Reading

Read the texts about when people started learning English.

A Eve

I can’t remember when I first started learning English because it was – and still is – the language my family speaks at home. You see, my mum is English and she and my dad (who’s French) thought it was a good idea for their children to speak English at home and French at school. It worked! My sisters and I speak both languages well, and I can go from one to the other without thinking.

B Igor

I never learned English at school because our second language was Spanish. I think children today learn English in school here – not like when I was young. I learned English when I worked in London for a year after university. I was 

so worried about the language! But I found that after a few weeks I knew what people were saying and I could say quite a lot. I think you learn a language best when you really need to, not just for passing exams at school.

C Alina

My first English lessons were when I was about seven, at school, but we didn’t do very much! I don’t remember anything from those lessons. We had one lesson every week and I forgot everything between the lessons. The only lesson that is still in my memory is when we imagined we were different fruits. I was a lemon and I walked around the room saying ‘I am a lemon!’ I thought it was very silly.

D Manuela

I didn’t start learning English until I was 11 and it was so difficult. There were 30 students in my class and we never said anything in English. The teacher taught us grammar rules and we learned long lists of vocabulary for tests. I didn’t understand why I was learning this strange language. The teacher didn’t show us English films or magazines and we never played any games. The lessons were boring, so I didn’t learn anything. I don’t think our teacher was very good!

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Who said that phrase?

1. I think it’s important to have fun when you’re learning a new language.

Read the texts about when people started learning English.

A Eve

I can’t remember when I first started learning English because it was – and still is – the language my family speaks at home. You see, my mum is English and she and my dad (who’s French) thought it was a good idea for their children to speak English at home and French at school. It worked! My sisters and I speak both languages well, and I can go from one to the other without thinking.

B Igor

I never learned English at school because our second language was Spanish. I think children today learn English in school here – not like when I was young. I learned English when I worked in London for a year after university. I was 

so worried about the language! But I found that after a few weeks I knew what people were saying and I could say quite a lot. I think you learn a language best when you really need to, not just for passing exams at school.

C Alina

My first English lessons were when I was about seven, at school, but we didn’t do very much! I don’t remember anything from those lessons. We had one lesson every week and I forgot everything between the lessons. The only lesson that is still in my memory is when we imagined we were different fruits. I was a lemon and I walked around the room saying ‘I am a lemon!’ I thought it was very silly.

D Manuela

I didn’t start learning English until I was 11 and it was so difficult. There were 30 students in my class and we never said anything in English. The teacher taught us grammar rules and we learned long lists of vocabulary for tests. I didn’t understand why I was learning this strange language. The teacher didn’t show us English films or magazines and we never played any games. The lessons were boring, so I didn’t learn anything. I don’t think our teacher was very good!

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Who said that phrase?

2. I’m not the only one in my family who can speak two languages.

Read the texts about when people started learning English.

A Eve

I can’t remember when I first started learning English because it was – and still is – the language my family speaks at home. You see, my mum is English and she and my dad (who’s French) thought it was a good idea for their children to speak English at home and French at school. It worked! My sisters and I speak both languages well, and I can go from one to the other without thinking.

B Igor

I never learned English at school because our second language was Spanish. I think children today learn English in school here – not like when I was young. I learned English when I worked in London for a year after university. I was 

so worried about the language! But I found that after a few weeks I knew what people were saying and I could say quite a lot. I think you learn a language best when you really need to, not just for passing exams at school.

C Alina

My first English lessons were when I was about seven, at school, but we didn’t do very much! I don’t remember anything from those lessons. We had one lesson every week and I forgot everything between the lessons. The only lesson that is still in my memory is when we imagined we were different fruits. I was a lemon and I walked around the room saying ‘I am a lemon!’ I thought it was very silly.

D Manuela

I didn’t start learning English until I was 11 and it was so difficult. There were 30 students in my class and we never said anything in English. The teacher taught us grammar rules and we learned long lists of vocabulary for tests. I didn’t understand why I was learning this strange language. The teacher didn’t show us English films or magazines and we never played any games. The lessons were boring, so I didn’t learn anything. I don’t think our teacher was very good!

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Who said that phrase?

