full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Patricia Ryan: Don't insist on English!

Unscramble the Blue Letters


But sadly, tdaoy, languages are dying at an unprecedented rate. A language dies every 14 days. Now, at the same time, English is the utndepiusd global language. Could there be a cectionnon? Well I don't know. But I do know that I've seen a lot of changes. When I first came out to the Gulf, I came to Kuwait in the days when it was still a hardship post. Actually, not that long ago. That is a little bit too ealry. But nevertheless, I was recruited by the British Council, along with about 25 other teachers. And we were the first non-Muslims to teach in the state schools there in kauwit. We were brought to teach English because the government wanted to moirnzdee the country and to empower the cinteizs through education. And of course, the U.K. benefited from some of that lovely oil wealth.

Open Cloze


But sadly, _____, languages are dying at an unprecedented rate. A language dies every 14 days. Now, at the same time, English is the __________ global language. Could there be a __________? Well I don't know. But I do know that I've seen a lot of changes. When I first came out to the Gulf, I came to Kuwait in the days when it was still a hardship post. Actually, not that long ago. That is a little bit too _____. But nevertheless, I was recruited by the British Council, along with about 25 other teachers. And we were the first non-Muslims to teach in the state schools there in ______. We were brought to teach English because the government wanted to _________ the country and to empower the ________ through education. And of course, the U.K. benefited from some of that lovely oil wealth.

Solution


  1. undisputed
  2. kuwait
  3. early
  4. today
  5. modernize
  6. citizens
  7. connection

Original Text


But sadly, today, languages are dying at an unprecedented rate. A language dies every 14 days. Now, at the same time, English is the undisputed global language. Could there be a connection? Well I don't know. But I do know that I've seen a lot of changes. When I first came out to the Gulf, I came to Kuwait in the days when it was still a hardship post. Actually, not that long ago. That is a little bit too early. But nevertheless, I was recruited by the British Council, along with about 25 other teachers. And we were the first non-Muslims to teach in the state schools there in Kuwait. We were brought to teach English because the government wanted to modernize the country and to empower the citizens through education. And of course, the U.K. benefited from some of that lovely oil wealth.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
english teachers 3
teaching english 2
global language 2
english test 2


Important Words


  1. benefited
  2. bit
  3. british
  4. brought
  5. citizens
  6. connection
  7. council
  8. country
  9. days
  10. dies
  11. dying
  12. early
  13. education
  14. empower
  15. english
  16. global
  17. government
  18. gulf
  19. hardship
  20. kuwait
  21. language
  22. languages
  23. long
  24. lot
  25. lovely
  26. modernize
  27. oil
  28. post
  29. rate
  30. recruited
  31. sadly
  32. schools
  33. state
  34. teach
  35. teachers
  36. time
  37. today
  38. undisputed
  39. unprecedented
  40. wanted
  41. wealth