Reading and speaking

Think ahead

1. What do we learn foreign languages for?

2. Which language is spoken by most people in the world?

3. How long have you been studying English?

4. What other foreign languages would you like to speak? Why?

5. Do you think that the knowledge of foreign language is important? Why?

Why study English?

What’s the aim of learning English at the University? There are several reasons for it: historical, academic, economic, practical, intellectual, entertainment, etc. But every student has his personal motivation which is often the mixture of reasons mentioned above.

For most students English is the proper language to speak with the rest of the nations, the so-called lingua franca. It may provide a role of a neutral means of communication between different ethnic groups in the emerging multicultural world.

Part of the students especially those who connect their future career with business and trade understand that they may need English. Any multinational business will wish to establish offices in the major English-speaking countries, especially the USA and Great Britain. So you should be knowledgeable about how to communicate with multicultural audiences and markets.

There are many other international areas where you can’t do without English. English is the language of international air traffic control, and is developing its role in maritime, emergency services and international political relations. The tourist and advertising industries are also English-dependent.

There are those who need English as a source information, mainly professional. Most of the scientific, technological, and academic information in the world is expressed in English, and over 80 percent of all the information stored in electronic retrieval systems is in English. Linguistic proficiency will increase career prospects of a specialist in any field. That’s why more than 50 percent of the English course is devoted to studying English for professional purposes.

All students want to know English as the main language of popular music and its advertising. It is also the main language of the satellite broadcasting, home-computers, and video-games. You can’t make use of them without English.

Personally I want to know foreign languages because I have always been interested in foreign countries, their cultures and peoples. Learning foreign languages is important for me because I want to know what is going on around me in the world. Language not only broadens the mind, it enriches us culturally. We learn to appreciate ways of life which may be different from our own. It equips students with the communicative competence which is the universal competence of today.

Ex. 1. Which three aims of learning English mentioned in the text are of prime importance for you?

a) Write them down.

I think the most important aims are:

first to

second(ly) to

third(ly) to

b) Read out your list of aims to each other.

c) Question each other’s choice. Here are some ways you can do this:

– I think it’s more important to … than to …

or– I think it’s just as important to … as to …

or – I still think the most important aim is to …

or– Why is it important to …?

– Well, I strongly believe that … is important because …

d) Write some other aims important personally for you and explain why.

Personally I would rather prefer

I believe that no less important is

Ex. 2. Make a full list of your personal goals of learning English and strategies to achieve them.

Model:

My learning goals	Learning strategies
By the end of this academic year (semester) I would like…	To reach these goals I’m going to…

To help you set goals for learning English make use of the expressions given in the table below. Report your personal goals to the class.

to enlarge my vocabulary to learn new terminology to develop grammar skills to improve my reading abilities to speak well enough to pass an exam to improve my listening comprehension skills to get better at communicating my ideas to become more fluent and confident

to interact with native speakers to be able to start a conversation to maintain and close face-to face conversations on topics that are familiar to follow the main points of extended discussion around me, etc. to watch English films and listen to the radio to travel abroad

Ex. 3. Self-assess your knowledge of English as in the examples below. Think how you can get ahead. Compare your ideas with those of other students in the group.

a) I can express my ideas quite well but I make a lot of mistakes. By the end of the course I want to make fewer mistakes. I hope to learn more words, to enlarge my professional vocabulary and to improve my grammar. I think the best way to do it is to actively participate in classroom talks and discussions, to read a lot, and, certainly, not to skip classes.

b) I find it difficult to express my ideas because I can’t always find the right word, although I do know quite a lot. Of course I want to learn more vocabulary, but I also want to get better at communicating my ideas with the language that I already know. I will try to do my best to develop my communicative skills. I think that if I make notes during the lessons and do my home assignments carefully, I will manage to improve speaking abilities.

c) To be honest I do not feel very optimistic about the prospects of improving my language skills. However, I’d like to speak well enough to pass my exam in English successfully. That’s why I’m going to attend classes regularly and to be active in class. But actually I’m not very good at speaking, to say nothing about listening and writing. Studying English is a great challenge for me.

d) I

Ex. 4. Start making your own Portfolio. Make use of your self-assessment checklist and the list of your personal goals. Think what is going to be your chief aim of doing English at the University. What do you expect from the course?