Voice

RIDDLE( ) What is like a bridge That brings together you and me ? What is like an entrance From which we can enter another world ? What is like a train Which can take us to a bright future ? RIDDLE Lanuage

How do we learn our mother tongue? By communicating with the people around us. Pre-reading

Differences between English and Chinese? Learning English: older, in school/class with the help of teachers, textbooks… learn more efficiently… Learning Chinese: learn from parents all the time…

What is your difficulty in learning English?

Difficulties in learning English: listening speaking reading writing

Learning a foreign language: Twice as hard (page66) Unit 8 Reading

True or false ( )1. Learning a foreign language is only a process of collecting information through communication, which is memorizing words, phrases and structures. F ( )2. One thing that language experts agree on is that learning a language is just like learning to solve problems. It is not until the age of twelve that people can master the basics. Listen..\ \U08Reading.MP3..\ \U08Reading.MP3 F The first sentence of para.1 Para.2

( )3. The time we spend learning a foreign language is longer than the time we spend learning our mother tongue. F ( )4. One who is interested in language, science and the world may learn a foreign language better than others. ( )5. Being confident and relaxed is important for language learning. T T Line 9 of para.3 Line of 3-4 of para.4 Para.5

Skim the text: Tell the main idea of the each paragraph

Main idea Para. 1 Para. 2 Para. 3 Para. 4 Para. 5 Para. 6 A question Life is a successful school Learning a foreign language and mother tongue is different the basic characteristics of successful learners. Successful learners way to learn Ways to become successful learners

While reading Answer the questions: 1. Whats the main question raised in the first paragraph? 2. Do experts have the same answer to it? 3. What do they all agree ? 4. Is language learning really slow and difficult according to the reading? 5. Why are some better at learning a foreign one? 6. Whats the purpose of learning?

1. Whats the main question raised in the first paragraph? It is: how was it possible for us to learn all the sounds, words, grammar rules and structures through this communication? 2. Do experts have the same answer to it? No.

3. What do they all agree ? Life is a very successful language school. 4. Is language learning really slow and difficult according to the reading? No.

5. Why are some people better at learning a foreign language? a. They do have quite a few characteristics, such as … b. Also, they use different ways of learning and plan their studies.

1.Most children have mastered their mother tongue. A.at the age of five B. by the age of eight C. before they are five D. since they were five 1 Post-reading 2

2. Successful language learners do share the following characteristics except. A.the ability to memorize the words B. an interest in understanding their own thinking C. willingness to take chances D. confidence in their ability

3. In fact, we learn English much faster than we may have thought because ________. A.A lot of people are born with a special ability to learn a foreign language. B.English learning always takes place in class. C.Communicating with people often takes too much time. D.We can get a lot of help and the learning is more efficient. 1 3

4. The text tells us that successful language learners ______. A.spend as many hours studying English as they do their mother tongue. B.always have different plans for their learning C.want very much to become translators and interpreters. D.are usually very impatient in learning a language. 2 5

5. From the text we can see _______. A.The stronger the motivation is, the more quickly a person will learn a foreign language. B.Interest, curiosity, willingness and confidence are more important than anything else. C.Well find it easier to learn English if we can learn something from successful language learners. D.Both B and C

6. Whats the main idea of this article? A. Learning a foreign language is twice as hard as learning our mother tongue. B. Learning a foreign language is more important than learning our mother tongue. C. Learning a foreign language is twice as easy if we develop our study skills. D. In fact,the number of people learning a foreign language has increased with years.

7.The sentence Life is a very successful language school (para2/L5)means. A. we are equipped with a special ability to learn language B. the key to learn the language well is to communicate with the people around us C. parents can give children language lessons D. people can learn the language by themselves

consolidation Fill in the blanks with words and expressions in the text

We learn our mother tongue by _________________ people around. But how were we able to ___________ what we heard and __________ the mistakes and errors ______ good language? Some experts believe that we are _____________ a special ability to learn language and that our brain _____________ the language we hear around us. Others think that we learn language ______________ we learn other things. communicating make sense of distinguish from equipped with in the same way adjusts itself to

Learning a foreign language is ______________ learning ones mother tongue. Research has shown that successful language learners do ______ a few _____________. Successful language students gain confidence and are able to _____and _____ the learning because they _______and ________ their learning. And theyre more willing to ___________ and to _____ themselves in new learning situations. different from characteristics share relaxenjoy plan evaluate take risksplace

If we want to be successful language learners, we should try to_____ some of the study habits ________ above. If we _________ our study skills, we may find that learning a foreign language does not have to be ___________________ learning our mother tongue. adopt described develop twiceas hard as LEARNING A FOREIGN ANGUAGE : TWICE AS EASY !!!

Decide which language (mother tongue or foreign language) each of the sentences below describes

A We learn quite fast. B We are not taught but learn anyway. C Some people think that we are born with an ability to learn this. D We can learn faster if we develop study skills. E Most people have mastered this by the age of five. F M M F M

F We learn this in a special place where we can get help. G It takes longer to learn this. H We Learn this by communicating with others. F M M

Paraphrase the followings: 1. And, perhaps most puzzling of all, how were we able to make sense of what we heard and distinguish the mistakes and errors from good language?( para.1/L3) And maybe the most puzzling thing is how we could understand what we heard and tell the difference between what is a mistake and what isnt in the language.

2. The less anxious and more relaxed the learner, the better their language acquisition. (para5/L5) If the learner is less anxious and more relaxed, they will learn the language better.

1. Read the passage twice and rewrite the passage with books closed 2. Preview language study and complete a cloze test. Homework: