Unit 3 Language Change and Language Learning Created by Leighton Park School.

Created by Leighton Park School

global communication

Global Language Diversity

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Unit 3 Language Change and Language Learning


Language Challenge!

How many languages do you think there are spoken in the world?

Spend 1 minute trying to write down as many languages as you can think of!


Read through the Global Languages factsheet and complete the question sheet.

Then choose the fact which you found most interesting / unbelievable / amazing and be ready to talk about it with your classmates!

• Why is it important that we learn to communicate in foreign languages?



Global Language Diversity

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Last lesson we learned about the diversity of languages globally. This lesson you will be researching one of those languages in more depth and preparing a presentation (in class) and a piece of written work or display work (for prep) about that language, its speakers and culture.

You could use the Ethnologue website to choose a language. Click on the globe to go to the site!

http://www.ethnologue.com/country_index.asp



The history of

English



Languages are dynamic – this means that they are constantly changing and developing.

• How and why do you think this happens?

• What do you know about the history of the English language?

• Where did it come from?• Who were the earliest speakers?• Have any other languages

influenced or changed English over the years?

• Where do the words in the English language come from?


Watch this short film from the Open University called ‘The History of English in 10 Minutes’.

Make notes whilst you watch. To help you, here are some headings you can use to make notes:

1. The Anglo Saxons2. The Norman Conquest3. Shakespeare4. The King James Bible5. The English of Science6. English and Empire7. The Age of the Dictionary8. American English9. Internet English10. Global English

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3r9bOkYW9s


Now answer these questions about the film you have watched. Answer in full sentences.

1. What two events happened in the 5th Century which led to the ‘birth of English’?2. Which language started to have an influence on English as a result of the Norman Conquest?

Where was this language mostly used? What other languages were used in England at the same time, and by whom?

3. What was Shakespeare’s major contribution to the English language? Was he solely responsible for his contribution?

4. Which important document was published in 1611?5. In the 17th Century, why did advances in science lead to developments in the English language?6. In terms of the development of the English language, what were two effects of the British

travelling the world to form an empire?7. How long did the first Oxford English Dictionary take to compile and write?8. Describe the ways in which American English has influenced and been influenced by other

languages.9. Explain why the invention of the internet has had a similar effect on the English language as a)

the early days of scientific discovery and b) the spread of the British Empire10. Approximately what proportion of English speakers globally speak English as their first

language?

Optional Question: Design a timeline to show the main stages in the development of English.



A journey through English



If you were transported in a time machine back to England in the year 1012, do you think you would be able to communicate with the people you met there?

Explain your answer!


Last lesson we learned about the development of the English language. This lesson we will look at examples of English from different periods in history.

Old English (5th to 12th Century)

Middle English (11th to 15th Century)Early Modern English (15th to 17th Century)

Modern English (17th Century onwards)


Old English (5th to 12th Century)Fæder ūre, þū þe eart on heofonum; Sīe þīn nama gehālgod,

tō becume þīn rīce, gewurþe þīn willa, on eorðan swā swā on heofonum.

Urne gedæghwamlican hlāf sele ūs tōdæg,

and forgif ūs ūre gyltas, swā swā wē forgifaþ ūrum gyltendum,

and ne gelǣd þū ūs on costnunge,ac ālȳs ūs of yfele, sōþlīce.

• How do you feel when you read this text?

• Does it feel like you are reading English?

• Can you recognise this text?

• Can you use your foreign language learning skills to work out any words?

Click here to hear the text being read!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQVyol7N1Jo


Middle English (11th to 15th Century)Oure fadir that art in heuenes, halewid be thi name;

thi kyngdoom come to; be thi wille don `in erthe as in heuene;

yyue to vs this dai oure `breed ouer othir substaunce;

and foryyue to vs oure dettis, as we foryyuen to oure dettouris;

and lede vs not in to temptacioun,but delyuere vs fro yuel. Amen. (1380)

• This is a later version of the same text! Can you work out what it is yet?

• Does this version feel any more like English?

• Use The 4Cs again to try and decode the text!

Click here to hear the text being read!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM2THezuzlI


Early Modern English (15th to 17th Century)

Our father which art in heauen,hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heauen.

Giue us this day our daily bread.

And forgiue us our debts as we forgiue our debters.

And lead us not into temptation,but deliuer us from euill.Amen. (1611)

• This is a later version of the same text! It should be more familiar now!

• What features of this text still seem old fashioned?


Modern English (17th Century onwards)

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name.

Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. Now and for ever. Amen. (1977)

• This the modern version of the text – it is, of course, The Lord’s Prayer.

• Although this is the most modern official version, it has some features which are archaic. Can you identify them?

• How would you rewrite this in ‘your’ English?

• How can the work we’ve done today help us with reading in a foreign language?


For prep, you have two choices. Either:

a) Get back in your time machine and write a ‘future’ Lord’s Prayer. Use the older versions to help you predict how the English language might change in the future. Annotate your version to explain why you have chosen certain features.

Or

b) Find a translation of the Lord’s Prayer in a foreign language of your choice. Annotate it to show cognates and other ‘clues’ which can help you work out the meaning.



