INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY February 21st
Teacher s notes International Mother Language Day 21 st February 1) Brainstorming as a lead-in (10min.) To introduce the topic Procedure: 1. Write the word LANGUAGE on the board vertically and ask the students to think of at least one word beginning with each of the letters in the word language connected with the word language in some way. 2. The activity can be done as a competition with a set time limit; the students can work individually, in pairs or groups. L Life, Lingua, Latin A Alphabet, Audio, America, American English, Australia, Australian English, Africa, African languages, Austria N News, Nationality, Norway, Norwegian, Nicaragua G Grammar, Germany, German, Globe, Global U Universe, Ukraine, Ukrainian, UNESCO, U.S.A A - G - E English, Education, Europe, European languages, Esperanto 3. Ask the students to present their ideas and explain if not clear. Write them on the board. 4. Tell the students that the topic of the lesson is the International Mother Language Day. Note: UNESCO stands for: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization 2) Group work matching words and languages (15min.) Procedure: 1. Ask the students to divide into groups of four. 2. Explain that each group will receive a set of 30 cards (see Appendix 6.1) which they should arrange into 15 pairs. 15 words are different languages and 15 words are ways how to say a certain word in those languages. 3. Distribute the sets of cards to the groups. You can set a time limit. 4. When the time is up, ask the students what the word was => language. 5. Check the answers in the open class. Key: 1-K, 2-F, 3-B, 4-O,5-A, 6-J, 7-C, 8-I, 9-E, 10-G, 11-D, 12-H, 13-N, 14-L, 15-M
3) Quiz (15min.) Procedure: 1. Hand out the copies of the quiz (Appendix 6.2) to the students. 2. Tell the students to complete the quiz within the time limit of 5min. 3. While the students work, put up Appendices 6.3 6.7 on the walls of the classroom. 4. When the time limit is over, collect the quizzes and quickly redistribute them so that each student has got someone else s quiz. 5. Ask the students to walk around the classroom and find the correct answers to the quiz questions from the posters (Appendices 6.3 6.7) 6. Each student gets their quiz back. 7. If necessary check the correct answers in the open class. Key: 1)a 2)c 3)1-d, 2-b, 3-f, 4-c, 5-a, 6-e 4)b 5)1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c More activities which could be used for another 45min. lesson, or as a part of 90min. lesson --- The following activities require a classroom equipped with computers with an internet access. 4) Reading (10-15min.) Procedure: Hand out copies of Appendix 6.8 to the students. Let them read the text and ask a few comprehension questions to make sure they understood, or read the text in the open class asking individual students to read a part of the text aloud. Translate if necessary. 5) Pair work creating a short presentation (20-30min.) Procedure: The students will work with the UNESCO's online Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. 1. Direct the students to: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00139 where they can see a table explaining the degrees of endangerment. 2. Guide the students through the table quickly and then ask them to go to the actual interactive atlas, there is a link on the webpage http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00206
3. Make sure the students know how to use the interactive atlas and explain that each pair of students will have to select one of the endangered languages from the list and find out as much as possible about it on the internet within the time limit given and then present the information found to the rest of the class, including the reason why they chose that particular language. 4. Listen to the students presentation in the open class. Both students from each pair should speak during their presentation. 6) Possible homework writing Ask the students to write a short essay (200-300 words) about their mother language e.g. what they like or do not like about it, what is special about it, how it compares to English etc. Useful websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/language http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/language/index.html - International Mother Language Day http://translation2.paralink.com/ - free translator online http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00136 - endangered languages http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00206 interactive atlas of endangered languages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/international_language
6.1 Dictionary 1 Nyelv K Hungarian 1 Nyelv K Hungarian 2 Idioma F Spanish 2 Idioma F Spanish 3 Sprache B German 3 Sprache B German 4 Langue O French 4 Langue O French 5 Язык A Russian 5 Язык A Russian 6 Lingua J Italian 6 Lingua J Italian 7 Taal C Dutch 7 Taal C Dutch 8 Språk I Norwegian 8 Språk I Norwegian 9 Linguagem E Portuguese 9 Linguagem E Portuguese 10 Jezyk G Polish 10 Jezyk G Polish
11 D 11 D Език Bulgarian Език Bulgarian 12 H 12 H Sprog Danish Sprog Danish 13 N 13 N Dil Turkish Dil Turkish 14 L 14 L Wika Filipino Wika Filipino 15 M 15 M Limbă Romanian Limbă Romanian
6.2 Quiz - Languages 1) How many languages are spoken in the world today? a) 5000-7000 b) 1000-3000 c) over 10000 2) How many of the languages spoken in the world today are endangered? a) 15% b) 25% c) 50% 3) Arrange the following 6 languages according to the number of speakers: a-french b-english c-spanish d-mandarin Chinese e-arabic f-hindi g-german 1-2- 3-4- 5-6- 7-4) What is said to be the oldest language in the world? a) Latin b) Sanskrit c) Greek 5) Match the expressions and definitions: 1-International auxiliary language 2-Universal language 3-Lingua franca 4-World language a - a hypothetical historical or mythical language said to be spoken and understood by all or most of the world's population b - any language widely used beyond the population of its native speakers c - a language spoken internationally d - a language meant for communication between people from different nations who do not share a common native language 6.2 Quiz - Languages 1) How many languages are spoken in the world today? a) 5000-7000 b) 1000-3000 c) over 10000 2) How many of the languages spoken in the world today are endangered? a) 15% b) 25% c) 50% 3) Arrange the following 6 languages according to the number of speakers: a-french b-english c-spanish d-mandarin Chinese e-arabic f-hindi g-german 1-2- 3-4- 5-6- 7-4) What is said to be the oldest language in the world? a) Latin b) Sanskrit c) Greek 5) Match the expressions and definitions: 1-International auxiliary language 2-Universal language 3-Lingua franca 4-World language a - a hypothetical historical or mythical language said to be spoken and understood by all or most of the world's population b - any language widely used beyond the population of its native speakers c - a language spoken internationally d - a language meant for communication between people from different nations who do not share a common native language
