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Dr. Christopher Denis-Delacour/Global Language GLOBAL LANGUAGE INTRODUCTION Name : Date :
English - Our Number One World Language?1 IN-GROUP ACTIVITY 1 Research
1. Find out where the six official languages of the UN are spoken: Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic.
2. Find out how many native speakers there are as well as the total number of speakers for
each of the languages. Numbers may vary to some extent. -Chinese: -English: -French: -Russian: -Spanish: -Arabic:
1 Adapted from https://ndla.no/en/ and
https://routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/9780415638449/strand.php Competence goal:
-introduce, maintain and terminate conversations and discussions about general and academic topics
related to one’s education program.
-write different types of texts with structure and coherence suited to the purpose and situation
-evaluate different sources and use contents from sources in an independent, critical and verifiable manner 1
Introduction to Global Language
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Dr. Christopher Denis-Delacour/Global Language Discussion
1. Does English, in your opinion, play a more important role as a world language than the
others? Make a list of arguments to build your case. Then discuss in a group whether
English is world language number one or not. In this discussion, you should consider how
the languages are used and by whom, not just the numbers themselves.
2. Make a list of situations in life in which you speak or write English or consume English
media content. This may vary from online activities, listening to a song to asking for
information, to applying for a job or a university program.
3. Having made a list, discuss together the importance of learning English. Try to agree on
the importance of English using a scale from 1 to 6 - in which 6 is very important and 1 is not important.
We will then compare results in class and work out an average grading on the importance of English.
There may be great variations from group to group. Why do you think our opinions vary on this? 2
Introduction to Global Language
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Dr. Christopher Denis-Delacour/Global Language
English, Linguistic Discrimination, and Ethnocentrism IN GROUP ACTIVITY 2 Instructions
In group, reflect on the dangers of a Global Language and the spread of English
in different cultures and societies. Provide concrete examples (personal or
verifiable source/situation/event).
You can start the discussion with the following questions:
-Have you ever been discriminated against/judged based on your English
skills/accents/fluency/proficiency? -Have you ever judged people on their English
skills/accents/fluency/proficiency? -Are they situations requiring to judge English
skills/accents/fluency/proficiency?
If yes, how to provide language feedback? What are the skills required to process it? 3
Introduction to Global Language
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Dr. Christopher Denis-Delacour/Global Language
Linguistic variation between group (intergroup) INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY o Which region are you from? o How old are you? o What is your gender identity? o
What is your socio-economic status/status of your parents? o
What is your educational background? o
Do you belong to a specific class of the society? o
What is your cultural / ethnic background?
-Which factors can be identified through the way you speak?
-Which factors can be hidden by modifying your language
patterns/characteristics and how?
-Is it possible to do so when you speak English? 4
Introduction to Global Language
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