Speaking Topics

Let’s talk about LANGUAGES

Conversation cards

What’s your native language? Which languages are spoken in How many languages are there in
How many languages can you your country? the world?
speak? Which languages are taught in Work in pairs and guess.
school?

Does everyone speak the same What are the most widely How and when do you think
way in your country or are there spoken (native) languages in the language first started?
different dialects? world? Discuss in group and make
a list.

In your opinion, what is the most What is a language exchange How do animals communicate?
difficult language to learn? programme? Would you call this language and
Explain your view. Would you like to go on one? if so, how is human language
Explain why or why not. different from animal language?

Which languages do not use the Do you have any friends that Has your language adopted any
Roman alphabet? speak different languages? English words?
How many can you name? Talk about them. (e.g. computer)

What do you find difficult when Some languages are dying What gestures do you use to
learning a new language? because there are no speakers communicate?
left. Is this a good or bad thing? Are they the same in every
Should they be preserved? country? Do research.

What language do the deaf use How important is body language? Should we all speak the same
to communicate? Is it universal or cultural? language? Which one? Is this
What about the blind? possible and would this make the
world a better place?

1 2 6
4 5

3 7
Match
8
Chinese script
Burmese script Match countries and languages
1 Austria a English, Gaelic
Arabic script
2 Belgium b English, French
Korean script 9 3 Brazil c Arabic
Khmer script 4 Canada d German, French, Italian, Romansh
Indian script 5 Australia e French, Dutch, German
hieroglyphs 6 Peru f Portuguese
10
Israeli script 7 South Africa g English
Greek script 8 Qatar h Spanish, Quechua
9 Switzerland i English, Afrikaans, 9 local languages
Cyrillic script
10 Scotland j German
 Speaking Topics

Let’s talk about LANGUAGES

Conversation cards

Most sources cite 6,912 languages

(plus a huge number of dialects).
However, about 2,000 of them
have fewer than 1,000 speakers.

It is believed that human speech

1. Chinese (Mandarin) 1,213,000,000  2.
Spanish 329,000,000  3. English developed between the times of the
328,000,000  4. Arabic 221,000,000 Neanderthal Man (100,000 B.C.) and
 5. Hindi 182,000,000 the Cro-Magnon Man (35,000
B.C.).The actual process of this
development is unknown, but most
theories claim that language
developed either as an imitation of
animal sounds, like grunts and barks,
or as a way to accompany the body's
gestures and movements.
Neanderthal Man's throat was too
short to produce the sounds
Arabic, Indian, Thai, Russian,
recognized as human speech, but by
Greek, Burmese, Chinese,
40,000 B.C., human beings had
Japanese, Hebrew, Khmer,
evolved the throat muscles capable
Laotian, Tibetan etc. of "voice sounds."

Very few gestures are universally understood and interpreted. What is perfectly acceptable in the
Prompts: speaking, listening, United States may be rude, or even obscene, in other cultures.
writing, reading; vocabulary, It is important for mainstream teachers to understand how the gestures they use unconsciously
may be misunderstood. This activity allows participants to look a little closer at how body
pronunciation, grammar, idioms, language might be interpreted by English Language Learners and their parents.
slang, phrasal verbs etc. Demonstrate the gestures below and ask participants to write down what they think each gesture
means. Have group discuss how body language could influence communication between
cultures.
 Beckon with index finger.
Sign language (deaf)  Point at something in the room using index finger.
Braille (blind)  Make a "V" sign.Smile.
 Sit with sole of feet or shoe showing.
 Form a circle with fingers to indicate “O.K.”
 Pat a student on the head.
 Pass an item to someone with one hand.
 Wave hand with palm facing outward to greet someone.
 Nod head up and down to say “Yes.”
Match
Chinese script 9
Burmese script 3 Match countries and languages
Arabic script 7 1 Austria J a English, Gaelic
Korean script 1 2 Belgium E b English, French
Khmer script 8 3 Brazil F c Arabic
Indian script 2 4 Canada B d German, French, Italian, Romansh
5 Australia G e French, Dutch, German
hieroglyphs 10
6 Peru H f Portuguese
Hebrew script 6
7 South Africa I g English
Greek script 4 8 Qatar C h Spanish, Quechua
Cyrillic script 5 9 Switzerland D i English, Afrikaans, 9 local languages
10 Scotland A j German