English Mania
Mania – too much or unreasonable enthusiasm
Is learning English a mania?
Why are you learning English?
- Is learning English a mania or a necessity?
- Is English killing other languages?
- Do you want to become a part of a global conversation?
Questions are coming shortly...
Jay Walker: Let's talk about manias. Let's start with Beatle mania: hysterical teenagers, crying, screaming, pandemonium. Sports mania: deafening crowds, all for one idea -- get the ball in the net. Okay, religious mania: there's rapture, there's weeping, there's visions. Manias can be good. Manias can be alarming. Or manias can be deadly. The world has a new mania. A mania for learning English. Listen as Chinese students practice their English by screaming it.
Teacher: ... change my life!
Students: I will change my life.
Teacher: I don't want to let my parents down.
Students: I don't want to let my parents down.
Teacher: I don't ever want to let my country down.
Students: I don't ever want to let my country down.
Teacher: Most importantly ...
Students: Most importantly ...
Teacher: I don't want to let myself down.
Students: I don't want to let myself down.
Jay Walker: How many people are trying to learn English worldwide? Two billion of them.
Students: A t-shirt. A dress.
Jay Walker: In Latin America, in India, in Southeast Asia, and most of all in China. If you are a Chinese student you start learning English in the third grade, by law. That's why this year China will become the world's largest English-speaking country. Why English? In a single word: Opportunity. Opportunity for a better life, a job, to be able to pay for school, or put better food on the table. Imagine a student taking a giant test for three full days. Her score on this one test literally determines her future. She studies 12 hours a day for three years to prepare. 25 percent of her grade is based on English. It's called the Gaokao, and 80 million high school Chinese students have already taken this grueling test. The intensity to learn English is almost unimaginable unless you witness it.
Teacher: Perfect!
Students: Perfect!
Teacher: Perfect!
Students: Perfect
Teacher: I want to speak perfect English.
Students: I want to speak perfect English.
Teacher: I want to speak ...
Students: I want to speak ...
Teacher: ... perfect English.
Students: perfect English.
Teacher: I want to change my life!
Students: I want to change my life!
Jay Walker: So is English mania good or bad? Is English a tsunami, washing away other languages? Not likely. English is the world's second language. Your native language is your life. But with English, you can become part of a wider conversation: a global conversation about global problems, like climate change or poverty, or hunger or disease. The world has other universal languages. Mathematics is the language of science. Music is the language of emotions. And now English is becoming the language of problem-solving. Not because America is pushing it, but because the world is pulling it. So English mania is a turning point. Like the harnessing of electricity in our cities or the fall of the Berlin Wall, English represents hope for a better future ... a future where the world has a common language to solve its common problems.
Jay Walker: Thank you very much.
Present Simple
We use the present simple (do/work/play) to talk about things in general. We use it to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly, or that something is true in general:
- Nurses look after patients in hospitals.
- I usually go away at weekends.
- The earth goes round the sun.
- The cafe opens at 7.30 in the morning.
We use DO and DOES to make questions and negative sentences.
- Do you work every day?
- Do they know each other?
- Does he/she play tennis?
- I don’t go away very often.
- He doesn’t do anything to help.
- What do you do?
- What does this word mean?
- How often does she go to the gym?
Put the verb into the correct form.
- Julia doesn’t drink (not / drink) tea very often.
- What time (the banks/close) here?
- I have a car, but I (not / use) it much.
- Where (Maria / come) from? Is she Spanish?
- ‘What (you / do)?’ ‘I’m an electrician.’
- Look at this sentence. What (this word/mean)?
- David isn’t very fit. He (not / do) any sport.
- It (take) me an hour to get to work in the morning. How long
(it / take) you?
You ask Tanya questions about herself and her family. Write the questions.
- You know that Lisa plays tennis. You want to know how often. Ask her.
How often do you play tennis? - Perhaps Lisa’s sister plays tennis too. You want to know. Ask Lisa about her sister.
- You know that Lisa goes to the cinema a lot. You want to know how often. Ask her.
- You know that Lisa’s brother works. You want to know what he does. Ask Lisa.
- You’re not sure whether Lisa speaks Spanish. You want to know. Ask her.
- You don’t know where Lisa’s grandparents live. You want to know. Ask Lisa.