WEDNESDAY 30th MAY: LAST MEETING 2011-2012

WEDNESDAY 30th MAY: LAST MEETING 2011-2012

HI EVERYBODY,

WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR AND WE WANT TO SAY 'GOODBYE AND SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER' IN A VERY SPECIAL  WAY. WE ARE GOING TO MEET IN  A BAR CALLED 'P & P' AT 9 O´CLOCK ON 30th MAY. IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH GETTING THERE OR YOU DON´T KNOW WHERE IT IS, WE ARE LEAVING FROM THE SCHOOL AT 8:30, YOU CAN JOIN US, WE WILL MEET AT THE ENTRANCE HALL.

I HOPE ALL OF YOU WILL BE ABLE TO COME AND CELEBRATE THE END OF CLASSES.

SESSION 30: A SONG

SESSION 30: A SONG

COLBIE CAILLAT - YOU GOT ME

SESSION 30: A VIDEO (2)

SESSION 30: A VIDEO (2)

THE SOCIAL MEDIA REVOLUTION 2012

SESSION 30: A VIDEO (1)

SESSION 30: A VIDEO (1)

WHAT FACEBOOK IS FOR

SESSION 30: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

SESSION 30: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION:

2.1 THE INTERNET: How good is the Internet for the following things? How could we improve it?

• keeping in touch
• shopping
• news
• gaming
• travel information
• studying English

2.1 SITES: Rank the following sites, put the best at the top:

• BBC News
• Google
• Facebook
• Amazon.com
• Twitter
• You Tube
• Twenti

2.3 DISCUSSION: HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS WHICH YOU CAN THINK ABOUT AND TRY ASKING YOURSELF BEFORE YOU COME TO OUR DISCUSSION ON WEDNESDAY:

a)	What springs to mind when you hear the term ‘social media’?
b)	How do you use the social media? Since when do you use them?
c)	How did you communicate before social media came along? Do you miss the way in which you communicated before?
d)	Which is better, Facebook or Twitter?
e)	What would life be like without the Internet?
f)	Why has Facebook become so popular?
g)	Do you think it´s useful communicating with your friends via the Internet?
h)	What do you think of the name “social networking”?
i)	How will social networking develop in the future?

j)	Do you think we have lost in feelings with this new type of communication?
k)	Why are there differences between the way men and women use the Internet? Do you think it has to do with their inner differences?
l)	What concerns do you have about your privacy online?
m)	What would you do if your online identity was stolen?
n)	Have you ever deleted friends online? Why?
o)	Have you ever posted anything online you later regretted? What?
p)	In what ways are you cautious online?
q)	Do you think everyone should use the highest privacy settings?
r)	Are women generally more cautious than men?
s)	Children also use the Social Media, so you think they are as cautious about their privacy as adults are?

PREPARING A DISCUSSION IS FUNDAMENTAL:

THIS MUST BE DONE IN TWO DIRECTIONS:

FIRST, YOU NEED TO LEARN NEW VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO USE FOR THE DISCUSSION.

SECONDLY, YOU HAVE TO PREPARE THE TOPIC BY LOOKING UP INFORMATION IN THE INTERNET, BOOKS, ENCYCLOPAEDIAS.

THIS WAY YOU WILL FEEL MUCH MORE CONFIDENT AND AT THE SAME TIME YOU WILL HAVE MUCH MORE TO TALK ABOUT IN THE ORAL SESSION.

FINAL TASK:

HERE IS ONE FINAL TASK THAT YOU MAY DO IN ORDER TO COVER THE FOUR SKILLS YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON WHEN LEARNING A LANGUAGE: LISTENING, READING, SPEAKING AND WRITING.

