The English-speaking world

the_English_Speaking_World_0The English-speaking world is huge…we often limit ourselves to studying the USA, Great Britain, and maybe Canada and Australia… During the next couple of weeks we are going to take a look at English-speaking countries outside of these main areas. Pick a country where English is an official language.

  1. Find out about the variety of English spoken here, and how it differs from standard English in pronunciation and vocabulary. Why is English an official language in this country (look at history)?
  2. Present an author and a literary text from this country. This could be a novel, a short story or a poem, written in the English language. What is it about, and is there a message the author is trying to get across? How is this message carried across/the story told (literary techniques)? Main themes?
  3. Present a contemporary issue from this country. This could be something you find in the news (remember that all English-speaking countries have their own English-speaking news media, so CNN and BBC should not be your only sources here…) or something you have heard about being a challenge/problem in this country.

You can work individually or in pairs. Present your findings on your blog and be ready to share them with the rest of the class. Use pictures and statistics, or add a video or sound file,  but make sure you only use material that you are allowed to share and refer to where you have taken it from.

 

Ingunn

The Terminal

The movie “The Terminal” (2004) starring Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg covers our final competence aim; “varieties of English outside the Aglo-American region”. Answer these questions and be ready to discuss them in class on Tuesday:
1. What are your first impressions of Viktor as he begins his long stay in the international transit lounge at JFK? How well do you think Dixon explains what has happened and what the rules force him to do with Viktor?

2. Although Viktor lacks a full command of the English language, he manages to demonstrate a remarkable resiliency during his nine-month stay in the international transit lounge. Look up the word resiliency and explain why this word applies to Viktor.

3. Describe Viktor. What kind of person is he? What is it about his personality which makes him endure the stay at the airport?

The Terminal

Adapted from http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/visions-features/view/14964/the-terminal