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Файл:Речевой практикум по английскому языку. В 2 частях. Ч.2. Учебное пособие
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impression that it is the world’s most widely-spoken language. If this
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were true, it would, of course, bring benefits for worldwide
communication and understanding, though it could also possibly
become a threat to cultural diversity. English certainly seems to be
everywhere, from films to pop music and TV, and from business to
sci ence and ot h er fields.
Information varies , but suggests that about 75 % of the pages
on th e Web a re i n Eng lis h. Yet Eng lis h is t he mot her to ngue f or onl y
5.4 % of the world’s population, while a further 7 % of the world’s
population are proficient speakers of E nglish. This means tha t only
around 12 % of the world’s population can communicate well “in
English”. This figure is nowhere near the total number of people
speaking Chinese Languages, which, at 20.7 %, is much higher.
More and more people are accessing the Internet nowadays,
including many companies wanting to conduct e-business. As a
consequence, the position of English is beginning to change. Both
Europe and Asia are growth areas, with businesses increasing their use
of the Internet and people would apparently rather buy things online if
they can order in their own language.
It has been predicted that by 2003 only one third of Internet
users will be speakers of English. As a result, companies wanting to
reach world markets are beginning to realize that they will have to
translate their websites for their various customers.
However, creating a multilingual website is not an easy task.
Companies wishing to translate their sites for different markets basically
face both technical and linguistic problems. They are unable to use
automated translation systems, which already exist in the market, simply
because the quality is not good enough for professional use. Businesses
all over the world are now faced with this huge challenge.
Moreover, translating websites is only the beginning.
Customers with questions or problems will need to discuss matters in
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their own language, for example, why prices will need to be in the
6
7
ABmother
market
cultural
tongue
fast
diversity
access
business
target
th e Internet
conduct
pace
local curre ncy . Dates will also need to be in the right format to avoid
confusion. Companies will need to ad apt their advertising materials
so as n ot to off end dif ferent cultu res. T hey may a lso hav e to cha nge
their way of doing business to suit certain customers – in Japan, for
example, as the Japanese do not tend to give their credit card details
over the Web. There are also legal issues to take consideration.
Such changes will not happen overnight. It is impossible to say
exactly how many texts there are on the Web as the number is changing
all the time. One thing which is certain, however, is that a growth in the
time. One thing which is certain, however, is that a growth in the use of
Internet is guaranteed. Companies doing e-business simply need time to
translate their sites into the various languages necessary to do business.
Meanwhile, more and more material in different languages is being added
to the Web at a fast pace.
While all this is happening, local companies, with few
employees, doing e-business only in the language of their target
market and who are aware of the cultural aspects of that market, will
certainly be at an advantage. The problems of language and culture
could well limit larger companies from exp anding a nd so off er mor e
opp ortunities to smaller b usinesses in poor er area s of the world.
Exercise 20. In pairs, look at the highlighted words in the text and try
to explain them.
Exercise 21. Match the words. Make sentences using them.
Example: My mother tongue is Polish.
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Exercise 22. Discussion. Scan the text, underline and note down the
reasons why websites will need to become multilingual in the near
fut ure. T hen, in p airs , discuss any ot her rea sons y ou can t hink of f or
developing multilingual websites.
Exercise 23. In pairs , discus s the f ollow ing questi ons.
Ø How might a multilingual Internet help you in your
studies/work?
Ø C an you think of any drawbacks to such a system?
TEXT D
Exercise 24. Read, learn and remember the following expressions, try
to us e them in your ow n sent ences:
to make recommendations for improving language skills;
regi o nal an d m i nority languages;
linguistic diversity;
to gain a competitive advantage;
less sufficient;
mother tongue;
to deal w it h different langua g es;
disseminating best practices on language strategies;
targeting the official language;
to master the language of the consumers;
to have acc ess to th e beha viour and at titud es of others;
to target English as a priority;
to meet companies’ language needs;
challenges facing multinational companies;
to integr ate employee s int o their workf orces.
Exercise 25. Read and translate the text.