Write a composition and leave it in the blog as a comment to Session 30, I will edit it in the blog so that everybody can learn from other people´s opinions. Choose one of these two options: 

• 'Social media have changed our way of communicating' Express your opinion
• Pros and Cons of using Facebook

SESSION 30: KEY TO EXERCISES

SESSION 30: KEY TO EXERCISES

1.1 TRUE/FALSE:
a.F / b.T / c.T / d.T / e.F / f.T / g.F / h.F

1.2 SYNONYM MATCH:
1.h / 2.e / 3.a / 4.c / 5.g / 6.d / 7.b / 8.i / 9.j / 10.f

1.3 PHRASE MATCH:
1.g / 2e / 3.i / 4.b / 5.c / 6.a / 7.d / 8.j / 9.h /10.f

1.4 GAP FILL:

1.REPORT - 2.USING - 3.USE - 4.BELONG - 5.USERS - 6.CONTRASTS - 7.ATTRACT - 8.UP

 

9.DIFFERENCES - 10.PRIVACY - 11.DELETED - 12.LIKELY - 13.REGRET - 14.CAUTIOUS - 15.HIGHEST - 16.SO

SESSION 30: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

SESSION 30: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

NOTE: IN ORDER TO WORK WITH THE TEXT, UNDERSTAND AND PREPARE IT BETTER I RECOMMEND THESE EXERCISES:

THERE WILL BE TWO TYPES OF EXERCISES:

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT: THESE ARE EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE READING COMPREHENSION, WORKING WITH VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS.

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION: EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE PREPARATION FOR THE DISCUSSION.

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

1.1 TRUE/FALSE: Look at the article and guess whether these sentences are True (T) or False (F):

a.	A new report says women are more reluctant to join social media sites.
b.	A research center questioned over 2,200 people about social media.
c.	Facebook is experiencing opposite fortunes to MySpace.
d.	Eleven per cent of those questioned said they use Twitter.
e.	It is more probable for a man to delete friends on social media sites.
f.	Men are more likely to have posted something they now regret.
g.	The report says women share information more freely than men.
h.	The report says men use more privacy settings than women.

1.2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

1.	report	a.	increase
2.	surveyed	b.	removed
3.	rise	c.	fall
4.	decline	d.	handle
5.	attract	e.	questioned
6.	manage	f.	information
7.	deleted	g.	woo
8.	regret	h.	study
9.	likely	i.	feel sorry about
10.	data	j.	probable

1.3 PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from this article (sometimes more than one option is possible):

1.	the Internet and how	a.	our privacy
2.	surveyed	b.	popularity
3.	up from 73	c.	attract more users
4.	The continued rise in Facebook’s	d.	to delete friends
5.	Twitter continues to	e.	2,277 U.S. adults
6.	how we manage	f.	settings
7.	Women are more likely than men to delete friends	g.	we use it
8.	men are almost twice	h.	regret
9.	videos that they later	i.	per cent in 2009
10.	the highest privacy	j.	as likely as women

1.4 GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text:

USERS - USE - UP - BELONG - REPORT - ATTRACT - USING - CONTRASTS

A new (1) ____________ on the Internet and how we use it says that more of us are (2) ____________ social media. The Pew Research Centre's Internet and American Life Project surveyed 2,277 U.S. adults about their Internet (3) ____________. About two-thirds of Internet users now (4) ____________ to social networking sites. Pew reports that ninety-three per cent of social network (5) ____________ have joined Facebook, up from 73 per cent in 2009. The continued rise in Facebook’s popularity (6) ____________ with the decline of MySpace. Twenty-three per cent of those questioned said they had a MySpace profile, down from 48 per cent in 2009. Twitter continues to (7) ____________ more users, with 11 per cent of respondents saying they use it, (8) ____________ from 6 per cent in 2009. 

LIKELY - CAUTIOUS - DIFFERENCES - SO - REGRET - PRIVACY - DELETED - HIGHEST

The report showed big (9) ____________ between how men and women use social media and how we manage our (10) ____________. Women are more likely than men to delete friends. Sixty-seven per cent of women said they have (11) ____________ friends compared with 58 per cent of men. The study reported that men are almost twice as (12) ____________ as women to have posted messages, photos or videos that they later (13) ____________. Fifteen per cent of men said they have done this, compared with eight per cent of women. The study also showed women to be more (14) ____________ who they share information with. Two-thirds of women use the (15) ____________ privacy settings, sharing data only with friends. Less than half of the men did (16) ____________.

