There are countries, thousands of miles away from England, which have English as their official language. Why is that? You can now meet a man from West Africa and find the answer.
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Urheber: Obibini
Pixabay
It does not look like England. But it is still an English speaking country...
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Urheber: Digitale Lernwelten GmbH
Es gibt LĂ€nder, viele Tausend Kilometer von England entfernt, die Englisch als offizielle Sprache haben. Warum ist das so? Du kannst jetzt einen Mann aus Westafrika kennenlernen und die Antwort herausfinden.
1. Meet Paul from Ghana
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Watch the video. Try to understand what Paul is talking about. Can you also hear the differences to British or American English?
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Urheber: Digitale Lernwelten GmbH
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Urheber: Digitale Lernwelten GmbH
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Did you understand everything that Paul said?Â
Don't worry if you couldn't understand everything: most of us don't know the Ghanaian names and places.Â
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Urheber: Digitale Lernwelten GmbH
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Listening comprehension
Now you can see the video again and improve your listening comprehension.
Förderfenster: Listening comprehension
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Challenge: Do you want to know more?
Ghana's independence and what Paul's grandfather had to do with it
Challenge: Do you want to know more?
Ghana's independence and what Paul's grandfather had to do with it
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© Familie Okan-Adjetey
This is Paul's grandfather, Cornelius Frederick Adjetey. Watch the video and find out what he had to do with Ghana's independence.
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Urheber: Digitale Lernwelten GmbH
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© Digitale Lernwelten GmbH
| Vocabulary | |
|---|---|
| gratuities | Geld(zuwendung) |
| in a literal sense | im wahrsten Sinn des Wortes, hier: gemeint ist |
| salaries | GehÀlter |
| were not fulfilled | wurden nicht erfĂŒllt |
| fend for their own families | fĂŒr ihre eigenen Familien sorgen |
| put three square meals on the table | drei ordentliche Mahlzeiten auf den Tisch stellen |
| dark consequences | hier: schlimme ZustÀnde |
| sergeant | militÀrischer Titel, etwa Feldwebel |
| distinguished soldier | ausgezeichneter Soldat |
| drafted a petition | eine Petition (Bittschrift) entwerfen |
| colonial government | Kolonialregierung (hier: die Briten) |
| seat of government | Regierungssitz |
| had made an appointment | hatten einen Termin vereinbart |
| police in charge | zustÀndige Polizei, hier: zustÀndiger Polizist |
| disperse the crowd | die Menschenmenge zerstreuen/auflösen |
| targeted the leaders | zielte auf die AnfĂŒhrer |
| destabilize | destabilisieren/schwÀchen |
| riots | AufstÀnde |
| property | Eigentum |
| rethink its method of operating in the colony | seine Regierungsweise in der Kolonie ĂŒberdenken |
2. English speaking countries - past and present
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So many countries still have English as an official language. If we want to talk about that, we need to put verbs in the past and present tenses.Â
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Urheber: Digitale Lernwelten GmbH
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Task: Why do they speak English?
Prepare an explanation about a country from the map.
This map shows countries that have English as an official language in green.
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Urheber: LeverandĂžr Amendor
NDLA
dark green: English as first and official language (native language to many people)
light green: English as official language and/or lingua franca