Companies should invest mor e in for eig n- l ang uag e ski l ls
Following the ELAN report, Leonard Orban, the EU
Commissioner for Multilingualism, set up the "Business Forum for
Multilingualism" to make recommendations for improving language
skills in EU companies Orban speaks about the role of foreign
languages in business.
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1) Why is multilingualism so important for the EU?
The EU already has 23 official languages, more than
60 regional and minority languages and hundreds of other languages
spoken by people originally from outside the EU. We now want to
make full use of this linguistic diversity. We want to show that, rather
than being a burden, it is an asset for the EU — for cultural,
educational and professional r easons. Also, EU companies can gain
a competitive advantage through foreign language skills. But one of
the main ideas from the Business Forum for Multilingualism is that
English is not enough. English is more and more necessary for
international business, but less and less sufficient.
2) So, how good are the language skills of EU citizens?
We are still a long way from our goal of every citizen learning
at least two foreign languages. Only 28 per cent of European citizens
are able to speak at least two foreign languages. And nearly half of
European citizens can speak onl y their moth er tongue.
3) What role should companies play here?
Companies should invest more in developing the abilities of their
worker s to dea l with d iff erent la ngua ges. I think esp ecia lly at t he lev el of
small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) there is not
enough awareness of the importance of languages other than English and of
the i mpor ta nce of implem enti ng strategi es for deve lop ing their emp loy ees'
langua ge skills . So we hav e made a nu mber of rec ommendat ions in the
report on wa ys to help fir ms . Of course, inc reased financial su pport should
be cons idered — at the EU l evel, but als o at nat ional, regi onal and local
levels. But w e al so pro pose a new Euro pean internet pl atform for collectin g
and disseminating best practices on language strategies.
4) But are language skills only the companies' responsibility?
No, it 's a shar ed resp onsibi lity. T he Eur opean ins tit utions a lso ha ve
a contr ibution to ma ke, but so do the m ember states through improvements
in their education systems. And so do individuals themselves.
5) Latin is still one of the most common foreign languages
taught in educational institutions. Shouldn't this time and effort be
spent more usefully on modern foreign languages?
Our tas k in t he Eu r op ea n C ommis s ion is t o d efend and pro mot e the
linguistic diversity in Europe. That means targeting mainly the official
langua ges of th e EU. So, we look less at la nguages li ke Latin or ancient
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Greek. But these languages, even though they are no longer tools of
commun ication, can be useful in term s of personal devel opme nt. So we are
not aga inst these langua ges. But we would encourage peop le to lear n a
lar ge var iety of Eu rop ean la nguag es. Ther e ar e so man y la ngua ges — for
example, those of neighbouring countries in the EU, or of non-EU
countries — and people should choose whatever languages they want.
6) When you say people should learn two foreign languages, do
you mean two EU languages?
No, Europeans should also learn the languages of non-EU
countries. For example, there are more and more Chinese people who are
learnin g Eur opean languages . But E u ropeans should also lea rn Ma n dari n,
Russian, Urdu, Japanese and so on. This will help not only individuals but
also our companies, and so help the Union to become m ore competitive.
7) But, surely, learning better English is still the priority for
many EU employees.
Of course, we acknowledge t hat English is more or less a lingua
franca for communication between companies. And we ar e talking about
the need for good English, because very often peopl e speak bad English.
But when you are addressing consumers, it is a completely different story.
English is not enough. You need to master the language of your
consumers. For example, it has been shown that many people in Germany
don't understand advertising slogans that are in English. And we are not
only talking about language skills; we're talking about intercultural skills.
Teaching a language doesn't mean just teaching grammar, pronunciation
etc. It means teaching a culture, literature and so on. It means
having access to the behaviour and attitudes of others. We need to
understand that others may think in a different way. These are the sorts of
skills that are needed to do business in other places. So, while English
will continue to be important, companies should add other languages, and
other abilities, in order to become more competitive.
8) Which, then, are the most important foreign languages for
EU workers to learn apart from English?