SESSION 30: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 23rd MAY

SESSION 30: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 23rd MAY

WOMEN MORE CAUTIOUS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

TEXT TAKEN AND/OR ADAPTED FROM:

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

THE TEXT:

A new report on the Internet and how we use it says that more of us are using social media. The Pew Research Centre's Internet and American Life Project surveyed 2,277 U.S. adults about their Internet use. About two-thirds of Internet users now belong to social networking sites. Pew reports that ninety-three per cent of social network users have joined Facebook, up from 73 per cent in 2009. The continued rise in Facebook’s popularity contrasts with the decline of MySpace. Twenty-three per cent of those questioned said they had a MySpace profile, down from 48 per cent in 2009. Twitter continues to attract more users, with 11 per cent of respondents saying they use it, up from 6 per cent in 2009.

The report showed big differences between how men and women use social media and how we manage our privacy. Women are more likely than men to delete friends. Sixty-seven per cent of women said they have deleted friends compared with 58 per cent of men. The study reported that men are almost twice as likely as women to have posted messages, photos or videos that they later regret. Fifteen per cent of men said they have done this, compared with eight per cent of women. The study also showed women to be more cautious who they share information with. Two-thirds of women use the highest privacy settings, sharing data only with friends. Less than half of the men did so.

Women More Cautious on Social Media - 25th February, 2012
http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

SESSION 29: A SONG

SESSION 29: A SONG

N´SYNC - THIS I PROMISE YOU

SESSION 29: A VIDEO (2)

SESSION 29: A VIDEO (2)

ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA iPAD APP DEMO

SESSION 29: A VIDEO (1)

SESSION 29: A VIDEO (1)

ENCYCLOPEADIA BRITANNICA NOW ONLY DIGITAL

SESSION 29: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

SESSION 29: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION:

2.1 REFERENCE: Where is the best source of information? Think of the pros and cons of the following sources:

• books
• wikipedia
• teachers
• newspapers
• google
• word of mouth

2.2 DIGITAL END: Which of these things are, or would you be sad to see end and go digital?

• books
• banknotes and coins
• vinyl records
• newspapers
• homework
• tickets
• photographs
• museum paintings

2.3 DISCUSSION: HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS WHICH YOU CAN THINK ABOUT AND TRY ASKING YOURSELF BEFORE YOU COME TO OUR DISCUSSION ON WEDNESDAY:

	a)  What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘encyclopaedia’?
	b) What are your earliest memories of encyclopaedias?
	c) Do you keep paper-based encyclopaedias at home? Do you use them at the moment?
	d) Have you ever consulted the Encyclopaedia Britannica? Have you ever heard of her? If so, what concept do you have of this prestigious encyclopedia?
	e) What do you think of Encyclopaedia Britannica ending its printed version? Do you think it´s logical and that it goes with the times?
	f) Which do you think is better, Encyclopaedia Britannica’s online resource or Wikipedia?
	g) When you are in a hurry and you need quick information, where do you go to search for information?
	h) Would you like to own a set of Encyclopaedia Britannica?
	i) Do you think Encyclopaedia Britannica can fend off the competition

	j) Do you prefer looking for information in books or online?
	k) What do you think of the Encyclopaedia Britannica’s selling price?
	l) What’s your favourite encyclopaedia on the Internet?
	m) Do you think all books and libraries will be digital in the future?
	n) What advantages and disadvantages are there of a physical encyclopaedia over a digital one? Which one has the most advantages?

PREPARING A DISCUSSION IS FUNDAMENTAL:

THIS MUST BE DONE IN TWO DIRECTIONS:

FIRST, YOU NEED TO LEARN NEW VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO USE FOR THE DISCUSSION.

