Task II. ENGLISH IN USE.

Olympics in English 2016

Task I. READING.

You are going to read a newspaper article about language learning. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (16–21).

There is an example at the beginning (0):

А BILINGUAL APPROACH WITH AN EARLY START

The best time to learn a second language is when you are young; hence the popularity of primary and secondary schools which offer “bilingual education”.

This term describes everything from an hour a day of a second language to classes that switch from one language in the mornings to another in the afternoons.

With a few exceptions (Scandinavia, Luxembourg, Austria, and the Netherlands), the second language is usually introduced at secondary school.

More extensive bilingual programmes, where language learning is integrated into the general curriculum, are more often found in private schools which tend to have greater flexibility and more money. They tend to take one of three approaches.

For example at the American International School of Florence, primary school lessons are taught in English, except for the language programme. Head Marc Greenside explained that there were two sections for language instruction:

“Host language country dominant”, on the other hand, is when the basic language of instruction is that of the country where the school is situated. For example, the Centre International Valbonne in Southern France, uses French as its working language, although it does have classes in several other languages.

The third, most difficult approach is “fully bilingual”. In primary schools the students may spend mornings learning their subjects in one language and afternoons in another.

The Coz School in Turkey is one such school and is described as “bilingual and bicultural”.

A similar approach, but including three or even four languages, is found in the nine European schools run by the European Union for the children of its personnel.

Secondary school academic subjects are in these three languages and sometimes a fourth.

Are students in any way held back by the difficulties of such programmes? Eric Klauda, from the International School of Brussels, said: “I see bilingualism working here. Studies show that students who are bilingual are helped in their overall academic performance”.

Marc Greenside of AIS Florence, in response to the question said: “My feeling is that bilingual education is okay for the really strong student, but the average student winds up doing poorly in both languages”.

However, Paul Decorvet of Geneva disagreed: “The problem arises when languages are taught in an academic way rather than the way they should be taught – actively, as a child learns a first language. You have to teach naturally, without stopping to translate”.

Task II. ENGLISH IN USE.

1. Error correction.