That's not for us to say. It's up to every company to decide
which language skills they need, according to their activities and
plans. For example, some companies may target Mandarin as a
priority. Others may target Hindi. We don't want to tell the companies
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what to d o. W e jus t wa nt t o tel l t hem t hat lan gua ges a r e an i mpor ta nt
part of thei r performance, and tha t they should consider this seriously.
9) Don't firms solve their language needs pragmatically by, for
example, hiring people from other countries who speak two other
languages as well as their native tongue?
Yes, in ma ny cases, compa nies do meet their language needs by
finding the r ight people to employ. On the other hand, as politicians, we
have to think about all European citizens and give them the chance to
become more competitive and to find better jobs. It is also to the
advantage of EU companies if they can find people in their own countries
with the necessary language skills. And, as we say in our report, one of
the main challenges facing multinational companies in the EU — and
society more generally — is to integrate employees from different
nationalities and ethnic backgrounds into their workforces. And this
means that the training of existing employees could be the best option.
Exercise 26. Match each senten ce 1-10 to the sentence a-j that should
logically follow it.
1) EU co mp anies can gain…
2) Only 28 % of European citizens are able…
3) Companies should invest more in…
4) We propose a new European internet platform for…
5) Our t ask in the European Commu nity is…
6) We acknowledge that English is more or less a…
7) Tea ch i ng a l angua g e do esn’t mean…
8) While English will continue to be important,…
9) It’s up to every company to decide which language…
10) One of the main challenges facing multinational companies in
EU is…
a) collecting and disseminating best practices on language strategies.
b) lingua franca for communication between companies.
c) a competitive advantage through foreign language skills.
d) integrate employees from different nationalities and ethnic
backgrounds.
e) companies should add other languages and other abilities in
order t o bec ome more c omp etit ive.
f) to speak at least two foreign languages.
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g) to promote the linguistic diversity.
small talk,
talk down
,
speaks her mind
,
talking shop
,
the ball rolling
,
h) s kills t hey nee d, according to th ei r act ivities and p lans.
i) just teaching grammar and pronunciation, but also a culture,
literatu re and so on.
j) developing the abilities of their workers to deal with different
languages.
Exercise 27. Rea d t hroug h t h e a rticl e o nce mor e. T ry to summarize in
a sentence what each paragraph 1-9 is about.
GRAMMAR AND LEXICAL EXERCISES
Exercise 28. Comp lete th ese dialogues with words fr om the box.
sense, get to the point, rubbish, to put it in a nutshell, long-winded.
1. Tom: What was the lecture like?
Rick: Oh, awful! It was really ……….. It lasted three hours!
2. Nora: I was amazed at how direct she was; she didn’t care
who she offended.
Mike: Well, ye s, she al ways ……. and doesn’t care w ho hears it.
3. Ha zel: Di d y ou agree wit h what he said?
Mel: No, I thought he was talking complete ………..
4. Fred: Did you agree with what she sa id?
Bob: Yes, I thought she talked a lot of ………..
5. Anna : Oh d ear , t he intr odu ct ion’s bee n goi ng on f or a qu ar ter
of an hour already!
Fio na: Y es, I wi sh he would ………. and tell us why we’re here.
6. Dan: So, how did the meeting start?
Bob: Well, Karen started ………. by reading out a long list of
items to be discussed.
7. Chris: Can you t ell me briefl y what went on at the meeting?
Pat: Well, ………., not much. But if you want all the details,
I’ll tell you.
8. Paul: He said that someone with my experience would ha ve
difficulty understanding the concept.
Jane: Don’t worry. J ohn tends to ………. to people.
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9. Phil: I really think we should have a bigger budget for
w
ords,varieties
,
standard,
slang
,
mate
,
dictionaries
,
tongue
,
computer equipment. Everyone in the finance department
needs their own printer.
Claire: Can we talk about something else? I hate ………..
10. Jim: Did you get a chance to chat to anyone before the meeting?
Mic k: Well, we ha d a few minut es of … ……. b efor e we got
down to business.