SECONDLY, YOU HAVE TO PREPARE THE TOPIC BY LOOKING UP INFORMATION IN THE INTERNET, BOOKS, ENCYCLOPAEDIAS.

THIS WAY YOU WILL FEEL MUCH MORE CONFIDENT AND AT THE SAME TIME YOU WILL HAVE MUCH MORE TO TALK ABOUT IN THE ORAL SESSION.

FINAL TASK:

HERE IS ONE FINAL TASK THAT YOU MAY DO IN ORDER TO COVER THE FOUR SKILLS YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON WHEN LEARNING A LANGUAGE: LISTENING, READING, SPEAKING AND WRITING.

Write a composition and leave it in the blog as a comment to Session 29, I will edit it in the blog so that everybody can learn from other people´s opinions. Choose one of these two options:

• Advantages and disadvantages of digital devices over physical ones.
• 'Editorials will not publish physical books in the future'. Express your opinion.

SESSION 29: KEY TO EXERCISES

SESSION 29: KEY TO EXERCISES

1.1 TRUE/FALSE:
a.T / b.T / c.F / d.F / e.F / f.T / g.F / h.T

1.2 SYNONYM MATCH:
1.f / 2.i / 3.a / 4.g / 5.c / 6.b / 7.e / 8.d / 9.j / 10.h

1.3 PHRASE MATCH:
1.g / 2.c / 3.a / 4.i / 5.d / 6.j / 7.b / 8.f / 9.e /10.h

1.4 GAP FILL:

1.SET - 2. DECISION - 3. FEND - 4. LAUCHED - 5. FORESEEN - 6. DOWN - 7. NOTHING - 8. DIGITAL 

9. BROUGHT - 10. HEADQUARTERS - 11. PLUMMETED - 12. OVERNIGHT - 13. LEFT - 14. SEARCH - 15. INDEX - 16. APPROPRIATE

 

SESSION 29: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

SESSION 29: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT


NOTE: IN ORDER TO WORK WITH THE TEXT, UNDERSTAND AND PREPARE IT BETTER I RECOMMEND THESE EXERCISES:

THERE WILL BE TWO TYPES OF EXERCISES:

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT: THESE ARE EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE READING COMPREHENSION, WORKING WITH VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS.

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION: EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE PREPARATION FOR THE DISCUSSION.

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

1.1 TRUE/FALSE: Look at the article and guess whether these sentences are True (T) or False (F):

a.	A set of Encyclopaedia Britannica contains 32 volumes.
b.	Encyclopaedia Britannica is over 200 years old.
c.	The company has also decided to end the online version of its product.
d.	The president said no one could have predicted the end of the books.
e.	Encyclopaedia Britannica originally started in England
f.	Over seven million sets of Encyclopaedia Britannica have been sold.
g.	The last print run of the encyclopaedia will be in the summer of 2012.
h.	The company president suggested it is faster to look for things online.

1.2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

1.	set	a.	edition
2	volume	b.	HQ
3.	version	c.	effect
4.	foreseen	d.	modernized
5.	impact	e.	start
6.	headquarters	f.	collection
7.	advent	g.	predicted
8.	updated	h.	suitable
9.	left	i.	book
10.	appropriate	j.	remaining

1.3 PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from this article (sometimes more than one option is possible):

1.	the world’s most famous set	a.	off competition
2	a 244-year history of the iconic	b.	plummeted
3.	try to fend	c.	printed edition
4.	… had been foreseen	d.	down the impact of…
5.	they played	e.	search
6.	It sold door-to-door for	f.	overnight
7.	Sales	g.	of reference books
8.	Web-based resources can be updated	h.	volume
9.	doing a keyword	i.	for many years
10.	finding the appropriate	j.	generations

