English-Speaking Countries Across Press E-world Screen

new edition

Katherine Clifton • Jo-ann Costa • Chiaretta GelliK.Clifto

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J. Costa

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ESCAPES è un manuale di “civiltà” di livello B1-B2 che si propone di mette-re a fuoco, secondo un’ottica interculturale, gli aspetti più significativi deipaesi in cui la lingua inglese è parlata come L1 o L2 o come lingua veicolare.ESCAPES vuole significare “fughe” dalla realtà quotidiana della lezione, “eva-sioni” verso mondi a volte molto distanti ma oramai così vicini attraverso lastampa, Internet, la televisione e il cinema.

Il testo è particolarmente innovativo e motivante in quanto ogni Modulo, neltrattare le diverse culture di lingua inglese sotto l’aspetto geografico, storico,politico, sociale, letterario e artistico, fa sempre riferimento ad un film parti-colarmente significativo per l’argomento trattato. Inoltre, offre molteplici occa-sioni di rinforzo ed approfondimento grazie ai siti Internet citati punto perpunto e al materiale aggiornato tratto da riviste, quotidiani e dalla “rete”.

La Teacher’s Guide comprende:

• un DVD che contiene le clip dei film e i brani delle attività di ascolto;• i testi completi delle registrazioni;• le soluzioni degli esercizi;• le note e i suggerimenti per l’insegnante;• materiale extra per attività di approfondimento e di ulteriore esercitazione.

RISORSE N LINE • Clip dei film • Attività di ascolto • Transcripts

English-Speaking Countries Across Press E-world Screen

new edition

Katherine Clifton • Jo-ann Costa • Chiaretta Gelli

Realizzazione editoriale:

– Progetto e consulenza: Raffaele Polichetti– Progetto grafico e impaginazione: Studio Pattern– Revisione testi: Paola Ghigo

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2015

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ESCAPES new edition

ESCAPES è un manuale di “civiltà” che si propone di mettere a fuoco, secondo un’ottica intercul-turale, gli aspetti più significativi dei paesi in cui la lingua inglese è parlata. ESCAPES vuole significa-re “fughe” dalla realtà quotidiana della lezione, “evasioni” verso mondi a volte molto distanti ma ora-mai così vicini attraverso la stampa (Press), Internet (E-world), la televisione e il cinema (Screen).

Il testo è particolarmente innovativo e motivante in quanto ogni Modulo, nel trattare le diverse cultu-re di lingua inglese sotto l’aspetto geografico, storico, politico, sociale, letterario e artistico, fa sempreriferimento ad un film particolarmente significativo per l’argomento trattato. Inoltre, offre molteplicioccasioni di rinforzo ed approfondimento grazie ai siti internet citati punto per punto e al materialeautentico e aggiornato tratto da riviste, quotidiani e dalla “rete”.

In un mondo che vede continui cambiamenti storici, geografici, tecnologici e culturali, questa nuovaedizione si propone di offrire un testo “informato” sui fatti recenti, salvaguardando le caratteristichegenerali che ne hanno decretato il consenso da parte dei docenti. È stata operata anche una sem-plificazione lessico-strutturale dei testi di avvio di ogni Unità secondo un criterio di gradualità dei livel-li: si parte con A2+ per continuare con B1 e poi B2.

I 12 Moduli e le relative 36 Unità in cui è suddiviso ESCAPES vogliono offrire una visione globale e glo-balizzata del mondo in cui l’inglese è parlato come L1 o L2 o come lingua veicolare, cogliendone gliaspetti reali, ma anche fornendo occasioni di “fuga dalla realtà” attraverso la letteratura e il cinema.

Le attività sono sempre mirate, oltre che a sviluppare le abilità ricettive e produttive, a stimolare l’at-tività di gruppo e di classe ed il confronto delle opinioni. Particolare attenzione è stata rivolta agli eser-cizi riguardanti i film.

Il Glossario, nelle pagine finali del volume, consente di trovare facilmente il significato dei vocabolievidenziati nel testo.

La Teacher’s Guide comprende: – un DVD che contiene le clip dei film e i brani delle attività di ascolto;– i testi completi delle registrazioni;– le soluzioni degli esercizi; – le note e i suggerimenti per l’insegnante;– materiale extra per attività di approfondimento e di ulteriore esercitazione.

PRESENTAZIONE

RISORSE N LINEIl manuale è in forma mista perché propone su carta i «saperi minimi» sui quali è necessario con-frontarsi, ma è completato da diverse risorse on line disponibili a breve sul sito della casa editrice:

• Clip dei film • Attività di ascolto • Transcripts

CONTENTSModule 1 ENGLISH IN THE WORLD 6

• Unit 1Today’s lingua franca 7What is global English? 7Historical invasions of the British Isles 8English is a crazy language 9A “new” English language 10

• Unit 2The rise and decline

of the British Empire 11The “First British Empire” 11The rise of the “Second British Empire”

(1783-1815) 12Loss of the Thirteen American

Colonies 12Exploration of the Pacific 12The Empire grows 13World Wars (1914 and 1945) 14

• Unit 3The fall of the British Empire 15Decolonisation and decay (1945-1997) 15The end of the Empire 15Heritage 16The Commonwealth of Nations 17The Commonwealth Games 18∑Film Spanglish 19

Module 2 ENGLAND AND WALES 21

• Unit 1England: London and the South 22England at first glance 22London 22Multicultural London 24The South 25

• Unit 2England: The Midlands

and the North 26East Anglia 26The Midlands 26The North 27Wuthering Heights 28Daffodils 29

• Unit 3Wales 30The country 30Some history of Wales 32Cardiff, the capital city 33Dylan Thomas 33∑Film The Simpsons: The Regina

Monologues 34

Module 3 SCOTLAND AND IRELAND 36

• Unit 1Scotland 37Scotland at first glance 37The Highlands and islands

of Scotland 38The cities: Edinburgh and Glasgow 38Some history 39Scottish economy 40

• Unit 2Ireland: the country 41Sea, cliffs, bogs and more 41How many countries are there in Ireland? 41The cities 42Angela’s Ashes 43Celtic Crunch Time 44

• Unit 3Ireland: the soul 45Some history 45Between legend and truth: the legends

of the Giant’s Causeway and theShamrock 46

Irish wit 47Irish music 48∑Film Braveheart 49

Module 4 THE U.S.A. 51

• Unit 1The East 52The U.S.A. in brief 52The East Coast 53New England poets 53New York State 54New York City 54Pennsylvania 55Immigration and emigration 55

• Unit 2The Central and the Southern

States 56The Central States 56The Southern States 57A spiritual: Michael, row the boat ashore 58Civil rights 59

• Unit 3The West 60The making of the West in brief 60The Plains States 61The Rocky Mountain States 62The Southwest 62The West Coast 63Native Americans 63

