INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY
February 21st
Teacher’s notes
International Mother Language Day – 21st February
1) Brainstorming as a lead-in (10min.)
To introduce the topic
Procedure:
1. Write the word LANGUAGE on the board vertically and ask the students to think of at least
one word beginning with each of the letters in the word language connected with the word
language in some way.
2. The activity can be done as a competition with a set time limit; the students can work
individually, in pairs or groups.
L – Life, Lingua, Latin…
A – Alphabet, Audio, America, American English, Australia, Australian English, Africa,
African languages, Austria …
N – News, Nationality, Norway, Norwegian, Nicaragua…
G – Grammar, Germany, German, Globe, Global…
U – Universe, Ukraine, Ukrainian, UNESCO, U.S.A…
AGE – English, Education, Europe, European languages, Esperanto…
3. Ask the students to present their ideas and explain if not clear. Write them on the board.
4. Tell the students that the topic of the lesson is the International Mother Language Day.
Note: UNESCO stands for: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
2) Group work – matching words and languages (15min.)
Procedure:
1. Ask the students to divide into groups of four.
2. Explain that each group will receive a set of 30 cards (see Appendix 6.1) which they should
arrange into 15 pairs. 15 words are different languages and 15 words are ways how to say a
certain word in those languages.
3. Distribute the sets of cards to the groups. You can set a time limit.
4. When the time is up, ask the students what the word was => language.
5. Check the answers in the open class.
Key: 1-K, 2-F, 3-B, 4-O,5-A, 6-J, 7-C, 8-I, 9-E, 10-G, 11-D, 12-H, 13-N, 14-L, 15-M
3) Quiz (15min.)
Procedure:
1. Hand out the copies of the quiz (Appendix 6.2) to the students.
2. Tell the students to complete the quiz within the time limit of 5min.
3. While the students work, put up Appendices 6.3 – 6.7 on the walls of the classroom.
4. When the time limit is over, collect the quizzes and quickly redistribute them so that each
student has got someone else’s quiz.
5. Ask the students to walk around the classroom and find the correct answers to the quiz
questions from the posters (Appendices 6.3 – 6.7)
6. Each student gets their quiz back.
7. If necessary check the correct answers in the open class.
Key: 1)a 2)c 3)1-d, 2-b, 3-f, 4-c, 5-a, 6-e 4)b 5)1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c
--More activities which could be used for another 45min. lesson, or as a part of 90min. lesson
The following activities require a classroom equipped with computers with an internet access.
4) Reading (10-15min.)
Procedure:
Hand out copies of Appendix 6.8 to the students. Let them read the text and ask a few
comprehension questions to make sure they understood, or read the text in the open class asking
individual students to read a part of the text aloud. Translate if necessary.
5) Pair work – creating a short presentation (20-30min.)
Procedure:
The students will work with the UNESCO's online Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.
1. Direct the students to: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00139 where they
can see a table explaining the degrees of endangerment.
2. Guide the students through the table quickly and then ask them to go to the actual interactive
atlas, there is a link on the webpage http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00206
3. Make sure the students know how to use the interactive atlas and explain that each pair of
students will have to select one of the endangered languages from the list and find out as
much as possible about it on the internet within the time limit given and then present the
information found to the rest of the class, including the reason why they chose that particular
language.
4. Listen to the students’ presentation in the open class. Both students from each pair should
speak during their presentation.
6) Possible homework – writing
Ask the students to write a short essay (200-300 words) about their mother language – e.g. what
they like or do not like about it, what is special about it, how it compares to English…etc.
Useful websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/language/index.html - International Mother Language Day
http://translation2.paralink.com/ - free translator online
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers
http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=EN&pg=00136 - endangered languages
http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00206 – interactive atlas of endangered languages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_language
6.1
Dictionary
1
K
Nyelv
2
1
Hungarian
F
Idioma
3
2
B
4
Språk
Portuguese
Norwegian
E
Linguagem
10
Polish
Dutch
I
9
G
Jezyk
Taal
Norwegian
Linguagem
Italian
C
8
E
10
Lingua
Dutch
Språk
Russian
J
7
I
9
Язык
Italian
Taal
French
A
6
C
8
Langue
Russian
Lingua
German
O
5
J
7
Sprache
French
Язык
Spanish
B
4
A
6
Idioma
German
Langue
Hungarian
F
3
O
5
Nyelv
Spanish
Sprache
K
Portuguese
G
Jezyk
Polish
11
D
Език
12
11
Sprog
13
12
Danish
N
Dil
14
Dil
Filipino
Turkish
L
Wika
15
Romanian
Danish
N
14
M
Limbă
Sprog
Turkish
Wika
Bulgarian
H
13
L
15
Език
Bulgarian
H
D
Filipino
M
Limbă
Romanian
6.2 Quiz - Languages
1) How many languages are spoken in the world today?
a) 5000-7000
b) 1000-3000
c) over 10000
2) How many of the languages spoken in the world today are endangered?
a) 15%
b) 25%
c) 50%
3) Arrange the following 6 languages according to the number of speakers:
a-French
b-English
1-
c-Spanish
2-
d-Mandarin Chinese
3-
4-
e-Arabic
5-
f-Hindi
6-
g-German
7-
4) What is said to be the oldest language in the world?
a) Latin
b) Sanskrit
c) Greek
5) Match the expressions and definitions:
1-International auxiliary language
2-Universal language
3-Lingua franca
4-World language
a - a hypothetical historical or mythical language said to be spoken and understood by all or most of
the world's population
b - any language widely used beyond the population of its native speakers
c - a language spoken internationally
d - a language meant for communication between people from different nations who do not share a
common native language
6.2 Quiz - Languages
1) How many languages are spoken in the world today?
