Advanced Audio script Unit 1

UNIT 1 RECORDING 1

I, I think the idea of globalisation is, is, is a, is a great thing, I like the sense that the world is a

smaller place and that things are accessible. And I guess what I think really stands out for me

is the, um, the sort of sharing of ideas, really. Um, you know, maybe we can inspire each

other, learn from each other. Um, and um, yeah, I think yeah, create a, a of sense of

tolerance, um, for each other.

Well, globalisation’s become a bit of a swearword for a lot of people. Um, there are good

aspects to it, I suppose, but one of the things that gets on my nerves is, you go to any town in

England and the High Streets are all – or almost all – identical.

It’s the same shops, the same franchises and there seems to be so little individuality. There’s

no room for individuality and I think that’s a great shame because we’re missing out on the

qualities you would get from local areas that specialise in whatever.

But there’s no chance for that to flourish because of the big chains that are global. And, uh, it’s

a bit too bland for me.

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 Advanced Audio script Unit 1

Living in London you, you just see globalisation all the time and I think this city is a fantastic

example of, of the positive side of globalisation, really, because people are so tolerant on the

whole. Uh, if you go into particularly the city of London, say, you’ve got people from all

different countries who come to work here in the financial sector.

Um, then you go into the café next door and there’s all different accents and, and it’s so usual

now that people don’t really comment on it or notice it. And, um, it’s only when you leave

London and go to perhaps somewhere more rural that you, you realise that it’s not the same

everywhere else. And, um, although that brings some tension sometimes I think, on the whole,

it’s a just a brilliant, brilliant thing.

D’you know what I really love, is being able to see a movie that I really want to see, and if I’m

not in my own country, even if I’m abroad, I can still see it. But the only problem is that when

everybody’s got the same movies available and you go to America, or you go to Australia, and

you can see the same movies roughly at the same time.

The only problem is that the, the local stuff, the independent movies, the small kind of cooler

movies don’t seem to figure as much, it’s just globalisation, I suppose, tends to favour the, the

movie-makers with more money. And so, you know, some of that, um, some of that low

budget stuff is really exciting and really interesting, and that doesn’t surface quite as much.

But, you know, the plus is that if you’re abroad and, and you think, ‘Oh I really want to see that

movie,’ you can.

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 Advanced Audio script Unit 1

Well, I think globalisation is a good thing, actually. Um, a few years ago my friend and I went

on a graduation trip, uh, to Japan, for two weeks. And we were really excited because we

were always really into Japanese culture and food and everything. And when we got there, at

first, it was amazing to eat authentic Japanese food all the time. But after a week I just really

wanted something from home and very simple and not with fish in it. So, um, we ended up

going to McDonald’s and that kind of became my everyday thing because I just couldn’t stand

having fish every morning for breakfast. Um, so yeah, I’m definitely for globalisation.

Yeah, I must say, I think, in general, it’s a really good thing. Uh, you know, with my life here it

suits me, the kind of globalisation thing. But I must say, I recently visited Cuba and it, it seems

that a place like that, that hasn’t really been affected by globalisation, you know, has very little

internet and, uh, there’s no American multinational companies and fast foods and things like

that, and no advertising. It’s just great to be there because you don’t feel bombarded by all the

kind of global brands that we all have to live with all the time.

And, as I say, although I actually like globalisation in general, while I’m there, I’m just delighted

that it hasn’t affected the place. So it’s a shame, really, there are not a few more countries that

haven’t kept their identity as much as Cuba has.

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 Advanced Audio script Unit 1

UNIT 1 RECORDING 2

I = Interviewer, JJ = Dr Jennifer Jenkins

I: I’ve come to Kings College, London, to talk to Dr Jennifer Jenkins, who’s a

Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics. Now, Jennifer, you’re quite interested in

the teaching and learning of International English; can you explain in general

terms what this is?

JJ: It’s based on the fact that nowadays the majority of people who speak English

around the world are non-native speakers of English – they, they’ve learnt it as

a second or subsequent language, they use it to speak with each other and

therefore, they’re not really learning what’s always been called English as a

foreign language – English to speak to native speakers of English. They’re

learning it for more international communication and that has all sorts of

implications for the sorts of things that they need to be able to do.

I: So what would be the main differences between the kind of English that’s

widely taught around the world today and perhaps what you describe as a more

international form?

JJ: Well, there’d be various differences. There’d be differences in what they need

to be able to do when they’re pronouncing English, there would be some

differences in the grammar, there’d be some differences in, er, use, or not, of

idioms.

I: Is there anything that’s widely taught when teaching English that would be

missed out in International English?