• Unit 4Alaska and Hawaii 64Alaska in brief 64Native Alaskan cultures and languages 65Hawai’i in brief 66Hawaiian language and culture 67∑Film The Truman Show 68

Module 5 OTHER PARTS OF THEAMERICAS 70

• Unit 1Canada 71Canada in brief 71Major cities 72History 72Québec 73The Cirque du Soleil 74Indigenous peoples 74

• Unit 2The Caribbean Basin 75Basic facts 75Peoples and languages 76Slavery in the Caribbean 76Creole 77Caribbean music 78Puerto Rico 78∑Film The Last of the Mohicans 79

Module 6 AFRICA AND ASIA 81

• Unit 1Africa and its people 82Africa is not a country 82African art 84Namibia 85

• Unit 2Africa: countries in the south 86Zimbabwe 86Zimbabwe army runs diamond mine 86The Republic of South Africa 88Serengeti National Park, Tanzania 89

• Unit 3Continental Asia: India,

Pakistan, Bangladesh 90India 90Pakistan and Bangladesh 93

• Unit 4Pacific Asia: Singapore,

Hong Kong, Philippines 94Singapore 94Hong Kong 96Philippines 97∑Film Bride and Prejudice 98

Module 7 OCEANIA 100

• Unit 1Australia 101Basic facts 101Who are the Australians 102Australia’s economy 103Australian flora and fauna 103Aboriginal dreamtime 104

• Unit 2New Zealand 105Basic facts 105New Zealand government 106New Zealand yesterday and today 106Volcanoes and geysers 107Agriculture 107Famous New Zealanders 108The Lord of the Rings 108∑Film Mr. Crocodile Dundee 109

Module 8 HOT ISSUES 111

• Unit 1A dying planet 112The present state of our planet 112Pollution, pollution and more pollution 113World action on pollution 114Energy sources 114Vanishing, endangered species 115

• Unit 2Food, water and aid 116The world’s food and water today 116Aid organisations 117Pop stars unite for Africa 118Not just Africa 119Critical comments 119

• Unit 3Futuristic Science and Technology 120Genetically-Manipulated Organisms

(GMOs) 120Cloning 121Recycling 122Advanced Materials 123∑Film Jurassic Park 124

Module 9 SOCIETY AND THE INDIVIDUAL 126

• Unit 1The UK and its institutions 127The social contract 127The Monarchy 128Parliament and Government 128

The House of Commons 129The House of Lords 129Political parties and general elections 130

• Unit 2The USA and its institutions 131The Constitution 131The Government 132Political parties 133The governor’s speech 133Election process 134

• Unit 3The European Union 135Reason for existing 135The Single Market 136The euro 137EU institutions 137Going abroad to learn 138∑Film Love Actually 139

Module 10 YOUNG PEOPLE 141

• Unit 1Education and learning 142Schools around the world 142C4 yourself, English txt can

be just gr8!:) 143Hard spell 144Why boarding school? 145

• Unit 2Feelings and questions 146Adolescence 146Discover the feel-good formula 147How happy are you? 147Citizenship ceremonies are just a sham 148Legal drinking age 149

• Unit 3Sport and free time 150Sport 150On your bike 151Brands Hatch motor racing circuit 151Teenage star tops classical charts 152Twilight 152Modern dance 152Independence: your first car 153∑Film Billy Elliot 154

Module 11 MOMENTS IN HISTORY,LITERATURE AND ART 156

• Unit 1From the beginning to Henry VIII 157Prehistoric Britain 157Roman Britain 158

The invasions 158The Middle Ages 159Henry VIII and the beginning of English Renaissance 159Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales 160

• Unit 2From the Golden Age to

Victorianism 161Elizabeth I and the Golden Age 161The struggle with Parliament 162The age of revolutions 163Queen Victoria and Victorianism 164

• Unit 3The XX Century and beyond 165World War I (1914-1918) 165World War II (1939-1945) 166The post-war years 167George Orwell - 1984 168Barack Obama’s new world order 168∑Film The Merchant of Venice 169

Module 12 THE UNKNOWN 171

• Unit 1Target: Earth 172From horror to science fiction 172The Panic Broadcast 172Writing the program 173After the broadcast 173What is science fiction, anyway? 174A famous actor’s young

first acting experience 175

• Unit 2The Gothic Tradition 176Origins of the Gothic tradition 176Spiritualism 177The Gothic tradition lives on 178Two supernatural creatures 178A lighter side to the “Dark Side” 179

• Unit 3A Satire on the Gothic Tale 180“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” 180The main character of “The legend

of Sleepy Hollow” 181The woman 181The third important character in the story 181Extraordinary events 182Terror! 182The end of the story 183∑Film Sleepy Hollow 184

GLOSSARY 186

Module 11 ENGLISH IN THE WORLD1. Today’s lingua franca2. The rise and decline of the British Empire3. The fall of the British Empire

Canada

Bermuda

Bahamas

Guyana

Gambia

Ghana

Nigeria Sudan

Kenya

Ethiopia

IndiaBurma

Hong KongBangladesh

Philippines

MalaysiaPapuaNew Guinea

Gibraltar

Australia

New Zealand

Singapore

SriLanka

Pakistan

Ireland

Uganda

TanzaniaMalawiMauritius

South AfricaLesotho

Zimbabwe

Botwana

Namibia

Zambia

Malta

UnitedKingdom

Cameroon

Sierra Leone

Jamaica

Québec

U.S.A.

Alaska

Swaziland

Mother Tongue

Second Language

Liberia

åå What is globalEnglish?

A lingua franca is a means of communicationbetween people of different languages whoneed to communicate for various social andeconomic reasons. A lingua franca is generallythe language of the dominant culture of thecivilisations that come into contact, but it mayalso be a combination of elements from them.The term goes back to the Middle Ages, whentravellers used a simplified compromise language(based on Italian with elements of Spanish,French, Greek and Arabic) when doing businessin various parts of the then-known world.

Answer these questions.

a. What do you use English for atpresent?

b. How do you think you will use itin the future?

c. Do you think it is important tohave native speakers aspronunciation models? Why/why not?

d. What is a lingua franca and whatis it used for?

e. What historical examples of alingua franca do you know about?

f. How many people in the worldnow use English as a linguafranca?

BEFORE READING

Today’s lingua franca

Here are a few historical examples of a linguafranca: Latin – the language of culturedEuropean people from the time of the RomanEmpire to the end of the Middle Ages; French– the language of the nobility and ofdiplomacy in Western Europe from about1100 AD to the 1700s; Swahili – thelanguage used across East African cultures; thesign language once used among nativeAmerican Indian tribes. English has nowbecome the world’s lingua franca and theterm “global English” has become verycommon. It is a way to demonstrate thatEnglish is spoken in every part of the world,both among speakers inside a particularcountry who share a first language and also byspeakers from different countries.

