Q1 What do you know about the history of English leading up to the present day? 1) The history of the English language ____ the 5th century AD with ____ tribes; the Angles, Saxons and ____ who ____ Denmark and northern Germany. They ____ the North Sea and ____ England where they ____, known as ____ and pushed them to what is today Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The Angles came from "Englaland,” and the language called "Englisc" from which "England" and "English" ____. 2) Old ____ and its usage covered a period of 700 years from the ____ up to the ____ and slightly beyond, with ____ and Latin. At that time, it was a ____ language full of ____; a language 80% of which is not present in Modern English. The oldest Old English ____ were written using a ____, but from about the 8th century this was ____ a version of the Latin alphabet. This old variant of English would be ____ for modern English speakers. After the ____ of 1066, the English language ____ and developments ____ to become ____. Many Old English ____ either became simplified or disappeared ____. Noun, adjective and ____ were simplified by the ____ (and ____) of most ____. Middle English also ____ of Norman vocabulary, especially in the areas of politics, law, the arts, and religion, as well as poetic and ____. The 16th century, ____, or commonly referred to as the ____, brought ____ developments that ____ the ____ of English. The ____ around the time of the ____ ____ among the English. The growing ____ enhanced the study of Greek and Latin which created ____ the ____. Many scholars, despite this ____, believe that this period is what ____ medieval English ____ Modern English. Modern English can be classified as that after the ____ in the late 14th century. But ____ we’ll focus on Late Modern English; that spoken since the 18th Century. This was ____ vocabulary ____ the Industrial Revolution; the need for new words, and the British Empire which had ____ of Modern English through its ____ The Norman Invasion eventually ____ of English; that of the ____ spoken among ____ and the lesser standard among ____. Norman French had ____ ____ English later to become an ____. Germanic verbs with ____ later developed into modern phrasal verbs hence why they are considered informal for the most part with ____ with a ____ being a more formal synonym. The alphabet of Old English contained a number of letters that were ____ ____, ____ alphabets, the ____ language, and Old ____. The "____" of the language ____ ____ the alphabet ____ Europe, but ____ of these ____ managed ____ some forms of the English written language until just 100 years ago. It’s ____ that up until very recently English ____ 32 letters in the alphabet although some argue it was 29. The English language was ____ considerably by the ____ the Runic alphabet to the Latin one, which was also a ____ in the developmental pressures ____ on the language. Old English words were spelt as they were pronounced; the "silent" letters in many Modern English words, such as the "k" in "knight", were in fact pronounced in Old English. For example, the 'hard-c' sound in cniht, the Old English equivalent of 'knight', was pronounced. Q2 What interesting facts do you know about the English language? 1) ____, there isn’t an actual ‘future tense’ in the English language. Many academics are ____ but your take on this depends on your ____. If you ____, we can see that verbs in English are ____ for the present and past only. Any future aspect is created by applying modal verbs, prepositions or ____ other tense forms. I ____ textbooks refer to the ‘future tense’ because ____ would ____. 2) English became ____ during ____; a ____ which ____ this day. This has been ____ by the ____ in industry and technology throughout the 20th century. Take ____, pilots have to ____ with each other and Air Traffic Control through a ____ system of ____. ____ ____ ____. 3) English before Shakespeare was rather ____ and still ____, if we’re talking about Early Modern English. Yet he ____ about 1700 new words, most of which were ____ from other languages, but were ____ thus ____ the English language. Many of his words were even ____ Samuel Johnson’s “Dictionary of the English Language’ Even the grammar he used became ____ for others to follow. He had ____ the English language that we really do ____ today. 4) There’s been some ____ ____ over the last decade called ____. It’s basically t____ of ____ into one new word. One of the earlier examples of this was ‘Brunch’ (breakfast and lunch). Now you’ll find words like Advertorial (advert + editorial), Twant (having a rant on Twitter), Netiquette (showing due etiquette on the net), or Bromance (brotherly + romance) when two grown men share ____. Such language is ____ those into pop culture, so ____. 5) When the ____ of the Oxford English Dictionary ____ in 1928, the word ____ was ‘set.’ This ____ word had a ____ 430 definitions and required a 60,000-word explanation ____ 24 pages. However, ____, ‘set’ was ____ by ‘run.’ Like for example: to run a game, program, to run an app. I ____ even native speakers know half of them. 6) How many English speakers there are worldwide ____. But the most reliable source ____ 400 million with English as a first language. By 2024, ____ the total number of English speakers, including those at L2, will ____ over 2 billion. So, non-native English speakers ____ of those who speak the language. This ____ as to who owns English and whether ____ will become ____ ____ from that of native speakers. 7) ____, there are ____ a million lexical items in the English language but some other sources have ____ over 600k. The average English native speaker, ____, has ____ between 30 to 40000 words into their memory but the ____ is around 5000. It’s actually reassuring as students ____ their passive vocabulary ____ their active. 