English Activity

I have learned how to speak English well, understand it and communicate with other persons that know English. I have learned to write essays and improve my skills when I'm talking. The connection that I made with my real life is that nowadays almost everybody knows English or tries to know English. English is a very important language because in the field of business I can acquire a job because in all companies they are looking for someone that has a high TOEFL. English will open to me the doors to have a good job. Success for me is having a steady job, a great family, own a company and have profits. I would like to do more interesting activities, talking about things that are interesting for everyone. I don't like to read poems or stuff like that. I would like to watch movies but movies in the actuality, in that form we can learn more English and how to pronounce it. 

Comparative Commentary.. The Soldier & Colonization in Reverse

Rupert Brooke, an English poet, wrote the poem “The Soldier” in December 1914. In this poem the author explains about a man who loves his country of England. He believes that if he should die in a far away battle field that people should remember of him only that he was English. In contrast with the poem of Louise Bennett, a Jamaican poet, who wrote “Colonization in Reverse” in 1966, she explains the truth he truth about her society through its own language.  

The ideas that Brooke wanted to transmit through his poem was to reflect the romantic and patriotic mood that was shared by most of the country.  The Jamaican poet wanted to reflect in her poems the way Jamaicans think, feel and live. She raised the dialect of the Jamaican folk to an art level which is acceptable to and appreciated by all in Jamaica. The structure that the English poet used is with similes. He said “Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day”.  The simile used has a patriotic and honorable theme. That is because, as the soldier was prepared to die, he has thought of only England as the only country that means so much to him, and to die for it he was very honorable to accept his defeat. In the poem of Louise Bennett it is difficult to identify the structure she uses because she is writing the way black people write.

The words that this poet uses are difficult to me to understand them because I’m not used to apply those kinds of words in my language. The tone that Brooke uses is with sentimentality and nationalism. Brooke’s poem gives a strong patriotic feeling to all the readers. He uses the conditional tenses if I should die' which gives us the image of him dreaming or fantasizing about the war. The emotional state that Bennett reflects that she was able to capture all the spontaneity of the expression of Jamaicans' joys and sorrows.

Brooke uses an abundance of positive connotations to depict this romantic image of a positive death. Through his poetry he is somewhat building up this romantic relationship that he has with England, and encouraging others to have this same relationship. He believed that dying for his country was sweet and honorable. The image of this poem is about a man who is very brave and would do anything for his country. Images in "The Soldier" are extremely strong and persuading.

One image is "Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam."   This line
evokes images of a beautiful woman cherishing and caressing the man who stands at her side.   Another line is "Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home." This line creates a feeling of tranquility and a unity with nature. Without such strong images, the poem would probably not have such a great effect on the reader.   By the other hand, in colonization in reverse the poet says “I feel like my heart will burst” here she explains how she feels and she doesn’t uses any metaphor.

Rupert Brooke uses fluid and long, yet well-linked sentences for his poem, thus giving the reader a pacify effect. He doesn’t repeat words and he do not use rhymes. He uses a right punctuation and he uses 14 verses.  Bennett’s uses in some verses rhymes if you read the poem as in an American way, for example, in “by the hundreds and the thousands, from rural and Kingston ground, by the ship-loads and the plane-loads Jamaica is England bound” here it rhymes the words ground and bound, both words end in the same last four letters.

I can conclude that these poems are very different because The Soldier explains about war; it glorifies the heroism of the English soldiers who fought in WWI. This poem is pointing out that war is not always started for the reasons that your government tells you.  The poem is a traditional sonnet in which Brooke expresses his love for England and how he believes it is right to fight and die for his country. His poem is very idealistic and has a very traditional viewpoint In the poem of Colonization in Reverse the author Bennett used the originality of spoken Jamaican English as her idiom rather than “standard English”.

Count words: 719

The History of the English Language...by Ray Cook

'Do you speak English?'  Is one of the most commonly asked questions by tourists from England, Canada, and America. English it’s the language of business, investigation, international relations and so on. English arrived in England during the 5^th century. Britain was invaded and colonised by Germanic peoples, Angles and the Saxons who spoke this language.

English became the common language in England until the 10^th century when the grandson of Alfred the Great conquered all the kingdoms. English is the primary language of Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many other British colonies. It is also spoken as a first or second language in South Africa, West Africa, the Pacific Islands and Northern Europe.

Middle English is still a Germanic language. The basic grammar of Middle English vocabulary is Anglo-Saxon. The rise of the British world dominance from the 17th century forward spread English to the New World.

