Pre-reading

1.What are some of the difficulties we must face when we try to learn a foreign language ?

2.How do we learn oue mother tongue ?

3.How is learning a foreign language different from learning our mother tongue ?

4.What are the characteristics of successful language learners ?

5.How do these characteristics and skills help us learn ?

6.How can we develop our confidence ?

7.What can we do to learn better and faster ?

Fast reading

1 What is the most puzzling question in learning our mother tongue?

2 If we develop our study skills and way of learning, is learning foreign language twice as hard or as easy?

Careful reading

Tell the sentences true or false

1 Although experts don’t agree each other, they all share a common opinion :Life is a very successful language school. T

2 We study our mother tongue all day long for about 5 years before we master it. But we only spend a few hours a week and in a few years’ time we can speak a foreign language. T

3.Successful language learners usually step away from the academic challenges. F

4The less anxious and more relaxed the learner, the worse their language acquisition.F

Choose the best answers

1.Most children have mastered their mother tongue . 答案：C

A. at the age of five B. by the age of eight

C. before they are five D. since they were five

2.Successful language learners do share the following characteristics except . 答案：A

A. the ability to memorize the words B. an interest in understanding their own thinking

C. willingness to take chances D. confidence in their ability

3.The best option for the exchange students is . 答案：A

A. living with local people B. living in the dormitory

C. choosing exchange programmes at various academic levels at a reasonable cost

D. making friends with the other students

4.The disadvantage of studying abroad is . 答案：B

A. language and culture B. cost and safety

C. custom and culture D. exchange programme

5.Visiting students do the following things except . 答案：C

A. staying in the host family’s house B. eating in the host family’s house

C. becoming a member of the family D. keeping in touch with the host family afterwards

6.Before going out to study in a foreign country,you should not . 答案：C

A. care much about the money that may cost you B. collect as much information as possible

C. plan a long course to study D. discuss every detail with your family

7.The sentence “Life is a very successful language school” means . 答案：B

A. we are equipped with a special ability to learn language

B. the key to learn the language well is to communicate with the people around us

C. parents can give children language lessons

D. people can learn the language by themselves

8.What makes it easier to study abroad nowadays? 答案：D

A. The cost has become reasonable.

B. There are programmes for all levels.

C. Students can find “home-stay” service and live with the host family.

D. All the above.

9.The greatest value of an exchange student studying abroad is . 答案：C

A. to learn the language

B. to widen one’s views and understand the culture of other country

C. to get better idea of yourself and your own culture

D. to learn to be independent of oneself

10.What’s the purpose of writing this article? 答案：C

A. Learning a foreign language is twice as hard as learning our mother tongue.

B. Learning a foreign language is more important than learning our mother tongue.

C. Learning a foreign language is twice as easy if we develop our study skills.

D. In fact,the number of people learning a foreign language has increased with years.

Decide which language ( mother tongue or foreign language) each of the sentences below

A We learn quite fast.

B We are not taught but learn anyway. M

C Some people think that we are born with an ability to learn this. M

D We can learn faster if we develop study skills.

E Most people have mastered this by the age of five. M

F We learn this in a special place where we can get help.

G It takes longer to learn this. M

H We Learn this by communicating with others. M

Main idea of each paragragh

Para.1. The environmental factor of learning mother tongue.

Para.2. Different opinions of language experts.

Para.3. The difference between learning mother and learning a foreign language.

Para.4. The characteristics of successful language learners.

Para.5.Different learning ways of successful language learners

Para.6. The importance of the purpose of learning.

para.7 The purpose of writing the passage to tell us that learning a foreign language does not have to be twice as hard as learning our mother tongue.

Integrating Skills

Lead-in

1.What is the best way to learn a language ? Why ?

I think the best way to do this is to go to a country where the language is spoken.

We can use the language at any places at any time . It’s good for language learning.

2. Is it possible for you to study abroad ?

Yes, it is.

3. What should you do before you go abroad?

We should find out as much as possible about different programmes, including the cost and length of our stay.

Summarize the main idea of each paragraph

Para. 1 It is possible for a student of any level to study a foreign language in a country where the language is spoken.

Para. 2 Advantages of studying abroad.

Para. 3 disadvantages of studying abroad.

Para.4 What should you do in order studying abroad ?

List the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad

Advantages of studying abroad

1). become fluent in the new language

2). make friends with people from different background.

3). Understand another culture

4). broaden your horizons and improve your understanding of the world

5). learn about yourself and what your culture is really like

6). learn to depend on yourself

Disadvantages of studying abroad

1). Some of them may fall behind in their studies when studying abroad.

2).They may not be able to take classes at the same level as at home.

3). Parents worry about the safety of their children and may also be concerned about the cost.

Phrases

make progress 前進(jìn)；進(jìn)步

make sense of 弄懂…的意思

in other words 換句話說(shuō)；換言之

take risks/a risk 冒險(xiǎn)

experiment with 進(jìn)行試驗(yàn)；進(jìn)行實(shí)驗(yàn)

piles of 一大堆；一大批；一大團(tuán)

knock down 擊倒；撞倒

that is to say 也就是說(shuō)

fall behind 落后

be different from 與…不同

communicate with 與…聯(lián)系；與…交流

distinguish…from… 把與區(qū)別開(kāi)來(lái)

adjust to 調(diào)整；調(diào)節(jié)；使適合；使便于使用

in the process 在進(jìn)行；經(jīng)過(guò)；在…過(guò)程中

in common （團(tuán)體）共同的；公有的

make mistakes 犯錯(cuò)誤

make friends with 與…交朋友

take (an active ) part in （積極）參加

take patience to 有耐心去做….