OP
English EF – GK2 (Lg)
Topic 2: Digital Age
07th of December, 2018
Mock – Exam 2
Name:
Digital natives use emoticons because they are ‘too lazy’ to write properly
Jan Bruck
We used to paint pictures on walls in caves. Today, instead of using a piece of charcoal, we use our
smart phones. And the subjects have changed too. Instead of drawing mammoths, fire and people
throwing spears, we now go for comic figures, airplanes and people holding hands.
5
These small, ubiquitous symbols – known as emojis or emoticons – have gone from a quasi secret
code, used by those who think it’s natural to represent a smiley face with a colon, dash and closed
bracket, to a fully fledged graphical part of the digital lingua franca.
Emojis are everywhere: in chat apps, such as Whatsapp, on social networks such as Facebook, and
the virtually ‘old-skool’ text message. […]
Some linguists say the rise of the emoticon is leading to the atrophy of the written language.
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They say the digital natives – that’s generally people born after the year 2000 who have grown up
with computers and the Internet as an integral part of their lives – are ‘too lazy’ to express themselves
precisely with words.
But social psychologist Tina Ganster says emojis are a ‘creative way of getting around the limitations
of digital communication.’
15
Ganster says emoticons are the same as other forms of non-verbal communication in real life.
It’s almost impossible to convey gestures, body language and tone in a short text message. As a
result, Ganster says, emojis are often the only way for us to express emotion in an online text.
‘These symbols let us make it clear how a message is meant,’ Ganster says. ‘They can convey irony
or sarcasm and as a result allow us to avoid misunderstandings.’
20
Throw in a winking emoji and the sentence ‘don't forget to invite your mother to the party’ takes on a
completely different tone and meaning.
Just as in real conversations, says Ganster, in digital communication we also want to make an
emotional connection. Emojis can help us, she says, even while using digital technology, to build
such a relationship. […]
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But beware: emojis can illustrate gestures that mean different things in different cultures.
Take the symbol – and emoticon – that's used by divers to say ‘okay’ – where the thumb and
forefinger are joined to make a circle and the rest of the fingers are spread out. It may be a positive
gesture in some countries, but in Brazil it's an insult.
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Despite the hundreds of emoticons that exist, it's still possible to be misunderstood – just as it is in
real life ;-)
From: www.dwd.de, 23 January 2014
Annotations
4 ubiquitous
omnipresent, seeming to be everywhere
6 fully fledged completely developed
lingua franca a language used between people whose main languages are different
9 atrophy
weakness of a part of the body because of lack of blood or lack of use
20 wink (v) close and open one eye quickly to communicate something
OP
English EF – GK2 (Lg)
Topic 2: Digital Age
07th of December, 2018
Mock – Exam 2
Name:
Task 1: Reading Comprehension
Read the article on the use of emoticons and tick () the correct options (a, b, c, or d). There is
only one correct answer for each question.
1
Emoticons …

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
2
a. add to the written language.
b. that emoticons have a negative effect on the written language.
c. that emoticons have become part of our daily lives.
d. that emoticons make people lazy.
a. digital communication is limited.
b. digital natives are very creative.
c. emoticons are used ironically.
d. emoticons should only be used in online texts.
a. to enable people to express sarcasm in online texts.
b. to make one’s statement unmistakable.
c. to put a smile on people’s faces.
d. to pep up otherwise boring online texts.
The author of this article warns us to be careful with emojis, because …
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

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d. have become a universal language.
The main idea behind emoticons is …




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c. date back as far as the Stone Age.
Tina Ganster thinks that …