a) 5000-7000
b) 1000-3000
c) over 10000
2) How many of the languages spoken in the world today are endangered?
a) 15%
b) 25%
c) 50%
3) Arrange the following 6 languages according to the number of speakers:
a-French
1-
b-English
c-Spanish
2-
d-Mandarin Chinese
3-
4-
e-Arabic
5-
f-Hindi
6-
g-German
7-
4) What is said to be the oldest language in the world?
a) Latin
b) Sanskrit
c) Greek
5) Match the expressions and definitions:
1-International auxiliary language
2-Universal language
3-Lingua franca
4-World language
a - a hypothetical historical or mythical language said to be spoken and understood by all or most of
the world's population
b - any language widely used beyond the population of its native speakers
c - a language spoken internationally
d - a language meant for communication between people from different nations who do not share a
common native language
6.3
LANGUAGES
OF THE
WORLD
It is difficult to give an exact figure of the
number of languages that exist in the world,
because it is not always easy to define what a
language is. The difference between a language and
a dialect is not always clear-cut. It has nothing to
do with similarity of vocabulary, grammar, or
pronunciation. Sometimes, the distinctions are
based purely on geographical, political, or religious
reasons. It is usually estimated that the number of
languages in the world varies between 3,000 and
8,000.
http://www.ling.gu.se/projekt/sprakfrageladan/english/sprakfakta/eng-sprak-i-varlden.html
6.4
Safeguarding endangered languages
Half of the 6,700 languages spoken today are in danger of
disappearing before the century ends, a process that can be
slowed only if urgent action is taken by governments and
speaker communities. UNESCO’s Endangered Languages
Programme mobilizes international cooperation to focus
attention on this grave situation and to promote innovative
solutions from communities, experts and authorities.
Languages are humankind’s principle tools for interacting
and for expressing ideas, emotions, knowledge, memories
and values. Languages are also primary vehicles of cultural
expressions and intangible cultural heritage, essential to the
identity of individuals and groups. Safeguarding
endangered languages is thus a crucial task in maintaining
cultural diversity worldwide.
http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00136
6.5
List of languages by number of native speakers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Top 20
Language
Mandarin
Number of speakers estimated by
Ethnologue in 2005
873,000,000
English
508,350,000
Hindi
497,000,000
Spanish
438,300,000
Portuguese
335,500,000
Arabic
206,000,000
Bengali
171,000,000
Russian
145,000,000
Japanese
122,400,000
German
95,400,000
Punjabi
88,000,000
French
78,000,000
Korean
78,000,000
Wu
77,200,000
Javanese
75,500,000
Tamil
78,000,000
Telugu
74,002,856
Marathi
68,000,000
Vietnamese
67,400,000
Italian
61,500,000
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers
6.6
Sanskrit – Mother of European Languages
says Prof Dean Brown
Prof. Dean Brown points out that most European languages can be traced
back to a root language that is also related to Sanskrit – the sacred
language of the ancient Vedic religions of India. Many English words
actually have Sanskrit origins. Similarly, many Vedic religious concepts can
also be found in Western culture. He discusses the fundamental idea of the
Upanishads – that the essence of each individual, the atman, is identical to
the whole universe, the principle of brahman. In this sense, the polytheistic
traditions of India can be said to be monistic at their very core.
While it might be considered a forgotten language in India, globally
Sanskrit has found many takers. The American Sanskrit Institute was
founded 18 years ago with a vision to spread “the ease and joy of learning
Sanskrit through an immersion experience, the enjoyment of making the
sounds, fluently reading the original Devanagari script, and directly
reading, chanting and understanding sacred literature.”The Indological
department, University of Bonn Germany conducts various courses and
study programs.
While the world is waking up to Sanskrit – the divine language, where are
we in terms of preserving the world’s oldest known tongue?
http://mutiny.wordpress.com/2007/02/09/sanskrit-mother-of-european-languages-says-prof-deanbrown/
Sanskrit is a language which is mother of all languages. Sanskrit, S-a-n-s-kr-i-t, Sanskrit language. So this is the original language of this..., not only
of this planet. In other planets also, this language is spoken. - Swami
Prabhpada
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/general/sanskrit.asp
6.7
International language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
International language may refer to:
●International auxiliary language - a
language meant for communication between
people from different nations who do not share
a common native language
●Universal language - a hypothetical
historical or mythical language said to be
spoken and understood by all or most of the
world's population
●Lingua franca - any language widely used
beyond the population of its native speakers
●World language - a language spoken
internationally
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_language
6.8
Endangered language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use. If it loses all its native
speakers, it becomes an extinct language.
Identifying endangered languages
While there is no definite threshold for identifying a language as endangered, three main criteria are
used as guidelines:
1. The number of speakers currently living.
2. The mean age of native and/or fluent speakers.
3. The percentage of the youngest generation acquiring fluency with the language in question.
Some languages, such as those in Indonesia, may have tens of thousands of speakers but be
endangered because children are no longer learning them, and speakers are in the process of shifting
to using the national language Indonesian (or a local Malay variety) in place of local languages.
In contrast, a language with only 100 speakers might be considered very much alive if it is the
primary language of a community, and is the first (or only) language of all children in that
community (most of Andaman languages, actually spoken).
UNESCO's online Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger categorises 2,500 languages in five
levels of endangerment: unsafe, definitely endangered, severely endangered, critically endangered
and extinct.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endangered_language