English is no longer spoken only by its nativespeakers in the UK, North America, Australiaand New Zealand and by those who learnEnglish in order to communicate with nativespeakers. It is also spoken among non-nativespeakers in countries like India, the Philippinesand Singapore, plus in many other countries.This use of English is generally called “English asan International Language” or EIL. It is this kindof English – a lingua franca – which is the largestgroup of English speakers, numbering anincredible 1.5 billion. The appearance of somany varieties of EIL has caused a number oflinguists to think that native speakers may notalways be the best models for pronunciation inthe teaching of English.

Map of the English-speaking world

mother-tongue use

official/semi-officialsecond language

mother-tongue use co-existswith other language

Unit Unit module 1

çç Historicalinvasions of the BritishIsles

The first inhabitants wereIberians and Celts who settledon the land and were often atwar with one another. In AD 43the Roman Emperor Claudiusinvaded and made Britain aRoman province up to present-day Scotland (Julius Caesar hadpreviously failed to do this).Roman remains can be visitedin Britain today, since duringtheir 300-year stay the Romansbuilt roads, towns and villas.

The Romans finallyabandoned Britain in AD 410and a long period of invasionsstarted. The Germanic tribes ofAngles and Jutes (from thepresent-day peninsula ofDenmark) and the Saxons (from present-daynorthern Germany) settled in Britain from thefifth to the eighth centuries; the Angles gaveEngland its name. These invaders introduced anew culture to Britain and even today Britishcustoms and habits are described as “Anglo-Saxon”. The Vikings arrived from Scandinaviain the ninth and tenth centuries; they settled inthe north and made the town of York thecapital of their kingdom.

The last successful invasion of Britain wasin 1066. Duke William of Normandy (Williamthe Conqueror) defeated the English armies ofHarold at the battle of Hastings (on the

‚ Norman knights (the Bayeuxtapestry, detail, c. 1070). ACTIVITIES

11 What new information have youlearnt from Text 1?

22 Look at the map of the English-speaking world. In 3 minutes,write down as many countries asyou can where English is themother tongue (apart from theUK, the USA and Australia).Compare your list with otherclassmates.

33 English developed from avariety of historical influences

that originated in invasions ofthe British Isles. But whichinvaders arrived when?Referring to Text 2, try to putthem in the correct order.

Vikings • Saxons • Normans •Romans

1st: ...................................................

2nd: ..................................................

3rd: ...................................................

4th: ...................................................

southeast coast of England) and so theNormans settled in Britain over the next threecenturies. French became the language of thenobility and, together with Latin, the languageof the legal system and of government.

However, the language of the indigenouspeople – rather than Latin or French –eventually became the strongest language.The 14th century storyteller Geoffrey Chaucer(Canterbury Tales) and the 16th century writerWilliam Shakespeare (37 plays and manysonnets) showed that the English languagewas equal in expression to Greek, Latin andFrench. And unlike these languages, English

was happy to accept the myriad influences ofan ever-expanding world: new words arrivedfrom every corner of the globe; new structuresexpressed ideas that had previously beenunknown.

These influences, plus the expansion of theBritish Empire in later centuries, combined tomake English what it is today: a language whosestructure and common words are Germanic butwhose enormous vocabulary comes fromvarious sources – over half indirectly from Latinthrough French and a large amount from thelocal languages of cultures encountered duringthe centuries of the British Empire.

8 • ENGLISH IN THE WORLD • module 1Today s lingua franca Today s lingua franca Today s lingua franca To

TODAY’S LINGUA FRANCA • unit 1 • 9day s lingua franca Today s lingua franca Today s lingua franca Toda

There is no EGG in EGGPLANT,

no HAM in HAMBURGERS,

no PINE or APPLE in PINEAPPLES.

A STATIONER doesn’t sell STATIONS,

nor does a FACTORY produce FACTORS.

ENGLISH MUFFINS weren’t invented in ENGLAND;

FRENCH FRIES weren’t invented in FRANCE.

a) Pronunciation peculiaritiesThe vagueness of the relationship, betweenpronunciation and spelling in English isenough to bring a TEAR to one’s eye or makehim want to TEAR up the dictionary. Here aresome reasons why. A ROW can develop overwhich ROW to sit in at the cinema. An actorwith LEAD in his feet never gets the LEAD in amusical. A bandage is WOUND around theWOUND in an arm or leg. If something is of noUSE, you can’t USE it; and if you aren’t CLOSEenough to a door, you can’t CLOSE it.

b) Paradoxes in the English languageIf we explore the paradoxes of English, we findthat QUICKSAND can work SLOWLY, BOXING RINGS are SQUARE, a GUINEA PIG isNOT FROM GUINEA and it is NOT A PIG.And why is it that WRITERS WRITE – butFINGERS DON’T FING and HAMMERS DON’THAM?If a VEGETARIAN eats VEGETABLES, what doesa LIBRARIAN eat? And then, what does a HUMANITARIAN eat?

c) “Multi-word” verbsA multi-word verb is composed of 2 or 3 parts,like “get up” or “get on with”:

She gets up at 7 o’clock every morning.I get on with my sister, but my brotherand I fight a lot.

You can’t consider logical a language inwhich you GET IN a car but GET ON a bus,in which you CUT DOWN a tree and then youCUT it UP, in which you can TAKEsomebody IN and be considered a saint or aliar, depending on the circumstances.Then think about this: when the STARS areOUT, you can see them – but when the LIGHTS are OUT, you can’t see anything. Andfinally, when you want to SHUT DOWN yourcomputer, you have to press “START”!

French

fries

44 Now colour the invasion arrowscorrectly.

Romans

Angles, Saxons, Jutes

Vikings

Normans

55 If you are not sure what a“paradox” is, (Text 3b) find outfrom your teacher.

66 Can you think of any paradoxesin your own language?

77 Working with a partner, writesentences using some multi-word verbs (Text 3c) that youknow. Check your sentenceswith your classmates and yourteacher.

éé English is a crazylanguage

10 • ENGLISH IN THE WORLD • module 1Today s lingua franca Today s lingua franca Today s lingua franca To

French

................................................................................

Italian

................................................................................

Arabic

................................................................................

Indian languages

................................................................................

Scandinavian languages

................................................................................

èè A “new” Englishlanguage

1) Read to find out what this “new” Englishlanguage could be and then answer thequestion that follows.

The European Commission has announcedan agreement whereby English will be theofficial language of the EU rather thanGerman, which was the other possibility. Aspart of the negotiations, Her Majesty’sGovernment agreed that English spellinghad some room for improvement in orderto render it more regular and also morephonetic, and has therefore accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would be knownas “Euro-English”.

