Teksti
exercise 2a Mark the statements as true or false.
1. TRUE
2. FALSE. Kevin’s father was away in the southwestern parts of the USA for long periods of time.
3. FALSE. Kevin’s aunt moved to Los Angeles to take care of Kevin and his brother and to teach them Spanish.
4. TRUE
5. FALSE. Kevin had many opportunities to get to know his Mexican cultural heritage in the US.
6. TRUE
7. TRUE.
8. FALSE. Latinx Americans are clearly disappointed when they find out Kevin can’t speak Spanish.
exercise 2b Spot the phrase.
1. grew up
2. by accident
3. for weeks at a time
4. at the time
5. over the past decade
6. in other words
7. in 2006
8. by 2015
9. I'm proud of my culture
10. was of the utmost importance
11. the uncomfortable silence that fell between my cousin and me
exercise 2c Fill in the story according to the clues.
1. grew up
2. by accident
3. he was always proud of his culture
4. an uncomfortable silence could / would fall between him and his relatives
5. in 2007
6. At the time
7. for (several) weeks at a time
exercise 2d Go through the word lists below and check the meaning of any unfamiliar words. Then combine the words that have opposite or similar meanings.
Opposite meaning:
monolingual / bilingual
import / export
full time / part time
essential / unimportant
native / foreign
fill / empty
shame / pride
increase / decline
overall / specifically
local / international
Similar meaning:x
career / lifework
raise / bring up
seem / appear
anticipate / expect
complicated / complex
study / research
opportunity / chance
subtle / delicate
disappointment / letdown
reveal / expose
listening exercise 2e Sofia is a 16-year-old student from Vaasa. - - Listen to her interview and answer the questions in English.
1. Sofia will turn 17 soon; she plays volleyball (8 times a week); her family includes mom, dad, little sister and a dog; her dad is bilingual and her mother is Finnish-speaking.
2. She speaks Swedish with her father’s relatives and she reads books in Swedish. She has also studied in a Swedish school and has friends who speak Swedish.
3. She spoke a lot of Finnish daily and some of the subjects were challenging for her because of the vocabulary (and the difficulties affected her motivation).
4. Sofia thinks it will help her get work and it is easier to talk to people.
5. It might be difficult to find hobbies or sports clubs that are for Swedish speakers.
TAPESCRIPT:
Interviewer: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Sofia: My name is Sofia. I will turn 17 this year, and I play volleyball eight times a week. My family includes my mom, my dad, my 11-year-old little sister and a small dog named Diina. My father is bilingual and my mother speaks Finnish. Most of my free time goes to volleyball, but I also enjoy spending time with my family.
I: Where do you speak Finnish? And how about Swedish?
S: I speak Finnish with my friends at school and with my teammates. My father's relatives speak Swedish and my mother's relatives speak Finnish. When I read books, I like to read them in Swedish because I use Finnish on so many other occasions.
I: You are studying at a Finnish-speaking school now. Have you always studied in Finnish?
S: When I was young, my mother and father wanted me to go to a Swedish-speaking school to improve my language skills. So, I went to a Swedish primary school and lower secondary school. I got to decide for myself if I wanted to continue to a Swedish or a Finnish high school, and I chose the Finnish one. I spoke so much Finnish daily that studying social and natural sciences was challenging in lower secondary school. I didn’t understand all the words and my motivation was low. Starting at a Finnish-speaking high school was the right decision for me because the subjects have felt easier to understand. I think that in the future I will continue to study in Finnish.
I: What are the benefits of being bilingual?
S: There are many good things about bilingualism. For example, I think it will help me get work when I can speak both languages and I can talk to people more easily. The only downside, in my opinion, is that when I talk to a Swedish-speaking person, the words get mixed up easily, I can accidentally mix Finnish and Swedish together.
I: Do you think it would be possible to use only Swedish in your daily life?
S: I think it would work here in Vaasa, but when you go further away, most people speak Finnish. Even here, it is probably difficult to take part in most hobbies as a Swedish speaker because the majority of people speak Finnish, so it would certainly be difficult to understand everything. There are some Swedish sports clubs, but they are not that common.
I: What does bilingualism mean to you?
S: It really means a lot to me. Thanks to knowing both languages, I've made a lot of new friends, both Swedish- and Finnish-speaking. I think being bilingual is a great asset and I am grateful to my parents, who decided to put me in a Swedish-language school when I was younger.
