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Module E Sample - 240212 - 083825

Paragraph I summarizes why languages are disappearing, explaining that many languages are rapidly disappearing as children are no longer learning the languages of their parents and grandparents. Researchers believe around 3,000 languages will no longer exist in a hundred years. Paragraph II describes how children in school learn their country's national language and often an international language like English, as knowledge of these major languages provides opportunities. However, local languages cannot be used globally in the same ways. Paragraph III notes that local languages are important for passing on culture and traditions to new generations. In response, some governments now have laws requiring endangered languages be taught in school alongside national and international languages to help preserve them.

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60 views5 pages

Module E Sample - 240212 - 083825

Paragraph I summarizes why languages are disappearing, explaining that many languages are rapidly disappearing as children are no longer learning the languages of their parents and grandparents. Researchers believe around 3,000 languages will no longer exist in a hundred years. Paragraph II describes how children in school learn their country's national language and often an international language like English, as knowledge of these major languages provides opportunities. However, local languages cannot be used globally in the same ways. Paragraph III notes that local languages are important for passing on culture and traditions to new generations. In response, some governments now have laws requiring endangered languages be taught in school alongside national and international languages to help preserve them.

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u0548427971
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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(19B) SAVING LANGUAGES

spoken
rapidly disappearing
PARAGRAPH communities
1 endangered
common
no longer exist
hardly surprising
national
international
PARAGRAPH Knowledge
2 provide with opportunities
in particular
widely used
global communication
culture
generation
traditions
PARAGRAPH concerned
3 prevent
disappearing
laws
require
preserve
Founded
collection of recordings
PARAGRAPH available
4 developed
experts
local phrases
Hopefully
SAVING LANGUAGES
I About 7,000 languages are spoken in the world today, but many of them are rapidly
disappearing. Some of these languages are spoken by only very few people. Others
still have tens of thousands of speakers. However, all the communities whose
languages are endangered have one thing in common: Children are not learning the
language of their parents and grandparents. Researchers believe that, as a result,
about 3,000 languages will no longer exist a hundred years from now.

II It is hardly surprising that so many languages are endangered. At school, children


use their country's national language, and often also learn an international language,
such as English or Spanish. Knowledge of these major languages can help provide
learners with opportunities for their future. English, in particular, is taught because it
is widely used in global communication in business, travel, and academic activities.
Local languages, on the other hand, cannot be used in these ways. Therefore, for
many years they have not been taught in school.

III But language, of course, has other uses as well. It is also part of a culture, and is
used to pass that culture to the next generation. Therefore, when a language is lost,
many traditions are lost too. Recently, many governments and organizations have
become concerned about this loss, and they are therefore trying to prevent endangered
languages from disappearing. Some countries, for example, now have laws that
require such languages to be taught in school together with national and international
languages.

IV The Internet too is helping to preserve endangered languages. One important


website is the World Oral Literature Project (WOLP). Founded in 2009, it has a large
collection of recordings of people speaking endangered languages. The recordings –
of songs, stories, and much more – are available for researchers to study and for
teachers to use in the classroom. Another project was developed by the Living
Tongues Institute (LTI). Its experts go to communities whose languages might
disappear, and train a few people there to record local words and phrases. These are
then added to an online dictionary, with an explanation of their meaning. About 100
languages already have such "talking dictionaries." Hopefully, in coming years,
many more will join them.
1. What is explained in paragraph I?
(i) Why there are so many languages in the world today.
(ii) How researchers study endangered languages.
(iii) Why languages are disappearing.
(iv) How long languages usually exist.
(8 points)
2. What do we learn from paragraph II?
Give ONE answer. COMPLETE THE SENTENCE.

We learn why children need to ............................................................................ .


(9 points)
3. In paragraph II, the writer describes (—).
(i) methods of teaching languages in school
(ii) differences between local and international languages
(iii) a difficulty in learning major languages
(iv) opportunities for using local languages
(8 points)
4. According to paragraph III, what is special about local languages?
COMPLETE THE SENTENCE.
They help people ...................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................. .
(8 points)
5. What are we told in paragraph III about the laws described in the same
paragraph?
(i) Why they are necessary.
(ii) How successful they have been.
(iii) Why they are taught in schools.
(iv) How they affect the teaching of national languages.
(9 points)
6. What do both projects described in paragraph IV have in common?
COMPLETE THE SENTENCE.
Both of them help to ...............................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................. .
(9 points)
7. Why might teachers of endangered languages go to the WOLP website?
COMPLETE THE ANSWER. (paragraph IV)
To find ...................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................. .
(9 points)
8. What is explained in paragraph IV?
(i) How the LTI experts are trained.
(ii) What can be found in the LTI dictionaries.
(iii) Where the LTI project was developed.
(iv) Who uses the LTI dictionaries.
(9 points)
Lexical Knowledge (30 points)

(1) 1. saving
2. languages _____ to be no longer seen
3. rapidly _____ quickly; at a fast pace or in a short time
4. disappear _____ the system of spoken or written words that people use
to communicate
5. communities
6. endangered

(2) 1. common
2. exist _____ to be real; to live
3. national _____ of or having to do with the whole country
4. international _____ information, understanding, or skill
5. knowledge
6. provide

(3) 1. opportunity
2. in particular _____ a chance for a better situation
3. widely _____ to a great degree; by a large amount
4. global _____ special or specific
5. activities
6. culture

(4) 1. generation
2. traditions _____ the entire group of people who were born around the
same time
3. organization _____ the beliefs and ways of doing things that are passed
down from parents to children
4. concerned _____ a group of people that acts together for some purpose
5. prevent
6. laws

(5) 1. preserve
2. collection _____ a group of things of the same type that someone has
brought together
3. available _____ to keep safe from loss or harm
4. experts _____ to put, bring, connect or fasten together
5. develop
6. join

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