In your opinion, what improvementsin English spelling should occur inthe first year?

2) Read the second part and answer thequestion.

In the first year, “s” will replace the “soft c”.Sertainly this will make the sivil servantsjump with joy. The “hard c” will be

dropped in favour of “k”. This should klearup konfusion and keyboards kan have oneless letter.

Do you find these changes useful?What changes should occur in thesecond year?

3) Now read the third part and answer thequestion.

There will be growing publik enthusiasmin the second year, when the troublesome“ph” will be replaced with “f”. This willmake words like “fotograf” 20% shorter.

What’s your opinion of this change?What spelling difficulties should beeliminated next?

4) Read the fourth part and answer thequestion.

In the third year, publik akseptanse of thenew spelling kan be ekspekted to reachthe stage where more komplikatedchanges are possible. Governments willenkorage the removal of double letters,which have always ben a deterent toakurate speling. Also, al wil agre that thehorible mes of the “silent e” is disgracefuland therfor requirs changs.

Do these changes make Englisheasier to read? What more radicalchanges could be effected next?

5) Read the last part and answer thequestion.

By the fourth year, people wil be reseptivto steps such as replasing “th” with “z” and“w” with “v”. During ze fifz year, zeunesesary “o” kan be dropd from vordscontaining “ou” and similar changs vud ofkors be aplid to ozer kombinations ofleters.

After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensiblriten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl ordifikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tounderstand ech ozer. Ze drem vil finalikum tru!

WHAT’S THE JOKE? (HINT: READ THELAST TWO SENTENCES ALOUD.)

· European flags.

88 English has become the world’srichest language in terms ofvocabulary because it has“borrowed” words from manyother languages (oftenchanging them somewhat tofit in with English spelling andpronunciation).Try to connect the followingwords with the language areasthey originally come from,then check your ideas withyour classmates and with yourteacher.

artist • jungle • studio • sauna •sofa • restaurant • bungalow •Friday • balcony • algebra •target • piano

99 What is your opinion about thesupremacy of the Englishlanguage? Do you think thatanother European language(French, Spanish, etc.) should bethe common Europeanlanguage? Or perhaps Latin?What about taking an artificiallanguage – like Esperanto – intoconsideration?

1010 Find information about theartificial languages invented sofar and the reasons why theyhave not been successful.

freebase.com/view/

The rise and declineof the British Empire

Unit Unit module 1

In groups discuss the followingpoints

a. How many great empires can youname?

b. What advantages could anempire bring to a country?

c. Why do you think slave labourwas used on cotton and sugarplantations?

d. Do you know when the BritishEmpire began to decline?

e. Do you know the name of thelast country to becomeindependent?

BEFORE READING

åå The “FirstBritish Empire”

The British Empire was formed of all territoriesruled or administered by the United Kingdomand originated with the overseas colonies andtrading posts established by England in thelate 16th and early 17th centuries. At its heightit was the largest empire in history and, for overa century, was the greatest global power. By1922, the British Empire ruled over apopulation of about 458 million people, one-quarter of the world’s population, and coveredapproximately a quarter of the Earth’s total land

France in 1815, Britain dominated Europe andexpanded its empire across the globe. Later,increasing degrees of autonomy were grantedto some of its colonies, some of which werereclassified as dominions.

The Caribbean initially provided England’smost important and profitable colonies. Thecolonies adopted the system of sugarplantations successfully used by thePortuguese in Brazil, which depended onslave labour, and – at first – Dutch ships, tosell the slaves and buy the sugar. To ensurethat the profits from this trade remained inEnglish hands, Parliament decreed in 1651that only English ships would be able to tradein English colonies.

‚ Carribean colonies.

area. As a result, its political, linguistic andcultural legacy is widespread. At the peak ofits power, it was often said that “the sun neversets on the British Empire” because its extentacross the globe ensured that the sun wasalways shining on at least one of its numerousterritories.

During the Age of Discovery in the 15thand 16th centuries, Spain and Portugal ledEuropean exploration of the globe and in theprocess established large overseas empires.Soon England, France and the Netherlandsbegan to establish colonies and tradenetworks of their own in the Americas andAsia. Following the defeat of Napoleonic

12 • ENGLISH IN THE WORLD • module 1

The settlements in America were oftenfounded by people escaping from religiouspersecution. In 1620, Plymouth was foundedas a haven for Puritan religious separatists,later known as the Pilgrim Fathers; Marylandwas as a refuge for Roman Catholics (1634),Rhode Island (1636) was a colony tolerant ofall religions and Connecticut (1639) forCongregationalists. The American colonies hadlarge areas of good agricultural land andattracted much larger numbers of Englishemigrants who preferred their temperateclimates.

In 1670, King Charles II granted theHudson Bay Company, a monopoly on thefur trade in a vast territory that would latermake up a large proportion of Canada. Fortsand trading posts established by the Companywere frequently attacked by the French, whohad established their own fur trading colony inadjacent New France.

Two years later, the Royal AfricanCompany was inaugurated, receiving from KingCharles a monopoly of the trade to supplyslaves to the British colonies of theCaribbean. From the beginning, slavery was thebasis of the British Empire in the West Indies.Until the abolition of the slave trade in 1807,Britain was responsible for the transportation of3.5 million African slaves to the Americas, a thirdof all slaves transported across the Atlantic.

At the end of the 16th century, England andthe Netherlands began to challenge Portugal’smonopoly of trade with Asia, forming privatecompanies to finance the voyage – the EnglishEast India (later British East India) and DutchEast India companies were founded in 1600and 1602 respectively. The primary aim ofthese companies was to enter the lucrativespice trade.

çç The rise of the“Second BritishEmpire” (1783-1815)

During its first century of operation, the EnglishEast India Company concentrated on trade, asit was not in a position to challenge thepowerful Mughal Empire, which had granted ittrading rights in 1617. This changed in the 18thcentury as the Mughals declined in power. TheBattle of Plassey, which saw the British, led byRobert Clive, defeat the French and theirIndian allies, left the Company in control ofBengal and as the major military andpolitical power in India. In the followingdecades it gradually increased the size of theterritories under its control, either ruling directlyor through local rulers under the threat of forcefrom the British Indian Army, the vast majority

of which was composed of native Indiansepoys. The Company’s conquest of Indiawas complete by 1857.

éé Loss of the ThirteenAmerican Colonies

During the 1760s and 1770s, relations betweenthe Thirteen Colonies and Britain becamemore difficult, primarily because of resentmenttowards the British Parliament’s attempts togovern and tax American colonists without theirconsent, summarised at the time by the slogan“No taxation without representation”. Thedisagreements became violent and theAmerican War of Independence began in1775. The following year, the colonists declaredthe independence of the United States and,with assistance from France, Spain and theNetherlands won the war in 1783.

