English Language and Learning Other Languages

Hello everybody!
As I see in the polls of this blog that one of your favourite topics is Language & Communication,
today we are going to talk about languages.

A) First, let's look at the following poster about the importance of English language in the world.

SPEAKING  - IDEAS TO TALK ABOUT
 1) "1 out of 5 persons in the world speaks English as a native, second or foreign language"
We always think about English speakers from the UK and the USA.
But 125 million of English speakers come from India! Wow!
Did you know that? Have you talked to any English speaker from India?

2) "English belongs to everyone or to no one".
Do you agree with this sentence? Why or why not?

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B) Now, we are going to talk about languages from a different point of view.
What are the hardest languages to learn for the English speakers?
Any ideas before reading this poster?  :)

 

B.1) Easy languages to learn (around 600 class hours to master)
Spanish - Portuguese - French - Italian: "Latin Romance" languages
Dutch (Aafrikans) - Swedish (Norwegian): Germanic languages.
SPEAKING  - IDEAS TO TALK ABOUT
B.1.1) Spanish is easy for English to learn! Surprised? Why or why not?
B.1.2) English is a Germanic language. Other Germanic languages as Dutch are easy for English speakers.
But not easier than Latin languages. Why? What do you think about this? 



B.2) Medium languages to learn (around 1100 class hours to master)
Hindi - Russian - Turkish - Thai - Greek - Finnish.
SPEAKING  - IDEAS TO TALK ABOUT
B.2.1) Any surprises here?
Why do you think these languages are more difficult to learn for an English speaker?

B.3) Hard languages to learn (around 2200 class hours to master)
Arabic - Japanese - Chinese - Korean
SPEAKING  - IDEAS TO TALK ABOUT 
B.3.1) Did you think these were the hardest languages to learn before reading the poster?
Why or why not?
Is one of these languages your mother tongue? Have you ever studied one of these languages?
They say they are the languages of the future together with English and Spanish, of course!

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That is all for now my friends! I hope you have enjoyed this post.
Please complete the polls on the left side of my blog.
This way, I will know which topics are more interesting for you.
And keep studying foreign languages, of course!  :)

Smell like a Monster (LEVEL: Intermediate)

Commercials (or TV advertisements) use a very specific vocabulary and images to attract potential buyers.
Today we are going to watch and compare a couple of videos: a real TV commercial and a parody of the same TV commercial.

KEY WORDS:  (to) advertise - advertisement - buyer - clam - commercial - deodorant - diamonds - parody - products - scent - (to) smell 

1.1) LISTENING ACTIVITY
Let's have a look at the original video first:
 

 
1.2) WRITING & SPEAKING ACTIVITY
QUESTIONS 
1- Have you watched this commercial before? ........................ When and where? ...................................
2- Which product is advertised? ............................................................................................................
  
2.1) LISTENING & READING ACTIVITY
Now let's watch the original video subtitled in English:

2.2) WRITING & SPEAKING ACTIVITY
QUESTIONS 
1- Which are the main characteristics of the product? ..................................................................
2- Do you think it is a good advertisement? ............. Why or why not? ........................................
3- Do you like the commercial? ..............Why or why not? .........................................................

3.1) LISTENING & READING ACTIVITY
And now let's have a look at this parody video by Sesame Street:

3.2) WRITING & SPEAKING ACTIVITY
QUESTIONS 
1- Had you watched this parody commercial before? .........................When and where? ...............
2- Which product is advertised? ....................................................................................................
    Which are the main characteristics of the product? .....................................................................
3- Do you like the commercial? ................................Why or why not? ...........................................
4- Compare the two commercials. Which commercial do you prefer? .......... Why? .........................

That's all folks! I hope you enjoyed the two videos! :)