1.4 GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text:

NOTHING - DECISION - FORESEEN - DIGITAL - SET - LAUNCHED - DOWN - FEND

Encyclopaedia Britannica, the world’s most famous (1) ____________ of reference books, has decided to stop printing its 32-volume collection. The (2) ____________ ends a 244-year history of the iconic printed edition. Instead, it will focus on its online version and try to (3) ____________ off competition from other web-based encyclopaedias. The company has recently (4) ____________ a digital encyclopaedia for iPads and other tablet devices. Officials said the end of the physical books had been (5) ____________ for many years, although they played (6) ____________ the impact of Internet sites. Britannica president Jorge Cauz said: “This has (7) ____________ to do with Wikipedia or Google…This has to do with the fact that now Britannica sells its (8) ____________ products to a large number of people.” 

SEARCH - HEADQUARTERS - OVERNIGHT - APPROPRIATE - BROUGHT - PLUMMETED - INDEX - LEFT

Encyclopaedia Britannica was first (9) ____________ out in 1768 in Scotland. It moved its (10) ____________ to Chicago in 1935. It sold door-to-door for generations, selling more than seven million sets. Sales (11) ____________ with the advent of CD-ROM encyclopaedias and then the Internet. Web-based resources can be updated (12) ____________, whereas it takes Britannica a decade to produce a new version. It was last printed in 2010 and there are still 4,000 sets (13) ____________, selling for $1,395 each. Mr Cauz admitted that: “In many instances doing a keyword (14) ____________ in an online resource is simply a lot faster then standing up looking at the (15) ____________ of the Britannica and then finding the (16) ____________ volume.”

SESSION 29: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 16th MAY

SESSION 29: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 16th MAY

ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA ENDS PRINT EDITION

TEXT TAKEN AND/OR ADAPTED FROM:

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

THE TEXT:

Encyclopaedia Britannica, the world’s most famous set of reference books, has decided to stop printing its 32-volume collection. The decision ends a 244-year history of the iconic printed edition. Instead, it will focus on its online version and try to fend off competition from other web-based encyclopaedias. The company has recently launched a digital encyclopaedia for iPads and other tablet devices. Officials said the end of the physical books had been foreseen for many years, although they played down the impact of Internet sites. Britannica president Jorge Cauz said: “This has nothing to do with Wikipedia or Google…This has to do with the fact that now Britannica sells its digital products to a large number of people.”

Encyclopaedia Britannica was first brought out in 1768 in Scotland. It moved its headquarters to Chicago in 1935. It sold door-to-door for generations, selling more than seven million sets. Sales plummeted with the advent of CD-ROM encyclopaedias and then the Internet. Web-based resources can be updated overnight, whereas it takes Britannica a decade to produce a new version. It was last printed in 2010 and there are still 4,000 sets left, selling for $1,395 each. Mr Cauz admitted that: “In many instances doing a keyword search in an online resource is simply a lot faster then standing up looking at the index of the Britannica and then finding the appropriate volume.”

'Encyclopaedia Britannica Ends Print Edition' - 17th March, 2012

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

SESSION 28: A BILINGUAL SONG

SESSION 28: A BILINGUAL SONG

MACACO - LOVE IS THE ONLY WAY

SESSION 28: A VIDEO (2)

SESSION 28: A VIDEO (2)

2-YEAR-OLD CHILD COMMUNICATES IN 3 LANGUAGES

SESSION 28: A VIDEO (1)

SESSION 28: A VIDEO (1)

BEING BILINGUAL BOOSTS BRAIN POWER

SESSION 28: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

SESSION 28: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION:

2.1 BRAINPOWER: What boosts it? To what extend is it effective? Why?

• studying languages
• crossword puzzles
• physical exercise
• reading
• maths
• work
• watching TV

2.2 BETTER: What would you rather have?

• a more powerful brain
• a more beautiful smile
• a flatter stomach
• bigger muscles
• a better sense of humor
• more get up and go
• more tolerance
• better athletic ability