èè Exploration of the Pacific

The voyages of discovery by James Cook inthe Pacific Ocean led to the founding ofseveral British colonies, including Australiaand New Zealand.

· “The Slave Market” by Friedrich Schulz.

Colonization and the Empire Colonization and the Empire Colonization

‚ Jasperware Slave Emancipation Badge.

COLONIZATION AND THE EMPIRE • unit 2 • 13

‚ A sugar estate in Antigua in the 1820s.

The British Empire was supported by thesteamship and the telegraph, newtechnologies invented in the second half ofthe 19th century, which allowed it to controland defend the Empire. By 1902, theBritish Empire was linked together by anetwork of telegraph cables, the so-calledAll Red Line.

In 1869 the Suez Canal was opened,linking the Mediterranean with the Indian

Ocean. At first the British government opposedthe Canal, but soon recognised its strategicimportance and in 1875, the Conservativegovernment of Benjamin Disraeli bought theEgyptian ruler Ismail Pasha’s 44 percent shareof the Suez Canal for £4 million. The Frenchwere still majority shareholders and attemptedto weaken the British position, but de factocontrol was exercised by the British whosemilitary forces occupied the area until 1954.

The path to independence for the whitecolonies of the British Empire began with the1839 Durham Report, which proposedunification and self-government for the twoCanadian provinces, as a solution to politicalunrest there. In 1840 the Act of Union,created the Province of Canada. Responsiblegovernment was first granted to Nova Scotia in1848, and was soon extended to the otherBritish North American colonies. In 1867,Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick andNova Scotia were formed into theconfederation of the Dominion of Canada,enjoying full self-government with theexception of international relations.Australia and New Zealand gained similarlevels of self-government after 1900 and theAustralian colonies federated in 1901. In1910, the Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal andOrange Free State were joined together toform the Union of South Africa, which alsoattained dominion status.

· Jasperware plate from the “AmericanIndependence” series issued in 1976 to comemoratethe American Bicentennial the scene depicts “PaulRevere’s Ride”.

In Britain transportation to the Americancolonies had been a penalty for various criminaloffences since 1718, and approximately onethousand convicts were transported across theAtlantic every year. After the loss of the ThirteenColonies in 1783, the British government wasforced to find an alternative location andturned to the newly discovered lands ofAustralia.

During his voyage, Cook also visited NewZealand, first discovered by Dutch sailors in1642, and claimed the North and Southislands for the British crown in 1769 and1770 respectively.

êê The Empire growsBetween 1815 and 1914 around 10,000,000square miles (25,899,881 km2) of territoryand roughly 400 million people wereadded to the British Empire. Britain’s victoryover Napoleon meant that she had no seriousinternational rival, other than Russia in centralAsia. Britain adopted the role of globalpoliceman, a state of affairs later known asthe Pax Britannica, and a foreign policy of“splendid isolation”. Together with the formalcontrol that it exercised over its own colonies,Britain’s dominant position in world trademeant that it effectively controlled theeconomies of many independent countries,such as China, Argentina and Siam (nowknown as Thailand).

ACTIVITIES

11 Work in pairs to answer thequestions below about Text 1.

a. Explain the sentence “ the sunnever sets on the British Empire”

b. Look at the map and write downthe countries of the BritishEmpire

c. Compare the words “dominion”and “colony”. What is thedifference between the two?

d. Who were the “PilgrimFathers”?

e. What is the Royal AfricanCompany to be rememberedfor?

22 Look at Text 2 to 4 and correctthese statements.

a. The English East India Companyimmediately challenged thepowerful Mughal Empire.

.................................................

b. The British were defeated at theBattle of Plassey

.................................................

c. In the late 1700s relationsbetween the Thirteen Coloniesand Britain were excellent.

.................................................

d. The colonists won the War ofIndependence without help fromother countries.

.................................................

e. James Cook explored theAtlantic Ocean and discoveredparts of South America.

.................................................

and the Empire Colonization and the Empire Colonization and the Emp

Colonization and the Empire Colonization and the Empire Colonization14 • ENGLISH IN THE WORLD • module 1

ëë World Wars (1914 and 1945)

By the turn of the 20th century, Britain fearedthat it would no longer be able to defend theEmpire while at the same time maintaining thepolicy of “splendid isolation”. The Britishdeclaration of war on Germany and its alliesalso committed the colonies and Dominions,which provided invaluable military, financial andmaterial support. Over 2.5 million men servedin the armies of the Dominions, as well as manythousands of volunteers from the Crowncolonies. The contributions of Australian andNew Zealand troops during the 1915 GallipoliCampaign against the Ottoman Empire had agreat impact on the national consciousness athome, and marked a turning point in thetransition of Australia and New Zealand fromcolonies to nations in their own right.

Under the terms of the Treaty of Versaillessigned in 1919, the Empire reached itsgreatest extent with the addition of 1,800,000square miles (4,662,000 km2) and 13 millionnew subjects. The colonies of Germany andthe Ottoman Empire were distributed to theAllied powers as League of NationsMandates. Britain gained control of Palestine,Transjordan, Iraq, parts of Cameroon and Togo,and Tanganyika. The Dominions also acquiredmandates of their own.

Although the issue of the Empire’s securitywas a serious concern in Britain, at the sametime the Empire was vital to the Britisheconomy: during the inter-war period, exportsto the colonies and Dominions increased from32 to 39 percent of all exports overseas, andimports increased from 24 to 37 percent.

In 1922, Egypt, which had been declared aBritish protectorate at the start of the FirstWorld War, was granted formal independence,though it continued to be a British client stateuntil 1954. The ability of the Dominions to settheir own foreign policy, independent ofBritain, was recognised at the 1923 ImperialConference. After pressure from Ireland andSouth Africa, the 1926 Imperial Conferencedeclared the Dominions to be “autonomousCommunities within the British Empire, equalin status, in no way subordinate one toanother” within a “British Commonwealth ofNations”. This declaration was given legalsubstance under the 1931 Statute ofWestminster. The parliaments of Canada,Australia, New Zealand, the Union of SouthAfrica, the Irish Free State and Newfoundlandwere now independent of British legislative

control, they could annul British laws andBritain could no longer pass laws for themwithout their consent. Newfoundland wentback to colonial status in 1933, suffering fromfinancial difficulties during the GreatDepression. Ireland distanced itself furtherfrom Britain with the introduction of a newconstitution in 1937.

‚ Officials of the East India Companyreceive the British residents.

In Australia, colonization began with

the desire to find a (1)………………………

after the loss of the original American

colonies. The first shipload of British

(2)…………………………… landed in

Australia in 1788 on the site of the

future city of Sydney. In 1791 the

British government offered land grants

to those who had completed their

sentences, but they were not allowed to

return to Britain.

