LISTENING
UNIT 8: LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION
MINORITY LANGUAGES 1
Listen to the first part of the lecture and answer the questions. Choose the correct
letter, A, B or C.
1. Which area represents the languages the lecturer will concentrate on?

2. Which chart represents the number of speakers of Breton?

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3. Which char represents the number of peakers of Manx?

MINORITY LANGUAGES 2
Listen and complete questions 4-10
Complete the table below
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer
Cornish

Decline
Rapid decline
since peak in
4………………….

Revival
- Started early
20th century
- Publications,
films and music

Official status
Recognized as
UK
5………………….
in 2002

UNESCO status
Critically
endangered
language
(revitalized)
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Manx

6…………………
died in 1974

Breton

Large decrease
in numbers in
8…………….. of
20th century

- Taught in
some schools
- Taught as
second

language in
schools
7………………..
on island
- Radio
broadcasts in
Manx
- Breton
languagemedium
schools
- Large body of
literature and
media

Recognized as
Isle of Man’s
official language
in 1985

Critically
endangered
(revitalized)

9…………….......
as official
language due to
French
Constitution

10………………...


A MODERN FORM OF COMMUNICATION 1
Questions 31-37
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C
31. Which pie chart shows the percentage of the people who make a phone call every
day?
A

B

47
%

C

53
%

92
%

32. Which pie chart shows the percentage of young people who text every day?
A

B

C
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15
%

65
%

90
%

33. On average men
A. send fewer texts than women
B. send shorter texts than women
C. have fewer contacts than women
34. Originally, text messaging was created as
A. an internal messaging system
B. a new commercial venture for a mobile phone company
C. a way of sending greetings to friends and family
35. Early texters were limited by
A. incompatibility between mobile phone networks
B. unsophisticated mobile phones
C. expensive mobile phones
36. Abbreviated texting language
A. is unpopular with many people
B. was created due to limitations in text length
C. has caused children’s language skills to decline
37. On average, children who text
A. have better speaking skills than those who don’t
B. have better reading and writing skills than those who don’t
C. do not show any difference in their language skills
A MODERN FORM OF COMMUNICATION 2

Questions 38-40
Choose THREE letters A-G
Which three uses of text messaging were mentioned in the survey?
A. taking part in a competition

B. booking a hotel room
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C. buying an airline ticket
D. following a package delivery
E. making a doctor’s appointment

F. making a donation
G. voting in an election

SOCIOLOGY RESEARCH PROJECT SURVEY
Questions 1-5
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer

SOCIOLOGY RESEARCH PROJECT SURVEY
Age:
Postcode:
COMPUTER FACILITIES
Where?
SPORTS FACILITIES
ALREADY USED
Where
EDUCATION FACILITIES
ALREADY USED

Where?

1 __________________
2 __________________
3 __________________

4 __________________

5 ___________________

Questions 6-10
Complete the form below
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer

IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE COMMUITY CENTRE
New sports:
6 _____________ and _____________ .
Classes organized only for:
7 ________________ .
Education classes:
8 ______________ and _____________ .
Willing to pay about
9 £_____________ for new classes
Possible frequency of visits, if improvement made?
10 _____________ a week

LANGUAGE MATTERS

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Listen again and complete the sentences. Use no more than two words for each
answer.
1.
2.
3.
4.

The language of Kasabe was discovered by a_____________.
It is not _______ for languages to become extinct.
Languages are disappearing at a faster _______ now than in the past.
Cornish and Manx can be classified as ______ languages.

THE WELSH LANGUAGE AND WELSH NAMES
Questions 1-5
Choose the correct letter A, B or C.
1. How many people speak Welsh language in North and West Wales?
A. 16%
B. 20%
C. 50%
2. The Welsh Language Act of 1967 said that all official documents should be
A. In both Scots and Welsh
B. In both English and Welsh
C. In only Welsh
3. When has there been increased interest in Welsh?
A. Since the 1960s
B. Since the 1970s
C. Since the 1980s
4. Where do people learn Welsh as a first or second language?
A. In primary schools

B. In secondary schools
C. In universities
5. Which TV channel broadcasting is mainly in Welsh?
A. An independent fourth TV channel
B. BBC TWO
C. The independent Broadcasting Authority
Questions 6-10
6. Many English surnames were originally connected with a_______________ before the
Normans arrived.
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7. Jack Long and Mary Little are surnames that were connected with _______________.
8. Some English surnames were originally connected with a_______________.
9. The most common Welsh surnames were all originally_______________ names in
some form.
10. Welshmen living in England are often called by the_______________ “Taffy”.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRITISH ENGLISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
Questions 1-10
NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS
1. Americans and the British use a lot of the same words, but they______________ them
differently.
2. Americans have different______________ in different regions.
3. ______________ has an effect on language too.
4. In British English, a motorway is in American English a______________.
5. In British English, a fortnight is in American English______________.
6. In British English, pants means_______________.
7. The American spelling is closest to its______________ ancestor.
8. In American English, colour is spelled______________.
9. Realize is spelled by ______________ people.

10. Traveler is spelled by the ______________.
HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (PART 1)
Questions 1-7
NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
1. The Angles and Saxons came from______________ and the Jutes from Jutland.
2. A mix of their languages produced a language called Anglo-Saxon or
______________.
3. Three more invasions added words to Old English. They were the Viking of Denmark,
______________ and Sweden.
4. Norman forces from the______________ led by a man known as William the
Conqueror invaded.
5. Middle English still sounds similar to ______________, and it also begins to sound like
Modern English.
6. ______________ people from different countries could communicate using Latin.
7. During the Renaissance, there was renewed interest in ancient______________ texts.
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Questions 8-12
NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER
Questions

Answers

8. What language had a great effect on the English language?
9. When did William Caxton return to Britain?
10. What did William Caxton bring back with him when he
returned to Britain?
11. What did the printing press make it possible for almost
everyone?

12. What dialect was the standardization based on?

HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (PART 2)
Questions 1-3
NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER
1. English speakers can communicate with English speakers in the last part
of______________ century.
2. William Shakespeare, ______________ writer, played an important role in the English
language developed at that time.
3. Shakespeare’s works provide feelings of anger, ______________ and laughter.
Questions 4-8
4. Which Shakespeare’s play makes people cry when they see it?
A. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
B. Romeo and Juliet
C. Julius Caesar
5. What happened to the English language nine years before the death of William
Shakespeare?
A. It took a big step.
B. It developed slowly.
C. It stopped developing for some time.
6. What was the name of the first small colony?
A. James
B. Jacksontown
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C. Jamestown
7. Where are the names of many great rivers in the United States taken from?
A. English words
B. Indian words

C. American Indian words
8. How does English expand the language?
A. by changing foreign words to English
B. by borrowing or adding foreign words to English
C. by borrowing or adding English to foreign words
Question 9-10
Where do these words come from?
Choose a letter (letters) from A-F to answer the questions.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

the Mississippi
shampoo
motel
the Missouri
banana
hotel

American Indian words

Answers
Example:

India

9. _______________


Africa

10. _______________

A,D

Questions 11-12
NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER
11. How do English speakers continue to invent new words?
12. How many words are there in the Oxford English Dictionary?

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