2.3 DISCUSSION: HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS WHICH YOU CAN THINK ABOUT AND TRY ASKING YOURSELF BEFORE YOU COME TO OUR DISCUSSION ON WEDNESDAY:

a) What springs to mind when you hear the word 'bilingual'?

b) How bilingual are you?
c) What are the advantages of being bilingual?
d) Are there any disadvantages to being bilingual?
e) Should bilingualism (or trilingualism / multilingualism) be part of a country's education system?
f) Which countries do you know are multilingual?
g) What effect do you think language learning has on your brain?
h) How are your attention span and memory?
i) Would your life be different if you could not understand or speak English?
j) Are monolinguals disadvantaged in life?
k) What do you think of your brainpower, do you think it´s strong enough?
l) Do you think schools nowadays encourage brainpower? How?
m) Why do you think learning another language is good for the brain?
n) Do you think crossword puzzles, sudokus, etc are good for you?
o) Is chess a good way to develop and sharpen your brain? Do you play it?
p) Do you think you are better at recognizing and encoding sounds because of your language studying?
q) Do you think you need to be a good listener to learn a language quickly?
r) What new language would you like to learn and why?

PREPARING A DISCUSSION IS FUNDAMENTAL:

THIS MUST BE DONE IN TWO DIRECTIONS:

FIRST, YOU NEED TO LEARN NEW VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO USE FOR THE DISCUSSION.

SECONDLY, YOU HAVE TO PREPARE THE TOPIC BY LOOKING UP INFORMATION IN THE INTERNET, BOOKS, ENCYCLOPAEDIAS.

THIS WAY YOU WILL FEEL MUCH MORE CONFIDENT AND AT THE SAME TIME YOU WILL HAVE MUCH MORE TO TALK ABOUT IN THE ORAL SESSION.

FINAL TASK:

HERE IS ONE FINAL TASK THAT YOU MAY DO IN ORDER TO COVER THE FOUR SKILLS YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON WHEN LEARNING A LANGUAGE: LISTENING, READING, SPEAKING AND WRITING.

Write a composition and leave it in the blog as a comment to Session 28, I will edit it in the blog so that everybody can learn from other people´s opinions. Choose one of these two options:

• Advantages and disadvantages of being Bilingual
• 'Modern Societies should tend to Multilingualism'. Express your opinion.

SESSION 28: KEY TO EXERCISES

SESSION 28: KEY TO EXERCISES

1.1 TRUE/FALSE:
a.T / b.T / c.F / d.T / e.F / f.T / g.F / h.F

1.2 SYNONYM MATCH:
1.d / 2.h / 3.f / 4.b / 5.j / 6.c / 7.e / 8.i / 9.a / 10.g

1.3 PHRASE MATCH:
1.g / 2.j / 3.h / 4.a / 5.c / 6.d / 7.e / 8.i / 9.f /10.b

1.4 GAP FILL:

1.PROVIDES - 2.POWERFUL - 3. AFFECTS - 4. TUNES - 5. ATTEMPT - 6. ANCIENT - 7. COMES - 8. MEMORY

9. BENEFICIAL - 10. SHARP - 11. DUAL - 12. SIMPLY - 13. PARTICULARLY - 14. ENCODING - 15. JUGGLERS - 16. PAYS

SESSION 28: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

SESSION 28: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

NOTE: IN ORDER TO WORK WITH THE TEXT, UNDERSTAND AND PREPARE IT BETTER I RECOMMEND THESE EXERCISES:

THERE WILL BE TWO TYPES OF EXERCISES:

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT: THESE ARE EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE READING COMPREHENSION, WORKING WITH VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS.

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION: EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE PREPARATION FOR THE DISCUSSION.

