Vocabulary practice glossary
bring enormous benefits for
worldwide communication
a threat to sth. (e.g. ~ to cultural diversity)
to come as quite as a surprise
mother tongue
to access sth;
access to sth n;\
accessible adj
to conduct e-business
to become apparent to sb.
apparently adv
to point out
to reach world markets
a customer (regular ~, cool ~)
customary adj
customize v
to create a (multilingual) site
problems with no easy solutions
for one thing
to face a huge challenge
virtually
to deal with
all sorts of legal issues
to take into consideration
vast changes
overnight (e.g. to happen ~, to become famous ~)
to do business (to do e-business)
at an ever-increasing pace
to be aware of
awareness n (cultural ~, environmental ~)
awareness raising n
target market (~ audience)
to be at an advantage
to take ~ of
to have an ~ over sb.
to have the ~ of
advantageous (~ business, ~ position) adj
to limit sb. from doing sth.
to expand;
expansion n (e.g. expansion of the English language)
growth area
slightly; slight adj; to slight sb v (to feel ~ed)
Word study
1. point n 1) the sharp end., tip, as the point of a pin (needle, knife, stick, pen, pencil, weapon, tool, etc.); 2) a small dot or a full stop, as 4.6 (four point six); 3) the essential thing, part, the most important thing in a speech, story, action, etc., e. g. The point is that it is no ordinary case. I don't see your point. You've missed the whole point, to the point relevant to the subject, as to come (to stick, to be) to the point, e. g. I wish he would come to the point, to speak (to stick, to keep, to be) to the point, e.g. Your answer is not to the point, ant. to be off the point, e. g. Your answer is off the point, to make a point of doing sth. to regard sth. as essential, e. g. He made a point of reading English every day. 4) a single item; to agree (or disagree) on some points, e. g. We disagreed on several points. 5) special quality, as one’s weak (strong) point, e. g. Singing is not his strong point. 6) purpose, use, e. g. What’s your point in coming? 7) a precise or particular moment, as a turning point in one's life, e. g. At this point in his reflections he paused. When it came to the point (when the moment for action came), he refused to help, to be on the point of doing sth. to be about to do sth., e. g. He was on the point of leaving. 8) a stage or degree, as the boiling (freezing, melting) point; 9) a unit measuring gain or loss, e. g. He scored 23 points. 10) a position from which something is viewed, as a point of view.
point vt/i 1) to call attention to, e. g. He pointed to a large building. 2) to point out. to show, e. g. The teacher pointed out several mistakes in the composition (to the student).
pointless adj without aim or purpose, meaningless, as pointless questions, remarks.
2. consider vt/i 1) to think about something carefully, especially in order to make a decision e. g.I’d like some time to consider; consider sth. e. g. She considered her options. Let us consider the facts. He was considering an appeal. a carefully considered response The company is being actively considered as a potential partner (= it is thought possible that it could become one). consider doing sth. We’re considering buying a new car. You wouldn’t consider marrying a man for his money, then? consider how/what, etc… We need to consider how the law might be reformed. He was considering what to do next. 2) to think of somebody/something in a particular way He considers himself an expert on the subject. He's generally considered to have the finest tenor voice in the country. Syn. regard He seemed to regard the whole thing as a joke. consider (that)… She considers that it is too early to form a definite conclusion. it is considered that… It is considered that the proposed development would create much-needed jobs. 3) consider sb/sth (formal) to look carefully at somebody/something He stood there, considering the painting. all things considered She's had a lot of problems since her husband died but she seems quite cheerful, all things considered.
considerable adj great in amount, size, importance, etc. Syn. significant The project wasted a considerable amount of time and money.
consideration n (formal) the act of thinking carefully about something, e.g. Careful consideration should be given to issues of health and safety. The proposals are currently under consideration. on mature reflection /consideration (formal) after thinking about something carefully and for a long time; take something into consideration The candidates’ experience and qualifications will be taken into consideration when the decision is made.
