Interpret your score

0–30 You think you are useless at languages, and can't see the point in trying. Don't give up! Keep at it!

30–70 Learning a language is hard work for you, but you get there in the end. You probably had a bad experience at school. Just remember that most people in the world speak at least two languages, and lots speak four or five, so it can't be all that difficult, can it?

70–100 You're an average sort of learner, not brilliant, but you manage. You're always willing to have a go. Surprisingly, it usually works, too! Add some systematic study to this, and a bit of practice, and you'll be able to cope in most situations.

100–140 You can probably get by in one or two languages already, and learning a new language holds no terror for you. Don't give up when you feel you're not making progress. A bit more confidence, and some concentrated practice, and you could easily start feeling really at home in your foreign language.

140–170 You are an outstanding language learner. You enjoy using words, and language is a constant source of delight for you. You don't learn a language to go on holiday – you enjoy going abroad because it gives you an excuse to learn another language!

(Adapted from a quiz by Dr Paul Meara of Birkbeck College. London.)

Discussion

1. Do you agree with the interpretation? Is it a good description of you as a language learner?

2. The tone of the quiz is quite light-hearted, but the content is serious. Read through the Answers section of the quiz again. Do you agree that the things it suggests are what a "good learner" does? For example, is it important to be able to guess the meaning of words? Why/why not? Is it important to be able to see patterns in a language? Is it important to have a good memory?

3. The answer to question 3 says that good language learners make the most of their skills, and manage to communicate in all sorts of unlikely situations. Think of ways in which communication can take place other than with words.

4. The quiz contains some surprising ideas. For example, the answer to question 12 suggests that good language learners don't mind being in situations that they can't control, and the answer to question 14 that they are prepared to take risks. To what extent is this true in your own experience?

5. Research does suggest that women are generally better language learners than men. Can you think of reasons why this might be so?

6. Researchers also feel that the personality of the learner must affect the way he or she learns, but no-one quite knows how!

Can you think of any qualities that might help or hinder language learning? The following adjectives might help you: confident, shy, outgoing, extrovert, sociable, tolerant, patient, inquisitive.

Learning Languages Vocabulary

Basic

accent (n)	British/American/Cockney~/RP~/plummy~
admission (n)	~ to the EU/university
archaic (adj)	~ word/attitude
bias (n)(v)	to be ~ed towards/against smth
bilingual (adj)	~ community/to be ~ in English and Spanish
brush up (v)	to ~ (on) one’s English
contribute (v)	to ~ to the formation of the language
dialect (n)	local/London ~/George~/Scouse/Liverpulian~/Mancunian~/ Brummy~ ~words/specifications
dialectal (adj)	~ differences between two areas
English (n)	British/American/Australian/Canadian~/the King’s/Queen’~ sloppy~/in plain ~ (idm)
enhance (v)	to ~ marrigability/reputation/efficiency/position of smb
eradicate (v)	to ~ the world’s repository of language/to ~ mistakes/injustice
Esperanto (n)
flexible (adj)	~ language/design/approach/hours
flexibility (n)
fluent (adj)	a ~ speaker of English to be ~ in English to speak/write ~ English a ~ musician/movement
fluency (n)	to require ~ in English for a job
language (n)	native/chief/premier/first/ in-crowd/everyday/link/prestige/strong/body ~ ~ skills/laboratory to talk the same ~ (idm)
lingua franca (n)	e.g. English is becoming the ~ of the world.
linguistic (adj)	~ abilities/barriers
monolingual(adj)	a ~ dictionary
motivation (n)	to be one’s main ~ for studying the language
multilingual (adj)	~ country/children
obsolete (adj)	~ words/skills
pronunciation (n)	English/American ~
resist (v)	to ~ the domination of English
slang (n)	back/rhyming~/army/teenage/prison~ a ~ word/expression/term
slang (v)	e.g. The two students were slanging each other in front of the teacher.
speech (n)	distinct/slurred ~ ~ impediments
tongue (n)	native/mother/world ~ to have a loose/sharp ~ (idm) a slip of the ~ a tongue-in-cheek remark
vernacular (adj) (n)	~ language local/Black American~
versatile (adj)	~ use of English

PHRASES

to avoid smth (dictionary dependence)

to be loaded with smth (idioms)

to be spoken the length and breadth of smth...

to bridge a gap between smth (languages)

to flex smth (one's creative muscles)

to get a good work-out

to have a competitive edge

to have a good ear for sounds, etc.

to have smth under one's belt

to make a point of smth (simplifying spelling)

to monitor smth (one's speech)

to pick up smth (the subtleties of communication)

to rise to the challenge

to seek out smb (native speakers)

to spring to one's mind

to steer clear of smth (crash courses)

to tackle smth (a language)

Video

ENGLISH AS THE WORLD LANGUAGE

Do you think these statements true or false?

1. The underground music in the former Soviet Union used to be in Russian.

2. The iron curtain and the superpower politics to hide East from West set borders for the English language.

3. Italian pilots flying an international jet into Italian air space contact Italian ground control speaking in Italian.

4. The Iranians are demonstrating in Arabic.

5. The dominant language of the world of movies, jazz, Rock-and-roll, pop is German.

6. All the members of the Mc Neil clan speak the same language and sound the same.

7. Mc Neil from North Scotia (USA) sounds the same as Mc Neil in Carolina or New Zealand.

8. In fact, the idea of a correct or proper way to speak English is surprisingly new.

9. People using public school or RP accent are more intelligent, more trustworthy and even better looking.

10. Quite a lot of people speak the superdialect in Great Britain.

11. Radio did for the spoken language what printing had done for the written one.

12. The British left India and the English language did the same.

13. India doesn’t need a ligua-franca.

14. Fifty countries in Africa retained English after decolonization.

15. American English willingly accepts a lot of slangs.

Answer the questions

1. Are there any borders for languages?

2. What is the most influencial language the world has ever known? Give facts from the film.

3. What is the universal language of air traffic control?

4. How much is English used in telephone calls, faxes, publications etc?

5. What language dominates the world’s airways in news?

6. Why can’t we definitely say that English is a language without frontiers?

7. Is English as widely spread in all parts of Great Britain as it is all over the world?

8. Why and the result of what do even members of the same family, clan speak varieties of English?

9. How is correct or proper English reffered to?

10. Where did public school English echo round first? Where was it born?

11. What is the role of public schools in the development of a superdialect?

12. Why can we say that World War ll was the finest hour for BBC English?

13. Why was the power of British English replaced by the power of American one?

14. What new era started after the World War ll?

15. Why does India need a lonk language?

16. Why can’t Hindi act the role of a link language?

17. Why is English so widely spread in India?

18. What is the role of English for a new generation?

19. How is Creole English spreading in Africa?

20. The impact of which English (British or American) is greater?

21. What are the basic characteristics of American English?