8) Our dear teacher, Paul Newson, had ____ English at school because his teachers were ____ and ____. His parents never really encouraged him ____ the subject so he did enough ____ in class; ____ him a C for his English GCSE. He ____ English only through learning German when he ____ linguistics and ____ his 20s. Better late than never. Q3 Do you find English simple or difficult to learn? Give supporting examples. 1) You can ____ that English ____ ____ all those years ago. ____ is an ____ in various languages around the world that can ____ from ____. English used to have ____ just like German where ____ adjectives and pronouns ____. Basically, English being ____ makes it easier for low-level learners to ____ before ____ at higher level. 2) In English there are often ____ and it’s mind-boggling to ____. We are generally taught ____ ____ and when we ____ in an English speaking country, we feel ____ and have to ____. A great example of this is ____ that are prevalent even among educated speakers. I’d be ____ for using such a structure in school. So, do we ____ ____ or ____ the mistakes of natives? 3) English is an ____. I don’t know why everyone ____. You can ____ with ____ even just ____ unlike Russian where saying ‘John has’ requires ____ to produce, and is ____. On top of that, you can ____ and a native speaker will still ____ what you’re saying unlike Russian where you’d get some ____. 4) English ____ to ____ with but gets remarkably more complex as you ____ those higher levels. The richness of the English vocabulary and the ____ of available synonyms means that English speakers can often ____ ____ to non-English speakers i.e. us learners. That all ____ the early language groups that combined to form English; ____ ____ such as ____ and ____ over the years and we have one of the richest languages in the world. 5) Phrasal verbs are ____ being ____ with the top 150 verbs having between 5 to 6 meanings ____. That just ____ exponentially. The associated definitions are not always so ____ and many text and reference books do a pretty measly job of ____t to ____ meaning. Even phrasal verb mind-maps ____ ____ because such lists are, how to put it, ____. 6) ____ in English is ____ unlike other ____ languages where suffixes are ____ to ____ pronoun groups as well as ____ and mood. Mind you, t____ when trying to ____. Forming and using them ____ in ____, well, anyone can do that. But using tenses ____ ____ well-educated native speakers requires a lot of ____ and patience. ____ textbook rules often ____ thus requiring a more natural approach. 7) I think ____ English is ____ is ____. There is ____ online sources ____ when ____ learning English that ____ helping us learners. Most people ____ hard work. Anything is easier if you ____. There are some languages that really do ____ which require a ____ at the very early stages. English ____ a simple set of rules ____. 8) Articles in English are one of the ____ of ____, and the ease with which they use articles can ____ especially when teaching them because it’s a ‘____’ (used correctly and subconsciously). Since errors don’t ____, many learners may feel that the ____ in learning the system correctly is ____. As a result, English is only as hard as far as a learner is willing to go so any complexity is ____. Q4 How is English taught in state and private schools in your opinion? 1) When it comes to the ____ language in state schools, many students in the UK are ____. The government has been ____ state education ____ the numbers ____ for GCSEs but ____, the ____ the opposite. Despite 11 years of schooling, many kids are unable to ____ and ____ such as spelling and basic punctuation. When the ____ is ____, what I just mentioned is ____. 2) English language teaching has been ____ for many years. It’s nothing new. The local education authorities are trying to ____ in order to ____ by making English language more ____ young students through investments. Teacher training programs ____, to ____ because ____: the simplification of the subject by ____, for example, ____ as they’re too difficult. 3) In some schools, many teachers’ English ____ and are ____ to teach the subject. We always ____ teachers having to be ____ of their students but I consider this a ____ to justify inadequacy and ____. Teachers should possess exceptionally high skills in language and its delivery because ____ their students and ____. 4) Some teachers are not ____ and are allowed to ____. For example, they ____ or ____ which ____. This is a ____ even in private schools but parents often have ____. Some books used are so ____ and should be ____ but continue to ____ English ____ to modern English society. 5) Many teachers have ____ as ____ from more ____ traditional methods like learning ____. While there are ____ this method who ____, the approach is only as effective as the teacher themselves. But it seems to work as stats show students in this country climbing up the ranks with ____ skills. Something to be proud of. There’s still a lot of ____ but even I have noticed a ____ English ____ among learners. 6) I work in the private sector. My area is ____ teachers ____ students. But this has ____ to better ____. Many English teachers ____ to ____ which means being ____, ____ various English courses and working on their ____. Knowing this gives me ____ because I do not want to ____. 7) Many teachers ____ to deliver ____, especially in the private sphere where their ____. Some teachers prefer a more traditional approach to ____ because some of the old ways are ____. ____, it really doesn’t matter ____ students ____ and ____ progress. 