3. conduct vt/i (formal) 1) to organize and/or do a particular activity; to conduct an experiment/an inquiry/a survey, e.g. The negotiations have been conducted in a positive manner. 2) to direct a group of people who are singing or playing music, e.g. a concert by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop. 3) to lead or guide somebody through or around a place, e.g. The guide conducted us around the ruins of the ancient city. conduct yourself + adv./prep. (formal) to behave in a particular way, e.g. He conducted himself far better than expected. 4) (of a substance) to allow heat or electricity to pass along or through it, e.g. Copper conducts electricity well.
conduct n 1) the way a person acts, especially from the standpoint of morality and ethics, e.g. His conduct at school was disgraceful. 2) the act of directing or controlling; management; the conduct of the affair
4. slight adj 1) very small in degree. a slight increase / change / delay / difference, e.g. I woke up with a slight headache. She takes offence at the slightest thing (= is very easily offended). 2) small and thin in size as a slight woman. He was of slight build. 3) (formal) not deserving serious attention, e.g. This is a very slight novel. not in the slightest not at all, e.g. He didn't seem to mind in the slightest.
slightly adv a little as a slightly different version. We took a slightly more direct route.
slight vt to pay too little attention to sb; to treat disrespectfully, e.g. Mary felt slighted because she was not invited to the party. Although the author's work was slighted during his lifetime, he became quite popular after his death. Aileen was slighted and insulted. Syn. hurt
threat n 1) a statement of an intention to punish or hurt, e. g. Nobody is afraid of your threats. 2) a sign or warning of coming trouble, danger, etc., e. g. There was a threat of rain in the dark sky.
threaten vt/i 1) to give warning of, e. g. The clouds threatened rain. 2) to seem likely to come or occur, e. g. He was unconscious of the danger that threatened him. 3) to use threats towards; to threaten to do sth., e. g. Andrew threatened to report the incident to the authorities, to threaten sb. with sth., e. g. The criminal threatened his enemy with death.
threatening adj full of threat, as a threatening attitude (voice); to give sb. a threatening look.
Task 5. Make up a dialogue/story using active vocabulary.
Task 6. Give English equivalents for.
быть в преимущественном положении; быть весьма удивительным; принять во внимание; во-первых; все более нарастающими темпами; сложная проблема; достичь мировых рынков; точка роста; столкнуться с серьезной проблемой; большие перемены; угроза культурному разнообразию; стать очевидным для кого-либо; принести огромную пользу; подчеркивать; осознавать; практически; постоянный клиент; целевой рынок; слегка, незначительно, говорить по существу, поворотный момент в жизни, посмотреть на кого-л. угрожающе.
Task 7. Paraphrase the sentences using the Glossary.
1) The advantage of using computer technologies in the system of health care is obvious to the government. 2) I wouldn’t say that the introduction of euro has been very useful for the world community. 3) In his speech he underlined the problems of the company’s financial policy. 4) Creating a multilingual site is not an easy task. 5) Practically everyone in the team was discouraged by the coach’s resignation. 6) She said she didn’t want to have anything to do with them. 7) I realize all my mistakes. 8) Scientists sound the alarm that the ecological situation on the planet is deteriorating very quickly. 9) He felt hurt when she passed by without greeting him.
Task 8. Translate the following sentences into English.
1) Многие ученые отмечают, что, несмотря на значительные преимущества, которые несет в себе глобализация для развития мировой коммуникации, она может стать угрозой для культурного многообразия, поскольку многие местные языки (vernacular languages) становятся жертвой (fall victim to sth) экспансии английского языка. 2) Руководство большинства компаний осознает те значительные изменения, которые претерпел мировой рынок за последние два десятилетия. Поэтому для них вполне очевидна необходимость ведения бизнеса в виртуальном пространстве для того, чтобы занять свою нишу в мировом рынке. 3) Для меня стало совершенной неожиданностью, что люди на улице узнают меня. Никогда не думала, что можно стать знаменитостью за ночь. 4) Фильм поднимает проблему формирования экологического сознания. Создатели фильма обращают особое внимание на то, что состояние планеты ухудшается все возрастающими темпами. 5) Он стал экспертом в решении непростых задач. Практически все клиенты, с которыми ему приходилось иметь дело, оказывались в выигрышном положении. 6) Прежде чем определить целевой рынок, мы должны были решить, какой регион мог стать для нас направлением развития. Здесь нельзя было торопиться, так как необходимо было принять во внимание различные юридические аспекты. 7) Прежде всего, создав многоязыковой сайт, мы сможем расширить свою целевую аудиторию. В результате, мы получим доступ ко многим, пока закрытым для нас рынкам сбыта (sales markets). 8) Он столкнулся с серьезной проблемой: плохое знание родного языка мешало ему сблизиться с этими людьми. 9) Он чувствовал себя ущемленным, так как никто не ответил на его приветствие. 10) Количество людей, подключившихся к интернету в сельских местностях, незначительно возросло за последний месяц.
TEXT DISCUSSION
Task 9. In your opinion, will English be more widely spoken in the future? Why (not)? Can you think of any aspects of life where English is or will be the only language used?
Task 10. Answer the following questions on the text.
1) What threat does the spread of English pose?
