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Module7SeniorHighEnglish1Unit19LanguageLesson1LanguageLearningGetaheadwithyourEnglishtwaspredictedasearlyasthe1700sthatEnglishwouldonedaybethegloballanguageandthathasprovedtobethecaseinthelastfewdecades.ThegrowthofinternationalcompaniesandthegreatadvancesincommunicationshavestartedthetrendforlearningEnglishasaforeignlanguage.Intoday’sworld,beingabletospeakmorethanonelanguage,includingEnglish,ishowyoustandoutandgetahead.However,learningEnglishasaforeignlanguageisverydifficultintheabsenceofanativelanguageenvironment.Somerespectedtheoriesonlanguageacquisitionbelievethattoattainahighleveloffluencyandaccuracyinaforeignlanguage,youneedtobesurroundedbyit.Butsadly,thechancesthatwewillallhavetheI2opportunitytoliveinanEnglish-speakingcountryaresmall.Therefore,mostofushavetorelyonwhatwecanlearnatschoolaspartoftheschoolcurriculum.OurlatestEnglishcurriculumencouragesteacherstocreatearichlanguageenvironmentintheclassroom.WhatthismeansisthattheymakesurethereisanadequateamountofinputinEnglishconveyedtothestudentsthroughvariousmediums.Thiscantaketheformofreadingandlisteningmaterialswhichmustbeofthehighestquality.Qualityinputensuresqualityoutput,whetheritisspeakingorwriting.Toreallygetahead,however,meansputtinginextraworkoutsideoftheclassroom.Expertssaythatjust15minutesofextra-curricularstudyadaycanreallyaccelerateforeignlanguagelearning.Herearewhattheyrecommend:-Settingachievabletargets.Forexample,enlargeyourvocabularyby10newwordseveryday–fivetimesaweek–thenrevisethewordsontheweekend.50newwordsaweekmeans200newwordsamonth.-ListeningtoanEnglishsongseveraltimesinoneweekafterreadingthewords.-WatchingthenewsinyourownlanguageandthenreadinganEnglishnewspaperornewswebsite.KnowingthemainstoriesbeforereadingwillguaranteegreatercomprehensionwhenreadinginEnglish.-WatchingafavoriteDVD,butadjustingthelanguagetoEnglishinpartsyouknowwell.-Studyingwithfriends.Testeachother3andsharelearningstrategies–thismakeslearningmoreenjoyable.-Rewardingyourself.Ifyoureachatarget,treatyourself.Informafriendofyourtargetssotheycanhelpmotivateyouaswell.Theserecommendationsareeasilyachievedandarewellworththeextraeffort.However,puttinginthoseextra15minutesadaydoestakededication.Tostaydedicated,youneedtokeepinmindwhyyouarelearningEnglish.Quitesimply,intoday’sworld,Englishholdsthekeytoabrighterfutureandaworldofpossibilities.Lesson3BodyLanguageBodyLanguageSpeaksforItselffyousawafatherpattinghissononthebackwhilesmilinghappily,whatwouldyouthinkwasgoingon?Youwouldprobablythinkthatthefatherwascongratulatinghissonondoingsomethingwell,maybepassinganexamorwinningarace.Youwouldknowwhatwasgoingonbecauseyouunderstoodthemessageconveyedbythefather’sbodylanguage.Acrosstheworld,apatonthebackandasmileusuallymeans,“Welldone”.Bodylanguageisusedeverysingledaybypeopleofdifferentnationalitiesallovertheworld.Itisalanguagewithoutwordsthatconsistsofgestures,facialexpressionsandbodymovementsthatgreatlyaddto–andsometimesevenreplaceI4–spokenlanguage.Bodylanguageisusedtocommunicatebothattitudesandfeelingsfromaffectiontoangerjustlikeanyotherlanguage,butitdiffersfromspokenlanguageasitisnotalwaysexplicit.Somebodyjumpingforjoyiseasytoseewhilearaisedeyebrowconveyingdoubtiseasiertomiss.Peopleoftenusebodylanguageonpurpose.Someonewhodoesnotknowtheanswertoaquestionwillmovetheirshouldersupwardsawayfromtheirupperbodyandthenletthemfall,meaning“Idon’tknow”However,bodylanguagecanbeunconsciousaswell.Apersonwhoisfeelinguncomfortableornervouswilloftenholdtheirbodyinaveryrigidmannerandhaveatightlookabouttheirmouths.Theymightalsocrosstheirarmsandmoveinanabruptwayresemblingarobotmorethanahuman.Theymightnotevenrealizehowtheyareactingbuttheirbodylanguagewilltellanyonewhocarestolookcloselyenoughhowtheyarefeeling.Bodylanguagecanthereforemakepeople’sfeelingsmoretransparentasalthoughwecanliewithwords,itisnotaseasytodosowithour5bodies.Learningtobeawareofyourbodylanguagecanbeaveryusefultool.Forexample,inajobinterview,youwillprobablybefeelingnervousbutyouwon’twanttoappeartobeinastateofunrest.Youwillwanttoappearcalmwithasmuchdignityaspossible.Merelybyuncrossingyourarms,youwilllookmoreconfident.Bodylanguagecanbeveryusefulwhenpeopledonotshareacommonspokenlanguage.Forexample,inforeigncountries,itisveryeasytopurchasesomethingsimplybysmilingandpointingatwhatyouwant.Ontheotherhand,youcanalsoeasilyshowwhatyoudon’tlikebyshakingyourhead.Youcannegotiatethepricebyusingyourfingersandevenaskquestionsbyusingyourhandstooutlinetheshapesofthingsyouwant–althoughthiscancauseconfusionandafewlaughstoo!However,bodylanguagecansometimesbeambiguous.Althougheveryculturearoundtheworldusesthesamegesturesandexpressions,theyusethemindifferentways.Forexample,anAmericantouristataGermanhotelmightgivean“OK”signbymakingacirclewithhisfingers.UnlikeinAmericawherethissignmeanseverythingisfine,inGermany,thisgesturecancauseoffence.Anotherexampleisthatinmostculturestonodone’sheadmeans“NO”whileinsomeculturestheoppositeistrue!Regardlessofthesedifferences,expertsagreethatacrosstheglobethereisoneformofbodylanguagethatreceivesuniversalapproval–thesmile.Smilinghas