To truly understand somebody´s culture, we should first go back to their
origins and roots and understand how their identity was shaped along time.
How much do you know about Britain and its people? What is exactly Britain? And who are the British?
WHAT IS WHAT? WHICH IS WHICH?
England?
United Kingdom?
Great Britain?
Commonwealth Realm?
Crown Dependencies?
British Overseas Territories?
Watch the video . Don't worry if you cannot understand
every single word! Pay attention to the pictures and, only if necessary, activate the subtitles.
So..., as you may have noticed there are many different terms...
1- Which are political terms? 2- Which are geographical terms?
ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS.
The answers will be corrected and shared in class!
Is the UK a single country? What is it?
Which is the biggest island? And the most populated one?
Which is the second biggest island?
Which is the complete name for the UK?
Is Great Britain a geographical or political term?
Mention the islands that are NOT part of Great Britain.
Is the Republic of Ireland also part of the UK?
What do the UK and the Republic of Ireland have in common?
How many countries are there in Great Britain? And in Ireland?
Mention at least 5 countries that used to be part of the Empire.
According to British tradition, who did God give power to?
Which are the independent nations that , in spite of beingindependent, still
recognize the Crown as their Head of State. Make a list of these
nations.
Name the Crown Dependencies.
Are the British on good terms with the Spanish government concerning
Gibraltar? (Are they friends? Is there any conflict between them?)
What is the situation like in regards to our Malvinas Islands? Why does Argentina claim the soverreighnty? (Mind you! You won´t find the answer to this question on the video!!)
Draw a list with the British overseas Territories. Are they independent? What does the Crown give them?
In your PORTFOLIO, draw the chart describing THE CROWN. Add any piece of information / drawing / images you want to complete your entrance or just to enliven it!
Special thanks to Stella for sharing the activity!! 😊😊
In this new post, we´ll be focusing on one of the world´s current social issues, an issue which is affecting thousands and thousands of people in the world today. We Refugees is a documentary video named after Benjamin Zephaniah´s famous poem: WE REFUGEES was published in one of his most popular books, "Wicked World". But, what does it mean to be a 'refugee'? Is it the same as being an immigrant? And the answer is: .... Well, it´s not exactly the same!
A refugee is a person who has fled armed conflict or persecution and
who is recognised as needing of international protection because it is
too dangerous for them to return home. They are protected under
international law by the 1951 refugee convention, which defines what a
refugee is and outlines the basic rights afforded to them.
The convention’s basic principle is that refugees should not be
expelled or returned to situations where their life and freedom would be
under threat. Once someone has been recognised as a refugee, they are
supposed to be given access to social housing and welfare benefits and
helped to find a job and integrate into society. The UN refugee agency
(UNHCR) estimates that there are almost 60 million forcibly displaced
people around the world, including those displaced within their own
countries.
WATCH the video and listen to real refugees talking about their personal experiences. Pay special attention to the reasons why they were forced to leave their home countries as well as to their future expectations.
The video begins with a quotation from Zephaniah´s poem
We Refugees:
I come from a great old forest
I think it is now a field
And the people I once knew
Are not there now.
Click HERE to read the complete poem WE REFUGEES online.
As you may have noticed, this poem is closely connected with the short story we´ve recently read and worked out in class, The Promised Land, by Frederik Mulapa.
COMPULSORY ACTIVITY:
1. Write down or stick a copy of the poem in your portfolio. 2. Practise reading it aloud. 3. Choose any two stanzas from the poem and explain them using your own words as far as possible. 4. What message do you think Zephaniah is trying to convey through this poem? Explain.
You may wish to leave us a message in the comments section below!
Linguists have different ideas regarding the future of English as a global language. Let´s listen to David Crystal lecturing on the future of English as a global language and find out what his position is.
Watch only until minute 11:18 (you won´t need to pay attention to the last 4 minutes on the interview in order to complete these activities)
ACTIVITY 1: As you listen, try to complete what he says:
1- Language is global for one reason only, and that is the ........................ 2- ....................... drives language. There´s no other reason to speak .................................. . 3- A the moment, ............... .......................... people in the world speak English. 4- There´s ............................................... so many people .................................... a language before! 4- The world needs a global language because countries................................................. . 5-
ACTIVITY 2: David Crystal mentions five different reasons which explain why English became global. Transcribe those reasons. 1- ....................................................................................................................... 2- ....................................................................................................................... 3- ...................................................................................................................... 4- ...................................................................................................................... 5- ......................................................................................................................
ACTIVITY 3: When asked about the Future of English, Crystal forsees two different scenarios. Which are those scenarios? A- ....................................................................................................................
Let´s meet and listen to part of an interview with profesor David Crystal, author of "English as a Global Language", talking about GLOBAL ENGLISH . Then, answer the questions:
TASK: Watch the video clip and answer the questions.
What makes a language global?
He says "power means different things at different times". Why? What different types of power does he mention?
Crystal says "English has been at the right place at the right time". Why does he think so?
ENGLISH has evolved from a language spoken by a few people into the most widely spoken language in the world.
This video will definitely help you understand some of the
issues we have been discussing so far in class. You will see it is
divided into different chapters which show different stages in the
historical development of the language.
After watching (perhaps twice or three times), complete the activities
which follow. The answers will be socialized in class...
Make sure you include these activities in your PORTFOLIO.
Don´t worry that much if you do not understand every sigle word! Pay
attention to pictures and images.... they will help you understand.
ACTIVITY 1:
Answer these questions
Who led the Norman invasion into England? At that time, who spoke French? Who spoke Latin? Who spoke English?
How many words did the English absorb from the Normans?
How many words and phrases are said to have been incorporated or "invented" by Shakespeare?
When was The Authorized or King James´ translation of the Bible printed? Why was this translation so important?