4
b. are used like a secret code.
Some linguists claim that emoticons …




3
a. are now used less in text messages.
a. they can cause misunderstandings.
b. some cultures do not understand them.
c. it might be an insult to use them.
d. there are too many to understand them all.
The following hand sign is described in the last paragraph of the text:





b. 
c. 
d. 
a.
OP
English EF – GK2 (Lg)
Topic 2: Digital Age
07th of December, 2018
Mock – Exam 2
Name:
Task 2: Summary
Sum up the article by Jan Bruck and describe the author’s view on emoticons.
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OP
English EF – GK2 (Lg)
Topic 2: Digital Age
07th of December, 2018
Mock – Exam 2
Name:
Task 3: Evaluation
In the feedback section on www.dw.de, people are invited to comment on Jan Bruck’s article
‘Digital natives use emoticons because they are “too lazy” to write properly’. Write a comment
presenting your own opinion on the use of emoticons in digital communication. You must refer
to the online article, but you may also provide your own arguments.
Do not forget to structure your text and connect your ideas.
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OP
English EF – GK2 (Lg)
Topic 2: Digital Age
07th of December, 2018
Mock – Exam 2
Name:
Task 4: Mediation (GERMAN  ENGLISH)
Situation: As one of the editors for your school’s website, you are responsible for creating English
content from the online texts used on the site. You have been asked to provide information on how
students can get help if they have become a victim of cyberbullying. You have decided to take the
text below as a starting point.
Summarize the information given in the text, keeping in mind that the information is intended to
provide help for students who are being cyberbullied.
Cyber-Mobbing – So holt man sich anonyme Hilfe im Internet
Martin Römhild
An wen können sich Kinder und Jugendliche wenden, wenn sie Opfer von Cyber-Mobbing
werden? Die wenigstens Betroffenen suchen Hilfe bei ihren Eltern oder Lehrern. Doch das
Internet bietet Möglichkeiten, anonym zu bleiben. […]
Trend zur anonymen Beratung
5 „Cyber-Mobbing kann ungeahnte Dimensionen annehmen, die Eltern und Lehrer oftmals
unterschätzen oder verharmlosen“, erklärt Nina Pirk von der Nummer gegen Kummer. „Dabei ist
Mobbing vor allem bei Pubertierenden ein riesiges Thema, das Anlass für etwa jedes zehnte
Beratungsgespräch ist.“
Sie ist sich bewusst, warum Kinder und Jugendliche immer häufiger auf eine anonyme Beratung
10 zurückgreifen, obwohl sie ihre Eltern und Lehrer um Rat bitten könnten. „Vielen Opfern ist die
Situation peinlich und sie wollen nicht, dass ihr Fall öffentlich vor den Mitschülern thematisiert
wird.“ […]
Nummer gegen Kummer
Alleine im Jahr 2013 führte die Nummer gegen Kummer etwa 620.000 Gespräche mit Kindern
15 und Jugendlichen – oft über Mobbing, Cyber-Mobbing und Ausgrenzung. Selbst besorgte Eltern
werden von geschulten Beratern informiert. „Niemand ist alleine“, so Nina Pirk. Dabei ist
Anonymität oberstes Gebot: Die Telefonnummer des Anrufers ist für die Berater nicht sichtbar
und auch auf der monatlichen Abrechnung erscheint sie nicht, da die Nummer gegen Kummer zu
jedem Zeitpunkt kostenlos ist.
20 Eine Beratung ist nicht nur telefonisch, sondern auch im Internet möglich, wie nur wenige wissen.
Dazu haben Kinder und Jugendliche die Möglichkeit, sich anonym online zu registrieren und
wertvolle Ratschläge von der Nummer gegen Kummer zu erhalten. Zwar muss bei der
Registrierung eine E-Mail-Adresse hinterlegt werden, diese ist jedoch genauso wie die
Konversation nie öffentlich einsehbar. Ein Passwort schützt alle sensiblen Daten.
25 Nicht immer ist eine Beratung per Telefon oder E-Mail notwendig. Es stehen zahlreiche Portale
zur Verfügung, die über Cyber-Mobbing und die Gefahren im Internet aufklären – darunter
klicksafe.de mit hilfreichen Artikeln, Videos und Lernmaterialien.
From: www.focus.de, 6 April 2014
OP
English EF – GK2 (Lg)
Topic 2: Digital Age
07th of December, 2018
Mock – Exam 2
Name:
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