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JJ: Yes, I think, for example, that there doesn’t seem to be much point in teaching

learners to say the T-H, the /θ/ and /ð/ sounds. Um, because most of the

world’s learners of English, speakers of English who are non-native speakers

don’t pronounce the /θ/.

I: And what is the thinking behind the idea of International English?

JJ: Well, there are two things. One is that the more different groups of people

round the world speak English, the more important it becomes to make sure

that they have enough in common so that they can understand each other, that

they’re intelligible to each other and here pronunciation is very important

because their pronunciation is the thing that will vary most, um, among different

speakers of English. Um, and the second thing would be that now that English

is spoken as an international language nobody owns it any more. The native

speakers of English don’t own it and so don’t have the right to expect

everybody else around the world, when they speak English, to conform to

‘native-speaker’ ways of speaking, that everybody has the right to develop their

own ways of speaking English.

I: So what would you say are the advantages for students and teachers of this

form of English?

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 Advanced Audio script Unit 1

JJ: Well, one, one advantage would be that they actually have rather less to do,

rather less to learn, because instead of trying to learn the entire, um, way of

speaking of a native speaker, which is incredibly complicated and most learners

never do achieve this in any case, so they’ve got less to do, but they’re also

allowed to, um, keep something of themselves in their English. They’re

speaking English as, say, a Japanese speaker of English or, um, an Arabic

speaker of English, a Spanish speaker of English, um, and therefore they are

allowed to be themselves in English.

I: Right. And how do you see English being learnt and spoken in, say, 30 years’

time? How do you feel it will have changed?

JJ: Well, the English that’s being spoken internationally, I think, for example, will

have no longer, um, say, British-based or American-based idiomatic language

because this is not useful for international communication so that will have

gone. I think that, um, quite probably, the nouns that we call uncountable

nouns, like ‘information’ and so on, will have become countable nouns for

international use. I expect, in Britain, we’ll carry on talking about, um,

‘information’ as a ‘piece of information’, but quite possibly, the rest of the world

will be saying ‘three informations’ without treating it as an uncountable noun. I

think, quite likely, the third-person-singular ‘-s’ in the Present simple tense will

have gone for international use. Um, I think, in pronunciation, I think the /θ/

sound will have gone and possibly the /ð/ sound as well. Most learners will say,

instead of /θ/, will say a /s/ or a /t/, as most of them do anyway at the moment,

um, but it will just be legitimate then.

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I: There must, on the other hand, be students who will want to speak English the

way that they perceive it to be spoken in Britain or America. So what would you

say to that?

JJ: Well, I’d say, first of all, I’d want to explain the facts to them, the fact that they

are the majority – that the non-native speakers of English are the majority. And

having explained that and also the fact that they’re much more able to express

themselves – who they really are, their identity – in English, if they keep

something of their background, of their mother tongue, I would then say that we

can’t patronise learners, that if learners still want to learn to speak as closely as

possible to a native speaker – say, a British or American English – it’s their

choice, and the important thing is to give learners choices so that they can

make up their own mind what it is they want to do.

I: Well, Dr Jenkins, thank you for talking to me about that. It’ll be interesting to see

how far things change.

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 Advanced Audio script Unit 1

UNIT 1 RECORDING 3

1 Well, there are two things. One thing is that they’re intelligible to each other.

2 The second thing would be that nobody owns English any more.

3 One advantage would be that learners have less to do.

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UNIT 1 RECORDING 4

This maybe isn’t the most original way, but, uh, I think I really improved my English when I

watched films and TV programmes with the subtitles on. Um, the subtitles help you to, of

course, understand better, but you don’t feel like you’re really studying a language, you just

feel like you’re enjoying a film with, uh, drama or romance or murder. And it’s, it’s, it’s just like

enjoying yourself and it’s not like you’re learning anything.

I’ll tell you what I’d say, actually, and this is something I’ve done myself. Um, I went to learn

Spanish in Argentina and, uh, I found the thing that helped more than anything was doing a

class in tango – uh, guitar, I play guitar. Um, and you know, you go in the class and you’re not

thinking about learning the language, you’re thinking about the instrument or, you know,

whatever the class is you decide to take.

And somehow it seems to sink in a bit more, the language actually sinks in rather than if

you’re focusing on grammar or whatever. And just, you know, playing the chords and learning

the vocabulary of music, uh, I found that was absolutely fantastic and I’d recommend that to

anyone.

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 Advanced Audio script Unit 1

This sounds a bit weird but a friend of mine told me that the best way she found to learn

English or to improve her English, I should say, was to try and think in English whenever she

could. So when she was by herself, walking down the street or on a bus or whatever, she’d,

she’d look around and try and describe in her head what she could see.

