Using language

Teaching Aim: Ss will be able to know that there are a lot of different dialects in the same language.

Teaching procedures

Step 1 Warming up

Enjoy a clip of film.

T: What do you think of the film? When watching the film, can you understand it well?

S: ….

T: What made it difficult for you to fully understand the film?

S: The different languages spoken in the film.

T: How many local languages did you hear in this film?

S: Sichuanhua, Guangtongnese and Putonghua.

T: In China, different areas have their different dialects. Can you tell me some of them?

T: And people in different cities speak different dialects.

　Can people from different cities recognize each other’s dialects?

S: Sometimes people have some difficulty in recognizing each other’s dialects.

T: How to solve this problem? Is there standard Chinese in China? What is it?

Putonghua is regarded as standard Chinese. Although in daily life, local people speak their own dialects, in some occasions, they will have to use Putonghua to communicate with people from other areas.

(Give more hints to help the students.)

T: What kind of language is used in our class now?

S: English.

T: English is another kind of language.

What you said is of course right, while what I said is also not wrong. Why? Because what you said is British English while what I said is American English. Are British English and American English the same?

No, there are some differences between British English and American English. Then what are the differences? Do you know? Now I’ll tell you. British English and American English are different in pronunciation, in spelling and in words and expressions. In fact, in each English-speaking country, English has its own identity. Even in the same country, people in different areas speak a little different dialects. Then for people who learn English as a second language, what kind of English should they learn? American English, British English, Australian English or Canadian English? Is there standard English? Today, we’re going to learn a passage about standard English and dialects.

Step 2 Skimming

T: Read the passage quickly and find out the topic sentence for each paragraph.

Para.1: There is no such a thing as standard English.

Para.2: American English has many dialects whose words and expression are different from “standard English”.

Para.3: Geography plays a part in making dialects.

Step 3 Scanning

T: Read the text again to locate particular information.

1. Do you know what standard English is from the text?

Many people believe the English spoken on TV and the radios is standard English.(ie what is heard on the BBC)

　But believe it or not, in fact there is no standard English.

believe it or not 信不信由你

e.g Believe it or not, John cheated in the exams.

Believe it or not, the examination tomorrow is cancelled.

2. What is a dialect?

When people use words and expressions different from “standard language”, it is called a dialect.

3. Why does American English have so many dialects?

People have come from all over the world.

Geography also plays a part in making dialects.

Play a part/ a role (in) 在……中擔任角色； 在……中起作用

　　　e.g He will play the part of the doctor in my latest film.

　　　 The UN plays an important part in international relations.

Step 4 Post-reading

T: From the passage, we know the US is a large country in which many different dialects are spoken. Then do you think people from different areas can understand each other? Why?

Different dialects are just like branches of a tree. English is just like the trunk of a tree. Branches can’t live without trunk. So people from different areas in America can understand each other.

Step 5 Summary

T: Language is rich and changing. As a learner, we should know about it as much as possible, keep up with its development and enjoy its beauty.

Step 6 Homework

Do the exercises in ENGLISH WEEKLY

2. Keep an eye on dialects in our life.

Listening

1.Listen for the first time

T: Next, let’s enjoy one of the most representative dialects in America--- Southern dialect. (Just listen to the boy’s talking in Listening part on P14)

T: Can you understand what the boy is talking about? What do you think of its pronunciation and intonation?

S: It’s difficult. /The way of speaking sounds strange------

T: It doesn’t matter. It’s really difficult for non-native speakers to understand the English dialects. Luckily, we have another speaker who interprets the dialect into simple and standard English. So please listen to it and grasp the general idea. And answer one question: Who is the second speaker?

S: She is the boy’s teacher Jane.

T: Very good.

2.Listen again and answer the six questions

T: Ok, now please listen to what the boy is talking about and try to find the answers to the following questions.

(Students may be allowed to look at the script of dialect on P14; they should lay more emphasis on the Jane’s talking)

T: Could you find the answers to the six questions?

Ss: Yes.

T: Good. What does Buford think of Texas? How do you know it?

_________________________________________________________________

T: How large was the catfish?

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T: Why did Lester get out of the water fast as lightning?

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T: Why did Buford and Big Billy Bob laugh?

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T: Can you answer Question 5?

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T: Well done! Buford says “Hey, y’all” to greet you. What does the second speaker say to greet you?

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3. Listen for the third time, identify the words in dialect and find out their standard English equivalents.

T: You’ve done a good job. I’m sure you have understood the main idea of the story. It contains a lot of words in dialect. Please turn to page 14, listen again and please try to identify them and find out their standard English equivalents according to the third listening and your understanding. Then finish the table.

(Play the tape for the third time with the help of the scrip of the boy’ talking on p14)

Words in dialect Standard English

y’all

ain’t

whole’nother

ya

story’bout

swimmin’

jumpin’

feelin’

catfish’bout

Alright

thinkin’

goin’

sure’nough

Shoulda

Outta

LISTENING TEXT

Hello, everyone, I am Buford’s teacher, Jane, from Britain. Perhaps you didn’t quite understand everything Buford said. He said that he lives in Houston, a city in Texas. He wants everyone to know that he doesn’t believe Texas is a state in the USA but a different country. Buford says that he would like to tell you a story about him when was a small child . One hot summer’s day he was swimming with Big Billy Bob and Lester. They were jumping into the water, which felt good. Then he says that they saw a catfish almost the size of a house but, he adds, that the catfish was really smaller. Buford says that Lester thought he was going to be eaten by the catfish. He says, goodness, you should have seen Lester! He says that Lester got out of the water faster than lighting and climbed up a tree. Buford and Big Billy Bob just laughed a lot. To this day, he says, Lester won’t visit that place.