Australia became a successful colony

(3)……………………… and the merino wool

was found to be of better quality than

its rivals and demand soared. By 1821

there were (4)…………………………… sheep

in Australia and within twenty years raw

wool exports topped 10 million pounds

annually. Sheep had been to the colony

what tobacco had been to Virginia and

sugar to the West Indies.

Australia, New Zealandand Tasmania

33 Find synonyms or antonyms forthe words below.

Synonyms

a. lands; b. people living in one

country; c. financially advantageous;

d. in a foreign country; e. neither

hot nor cold.

Antonyms

a. victory over; b. finally;

c. freeman; d. very small/not

extensive; e. free trade.

44 Work in small groups and list themain events of Text 2, 3 and 4.Use your list to make up a short

summary of the texts.

55 In pairs make a sentence for eachword given; the sentences mustbe related to Text 5 and 6:telegraph and steamship, theSuez Canal, shareholders, Treatyof Versailles, to annul.

66 Work in small groups to answerthese questions.

a. What do you think the spicesmentioned in the text were?

b. Which countries did James Cookclaim for the British Crown?

c. Why did the 13 colonies want tobe independent?

d. Look at the illustration on page 13and find out who Paul Revere was.

e. What role did the colonial troopsplay in the two world wars?

77 Listen to the CD and completethe gaps in the box. Then findthe answers to these questions.

a. Why did Britain first send peopleto Australia?

b. Who were the first Britishcitizens to land in Australia?

c. Why did Australia become asuccessful colony?

d. What had sheep meant toAustralia?

≤

åå Decolonisation anddecay (1945–1997)

Britain and the Empire emerged victorious fromthe Second World War, but the effects of theconflict were profound. Much of Europe wasnow in ruins. Britain was left virtuallybankrupt. In 1946 the United States loanedthe British government $3.5 billion and the lastinstalment was only repaid in 2006.At the same time, anti-colonial movements

were on the rise in the colonies.Between 1945 and 1965, the number of

people under British rule outside the UK itselffell from 700 million to five million. The pro-decolonisation Labour government

elected in 1945 moved quickly to cope withthe most pressing issue: Indianindependence. The borders drawn by theBritish to divide India into Hindu and Muslimareas left tens of millions as minorities in thenewly independent states of India and

Answer these questions.

a. Why do you think the BritishEmpire began to decline?

b. Which was the last British colonyto become independent?

c. When did apartheid end?

d. Do you think that other empirescould be formed in the future?

BEFORE READING

The fall of theBritish Empire Unit Unit

module 1

Pakistan. Millions of Muslims subsequentlycrossed from India to Pakistan and Hindus inthe reverse direction, and violence betweenthe two communities cost hundreds ofthousands of lives. Burma and Ceylon gainedtheir independence the following year in1948. India, Pakistan and Ceylon becamemembers of the Commonwealth, thoughBurma chose not to join. The British Mandate of Palestine, where

an Arab majority lived alongside a Jewishminority, presented the British with a similarproblem to that of India.Britain announced in 1947 that it would

withdraw in 1948 and leave the matter to theUnited Nations to solve. The UN voted for thepartition of Palestine into a Jewish and an Arabstate.In 1956, the Egyptian government

unilaterally nationalised the Suez Canal. TheBritish Prime Minister, Anthony Eden, and theFrench government planned an Israeli attack onEgypt to retake the canal. Though the invasionreached its objective, UN intervention and USpressure forced Britain into a very humiliatingwithdrawal of its forces, and Eden resigned.Britain could no longer act without at leastthe approval, if not the full support, of theUnited States. The events at Suez woundedBritish national pride, leading one MP todescribe it as “Britain’s Waterloo” and another tosuggest that the country had become an“American satellite”.In the Mediterranean, a guerrilla war fought

by Greek Cypriots ended in 1960 in an

independent Cyprus, with the UK retainingthe military bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. TheMediterranean islands of Malta and Gozowere amicably granted independence fromthe UK in 1964. Most of the UK’s West Indies territories

achieved independence in the early sixties.British territories in the Pacific acquiredindependence between 1970 (Fiji) and 1980(Vanuatu). Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands andPapua New Guinea chose to become part ofthe Commonwealth.

çç The end of the EmpireThe granting of independence to Rhodesiaand Vanuatu in 1980 and British Honduras in1981 meant that, except for a few islands, theprocess of decolonisation that had begun afterthe Second World War was largely complete.In 1982, Britain’s determination to defend its

remaining overseas territories was tested whenArgentina invaded the Falkland Islands, acting ona claim that dated back to the Spanish Empire.Britain’s ultimately successful military fight duringthe Falklands War was thought by many to havecontributed to reversing the downward trend inthe UK’s status as a world power.The same year, the Canadian government

cut its last legal link with Britain. The 1982Canada Act passed by the British parliamentended the need for British involvement inchanges to the Canadian constitution.Equivalent acts were passed for Australia andNew Zealand in 1986.

The fall of the british empire The fall of the british empire The fall of16 • ENGLISH IN THE WORLD • module 1

In September 1982, the Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher travelled to Beijing tonegotiate with the Chinese government on thefuture of Britain’s last major and most populousoverseas territory, Hong Kong. The handoverceremony in 1997 marked for many, includingCharles, Prince of Wales, who was in attendance,“the end of the Empire”.

developed in Victorian Britain – football,cricket, rugby, lawn tennis and golf — wereexported, as were the British system ofmeasurement (the Imperial System), and theBritish convention of driving on the left-handside of the road.Political boundaries drawn by the British

as they granted independence to colonies did

not always reflect homogeneous ethnicities orreligions and contributed to conflicts. TheBritish Empire was also responsible for largemigrations of peoples and Britain’spopulation also changed after the SecondWorld War with immigration to the UnitedKingdom from the colonies to which it wasgranting independence.

11 Work in pairs and find out in Text1, 2 and 3 the followinginformation.

a. What were the effects of thedecolonisation in India?

b. Which was the problem inPalestine?

c. Which country joined theCommonwealth?

d. Who was the prime Minister inEngland in the 50’s?

e. Why is the loss of Suez describedas a “Britain’s Waterloo”?

f. What happened in the FalklandIslands?

g. How did Canada cut its link withBritain?

h. What happened in 1997?

i. What is the role of England in theBritish Overseas Territories?

j. Why was the Empire responsiblefor large migration of people?

k. How has Britain’s populationchanged after World war II?

l. Draw a timeline to show whenthe colonies became independent.

22 Say whether these statementsabout the text are true or false.

a. Rhodesia and Vanatubecame independent in1990.

b. Argentina invaded theFalkland Islands in 1982.

c. The Canadian governmentcut its last legal link withBritain in 1982.

d. Australia and New Zealandpassed similar laws thesame year as Canada.

e. Hong Kong was handedover in 1991 during aformal ceremony.

