Inside Out

e-lesson Week starting: 21st January 2008

1. The English Language

The subject of this lesson is the English language. It has been estimated that around 750
million people around the world speak English as a foreign language.
Level
Upper Intermediate and above (equivalent to CEF level B2 and above)
How to use the lesson
1. Brainstorm on the subject of the English language. For example, ask for the students’
estimates as to how many native speakers of English there are in the world, and what
percentage of people in their country speak English.
2. Put the students into pairs, give each student a copy of Worksheet A, and ask them to
consider the questions and choose an answer from the three options. In some cases the
students will probably have to make a guess.
3. Give each student a copy of Worksheet B. Give them around ten minutes to read the text,
find out how many of their answers to the questions on Worksheet A were correct, and also
look up new vocabulary.
4. Confirm the correct answers in open class.
Answers:
1. a 2. c 3. c 4. b 5. a 6. c 7. a

5. Keeping the students in their pairs, ask them to turn over their copies of Worksheet B or to
hand them back to you temporarily. Hand out Worksheet C, which contains mistakes that the
students have to find and correct. There is one mistake on every line. Point out that the
mistakes are all grammatical or lexical, and that most corrections only require the students to
change a word. No correction requires them to write more than three words.
6. Check answers in open class.
Answers: See Worksheet D.
If you wish, hand out copies of Worksheet D to the students after you have identified the
mistakes on Worksheet C.

2. Related Websites
Send your students to these websites, or just take a look yourself.
http://www.macmillandictionaries.com/home.htm
The website of the new Macmillan English Dictionaries. Features include interactive
activities and games, e-lessons and useful glossaries.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7149519.stm
BBC article (December 2007) on the challenges of learning a foreign language. The piece
refers to the recently-appointed Italian coach of the English national football team, Fabio
Capello.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_vocabulary#English_as_a_global_language
‘English Language’entry from Wikipedia.

This page has been downloaded from www.insideout.net.

It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2008.