60
STUDY AND WRITING SKILLS
7.4
STUDY SKILLS
MAKING NOTES
1
Discuss these questions.
1
What kind of notes do people make:
• as students?
• at work?
• in other situations?
2
When and why do you make notes?
2
a
You are going to hear a talk about why there is
a decline in the number of students studying foreign
languages in the UK. What kind of problems do you
think the speaker will mention? Discuss your ideas
with a partner. Make a list of the problems.
2
b
7.8
Listen to the talk, then answer this question:
What were the main points of the talk? Choose from
this list (1–6).
1
Schools are not doing enough to encourage students
to study languages.
2
Students often see science, maths and technology
subjects as more useful and therefore more
important.
3
Everyone speaks English.
4
The issue of technology is another factor that doesn’t
encourage native English speakers to learn other
languages.
5
Technology used for directions and translation can
have disastrous results.
6
We need to change our attitudes to language
learning, however entrenched they are.
3
Look at these notes (A and B) that two students made
during the talk. Find five mistakes and correct them.
4
Compare the two styles of notes in Exercise 3.
Which type do you prefer? Why?
5
a
Find examples of these things in the notes in
Exercise 3. Why do the students do this?
1
words that the students have made shorter (e.g.
neg.
)
and symbols (e.g. +)
2
places where words (e.g.
the
,
a
) are missing
5
b
Work with a partner and compare these phrases
from the talk with the notes the students have made.
What do you notice about the vocabulary? Why is this
a good thing to do?
1
Schools are not doing enough to encourage students
to study languages.
2
It’s difficult to change people’s attitudes.
3
We need to address the issues of language learning.
6
a
There is no right or wrong style for notes. You can
even combine different styles. Look at the different
styles on this page and choose one you want to practise.
6
b
Turn back to page 39 and look at Exercise 3a.
Listen to the TV programme again (Audio recording
5.1) and make notes on the key points. Compare your
notes with a partner. Are there any differences?
PROBLEMS FOR
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
LEARNING IN THE UK
Other subjects, e.g.
science, seen as more
useful + important
parents’ neg.
attitudes picked up
by their children
As more and more people
learn English, we need
foreign languages less
and less
Knowledge of other
languages would
increase the UK’s
standing in the world
B
FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING
IN THE UK
1 Schools were wrong to campaign for
a higher profile for some subjects, e.g.
science + maths
2 Parents don’ t want their children to
study languages
3 Native English speakers think they
won’ t get chance to use foreign
languages – “everyone speaks English”
4 People’s neg. attitudes have changed
recently
5 We must start learning foreign
languages immediately
1
2
3
5
a
A