3. I didn’t speak any English in my first English lessons at school. 

Read the texts about when people started learning English.

A Eve

I can’t remember when I first started learning English because it was – and still is – the language my family speaks at home. You see, my mum is English and she and my dad (who’s French) thought it was a good idea for their children to speak English at home and French at school. It worked! My sisters and I speak both languages well, and I can go from one to the other without thinking.

B Igor

I never learned English at school because our second language was Spanish. I think children today learn English in school here – not like when I was young. I learned English when I worked in London for a year after university. I was 

so worried about the language! But I found that after a few weeks I knew what people were saying and I could say quite a lot. I think you learn a language best when you really need to, not just for passing exams at school.

C Alina

My first English lessons were when I was about seven, at school, but we didn’t do very much! I don’t remember anything from those lessons. We had one lesson every week and I forgot everything between the lessons. The only lesson that is still in my memory is when we imagined we were different fruits. I was a lemon and I walked around the room saying ‘I am a lemon!’ I thought it was very silly.

D Manuela

I didn’t start learning English until I was 11 and it was so difficult. There were 30 students in my class and we never said anything in English. The teacher taught us grammar rules and we learned long lists of vocabulary for tests. I didn’t understand why I was learning this strange language. The teacher didn’t show us English films or magazines and we never played any games. The lessons were boring, so I didn’t learn anything. I don’t think our teacher was very good!

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Who said that phrase?

4. My parents are different nationalities.

Read the texts about when people started learning English.

A Eve

I can’t remember when I first started learning English because it was – and still is – the language my family speaks at home. You see, my mum is English and she and my dad (who’s French) thought it was a good idea for their children to speak English at home and French at school. It worked! My sisters and I speak both languages well, and I can go from one to the other without thinking.

B Igor

I never learned English at school because our second language was Spanish. I think children today learn English in school here – not like when I was young. I learned English when I worked in London for a year after university. I was 

so worried about the language! But I found that after a few weeks I knew what people were saying and I could say quite a lot. I think you learn a language best when you really need to, not just for passing exams at school.

C Alina

My first English lessons were when I was about seven, at school, but we didn’t do very much! I don’t remember anything from those lessons. We had one lesson every week and I forgot everything between the lessons. The only lesson that is still in my memory is when we imagined we were different fruits. I was a lemon and I walked around the room saying ‘I am a lemon!’ I thought it was very silly.

D Manuela

I didn’t start learning English until I was 11 and it was so difficult. There were 30 students in my class and we never said anything in English. The teacher taught us grammar rules and we learned long lists of vocabulary for tests. I didn’t understand why I was learning this strange language. The teacher didn’t show us English films or magazines and we never played any games. The lessons were boring, so I didn’t learn anything. I don’t think our teacher was very good!

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Who said that phrase?

5. It’s important to have a real reason to learn a language.

Read the texts about when people started learning English.

A Eve

I can’t remember when I first started learning English because it was – and still is – the language my family speaks at home. You see, my mum is English and she and my dad (who’s French) thought it was a good idea for their children to speak English at home and French at school. It worked! My sisters and I speak both languages well, and I can go from one to the other without thinking.

B Igor

I never learned English at school because our second language was Spanish. I think children today learn English in school here – not like when I was young. I learned English when I worked in London for a year after university. I was 

so worried about the language! But I found that after a few weeks I knew what people were saying and I could say quite a lot. I think you learn a language best when you really need to, not just for passing exams at school.

C Alina

My first English lessons were when I was about seven, at school, but we didn’t do very much! I don’t remember anything from those lessons. We had one lesson every week and I forgot everything between the lessons. The only lesson that is still in my memory is when we imagined we were different fruits. I was a lemon and I walked around the room saying ‘I am a lemon!’ I thought it was very silly.

D Manuela

I didn’t start learning English until I was 11 and it was so difficult. There were 30 students in my class and we never said anything in English. The teacher taught us grammar rules and we learned long lists of vocabulary for tests. I didn’t understand why I was learning this strange language. The teacher didn’t show us English films or magazines and we never played any games. The lessons were boring, so I didn’t learn anything. I don’t think our teacher was very good!

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Who said that phrase?

6. It didn’t take me long to learn English.