2) In what way is the position of English changing now with more and more people accessing the Internet?
3) Why isn’t creating a multilingual site an easy task?
4) In what way are local companies at an advantage nowadays?
Task 11. Note down the reason why websites will need to become multilingual. Discuss any other reasons you can think of for developing multilingual websites.
Task 12. In pairs, discuss the following questions.
How might a multilingual Internet help you in your studies/work?
Can you think of any drawbacks to such a system?
Task 13. Text analysis.
1) Analyze the title of the text. What is the role of paralinguistic means used in the title? What function does the topical sentence serve?
2) What is the problem raised by the authors of the article? Does the word choice relate to the theme of the article?
3) Does the writer begin the introduction stating the problem or providing general information on the topic? What type of connection is used to join the paragraphs?
4) Summarize the article. Mind the rules of summary writing.
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How to write a summary
1. Read the article to be summarized and make sure you understand it.
2. Outline the article. Note the major points.
3. Write a first draft of the summary without looking at the article.
4. Always use paraphrase when writing a summary. If you do copy a phrase from the original, be sure it is a very important phrase that is necessary and cannot be paraphrased. In this case put “quotation marks” around the phrase.
5. Target your first draft for approximately 1/4 the length of the original.
Task
14. Watch the video English
as a global language
and fill the gaps in the sentences below. Then, discuss in pairs the
problems raised by Jay Walker. Do you agree with him? Why? (Why not?)
How many people are trying to learn English ______? Two billion of them.
Learning English can give people the ______ for a better life, a job, to be able to pay for school, or ______ better food on the table.
With English you can become part of a ______ conversation, a global conversation about global problems.
English is becoming the language of ______.
English represents hope for a better future, where the world has a _____ language to solve its _____ problems.
FOCUS ON DISCUSSION
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Task 15. Think over the following questions and discuss them with your groupmates.
1) What is a barrier? What barriers do we face when we go to live or study in a foreign country?
2) How can communication barriers be overcome?
Task 16. What gestures are used to show that you agree, disagree, don’t care, are angry / pleased / disappointed / shocked?
Task 17. Scan the text about non-verbal communication to answer the following questions.
What is non-verbal communication?
What non-verbal elements can be discovered in speech and written texts?
In what way is non-verbal behavior determined by culture?
Non-Verbal Communication
Non-verbal communication is the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless (mostly visual) cues between people. It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as body language (kinesics), but non-verbal communication encompasses much more, such as use of voice (paralanguage), touch (haptics), distance (proxemics), and physical environments/appearance. Typically overlooked in non-verbal communication are proxemics, or the informal space around the body and chronemics: the use of time. Not only considered eye contact, oculesics comprises the actions of looking while talking and listening, frequency of glances, patterns of fixation, pupil dilation, and blink rate.
Even speech contains non-verbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, rate, pitch, volume, and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation, and stress. Likewise, written texts have non-verbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the physical layout of a page. However, much of the study of non-verbal communication has focused on interaction between individuals, where it can be classified into three principal areas: environmental conditions where communication takes place, physical characteristics of the communicators, and behaviors of communicators during interaction.
Non-verbal communication involves the processes of encoding and decoding. Encoding is the act of generating the information such as facial expressions, gestures, and postures. Decoding is the interpretation of information from received sensations from previous experiences.
Only a small percentage of the brain processes verbal communication. As infants, non-verbal communication is learned from social-emotional communication, making the face rather than words the major organ of communication. As children become verbal communicators, they begin to look at facial expressions, vocal tones, and other non-verbal elements more subconsciously.
Culture plays an important role in non-verbal communication. The most important thing to keep in mind about non-verbal behaviors is that they do not translate across cultures easily and can lead to serious misunderstanding. Human behaviors are driven by values, beliefs, and attitudes, and it is helpful to consider how these invisible aspects of culture drive the behaviors we can see.
Task 18. Can you provide any examples of cultural differences in non-verbal communication modes of your country?
Task 19. Prepare a presentation on cultural aspect of non-verbal communication using Internet resources.
Task 20.
a. Look at the two photographs showing different means of communication. Compare the two photographs, saying which you think is most efficient.
b. Which of these means do you mostly use to communicate with your family/friends?
Task 21.
a. Look at the two pictures. Compare the two photographs, saying which of the two kinds of happiness is more important to you.
b. What other situation make you feel this way?
Ω Task 22. Listen to two candidates doing the speaking tasks above and compare their performance to that of your classmates.
Assess your classmates in term of:
Grammar and vocabulary
Discourse management
Pronunciation
Interactive communication
SELF-STUDY