Language decline /

extinction



What do all these creatures have in common?


It is not just plants and animals which can become extinct – languages can too. Watch this short video (Video 4) from the BBC about endangered languages – click on the dodo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/guide/languages.shtml


Losing Our World's LanguagesEvery 14 days a language dies. By 2100, more than half of the more than 7,000 languages spoken on Earth—many of them not yet recorded—may disappear, taking with them a wealth of knowledge about history, culture, the natural environment, and the human brain.

Why Is It Important?

Language defines a culture, through the people who speak it and what it allows speakers to say. Words that describe a particular cultural practice or idea may not translate precisely into another language. Many endangered languages have rich oral cultures with stories, songs, and histories passed on to younger generations, but no written forms. With the extinction of a language, an entire culture is lost.

Why Do Languages Die Out?

Throughout human history, the languages of powerful groups have spread while the languages of smaller cultures have become extinct. This occurs through official language policies or through the allure that the high prestige of speaking an imperial language can bring. These trends explain, for instance, why more language diversity exists in Bolivia than on the entire European continent, which has a long history of large states and imperial powers.

As big languages spread, children whose parents speak a small language often grow up learning the dominant language. Depending on attitudes toward the ancestral language, those children or their children may never learn the smaller language, or they may forget it as it falls out of use. This has occurred throughout human history, but the rate of language disappearance has accelerated dramatically in recent years.

Read this text from the National Geographic Enduring Voices Project.

• Why is it important to care about languages dying out?

• What will be lost if a language dies out?

• How and why do you think languages die out?

• What have power, politics and fashion got to do with language extinction?

• Why might children speak a different language to their parents and what has this got to do with languages dying out?


Look at the National Geographic’s Enduring Voices project website and learn about the work they are trying to do to ensure that endangered languages are not lost forever.

Click on the dinosaur for the Enduring Voices website and explore their interactive map of endangered languages.

Click on the mammoth for the Vanishing Voices photo gallery and hear what some of the last speakers of endangered languages have to say.

Click on the dodo for the Talking Dictionaries project, where words have been collected from some of the world’s most endangered languages, many of which do not have a writing system.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/vanishing-languages/johnson-photography

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/enduring-voices/

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/enduring-voices/talking-dictionaries/



Where next for English?



Last lesson we learned about endangered languages. Even though English is not endangered, it will always change and develop, as we learned when we studied different versions of the Lord’s Prayer.

It is impossible to predict exactly what the English language will look and sound like in the future, especially as there are no so many varieties of English, but we can think about the ways in which English will continue to develop as a world language, and consider whether or not it will always remain the world’s unofficial ‘lingua franca’.

Doing this can help us understand the ways in which we may need to communicate in the globalised world of tomorrow.

• Can you remember how many people currently speak English?• Which other languages are important for global business and

culture?• What do you think the future holds for English as a global

language?


Class DebateDivide your class into two groups and hold a debate about the future of the English language. When constructing your arguments and discussion points, try to think about everything you have learned this year about communication, languages and culture.

This extra-terrestrial has arrived on Earth and wants to know what he needs to learn in able to be

able to communicate most effectively with earthlings over the next 100 years!

Team A

Just learn English, you’ll be

fine!

Team B

English is not enough!



Language Learning and

Future Technologies

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Do you ever use apps / programmes / websites to help you when you are learning a foreign language?

• Which ones do you use?• Why?• What do you look for when you use technology to help with

language learning? • What sorts of features are most / least useful to you?


Name of app / website

Device What does it do?

Advantages Disadvantages How likely on a scale of 1-10 would you be to use this app / website if you could? (1 = not at all likely / 10 = very likely)

Look at the selection of language learning apps and websites provided and for each one answer the following questions:


Apps and websites for translation are some of the most common and rapidly developing communication technologies. How useful are they? Look with your teacher at how Google Translate (one of the most popular freely available translation websites) works, and discuss the questions.

• Do you ever use Google Translate?• How accurate are the translations?• What are the advantages and

disadvantages of Google Translate for learning a foreign language in school?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Google Translate for businessmen / women or people travelling?

• In what situations would Google Translate be most useful?

• In what situations would Google Translate be least useful and appropriate?

http://translate.google.com/


That alien’s back! This time he wants to know whether or not to trust programmes such as Google Translate to help him communicate effectively with

earthlings. Write him a letter in which you set out the pros and cons of translation software to help him make up his mind.



Language Learning and

Future Technologies

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In this unit we have learned about how languages are born, develop and, in some cases, become extinct. We have learned about how technology can aid (and sometimes hinder) communication, and considered what the future of global communication might look like.

Now you have a chance to express your ideas on this topic creatively.

Produce a poem or story (which can be illustrated if you like) which is based on the theme Global Communications in the year 2112 and which covers some or all of the following ideas and questions:

• Global Communication in the year 2112.• Which languages will we speak?• Will people speak more than one language?• How we will communicate with one another?• What role will technology play in communication?• How will our cultures have developed?• Will we have communication outside Earth?• Will we understand the language from 2012?• Etc etc etc!

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Unit 3 Language Change and Language Learning Created by Leighton Park School.

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