1. TRUE
2. FALSE. Kevin’s father was away in the southwestern parts of the USA for long periods of time.
3. FALSE. Kevin’s aunt moved to Los Angeles to take care of Kevin and his brother and to teach them Spanish.
4. TRUE
5. FALSE. Kevin had many opportunities to get to know his Mexican cultural heritage in the US.
6. TRUE
7. TRUE.
8. FALSE. Latinx Americans are clearly disappointed when they find out Kevin can’t speak Spanish.
exercise 2b Spot the phrase.
1. grew up
2. by accident
3. for weeks at a time
4. at the time
5. over the past decade
6. in other words
7. in 2006
8. by 2015
9. I'm proud of my culture
10. was of the utmost importance
11. the uncomfortable silence that fell between my cousin and me
exercise 2c Fill in the story according to the clues.
1. grew up
2. by accident
3. he was always proud of his culture
4. an uncomfortable silence could / would fall between him and his relatives
5. in 2007
6. At the time
7. for (several) weeks at a time
exercise 2d Go through the word lists below and check the meaning of any unfamiliar words. Then combine the words that have opposite or similar meanings.
Opposite meaning:
monolingual / bilingual
import / export
full time / part time
essential / unimportant
native / foreign
fill / empty
shame / pride
increase / decline
overall / specifically
local / international
Similar meaning:x
career / lifework
raise / bring up
seem / appear
anticipate / expect
complicated / complex
study / research
opportunity / chance
subtle / delicate
disappointment / letdown
reveal / expose
listening exercise 2e Sofia is a 16-year-old student from Vaasa. - - Listen to her interview and answer the questions in English.
1. Sofia will turn 17 soon; she plays volleyball (8 times a week); her family includes mom, dad, little sister and a dog; her dad is bilingual and her mother is Finnish-speaking.
2. She speaks Swedish with her father’s relatives and she reads books in Swedish. She has also studied in a Swedish school and has friends who speak Swedish.
3. She spoke a lot of Finnish daily and some of the subjects were challenging for her because of the vocabulary (and the difficulties affected her motivation).
4. Sofia thinks it will help her get work and it is easier to talk to people.
5. It might be difficult to find hobbies or sports clubs that are for Swedish speakers.
TAPESCRIPT:
Interviewer: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Sofia: My name is Sofia. I will turn 17 this year, and I play volleyball eight times a week. My family includes my mom, my dad, my 11-year-old little sister and a small dog named Diina. My father is bilingual and my mother speaks Finnish. Most of my free time goes to volleyball, but I also enjoy spending time with my family.
I: Where do you speak Finnish? And how about Swedish?
S: I speak Finnish with my friends at school and with my teammates. My father's relatives speak Swedish and my mother's relatives speak Finnish. When I read books, I like to read them in Swedish because I use Finnish on so many other occasions.
I: You are studying at a Finnish-speaking school now. Have you always studied in Finnish?
S: When I was young, my mother and father wanted me to go to a Swedish-speaking school to improve my language skills. So, I went to a Swedish primary school and lower secondary school. I got to decide for myself if I wanted to continue to a Swedish or a Finnish high school, and I chose the Finnish one. I spoke so much Finnish daily that studying social and natural sciences was challenging in lower secondary school. I didn’t understand all the words and my motivation was low. Starting at a Finnish-speaking high school was the right decision for me because the subjects have felt easier to understand. I think that in the future I will continue to study in Finnish.
I: What are the benefits of being bilingual?
S: There are many good things about bilingualism. For example, I think it will help me get work when I can speak both languages and I can talk to people more easily. The only downside, in my opinion, is that when I talk to a Swedish-speaking person, the words get mixed up easily, I can accidentally mix Finnish and Swedish together.
I: Do you think it would be possible to use only Swedish in your daily life?
S: I think it would work here in Vaasa, but when you go further away, most people speak Finnish. Even here, it is probably difficult to take part in most hobbies as a Swedish speaker because the majority of people speak Finnish, so it would certainly be difficult to understand everything. There are some Swedish sports clubs, but they are not that common.
I: What does bilingualism mean to you?
S: It really means a lot to me. Thanks to knowing both languages, I've made a lot of new friends, both Swedish- and Finnish-speaking. I think being bilingual is a great asset and I am grateful to my parents, who decided to put me in a Swedish-language school when I was younger.