8) Many teachers I know are ____ by teaching ____. But I think some have got ____; games are not ____. Plus, many focus on the ____ ____. So yes, the kids have fun but learn nothing. Games are ____, not a replacement. Those teachers who use games effectively ____ students. Q5 How did you develop your passion for English and how does it make you feel now? 1) ____: I was ____. I grew up in a ____ with my parents ____, because in their view, a life without English would ____. I wouldn’t say I was ____ the subject; I just did what I was told because, of course, my parents knew better. I think they were trying to ____ and inability to speak English by forcing me into it. But over time I ____ English and now I see it as a ____ of my life and it has definitely ____ 2) I didn’t ____ where English is concerned. I was ____ ____ all because I didn’t have anyone show me the beauty of this language. It was just seen as a ____; like some chore to be done just to get the grade so I could ____. I was pretty much self-taught because my initial ____ the desire to understand music and films in the original. And here we are now. 3) My teacher at school ____; her enthusiasm was ____, considering most of the other members of staff ____ and ____. I wanted to ____ so I trained as an English teacher ____ my students. Although I still have ____, I do feel a ____ for my former school teacher; ____ 4) I’ve always been ____ and always wanted ____. I had a classmate who grew up in a bilingual family with English ____ at home. I so wanted to ____ her. I ____ and ____ studying English simply ____ Natasha. I eventually ____ and focused on myself but ____ put me in ____ in my current job. My colleagues ____ where my English is concerned. 5) I was fortunate enough to have ____ in my younger days. My parents never really ____ learning English, even enough to ____. But they ____ and were able to ____. But I couldn’t have that. I wanted ____, to converse on their level. That was ____ for me to master English. Communicating with others ____ offers new ____ that are often ____ when ____. 6) I ____ for ____: I was ____ every other school subject. I just happened to ____; maybe because my teacher had the ability to explain the subject ____. I wouldn’t say my C2 English gives me some ____ as that’s ____ but it is now a part of me and is ____. 7) I’ve never had ____ and I found most humanitarian subjects just ____. But I always liked the ____ learning languages by ____, ____ and ____. ____ my exceptional charm and I can say I have found the ____. I feel that my language and interpersonal skills make me ____ but I won’t deny that having C2 level does make me ____. 8) My passion ____. I was never a ____ but wanted to ____ at ____ studying International Business but having C1 English was a ____. I took some private English classes and studied ____. Over the years I realized that my initial subject of study was a total waste of time but English ____. English is now my ____ because I found myself an English husband whose never been ____ so we communicate in his. Q6 How do you see the future of English in its quality and world dominance? 1) I do see ____ a multipolar world ____ and I think this will ____ English as world language. I don’t think English will be ____ but Chinese might ____ as the language of commerce to be a global competitor. The Anglosphere has ____ these days as its influence seems ____ especially in the Global South and in parts of Asia as China ____. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. 2) While English is ____, not all is ____. Firstly, there is ____ where learners from ____ have less ____ thus ____. Secondly, there is no ____ which ____ than traditional classroom settings. ____, I fear English will ____ and there will be ____. 3) Some statistics were recently published which ____ regarding the ____.’ Political Correctness has been ____ over the last three decades. There has been a ____ and a ____ which has proven to be ineffective. The stats mention how over 50% of the adult population are ____, with 72% not having read a book in the past year. We need to ____ it’s too late. 4) As for English among native adults, their language is ____. They are ____. Their language is ____, without ____. They ____ which would lead to a ____ affecting the quality of ____. Our laziness and ____ and writing, using ____, with ____ is causing ‘____.’ In a generation or two, communication will have been ____. 5) English, like all other languages, is ____. It is the speed of the change, ____, that ____. Because change is often ____, older speakers recognise that ____, replaced with new ones they are not as comfortable using. This ____ doesn’t feel good, and the bad ____ criticism and complaint. We ____ ____, whatever their motivation. 6) There is a lot of ____ out there that if English ____, it will ____. I fear every generation has ____. It’s ____ to undergo any significant decline ____. To ____ over two billion people ____ is neither practical nor mentally normal. There would have to be ____ to ____ English. What would replace it? 7) I see there being ____; that spoken by English natives and the other a type of pidgin English where ____ lexical and syntactical ____, an ____ and a ____. Most speakers in the world are able to ____ even at B1 level, which ____. As I see it, there will be ____ authentic native English. 8) There are always ____ and the ____ as we speak. Even when ____, I still think English as ____ will remain as the ____ language. I do believe English is ____ and I’m curious how everything will ____ but ____. Whether English is changing ____ depends ____ on your political ideology.

Speaking Club C1-C2: Exploring English

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