Um, then she used to also imagine conversations she might have with people in the future or

imagine a conversation with a friend or something in her head. And I think sometimes, when

she was by herself, she used to talk out, talk out loud to herself even. So she had a whole,

she was doing all this practice, all the time, just by herself in her free time, it sounds pretty

clever to me.

Um, when I was nineteen, I think, I went to England to become an au pair and learn English.

And, um, the best thing about this was, uh, if I was ironing or hoovering the house for

example, I will put uh the radio on or YouTube or something like that and listen in the

background, so I have all the time the English language going into my brain without really

thinking about it. I think it’s best if you don’t concentrate, if it, if it goes on, you know, in the

background, is really helpful.

Well, I’ve always believed that, uh, learning a foreign language, you have to communicate

constantly in that language. So I would always say, you know, get yourself a girlfriend from the

country of the language you wish to learn.

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Well, when I lived in Poland, uh, I was never very extroverted as a person, but when I first

came to England, um, I realised that the only way that I would get better in English was to just

talk to everybody. Um, so I made myself, uh, have conversations with, with old people I met

on the street or, um, at a bus stop or, or shopkeepers, um, even people in the cafés. Uh,

some

people, they weren’t always very friendly, but, uh, but lots of people actually are and they’re

very polite, uh, especially the older people.

You know what I do, uh, to keep up my Spanish is I just go online regularly and read the news

websites, all in Spanish, of course. And, um I, I choose to read about something I really am

interested in anyway. Um, I just find that’s, that’s more helpful. So I may be reading about, in

my case, I love football, so I’d been reading about football or maybe business – and

something I’m interested in, anyway.

And, um, it’s just so much easier to read in a foreign language if you’re interested in what

you’re reading about. And it’s great for your vocab and it sort of just reminds you about what

you already know.

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 Advanced Audio script Unit 1

UNIT 1 RECORDING 5

The main news today is, of course, the weather, as Hurricane Georgina approaches the east

coast, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate the area. Businesses along the

projected path of the hurricane have closed early, windows have been boarded up and all

flights into and out of the area have been suspended. The storm has also caused a sharp

drop in share prices across the world as markets respond to the fear of substantial damage to

the US economy and disruption to trading. Analysts fear that the clean-up operation could cost

over $15 billion, although this is still much less than the $100 billion in clean-up costs and

damages that Hurricane Katrina cost in 2005.

Japanese firm Toyota has announced that it is to create 200 new jobs at its factory in

Derbyshire. The factory has been manufacturing cars for over 25 years and the cars produced

there are sold all over Europe. Local people have welcomed the news, with MP Rita Perkins

calling it a vote of confidence in Derbyshire and its people. On the same day as this news,

however, local firm Mulkins, which manufactures cutting tools, announced that it was to close

with the loss of 150 jobs. Mulkins has struggled to export its goods to foreign markets in the

face of strong competition from abroad.

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 Advanced Audio script Unit 1

A new report into the attitudes of Australians towards climate change suggests that while the

vast majority of people think climate change is happening, there is a lack of agreement about

the causes. Many still refuse to accept that climate change is the result of human activity, with

a third of the people questioned believing that it is part of a natural process. The other two-

thirds believe big-polluting nations such as the US and China are mostly responsible.

Together, those two countries produce over 12,000 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a

year.

Over the past few days queues of people have been forming outside an old colonial building in

south Mumbai. They have been queuing, believe it or not, for a coffee! Last Friday Starbucks

opened its first coffee house in India in Mumbai’s historic Elphinstone Building. Two more

coffee houses in the chain are scheduled to open this week. Starbucks already has around

20,000 branches in more than 60 countries, so in some ways the only surprise is that it’s

taken them so long. Not everyone, however, is happy at the prospect of western brands

entering the Indian market and independent retailers have been holding rallies against ...

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 Advanced Audio script Unit 1

UNIT 1 RECORDING 6

1 American English and British English

all flights into and out of the area

all flights into and out of the area

share prices across the world

share prices across the world

15 billion dollars

15 billion dollars

2 British English and Australian English

sold all over Europe

sold all over Europe

a vote of confidence

a vote of confidence

announced that it was to close

announced that it was to close

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3 Australian English and Indian English

the vast majority of people

the vast majority of people

part of a natural process

part of a natural process

12,000 million tonnes of greenhouse gases

12,000 million tonnes of greenhouse gases

4 Indian English and American English

scheduled to open this week

scheduled to open this week

20,000 branches

20,000 branches

not everyone, however, is happy

not everyone, however, is happy

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