33 Discuss in small groups thefollowing items.

a. What kind of heritage did thecolonies leave that can still beseen today?

b. What kind of problems didcolonialism leave behind?

c. How have the colonies changedmodern British society?

T Fo o

o o

o o

o o

o o

44 Match the phrases below to make complete sentences

1. Most of the UK’s West Indiesterritories

2. In 1946 the United States

3. Britain and the Empire

4. Anti-colonial movements

5. In 1956 the Egyptiangovernment

6. The borders drawn by theBritish to divide India intoHindu and Muslim areas

a unilaterally nationalised the Suez Canal.

b. emerged victorious from the Second WorldWar.

c. loaned the British government $3.5 billion.

d. left tens of millions as minorities in thenewly independent states of India andPakistan.

e. were on the rise in the colonies of manyEuropean countries.

f. achieved independence in the early sixties.

· British colonial architecture in India.

éé HeritageThe UK retains sovereignty over 14 territoriesoutside the British Isles, which were renamedthe British Overseas Territories in 2002.Some are uninhabited except for temporarymilitary or scientific personnel; the remainderare self-governing and rely on the UK forforeign relations and defence. The Britishgovernment has stated its willingness to assistany Overseas Territory that wishes to proceedto independence, where that is an option. Decades, and in some cases centuries, of

British rule and emigration have left their markon the independent nations that arose fromthe British Empire. The English language isthe primary language of over 300 millionpeople, and the second language of over 400million, helped in part by the cultural influenceof the United States, which is also a product ofthe British Empire. The English parliamentarysystem served as the model for thegovernments for many former colonies, andEnglish common law for legal systems. BritishProtestant missionaries spread the AnglicanCommunion to all continents. British colonialarchitecture, such as in churches, railwaystations and government buildings, continuesto stand in many cities that were once part ofthe British Empire. Ball games that were

ACTIVITIES

fTHE FALL OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE • unit 3 • 17

the british empire The fall the british empire The fall the british em

Belize St. Lucia

JamaicaThe Bahamas

St. Kitts and Nevis

Canada

Dominica

Antigua and Barbuda

BarbadosSt. Vincent and Grenadines

GrenadaGuyana

Trinidadand Tobago

Sierra Leone

The Gambia

Cameroon

Ghana

Malta

U.K.

Cyprus

Nigeria

UgandaKenya

ZambiaNamibia

BotzwanaLesotho

Malawi

MozambiqueMauritius

Seychelles

Singapore

India Bangladesh

Pakistan

PapuaNew Guinea

Brunei

Australia

Vanuatu

Sri Lanka

Swaziland

Tanzania

Maldives Malaysia

The Members of the Commonwealth

· The Commonwealth symbol appears on all the documents published by the Commonwealth departments. The Commonwealthflag consists of the Commonwealth symbol in gold on a blue background.

‡ Queen Elizabeth II has alwayshelped in maintaining goodrelationships between Britainand the Commonwealthcountries.

South Africa

national monarchies (Brunei Darussalam,Lesotho, Malaysia, Swaziland and Tonga).There are (8)……………… meetings between

finance ministers and (9)…………… meetingsbetween Commonwealth heads of government,as well as various committees concerned witheducation, agriculture and science.

The Commonwealth has long-term goals:1. To support member countries toprevent or resolve conflicts, strengthendemocracy and the rule of law, and toachieve greater respect for humanrights.

2. To support pro-poor policies foreconomic growth and sustainabledevelopment in member countries.

èè The Commonwealthof Nations

The Commonwealth is a free association ofindependent nations previously subject toBritish imperial government that maintainfriendly and practical links with the UK. Thepopulation of the Commonwealth countriescomprises (1)……………………… per cent of thehuman race, (2)……………………… billion people.In (3)……………………………………… the Statute

of Westminster established the BritishCommonwealth of Nations, the adjective“British” was deleted after World War II.The modern Commonwealth comprises

(4)…………………… independent member states.(5)…………….…………… members are republics,(6)…………………… have constitutional monarchieswhich recognise HM Queen Elizabeth II astheir Head of State, and (7)…………………… have

18 • ENGLISH IN THE WORLD • module 1

55 Listen to the CD and completethe gaps in Texts 4 and 5.

66 Find the numbers in the threepassages above. What do thesefigures refer to?

30% • 1.8 billion • 1931 • 53 • 32• 16 • 5 • once a year • once everytwo years • the 2nd Monday inMarch • 1930 • 400 • 2002 • 2006• 2010 • 71 • 8,000

· Closing Ceremony in Manchester(2002).

Commonwealth Day is celebrated on thesecond Monday in March every year. Theaim of commemorating Commonwealth

Day is to promote understanding onglobal issues, international co-operation

and the work of the Commonwealth.

Commonwealth Day

≤

Macau 2005 Macau 2007BANGKOK 2005 doha 2005 DOHA 2005

features, such as the AsianGames, the PanAm Games, theAfrican Games and the WinterOlympics, the Commonwealth Games isbased on history. The unique characteristic ofthe Common wealth Games is that it is theonly Games that shares a commonlanguage. All the athletes and organisersconverse with each other in English, creatingan atmosphere that has led to theCommonwealth Games being known as the“Friendly Games”.Edinburgh is the only city that has hosted

the Commonwealth Games twice. The(12)……………………………… Games were held inMelbourne, Australia and the (13)……………………Games were held in New Delhi, India. Thenext Commonwealth Games will be held in(14)…………………, in Glasgow, Scotland. Seventy-one countries will take part, with more thaneight thousand participants, athletes and

êê The CommonwealthGames

The Commonwealth Games are a multi-sportgathering held every four years byrepresentatives of the nations of theCommonwealth. The first Games were held inHamilton, Ontario, Canada, in (10)……………… .Eleven countries and more than(11)…………………………… athletes took part.The mission of the Commonwealth

Games is to help encourage and support theconcept of health and fitness in each of themember countries and provide an inspirationto strive for excellence.The core values of the Commonwealth

Games are humanity, equality and destiny:words that appear on the home page of theCommonwealth Games.While other Games around the world have

been founded on geographic or seasonal

Guangzhou 2010Changchun 2007

The fall of the british empire The fall of the british empire The fall of

officials. The opening andclosing ceremonies will be held

in Celtic Park. They will be the(15)…………………Commonwealth Games.

For more information you can visit these sites:

www.commonwealth.orgwww.commonwealthgames.com

www.2006melbourne.com

Film

Production: U.S.A. Columbia Pictures 2004

Written by: James L. BrooksDirector: James L. BrooksStarring: Adam Sandler, Teà Leoni, PazVega, Cloris Leachman, Shelbie Bruce, SarahSteele, Ian Hyland

The film is a comedy drama featuring the storyof a Mexican woman and her young daughterwho emigrate to America in search of a betterlife, and end up working for a rich Californianfamily. It is a humorous and penetrating comment onthe clash of cultures and the language barrier.

