Language

What is the best way to learn a language? How do languages develop? Do animals
have language? These are some of the questions you could be asked when discussing the
topic of language and language learning. This is the preparation material for an English
Conversation lesson about languages.

Audio discussion
http://www.englishwithjo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Bilingual-Audio.mp3

Bilingual/Language
Transcript

Kara: So, Lupe, you moved to the United States when you were about eight, and you had to
learn English because Spanish is your first language. What did you think about bilingual
education in the United States?
Lupe: You know coming in, I was really, really scared of not being able to communicate with
other children and being able to fit in. But coming at a really young age like that, you realize
that it's not as hard to learn the language and the school I happened to go to had a great
bilingual program and they were actually helping us continue our Spanish speaking
education and the reading and writing, which was great because I never wanted to lose that
aspect of my life and a lot of kids had to do that because there are schools that don't have
bilingual programs, so a lot of kids our born and raised speaking Spanish, but once they start
school and they start learning English they really forget their Spanish, so it was really
important for me to be able to learn the English language, but still be able to know the
Spanish language and it's a great benefit because now in my job it really helps me to be
bilingual and not only to speak both languages but to be able to read and write both because
it's really important to be able to communicate with other people not only, you know,
speaking but also in reading and writing.
Kara: Now, you've also taken classes in French in school. Do you think it has been easier
learning French through a textbook or learning English being thrown into the United States
and having to learn it?
Lupe: I think learning a second language made it that much easier to jump in to a third
language. You already sort of have a foundation of what it's like to start learning to speak a
different language and communicate in a different language, but as you get older I definitely
think it gets a little harder with pronunciation and different, you know, different aspects of the
language and learning it, but I think it depends a lot on the teachers and the way they teach
the language because I can read a textbook and try to understand what they are teaching
but it's a lot easier when I have someone in front of me who knows the language, who can
answer my questions and not only that: someone I can listen to and see the pronunciation
and make sure that I'm doing it correctly.
Kara: Now, do you think it would be easier for you to learn French if you actually went to
France and lived there?
Lupe: Definitely. I think being around other people that speak the language make it that
much easier to learn the language and I think that's why I learned to speak English when I
moved here so quickly because I was surrounded by people who primarily spoke English, so
there were times when I had no choice but to try and speak it and it kind of forced me to give
it a try even more when I was afraid because I had no other way to communicate, so I think
being around others who speak and understand the language definitely makes it easier for
you to understand it and learn it quicker.

Phrasal Verbs
● Do well - I hope I do well in my English exam next Saturday.
● Take up - I think I will take up French next year.

Conversation Questions about Learning a Second Language

● What do you think is the best way to learn a second language?
● What do you think is the greatest benefit of learning a second language?
● Do you think it is possible to teach yourself a language?
● What are the good and bad things about your language?
● What three languages would you really like to speak, and why?
● Can you learn a language by watching television?
● What languages would you like to learn in the future?
● Do you think that one day there will be just one language in the world?
● How do you think the world would be different if there was only one language?
● How would you compare your own language with English?
● Why do you think there are so many different languages in the world?
● What's the best way to learn a foreign language?
● What is the value of learning languages?
● Is it better to learn language as a child? Why?
● How can the Internet be a helpful tool when learning a foreign language?
● Is the classroom the best place to learn?
● Can a good teacher influence how well you enjoy learning a language?
● Is it possible to teach yourself a language?
● What careers are possible if you speak a foreign language?
● Is it possible to learn a language without studying grammar?
● How do you think language first started?
● How much of a barrier do you think language is?
● How is our language different from animal language?
● What do you think of languages that are dying? Do you think they should be
preserved?
● Do you think that animals use their own language?
● Do you think animal language is as complex as human language?
● Have you heard of baby sign language?
● Do you think it is beneficial to teach babies sign language before they can speak?
 Language

Bilingual/Language
Transcript

Kara: So, Lupe, you moved to the United States when you were about
eight, and you had to learn English because Spanish is your first
language. What did you think about bilingual education in the United
States?
Lupe: You know coming in, I was really, really scared of not being able
to communicate with other children and being able to fit in. But coming at
a really young age like that, you realize that it's not as hard to learn the
language and the school I happened to go to had a great bilingual
program and they were actually helping us continue our Spanish
speaking education and the reading and writing, which was great
because I never wanted to lose that aspect of my life and a lot of kids
had to do that because there are schools that don't have bilingual
programs, so a lot of kids our born and raised speaking Spanish, but
once they start school and they start learning English they really forget
their Spanish, so it was really important for me to be able to learn the
English language, but still be able to know the Spanish language and it's
a great benefit because now in my job it really helps me to be bilingual
and not only to speak both languages but to be able to read and write
both because it's really important to be able to communicate with other
people not only, you know, speaking but also in reading and writing.
Kara: Now, you've also taken classes in French in school. Do you think
it has been easier learning French through a textbook or learning English
being thrown into the United States and having to learn it?
Lupe: I think learning a second language made it that much easier to
jump in to a third language. You already sort of have a foundation of
what it's like to start learning to speak a different language and
communicate in a different language, but as you get older I definitely
think it gets a little harder with pronunciation and different, you know,
different aspects of the language and learning it, but I think it depends a
lot on the teachers and the way they teach the language because I can
read a textbook and try to understand what they are teaching but it's a
lot easier when I have someone in front of me who knows the language,
who can answer my questions and not only that: someone I can listen to
and see the pronunciation and make sure that I'm doing it correctly.
Kara: Now, do you think it would be easier for you to learn French if you
actually went to France and lived there?
Lupe: Definitely. I think being around other people that speak the
language make it that much easier to learn the language and I think
that's why I learned to speak English when I moved here so quickly
because I was surrounded by people who primarily spoke English, so
there were times when I had no choice but to try and speak it and it kind
of forced me to give it a try even more when I was afraid because I had
no other way to communicate, so I think being around others who speak
and understand the language definitely makes it easier for you to
understand it and learn it quicker.

Phrasal Verbs
● Do well - I hope I do well in my English exam next Saturday.
● Take up - I think I will take up French next year.