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

1.1 TRUE/FALSE: Look at the article and guess whether these sentences are True (T) or False (F):

a. A university said bilingual people have more powerful brains.

b. Researchers say studying languages increases our ability to focus.
c. Listening to other languages activates a newly-found part of the brain.
d. The researchers say bilingualism enhances attention and memory.
e. The study says bilingual people are better at crossword puzzles.
f. Researchers say good things come automatically with bilingualism.
g. The researchers said bilinguals are good at juggling different objects.
h. A professor said bilinguals totally ignore irrelevant sounds.

1.2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
1. evidence ................. a. especially
2. investigated ............. b. triggers
3. enhances ................. c. advantageous
4. activates ................. d. proof
5. ancient ................... e. intelligent
6. beneficial ................ f. boosts
7. sharp ..................... g. deals with
8. dual ...................... h. inquired into
9. particularly .............. i. twin
10. juggles .................. j. old

1.3 PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from this article (sometimes more than one option is possible):

1. biological ................................. a. part of the brain

2. how bilingualism ......................... b. irrelevant sounds
3. attention .................................. c. to attention
4. an ancient ................................. d. for the brain
5. real consequences when it comes ..... e. sharp
6. so beneficial .............................. f. linguistic input
7. keep their minds ......................... g. evidence
8. She said bilinguals were ................. h. span
9. The bilingual juggles ..................... i. better listeners
10. relevant versus .......................... j. affects the brain

1.4 GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text:

ATTEMPT - MEMORY - AFFECTS - POWERFUL - COMES - TUNES - PROVIDES - ANCIENT

A study by the USA's Northwestern University (1) ____________ biological evidence that people who are bilingual have a more (2) ____________ brain. Drs Viorica Marian and Nina Kraus investigated how bilingualism (3) ____________ the brain. They found that studying another language "fine-(4) ____________" people's attention span and enhances their memory. In particular they discovered that when language learners (5) ____________ to understand speech in another language, it activates and energises the brainstem – an (6) ____________ part of the brain. Professor Kraus stated: "Bilingualism serves as enrichment for the brain and has real consequences when it (7) ____________ to…attention and working (8) ____________."

SIMPLY - SHARP - ENCODING - PAYS - PARTICULARLY - BENEFICIAL - JUGGLERS - DUAL

Professor Marian explained why studying and learning another language was so (9) ____________ for the brain. She said: "People do crossword puzzles and other activities to keep their minds (10) ____________, but the advantages we've discovered in (11) ____________ language speakers come automatically (12) ____________ from knowing and using two languages." She added: "It seems that the benefits of bilingualism are (13) ____________ powerful and broad, and include attention, inhibition and (14) ____________ of sound." She said bilinguals were better listeners because they are "natural (15) ____________" of sound. She said: "The bilingual juggles linguistic input and, it appears, automatically (16) ____________ greater attention to relevant versus irrelevant sounds."

SESSION 28: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 9th MAY

SESSION 28: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 9th MAY

BEING BILINGUAL BOOSTS BRAINPOWER

TEXT TAKEN AND/OR ADAPTED FROM:

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

THE TEXT:

A study by the USA's Northwestern University provides biological evidence that people who are bilingual have a more powerful brain. Drs Viorica Marian and Nina Kraus investigated how bilingualism affects the brain. They found that studying another language "fine-tunes" people's attention span and enhances their memory. In particular they discovered that when language learners attempt to understand speech in another language, it activates and energises the brainstem – an ancient part of the brain. Professor Kraus stated: "Bilingualism serves as enrichment for the brain and has real consequences when it comes to…attention and working memory."

Professor Marian explained why studying and learning another language was so beneficial for the brain. She said: "People do crossword puzzles and other activities to keep their minds sharp, but the advantages we've discovered in dual language speakers come automatically simply from knowing and using two languages." She added: "It seems that the benefits of bilingualism are particularly powerful and broad, and include attention, inhibition and encoding of sound." She said bilinguals were better listeners because they are "natural jugglers" of sound. She said: "The bilingual juggles linguistic input and, it appears, automatically pays greater attention to relevant versus irrelevant sounds."

Being Bilingual Boosts Brainpower - 4th May, 2012

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/