English language has achieved a major role in this “globalization” and it has become the prime language of choice for communication by many different countries. If you can speak English it’s a good way to communicate in business. Communication it’s a key to success in a business. It is very important for the individuals to fluently speak or at least understand English in order to survive in the corporate environment. English is the primary language of global trade and commerce.

The main purpose of this article is to inform all the readers, which are the audience, about the history of English, about how it began. All the origins, the Middle English, and Shakespeare’s English. Also about how English had become a global language and it’s spread around the world.

I think that English it’s great to know a little bit about how English started and about how it became a global language. Also I think that this author it’s only focusing in the origins. It would be wonderful that he includes more things to persuade people to continue learning more about English. Maybe the readers can understand reading but speaking it will be difficult to them. I think that a good aspect it’s to motivate people to continue learning English because nowadays it’s very helpful. In my opinion, I think that learning a new language opens up a whole new culture. A foreign language gives us access to another culture, and our lives take on a new dimension. It’s wonderful to know another language and not only you mother tongue. So, I think that in articles people should persuade people to investigate about the advantages you can have if you learn another language.

The History of the English Language... by Sammy Stein

It is well known that English nowadays plays an important role in our daily life. The massive means of communication, the needs that modern life settles, the high standards in quality required for leaders companies.

More words are appearing in the dictionary like byte, download and hyper drive. Colloquial words such as bro, phit, yo' are also appearing in the dictionary so the language is still evolving.

Nowadays, there are many ways to learn English one important tool it’s Internet. Before the Internet, it was hard for you to learn English if you didn't attend a college or university. For someone living in a country where English is not the native language, they will need to learn this language if they wish to travel to the United States to find a high paying job.

English has become the language of business and the media and wherever you go in the world you find signs in the local language and English.

The main points of this article is that the history of English has changed for many years and is still being written because United Kingdom has been coveted by many civilizations and invaded by many too.

Sammy Stein wanted to generate a reflection about how English is evolving and it will continue so. Also she wanted to inform all the audience that are kids, teenagers, adults, English learners and many others about the importance to speak English.

It has been estimated that 6 billion people that are alive today about 350 million speak English. English is also prominent in business, education, world news, and communication.

I think that it’s amazing how many people around the world have English as a second language. English have helped many people. I think that if you wish to be successful in International business, learning English it’s so important. In many places such as Asia, Africa, and South America, the ability to learn English will determine who will increase their living standards, and who will remain in poverty. In this article it mentions India as an example, it explains that English became the Language of the upper classes and was taught to children as a main second language.  Also, I think that learning how to speak English can allow you to travel to another country, work there for a few months, make more money than you would make at home, and then bring the money back home to your family.

The History of the English Language.. by Lucy Rucker

How Did the English Language Begin?

English is a West Germanic language it has been widely dispersed around the world. English has acquired the use as a lingua franca in many regions. Lingua franca it’s the language that is used in communication between persons not sharing the same mother tongue.

The history of the English language can be traced back to the arrival of three Germanic tribes to the British Isles. These Germanic tribes are Angles, Saxons and Jutes that crossed the North Sea from what is today Denmark and northern Germany during the 5^th Century. The Angles were named from Engle that it’s their land of origin. That it’s why “England” is called like that “Engla Land” “Angle Land”.

Modern English began around the 16th Century and like all languages, is still changing. For most of the people around the world English it’s a very useful language to communicate between other countries.

This article was written for all teenagers, English learners, teachers and native speakers that want to know how does English started to flow.

The purpose of this article was to inform about the history of the English language. English has come along way from Britain and through the centuries to come, it will continue to change. The tone of this article it’s formal because it’s to inform something and it needs to be written in a formal language.

English is still found difficult, in England some English words are written in different way as in the United States. Also, the pronunciation and the meaning of some words may be different from the place where you live to another place that also has English as their mother tongue. The West side of our country have their own system of words, just as the East, North and South do. People from one country don’t understand the way some people talk English. For people that are trying to learn English as another language, for example, Mexicans may be difficult to understand them.

In my opinion, I agreed to learn English because it’s a global language. Learning another language opens your mind. Wherever you go, where they speak a different language than yours, the English will be your main tool of communication. It also opens up possibilities, because sometimes, in the workplace, English is a key to move up. I think that if you are interested in overcoming every day, English is a step in this overcoming. 

Why should we learn English as a lingua franca or "formal" English?

I think that we should learn English as a lingua franca because nowadays English is the most common language around the world. We can communicate with other persons with this language . For example, in the World Cup 2010 people from France, Mexico or other country communicated by english. So, it's very useful to know English becuase it may help you a lot. Also I think that it's important because in USA the official language is English and we depend of US in all ways.