Lesson 104 Part I

Lesson 104

Part Ⅰ Warming-up Exercises

Note-taking: History of the English Language

Training Focus:

Note-taking: important facts

Directions: You are going to hear a brief account of the history of the English language. Listen carefully and note down the missing information. Do not try to write down every word. You can abbreviate words as you like.

Key:

The English language can be traced back to prehistoric Indo-European through the West Germanic line. However, many other influences have shaped the development of Modern English. We will review some important dates in the history of the English language.

The first three are Latin influences:

1. In 55 B.C. Caesar conquered Britain and the Ceiiic people

2. In 43 B.C. Rome colonized the island.

3. The Romans remained for 400 years (the first four centuries of the Christian Era).

The next significant dates were

4. The year 499 (which was the year of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of the island).

5. From 500 on, the West Germanic language was the basic language of Britain (or England).

Influences from other languages continued however.

6. In the sixth and seventh centuries England was Christianized by missionaries sent by the Pope (so that Latin influence continued). Then,

7. In the cighth and ninth centuries the Norsemen (Vikings), invaded England with their Old Norse language.

8. In 1066, the Norman Conquest brought French linguistic influence.

9. The French influence continued for 300years (the ninth century through the 11th century).

10. And finally, in the fifteen and sixteen hundreds, when classical learning was revived, there was continued Latin language influence.

Lesson 104 Part Ⅱ Language

Lesson 104

Part Ⅱ Language

Ex. Ⅰ

Directions: Complete the statements according to what you hear on the tape.

Key: (see tapescript)

Ex. Ⅱ

Directions: Supply specific details for the major points mentioned in the concluding paragraph.

Key: (see tapescript)

Tapescript:

Language ( 3′)

Only man has the power of speech, and all men have it. Although some kind of communication by sounds does take place among animals and birds, it is not language. And on the other hand, there are no people on earth whose language is not fully developed. Even the most primitive cultures possess complex languages.

Language is one of the most important possessions of the human race. It makes possible the exchange of ideas between men and also the transmission of ideas from father to son.

Throughout history, people have been interested in knowing how language first began, but no one knows exactly where or how this happened. However, we do know a lot about languages, the languages of today and also the languages of earlier times. There are probably about three thousand languages in the world today. Chinese is the language with the most speakers. English, Hindi-Urdu, Russian and Spanish are also spoken by many millions of people. On the other hand, some languages in the world have less than one hundred speakers.

There are several important families of languages in the world. For example, most of the languages of Europe are in one large family called Indo-European. The original language of this family was spoken about 4,500 years ago. Many of the present-day languages of Europe and India are modern forms of the language of 4,500 years ago,

Languages are always changing. The English of today is very different from the English of 500 years ago. In time, some languages become more important and others become less important. Some even die out completely. About 1,000 years ago English was a little-known relative of German spoken on one of the borders of Europe.

If a language has a large number of speakers, or if it is very old, there may be differences in the way it is spoken in different areas. That is, the language may have several dialects. Chinese is a good example of dialect differences. Chinese has been spoken for thousands of years by many millions of speakers. The differences between the dialects of Chinese are so great that speakers of Chinese from some parts of China cannot understand speakers from other parts.

There are other kinds of dialects in addition to local dialects. In some languages we find words or expressions and even grammatical forms which are used only by men and others used only by women. Furthermore, each generation uses its own slang expressions and grandparents and grandchildren may sometimes have difficulty in understanding each other.

So we see that languages may be very different at different periods of history. And even at one particular point in time, a language may have numerous dialects based on the geographical location, the education, the sex, or the age of the speakers of the language.

Lesson 104 Part Ⅲ How To Improve Your Study Habits

Lesson 104

Part Ⅲ How To Improve Your Study Habits

Ex.

Directions: Complete the outline with the information you hear on the tape.

Key: A. 2. a schedule of your time.

a. eating, sleeping, dressing, school, meetings, etc.

b. a good, regular time for studying.

c. enough time to complete the work.

d. enough time for entertainment, hobbies, and relaxation.

B. Find a good place to study.

Keep it free of everything but study materials. When you sit down to work, concentrate on the subject.

C. Scan before you read.

Preview the material for general idea on the content, double reading speed, and imoprve your comprehension.

D. Make good use of your time in class.

Listen to everything the teacher says. Sit where you can see and hear well, and take notes.

E. 1. Go over the notes and important points.

2. Read the related material in the textbook.

3. Scan and read the material for the next day.

F. Develop a good attitude about tests.

Tapescript:

How To Improve Your Study Habits (4′ 39 ″)

Maybe you are an average student with an average intellect. You pass most of your subjects. You occasionally get good grades, but they are usually just average. You are more interested in hiking than in history, and in sports than in scholarship. The fact is that you don't study very much.

You probably think you will never be a top student. This is not necessarily so, however. Anyone can become a better scholar if he or she wants to. It is true that you may not be enthusiastic about everything that you study, but by using your time properly you may improve your grades without additional work. Here's how:

1. Plan your time carefully. When you plan a trip, one of the first things you must do is to make a list of things to take. If you don't, you are almost certain to leave something important at home. When you plan your week, you should make a list of things that you have to do. Otherwise, you may forget to leave enough time to complete an important task. After making the list, you should make a schedule of your time. First fill in committed time----eating, sleeping, dressing, school, meetings, etc. Then decide on a good, regular time for studying. Be sure to set aside enough time to complete the work that you are normally assigned each week. Of course, studying shouldn't occupy all of your free time. Don't forget to set aside enough time for entertainment, hobbies, and maybe just relaxation. A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you to realize what is happening to your time. 2. Find a good place to study. Look around the house for a good study area. Keep this space, which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room, free of everything but study materials. No games, radios, or television ! If you can't find such a place at home, find a library where you can study. When you sit down to work, concentrate on the subject ! And don't go to the place you have chosen unless you are ready to study.

3. Scan before you read. This means looking a passage over quickly but thoroughly before you begin to read it more carefully. Scanning a passage lets you preview the material and get a general idea of the content. This will actually allow you to skip less important material when you begin to read. Scanning will help you double your reading speed and improve your comprehension.

4. Make good use of your time in class. Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teacher says. Sit where you can see and hear well. Really listening in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says. When the teacher gets off the subject, stop taking notes.

5. Study regularly. When you get home from class, go over your notes. Review the important points that your teacher mentioned in class. Read any related material in your textbook. If you know what your teacher is going to discuss the next day, scan and read that material, too. This will help you understand the next class. If you do these things regulary, the material will become more meaningful, and you will remember it longer.

6. Develop a good attitude about tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. The world won't end if you don't pass a test, so don't get overly worried. Tests do more than just provide grades; they let you know what you need to study more, and they help make your new knowledge permanent.

There are other techniques that might help you with your studying. Only a handful have been mentioned here. You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.