Origin of English words

Title: Borrowings

Natalya Dementyeva
School 27, Aktobe, Kazakhstan
natalyadem@yahoo.co.uk

Language level of students: upper-intermediate
Age group: young adults, adults
Time: 30 – 40 minutes
Skills / aspects focus: reading, vocabulary
Vocabulary: borrowings from Celtic languages, French, Latin and other lanuages
Resources and materials: texts, grids.
Credit published materials: Crystal, D. (2000) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language Cambridge:CUP

PROCEDURE

Pre-activity

1. Ask Ss to tell what the word to borrow means. What can we borrow? What have they borrowed recently?
2. Tell Ss that the topic of the lesson is borrowings in the English vocabulary. Ask Ss to think about one word for each, which has been borrowed from their native language or any other language. Ask everybody to tell this word and if the class don’t know the meaning, the meaning of the word.

Activity

1. Ask Ss to work in groups of 3 or 4, match the words and the countries of their origin. (Handout Countries of Origin)
   Key: D, C, G, H, M, L A, F, B, E, I, N, K, J
2. Ask Ss to work in groups of 3, give each group a different text. Ask Ss to read the text and select 3 facts which can convey the meaning of the text, write one sentence for each fact in the table.
3. Ask Ss to work in groups of 4 (each person from a different group in the previous activity), share the information they have. At the end of the lesson each student should have the grid Important Facts completed.

Post-Activity

           Ask to write a summary of what they learnt at the lesson at home. Ss have to use their completed grids for it.

Downloads:

• Countries of origin (matching task)
• Celtic Borrowings (text)
• Effect of Latin (text)
• Other Sources (text)
• The French Factor (text)
• Important Facts (grid)

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