) No, I am terrible (0)

c) Yes, quite good (2)

6. How do you feel if you make mistakes when you are speaking English?

a) I feel stupid (1)

b) I don’t mind (2)

c) I don’t speak a lot, I don’t like making mistakes. (0)

7. If you find a word which you don’t understand when you are reading, what do you do?

a) Ignore it and continue reading (1)

b) Look up the dictionary immediately. (0)

c) Try to guess the meaning (2)

8. If you are trying to say something in English but you can’t think of the right word, what do you do?

a) Change the topic (1)

b) Use a word in my own language (0)

c) Try to say what I want with a longer phrase (2) 

                  Count up your scores and comment on your partner’s results:

My partner has scored 12-16 points.  So s/he is a confident, friendly person. S/he is talkative and enjoys learning a foreign language. S/he learns quickly because s/he tries to practice speaking as much as s/he can. S/he often makes mistakes but s/he doesn’t mind: it’s a part of learning a foreign language.

My partner has scored 8-11 points.  So s/he is 

a little nervous about making mistakes and feeling stupid. Because of this s/he is shy about speaking a foreign language. S/he is probably happier when s/he is writing. But s/he is interested in knowing English, so s/he has to work hard.

My partner has scored 4-7 points.  So s/he  

feels a bit stupid sometimes when s/he talks a foreign language. S/he thinks s/he makes a lot of mistakes and s/he tries not to speak much.                                            My partner has scored 0-3points.  So s/he  

is not a very good language learner at the moment.

3. Reading.

1) Pre-reading activities: Read the definitions of the words and answer the following questions:

1. To be fluent - able to speak, read or write language especially foreign language, easily and well. – What foreign language are you fluent in?

2. Fluently (adverb) - What language would you like to speak fluently?

3. Command [kə'ma:nd ] of the language – your knowledge of the language -                 

Do you have a good command of English?                                            

4. Ability [ə’biləti] - fact that you can do something. -                                                             Do you have the ability to speak French fluently?

5. Skills - the ability to do something well. -  One of the most important aspects of communicating is to develop good listening skills. What skills have you developed?                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

6. Require [ri’kwaiə]- to need something. - Learning English requires much practice in reading, listening, writing and speaking, doesn’t it?                                                                                                                                               

7. Efforts [‘efəts] – the use of physical or mental energy needed to do something -                      Do you make efforts while learning English?

8. To pronounce [prə’nauns] - to say the sounds of letters or words -                                                    Can you pronounce English words correctly?                                                                  

9. Pronunciation [prə’nʌnsi’ei∫n] - the way in which someone speaks a foreign language. -  How do you work at your pronunciation? -

10. Spell - to say or write the letters of a word in the correct order. -                                                                   Can you spell the word ‘beautiful’?-                                                                       

11. Acquire [ə’kwaiə] - to get knowledge or skills -                                                                       

Have you acquired the ability to speak English fluently?

2) While-reading activity:

Fill in the gaps in the following articles about learning English with words from the list below: acquire; spell; pronunciation; command of the language; pronounce; efforts; skills; requires; fluently; mother tongue.

1. Learning English is not an easy thing. You may not love learning English. And if you love it, sometimes you are so lazy, bored, and tired that you don’t want to learn new words and grammar rules. You probably can’t understand English-language TV and talk to native speakers 1) __, have problems with your 2) __while speaking and can’t 3) __some English words correctly. Sometimes you worry that you will not 4) __the sounds properly or that you will look stupid so you can’t talk at all. Your English isn’t perfect yet. But it doesn’t mean you cannot become a good English learner. Try to be more confident and you will enjoy it more.  Just imagine you can talk to native speakers just like you talk in your 5) __. You should know that it is possible to learn English really well. You have already known some English. That is a big success! Now it’s time for more success. Everything depends on you.

Key: 1) fluently; 2) pronunciation; 3) spell; 4) pronounce; 5) mother tongue.

2. There are many ways of improving your English. Learning English 1) __actions. If you really want to have a good 2) __you should get the 3) __in listening to native speakers and songs in English and try to recognize the words and imitate the sounds and intonation; watch satellite TV programs, video films, cartoons, news; read English newspapers, magazines and interesting books; find English-language websites with interesting information; make up conversations and practise dialogues. The fastest way to learn anything is to do it – again and again until you get it right.

          Key: 1) requires; 2) command of the language; 3) skills.

          3. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and1) __. You have to work hard with dictionaries and learn poems and texts by heart if you want to know the language well. Use your English whenever you can. This is very important. The more you use English, the more you will want to learn it. Take notes in English; put English books around your room.  The more English material you have around you, the faster you will learn and begin “thinking in English”. Speak English with your friends whenever you can. Don’t worry about mistakes because they are part of learning English. Just relax and practise speaking as much as you can. Never give up and you will 2) __ the ability to speak English fluently.                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Key: 1) efforts; 2) acquire.

3) Post- reading activity: Select the best title for every part from the list below         

”Practice makes perfect”

“Learning language has a beginning but no end”.                                                                                                      “No pains, no gains”

4.  Focus on grammar.

 SO + Auxiliary + Subject (pronoun). It is similar to using too at the end of a sentence.

Neither + Auxiliary + Subject (pronoun). It is similar to using either at the end of a sentence, although neither is more commonly used, especially in spoken English

5. Interaction.

Express your attitude to different activities at the English lessons in turn to show agreement with positive and negative statements using so and neither

I (don’t) prefer to               

I can / can’t

 I’m (not)

I am (not) eager to 

I (don’t) find it difficult to

1)talk to native speakers                                                                                                                                       

2) take notes in English

3) use my English whenever I can

4) recognize the words and imitate the sounds and intonation                                                                   5) acquire a good command of English                                                  

6) confident in my pronunciation                                                                                                                             7) become a good English learner                                                                                                                  8) understand English language TV                                                                                                                         9) pronounce difficult words

10) spell some English words                                                                                                                                      11) learn and remember grammar

12) speak English fluently                                                                                                                             13) think in English                              

6. Role-playing.

Use the text above and following plan of your imaginary conversation.                                                       Assume that your friend is meeting you to ask how you are.

P1 – You are worried. You feel frustrated. Your English isn’t perfect yet. Tell your friend about your problems with learning foreign language.

P2 - Reassure him/ her and give advice how to master English.

P1 – Thank your friend for his/ her support

Use the following helpful expressions:

Asking for advice

What do you think I should do?

Can I ask your opinion about the best ways of mastering foreign language?

Giving advice

I think you should…

If I were you, I would …

Saying thanks

Thank you indeed.

That is very kind of you to be helpful.

Responding to thanks

Don’t mention it.

Any time.

My pleasure

III. Summing-up

T: I’d like to finish our lesson with a joke:

His English is wonderful, he speaks very well,                                                                  His accent is perfect, you really can't tell                                                                         That he isn't a native of the USA.

There's only one problem, he has nothing to say.

I wish that you have always something to say despite your worries about mistakes. He that never climbed never fell. Never give up learning English. Remember: everything is possible for a willing heart. Believe in your abilities, improve your skills, and never stop learning.