Exercise 29. Complete the passage. Use the words from the box:
languages, survey, Australian, global
In his latest book, Bill Bryson has written about English, his
‘Mother (1)__________’, and that’s the title of the book. Bryson
explores the development of English as a (2)__________ language.
(He discov ers t ha t more peopl e are learning En g lish i n China than l i ve
in the USA.) And he explains how common (3)__________ like
‘shampoo’, ‘sofa’ and others taken from over 50 different
(4)__________ came into English. He also looks at definitions of
words and how the major (5)__________ were created.
In this fa scina ting a nd i nf orma tive bo ok, Brys on l ooks at t he man y
(6) __________ of English – from American to (7)__________, from
Creole to the (8)__________ English spoken by newsreaders. And he
examines (9)_______ ___ wo rds l i k e (10)’____ ___ ___’ and ‘c obber’.
This book is a delightful and amusing (11)__________ of the
state of our language.
Exercise 30. Read the text below and choose the correct word for
each space.
It is the non-linguistic forces – cultural, (0) __ A___ a nd political –
that have made English the first world language in human history.
Language is neutral, passive: only the uses to which it is put (1) ______
active. Why is it that English (2) ______ inspire affection not only among
those who speak and write it (3) ______ their mother tongue but also (4)
______ those for whom it is a foreign language? The (5) ______ and
power of English was expressed in the nineteenth century (6) ______ the
great German philologist Jacob Grimm when he wrote: “In wealth,
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wisdom and strict economy, (7) ______ of the other living languages can
compare with it”. But (8) ______, in fact, ‘(9) ______ ’, ‘superior’, ‘more
expensive’, ‘(10) ______’ than other languages?
First, we (11) ______ let go of some myths. English is not
easier to learn (12) ______ French or Russian, not is it (13) ______
lyrical, (13) ______ beautiful or (13) ______ eloquent than any other
language. English is, moreover, (14) ______ idiomatic. How does (15)
______ begin to explain phrases like ‘put up with’ and ‘get on with it’.
English has some (16) ______ characteristics. The th is famously
difficult for foreigners, who find a sentence like “What’s this?” (17)
______ to pronounce. (18) ______ some difficult vowels: the vowel
sound in bird and nurse occurs in (19) ______ language. An old verse
for foreign stu dents advises:
Beware of heard, a drea dful word
That looks like beard and sounds l ike bird,
And dead: It’s (20) ______ like bed , not bead –
For goodness sake, don’t call it deed!
A economic B economical C economy
0.
A make it B ma k es it C make this
1.
A may B have C can
2.
A as a B - C as
3.
A among B within C between
4.
A rich B richness C riches
5.
A by B within C in
6.
A no B nothing C none
7.
A it is B this is C is it
8.
A good B better C best
9.
A mor e rich B richer C th e richest
10.
A must B may C can
11.
A than B then C that
12.
A most B the more C more
13.
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A high B highly C higher
1
Join a local sports club. _______
2
Go to courses at a local school or college. _______
3
Have conversations with native speakers, for example in
4
Get a part
-
time job which involves using English. _______
5
Watch English f
ilms. _______
6
Listen to the radio and CDs in English. _______
7
Join an Internet chat room. _______
1
Accent
–
how people from a region pronounce words.
2
Dialect
–
people using a local form of language
3
Speed
–
how quickly people speak.
4
References
–
people talk about cities, events, places
5
Other …
14.
A you B he C one
15.
A unpossible B impossible C not possible
16.
A hard B hardly C harder
17.
A there are B they are C th ere w ere
18.
A anot her B no one C no other
19.
A told B said C talked
20.
LISTENING
STREET LANGUAGE
Exercise 31. Work in pairs. Discuss which are the most and least
useful ways of improving understanding of native speakers.
cafes and shops. _______
Exercise 32. Work in pairs. Decide what things make it difficult to
understand native speakers.
containi ng diff erent gr a mma r and wor ds .
that speakers from other countries may not know.
Now listen to a conversation. Tick the difficulties you hear.
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