6.3 LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD It is difficult to give an exact figure of the number of languages that exist in the world, because it is not always easy to define what a language is. The difference between a language and a dialect is not always clear-cut. It has nothing to do with similarity of vocabulary, grammar, or pronunciation. Sometimes, the distinctions are based purely on geographical, political, or religious reasons. It is usually estimated that the number of languages in the world varies between 3,000 and 8,000. http://www.ling.gu.se/projekt/sprakfrageladan/english/sprakfakta/eng-sprak-i-varlden.html
6.4 Safeguarding endangered languages Half of the 6,700 languages spoken today are in danger of disappearing before the century ends, a process that can be slowed only if urgent action is taken by governments and speaker communities. UNESCO s Endangered Languages Programme mobilizes international cooperation to focus attention on this grave situation and to promote innovative solutions from communities, experts and authorities. Languages are humankind s principle tools for interacting and for expressing ideas, emotions, knowledge, memories and values. Languages are also primary vehicles of cultural expressions and intangible cultural heritage, essential to the identity of individuals and groups. Safeguarding endangered languages is thus a crucial task in maintaining cultural diversity worldwide. http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00136
6.5 List of languages by number of native speakers From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Top 20 Language Number of speakers estimated by Ethnologue in 2005 Mandarin 873,000,000 English 508,350,000 Hindi 497,000,000 Spanish 438,300,000 Portuguese 335,500,000 Arabic 206,000,000 Bengali 171,000,000 Russian 145,000,000 Japanese 122,400,000 German 95,400,000 Punjabi 88,000,000 French 78,000,000 Korean 78,000,000 Wu 77,200,000 Javanese 75,500,000 Tamil 78,000,000 Telugu 74,002,856 Marathi 68,000,000 Vietnamese 67,400,000 Italian 61,500,000 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers
6.6 Sanskrit Mother of European Languages says Prof Dean Brown Prof. Dean Brown points out that most European languages can be traced back to a root language that is also related to Sanskrit the sacred language of the ancient Vedic religions of India. Many English words actually have Sanskrit origins. Similarly, many Vedic religious concepts can also be found in Western culture. He discusses the fundamental idea of the Upanishads that the essence of each individual, the atman, is identical to the whole universe, the principle of brahman. In this sense, the polytheistic traditions of India can be said to be monistic at their very core. While it might be considered a forgotten language in India, globally Sanskrit has found many takers. The American Sanskrit Institute was founded 18 years ago with a vision to spread the ease and joy of learning Sanskrit through an immersion experience, the enjoyment of making the sounds, fluently reading the original Devanagari script, and directly reading, chanting and understanding sacred literature. The Indological department, University of Bonn Germany conducts various courses and study programs. While the world is waking up to Sanskrit the divine language, where are we in terms of preserving the world s oldest known tongue? http://mutiny.wordpress.com/2007/02/09/sanskrit-mother-of-european-languages-says-prof-deanbrown/ Sanskrit is a language which is mother of all languages. Sanskrit, S-a-n-s-kr-i-t, Sanskrit language. So this is the original language of this..., not only of this planet. In other planets also, this language is spoken. - Swami Prabhpada http://www.hinduwebsite.com/general/sanskrit.asp
6.7 International language From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia International language may refer to: International auxiliary language - a language meant for communication between people from different nations who do not share a common native language Universal language - a hypothetical historical or mythical language said to be spoken and understood by all or most of the world's population Lingua franca - any language widely used beyond the population of its native speakers World language - a language spoken internationally http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/international_language
6.8 Endangered language From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use. If it loses all its native speakers, it becomes an extinct language. Identifying endangered languages While there is no definite threshold for identifying a language as endangered, three main criteria are used as guidelines: 1. The number of speakers currently living. 2. The mean age of native and/or fluent speakers. 3. The percentage of the youngest generation acquiring fluency with the language in question. Some languages, such as those in Indonesia, may have tens of thousands of speakers but be endangered because children are no longer learning them, and speakers are in the process of shifting to using the national language Indonesian (or a local Malay variety) in place of local languages. In contrast, a language with only 100 speakers might be considered very much alive if it is the primary language of a community, and is the first (or only) language of all children in that community (most of Andaman languages, actually spoken). UNESCO's online Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger categorises 2,500 languages in five levels of endangerment: unsafe, definitely endangered, severely endangered, critically endangered and extinct. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/endangered_language