Learning a foreign language: Twice As Hard?

Scanning Scan the text and tell the following statements “true” or “false”.

True or false: 1.Everyday activities and interactions with other people are important when children are learning their mother tongue. 2.If we want to become successful language learner, we should try to learn all by ourselves. 3.If we could spend all our waking hours communicating with native speakers we would make greater progress in English. 4.We learn our mother tongue much faster than we do a foreign language. 5.If we want to become successful language learners, we must first build our confidence and develop our study skills.

Listening: Listen to the tap by paragraph carefully and try to find out the main idea to each paragraph.

Para. 1 Para. 2 Para. 3 Para. 4 Para. 5 Para. 6 Purpose Learning a language is more than just memorizing words, phrases and structures Different experts have different answers. Learning a foreign language is different from learning one’s mother tongue. Successful language learners share quite a few characteristics. Successful learners plan and evaluate their learning. The purpose of learning is important. Help us study languages

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 C Multiple choice:

2. 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. D

A 3. 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

B 4. The sentence “Life is a very successful language school” 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

C 5. What’s the purpose of writing 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.

6. 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. We’ll find it easier to learn English if we can learn something from successful language learners. D. Some people probably have more interest and greater ability than others in language learning BC

Reading: Read the text. Use what you learn from the text to complete the form and answer the questions below.

Ways to learn our native language Ways to learn foreign language Characteristics of successful learners Effective learning skills Good learning habits Ways to be a successful language learner

Ways to learn Mother tongue: 1. Not receive much formal instruction. 2. Learn by communicating with people around us. 3. Learn the language in real life.

Ways to learn foreign language 1. In school 2.Few opportunities to communicate 3. Much faster 4. A few hours a week in a few years’ time 5. Have textbooks, teachers and classmates 6. Learn more about study methods and skills

Characteristics of successful learners 1. interested in understanding their own thinking 2. curious about the world 3. willing to take chances 4. confident in their ability 5. use different ways of learning 6. plan and evaluate their learning

Skills and habits 1. Be self-confident and able to relax 2. Plan and evaluate their learning 3. Be willing to take risks and to place themselves in new learning situations.

Ways to be a successful language learner 1.Try to adopt some of the study habits and characteristics described above. 2. Develop our study skills

Detailed reading: How do we learn our mother tongue? Para 1 By communicating with the people around us.

How do different people explain our ability to learn our mother tongue? Para2 Some believe that we are equipped with a special ability to learn language and that our brain adjust itself to the language. Others think that we learn language in the same way we learn other things, such as walking or solving problems, and that what we are born with a general ability to learn and adapt, not a language-specific part of the brain.

How is learning a foreign language different from learning one’s mother language? Firstly, learning a foreign language usually takes place in school. Para3 Secondly, there are few opportunities to communicate with other speakers of the language. Thirdly, when we learn a foreign language we have textbooks, teachers and classmates to instruct and assist us in the process. We learn a foreign language much faster than we do our mother tongue.

What do the successful language learners have in common? Para4 Interested in understanding their own thinking. Curious about the world Willing to take chances Confident in their ability. Use different ways of learning Plan their studies

How can students do better in language acquisition? Less anxious and more relaxed Willing to take risks and place themselves in new learning situations. Para5

How can we study a foreign language? Para 6 It takes patience to learn a language. Try to adopt some of the study habits and characteristics described above.

Decide which language M( mother tongue or F (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 we develop study skills. E Most people have mastered it by the age of five. 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 communication with others. F M M F M M F M/F

Consolidation: We learn our mother tongue by _________________ people around. But how were we able to _____________ what we heard and __________ the mistakes and errors ______ “good” language? communicating make sense of distinguish from

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. equipped with adjusts itself to in the same way

Learning a foreign language is ______________ learning one’s mother tongue. Research has shown that successful language learners do ______ a few _____________. Successful language students gain ____________ and are able to _____ and _____ the learning because they _______ and ________ their learning. different from sharecharacteristics relax confidence plan enjoy evaluate

And they’re more willing to __________ and to _____ themselves in new learning situations. 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. take risks place adopt described develop twice as hard as

What have you learned from this text? Discussion

Suggested answers to Ex 1 on page awful 2. Association 3.Fall behind 4. Overweight 5. Operation 6. Pile 7. Knock down 8. Put an end to