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English as the lingua franca of a new age: Its more powerful than any law
If Congress has its way, English will become the official language of the United States. Thats a bold move. But the World Cup soccer tournament beat them to it.
For the first time, World Cup referees and their assistants will have to show proficiency in written and spoken English in order to be among the 44 officials taking part in soccers global tournament this summer. If any game is international, its football, as its called in most of the world. But when it comes to making tough calls on the field, the 2006 World Cup will have an English accent.
English has become a second language for much of the world, without anyone in Washington, Madison or elsewhere decreeing it must happen. There are somewhere between 380 million and 400 million native speakers of English and at least as many others who speak it as a second language. Within a decade, according to a 2004 report to the British Council, 2 billion people will be studying English and half of the world (about 3 billion people by then) will speak it to one degree or another.
English has become lingua franca, or universal language, for reasons that...
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Speaking Skills for Speaking Part One
Question : Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Answer : Yes ( this is a grammatically correct answer, but you are practising only one word! )
Answer : Yes, I do or Yes, I have (short answers are correct, but do not give maximum practice)
Native speakers use short form answers a lot as they already know the full form answer and so they cut it to a short form answer to save time.
However, for second language learners, like you guys, it is much better to get more speaking practice by speaking the full form answer. This helps you speak more words, improves your fluency and gives you more confidence. It also helps you learn grammar structures by speaking them in a full form answer!
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Yes Yes, I do
*Both these answers are 'short form answers' and are correct answers. However, they do not give you maximum practice of English because you are not speaking a lot of words and so don't get the maximum speaking practice!*
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