SPANGLISHVarieties of English

The USA are a country of immigrants. Todaymany of them are Hispanics.

a. What do you mean by this word?

b. Where do they come from?

c. What is their mother tongue?

d. Name some of the most important cities inCalifornia.

e. Are they English names? Why?

f. What motivates an immigrant to learn thelanguage of the host country?

BEFORE VIEWING

A synopsisFlor emigrates to Los Angeles from Mexico to find abetter life for her remarkable daughter, Cristina. Forthe first six years they live in the Spanish quarter,speaking Spanish and living among emigrants, thenFlor finds a job as a housekeeper for a rich andeccentric American family with two young children(the Claskys). John Clasky is a top chef whoserestaurant has just won four Michelin stars. He isproud of his success but does not want the style ofthe restaurant to change. His wife is neurotic andambitious and she does not seem to realise howbadly she hurts her daughter’s feelings when sheprefers Cristina to her child. When the family movesto Malibu for the summer, Flor is obliged to take herdaughter with her and Cristina is forced to act asinterpreter for her mother until she finally decides tolearn English in order to “protect” her own customsand her daughter’s values. Flor and John findthemselves romantically attracted to each other, butthis connection obliges them to re-evaluate theirlives and motivates them to solve their respectivefamily problems (John with his wife and Flor withCristina, who would like to live in a world she doesnot belong to). Finally Cristina must learn that thingscome and go in life, but family is the most importantthing a person can have.

Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cine

file 1

SPANGLISH • 19

20 • ENGLISH IN THE WORLD • module 1Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cine

ACTIVITIES

11 Answer the following questions.

a. When does Flor study English? – b. Can you find anadjective which describes her strong will to learn thelanguage?

22 Watch the film without subtitles and try to completethe script.

33 Now watch the scene again and check Activity 2 byfilling in the blanks correctly.

44 In pairs act out the role of the English teacher on thetape and the role of Flor (one of you should try tohave a very good English pronunciation).

Flor: You can’t be translating for me all the time. I(1).............................. to learn English now.

Cristina: I really wasn’t supposed to (2)................... that.

John: Listen to your mother. She knows it all.

Cristina refuses to translate for her mother.

Narrator (Cristina): (3).............................. English wouldcost $599 down and 12 monthly payment of $86, whichrepresents 22% interest. Assimilation gets(4)............................... But not a penny was wasted.

English teacher: Food – Flor: FoodE. t.: I am just learning (5)..............................

F.: I am just learning English.E. t.: Please repeat. – F.: Please repeat.E. t.: Neck. – F.: Neck.E. t.: Nose. – F.: Nose.

E. t.: It is summer…winter. – F.: Winter…E. t.: (6)............................... Sun. – F.: Sun.E. t.: Sunny – F.: Sunny.E. t.: Varios, varias. Several.Flor and Evelyn: Several.E. t.: No, several. (7)........................ – F.: SeveralE. t.: (8)........................... Several. Too many. – F.: Too many.E. t.: (9).........................., too many. How about a movietonight? – F.: How about a movie tonight?E. t.: Have you (10)...................... particular one in mind?

F.: Have you any particular one in mind?E. t.: I really enjoyed the Star Wars Trilogy…by Mr. GeorgeLucas. – F.: I really enjoyed the Star Wars Trilogy…by Mr.George Lucas.

∏FILM¥CLIP

WHAT IS SPANGLISH?Spanglish is a mixture ofSpanish and English words,spoken by the Hispanicpopulation of the USA. In factthere are large bilingualcommunities along the UnitedStates-Mexico border, throughoutSouthern California, northern NewMexico, Texas, Florida (especiallyMiami), in New York City and PuertoRico. Demographics show that “Latinos”are expected to be a third of the USpopulation by the end of the century.An increasing number of LatinAmericans are using Spanglish in anattempt to embrace English and theiridentity as Americans without totallysurrendering the language of their roots.Here is an example of a conversation inSpanglish:- Hola, good morning, cómo estás?- Good, y tu?- Todo bien. Pero tuve problemasparquenado mi carro this morning.- Si, I know. Sempre hay problemasparqueando in el area at this time.

EBONICS, A BLUES LANGUAGEBlack English is today better known as Ebonics, an abbreviationof the two words “ebony” and “phonetics”. First coined in 1973,this term refers to an African-American speech pattern with twoprimary characteristics: not conjugating the verb “to be” (“I bejoking”, “You a liar”) and dropping final consonants from words(“hand” becomes han). There are also some typical Ebonicsexpressions, such as outta sight (out of sight), groovin’, jivin’, I’mbaad (bad), wannabe, shades (sunglasses), my man (my friend). Some experts suggest that Ebonics arose during slave times outof sheer necessity: blacks with different tribal tongues may haveforced to create this common black vernacular to communicate

with each other and withtheir English-speakingmasters. Ebonics is the predominantlanguage pattern amongmany urban blacks and isused at leastsome of the timeby most blacksinformally athome andamong friends.

CURIOSITY CORNERENGLISHES

English-Speaking Countries Across Press E-world Screen

new edition

Katherine Clifton • Jo-ann Costa • Chiaretta GelliK.Clifto

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J. Costa

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ESCAPES è un manuale di “civiltà” di livello B1-B2 che si propone di mette-re a fuoco, secondo un’ottica interculturale, gli aspetti più significativi deipaesi in cui la lingua inglese è parlata come L1 o L2 o come lingua veicolare.ESCAPES vuole significare “fughe” dalla realtà quotidiana della lezione, “eva-sioni” verso mondi a volte molto distanti ma oramai così vicini attraverso lastampa, Internet, la televisione e il cinema.

Il testo è particolarmente innovativo e motivante in quanto ogni Modulo, neltrattare le diverse culture di lingua inglese sotto l’aspetto geografico, storico,politico, sociale, letterario e artistico, fa sempre riferimento ad un film parti-colarmente significativo per l’argomento trattato. Inoltre, offre molteplici occa-sioni di rinforzo ed approfondimento grazie ai siti Internet citati punto perpunto e al materiale aggiornato tratto da riviste, quotidiani e dalla “rete”.

La Teacher’s Guide comprende:

• un DVD che contiene le clip dei film e i brani delle attività di ascolto;• i testi completi delle registrazioni;• le soluzioni degli esercizi;• le note e i suggerimenti per l’insegnante;• materiale extra per attività di approfondimento e di ulteriore esercitazione.

RISORSE N LINE • Clip dei film • Attività di ascolto • Transcripts