Why did so many words had to be invented during the 17th century?
Where does the word BARBICUE come from? How about BOOMERANG and YOGA?
How many entries did the First Dictionary of the English Language contain?
When did the first Oxford English Dictionary appear?
Which aspects of the American culture have contributed largely to the spread of English throughout the wrorld?
When was the first e-mail sent? Where from?
When did the Internet start?
What do the abbreviations IMHO, BTW, LOL and FAQ mean?
Can native speakers claim the ownership of Global English?
Approximately, what percentage of the world population is able to (at least) ask for directions in English?
ACTIVITY 2:
The video is divided into 10 chapters. IN YOUR PORTFOLIO, write down the title given to each of those chapters and include some key information related to it. You may also want to stick/add related pictures/images to liven up your portfolio entrance.
ACTIVITY 3:
LANGUAGE IN USE:
A_ The following are some of the idiomatic expressions which were used in King James´s translation of the Bible. Look up their meanings.
"A bird in the hand is worth (than) two in the bush".
" A wolf in sheep´s clothing".
"A leopard can´t change its spots".
B_ Follow-up activity
As you may imagine, English is full of popular sayings and idiomatic expressions related to the animal world. You will find some of them below. Look them up in a dictionary and think of the correct Spanish counterpart. Include this activity in your PORTFOLIO as well!
Let the cat out of the bag.
To take the bull by the horns.
"It´s raining cats and dogs".
"Birds of a feather flock together".
To Smell rat.
"Don´t look a gift horse in the mouth".
"Don´t be a chicken Little".
"When the cat´s away, the mice will play".
To work like a dog.
To bark up the wrong tree.
"Don´t bite the hand that feeds you".
"To take someone under your wing".
To be as happy as a pig in mud.
"I could eat a horse!".
"He´s a wolf in sheep´s clothing".
"There´s a frog in my throat".
These activities will be shared and checked in class. Make sure you start woring on them!
The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563)
"No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. the worlds in which different cultures live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached."
Edward Sapir, linguist
A world of languages
Languages can be living, dead, become extinct or move from place to place.
A living language or modern language is in a continuous state of change. This change can be over the course of several hundred years. For example, the English Chaucer used is very different from the English Shakespeare used, which in turns is not the same as modern-day English. Language can mutate in a shorter time span, from one generation to the next. Vocabulary, expressions and idioms can alter in their frequency of use, become obsolete, develop and modernise or be added to the language. The same language can also change through geography. Modern English spoken in Britain, North America and Australia has different vocabulary and grammar usage.
If two groups of people speaking the same language are separated, in time they will develop different accents and vocabulary will change, but they will still understand each other. When this happens a dialect is created. Within a nation there can be many dilects.
A dead language is one that is no longer learned as a native language. Some dead languages have survived in the written form. Examples of well known dead languages are Ancient Greek, Latin and Sanskrit.
Thorought human history the language of powerful groups have spread, while the languages of smaller cultures have become extinct. The rate of language disappearance has accelerated dramatically in recent years and today many "smaller" languages are in real danger of completely disappearing.
Through conquest and invasion and due to migration, languages can move from place to place or be transported from one country to another. For example, English to North America, French to Canada, Spanish and Portuguese to South America and Arabic to Northern Africa.
As of 2010, the population of the world stands at 6.9 billion and is expected to reach 9 billion by the year 2050. Within this world population, there are about 6,900 distinct languages currently spoken. All of these languages are grouped into language families. This means that they are related languages originating from a common ancestor. For example, Hungarian, Finnish and Mordvin (Siberia) all come from the Uralic family.
However, despite there being so many languages on this Earth, about half of the world´s population speak one of the following eight languages only: Mandarin Chinese, English, Hindi, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Bengali and Portuguese.
Source: "Eye Witness", by Adriana Redaelli and Daniela Invernizzi, (p. 12)
Indo-European
About half of the world´s population speak languages coming from a common origin. Sir William Jones, a British linguist, made this important hypothesis about two centuries ago. While he was studying Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, he noticed that it had many affinities with ancient Greek and Latin. Jones concluded that these three languages came from a common source, a language which no longer exists, Scholars call this language Indo-European. Recent theories locate the origins of the Indo-European language more than 6,000 years ago in western Asia.
(Source: "EYEWITNESS, Culture in a Changing World," by Adriana Redaelli and Daniela Invernizzi)
COMPULSORY TASK!
ACTIVITY 1: Read the texts on this web page and study the chart. Decide if the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE.
You can see the first written alphabet in Syria.
Living languages never change.
A dead language is one that has completely disappeared.
Today peoplespeak about 6 billion languages.
50% of the world´s population speaks one of 8 languages.
Sir William Jones lived in London.
Greek and Dutch both originate from Indo-European.
Indo-European is a language spoken in western Asia.
ACTIVITY 2: Watch the following videoand find out how educator Claire Bowern traces the language from the present day back to its
ancient roots, showing how English has evolved through generations of
speakers.
Take down notes of what you consider to be relevant. Have you learnt anything new? If so, what exactly?
Make sure you keep a record of this activity in your
You will be supposed to post your own comments after each post.
But..... HOW DO I POST?
Read instructions below and just give it a try!
HOW TO POST COMMENTS:
• Click on "comments" (right below this thread) to type your message. • In "seleccionar perfil," choose CUENTA GOOGLE. • Type a set of letters and numbers as you're asked. THEN, ONLY FOR THE FIRST TIME... • Click on CREAR UNA CUENTA GOOGLE. • Enter the details you're asked. You'll be asked to type details of your regular account. DON'T INVENT A NEW ONE. It says: "tiene que existir." • Now click on CONTINUAR. You should be ready to post your message then.
grace :-)
Special thanks to Stella for sharing this post with us!
