Communicative Activities Part I Book 3-Unit 9

Communicative Activities Book 3-Unit 9 Return to Menu Brainstorming Listening Speaking

Book 3-Unit 9 Work with your group to think of as many words/phrases/expressions as possible regarding the following topics. Language Assessing language behavior The use of language (verbs) Types of language use Types of language users Learning a language

 accent （口音）  (regional) dialect （地方方言）  standard English  RP (Received Pronunciation)  British/American/Australian English  rhythm  stress  tone  grammar Book 3-Unit 9 standard pronunciation Expressions for Language

incomprehensible comprehensible appropriate suitable out of place formal informal polite rude over-polite beautifully/well written poorly written make sense make no sense fluent accurate readable illegible doesn’t sound right doesn’t look right doesn’t feel right precise to the point Assessing Language Behavior Book 3-Unit 9

paraphrase interpret translate communicate readlisten write in (English/German/ French, etc.) speak (language, accent, dialect) Verbs Expressing the Use of Language

Book 3-Unit 9 Forms of Language Use  poems (poetry)  articles  verse  nursery rhymes ( 童谣、 歌谣 )  stories  novels  lines (in poems)  scripts (of dramas, plays, films, songs, recordings, etc.)  lyrics (of songs)  theses  papers  letters  memos (memoranda)  compositions  notes  posters  forms ( 表格 )  speeches  documents  announcements

 pen-friend  scriptwriter  playwright  copywriter  reporter  radio/TV announcer  journalist  speaker  listener (audience)  writer  author  poet  reader  translator  interpreter Book 3-Unit 9 one who writes, esp. as an occupation The original writer of a literary work; one who practices writing as a profession a writer, an investigator, or a presenter of new stories one whose occupation is journalism Types of Language Users

Book 3-Unit 9 repeat revise review make notes take down notes make oneself understood understand memory fails one practice use Learning a Language be rusty memorize learn something by heart rote learning

Book 3-Unit 9 Listen to “An Interview on Language Learning” and  Task 1: Take notes on the questions the interviewer asked.  Task 2: Answer the questions on page 132. The following words in the recording may be new to you: derive from: It means to get something from, especially something that is non-material. kick: It is a slang expression here used as a noun. It means a strong feeling of excitement, and pleasure. persuasive: having the power to influence others into believing

Book 3-Unit 9 Interviewer: I’m doing some research on language learning, and I know you’re a language student. I wonder if you would answer a few questions. Interviewer: My first question is: _____________________ ________________________________________________ Li: … Interviewer: Fine. That has answered my question. Er... English is your major, isn't it? ________________________ ________________________________________________ _____________ Li: … Task 1: Take notes on the questions the interviewer asked. to take up language as your subject of study? What do you think is the most difficult aspect in learning a foreign language, or English, Why did you choose in your case?

Book 3-Unit 9 Interviewer: _____________________________ Li: … Interviewer: That’s most interesting. Actually, the idiom means he got a lot of fun from watching the match. Li: … Interviewer: Well, one more question, _____________ ______________________________________________ ___________________________ Li: … Interviewer: That’s indeed a very persuasive argument. ___________________________________________________ _______________________________ Thank you very much. You’re especially interested in, I mean, have you decided on an Is there any area area which you will study further? Well, I do appreciate your answers to my questions, and I believe they’ll be very helpful to my research. Script You mean “idioms”?

Book 3-Unit 9 Task 2: Listen and answer the following questions. 1.Why is Li studying a foreign language? 2.What, according to Li, is the most difficult aspect in learning English? And why? 3.How does Li define the term “idiom”? 4.Which aspect of language is Li going to study in the future?

Book 3-Unit 9 Reference Answers 1. Why is Li studying a foreign language? At an early age, Li felt that he had a talent for language and he has always been fascinated by language. Although he now shows doubts about his talent and decision, he has become more interested in learning a new language.

Book 3-Unit 9 2. What, according to Li, is the most difficult aspect in learning English? And why? Li finds that English idioms are the most difficult aspect in his English learning because, although they consist of familiar words, idioms are not easy to understand and there are too many of them for the learner to remember.

Book 3-Unit 9 3. How does Li define the term “idiom”? An idiom is a group of words combined together, but its meaning cannot be understood from the meanings of the individual words.

Book 3-Unit 9 4. Which aspect of language is Li going to study in the future? Li is interested in “cultural studies”, which he thinks is a neglected but very important area, because he believes that it is mainly the cultural aspect of language rather than the other aspects that determines successful communication.

Book 3-Unit 9 Task 1Task 1 My Linguistic Autobiography Task 2Task 2 Group discussion Task 3 Task 3 Debate

Book 3-Unit 9 In pairs find out how your partner learns English, and then report your interview to the class. Task 1: My Linguistic Autobiography

She has been studying English since high school. We all know that there are four skills in learning English: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Among them listening and reading are regarded as receptive skills while speaking and writing are productive skills. She likes listening, especially listening to English songs, and movies. She tries to write down the words of the songs. She also likes to watch movies. After watching movies, she tries to get a cassette of the movie recording, and obtain the movie scripts. They can help her understand the movie better because if she didn ’ t understand what people were talking about in the movie, she could listen to the recording again. If she still didn ’ t understand the recording, she could check out the script of the movie. She knows writing is very important, but she find it really difficult to practice. Her biggest problem is that nobody will read her writing and help her improve her language when she write something. Example Book 3-Unit 9

Task 2: Group Discussion Work with your group member, read the following list of strategies employed by some language learners and discuss whether these strategies work in your own studies. Then present the result of your discussion to the class.

Language Learning Strategies Your Comments 1. It is helpful to watch an English film with Chinese subtitles. 2. The only way one can learn English well is to keep using it. 3. When speaking or writing in English, we’d better use the words or expressions we are familiar with because in this way we can avoid making mistakes. 4. The more you read, the better you write. 5. When reading, try to use the context to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words. 6. We should try to use the English language dictionary as much as possible. 7. We should develop a habit of reciting words and passages in order to learn English. Book 3-Unit 9 Suggested Comments

Book 3-Unit 9 Task 3: Debate  What did the child’s mistake tell us for language learning?  Mom failed to correct her child’s mistake. What does her failure mean to us? Work in groups to study the cartoon and the conversation. Questions to discuss before the debate: Now, take sides to debate on the topic: Is error correction necessary for a language learner? Why?

Book 3-Unit 9 Return to Menu