News-based English language activities from the global newspaper

March 2011
Level ≥ Lower intermediate
Style ≥ Lesson plan
Welcome to the Guardian Weekly’s special news-based materials to support learners and teachers of English.
Each month, the Guardian Weekly newspaper selects topical news articles that can be used to practise English
language skills. The materials are graded for two levels: advanced and lower intermediate. These worksheets
can be downloaded free from guardian.co.uk/weekly/. You can also find more advice for teachers and learn-
ers from the Guardian Weekly’s Learning English section on the site.

German language finds English voice

Materials prepared by Janet Hardy-Gould

Instructions
Lesson focus: reading and discussion
Materials: copies of the article
Time: 50 minutes
1 Ask students for a word in their main language that is
borrowed from English – these are often described as
anglicisms. In pairs students think of words in three
categories:
a more anglicisms in their language.
b words borrowed from other languages (eg Arabic,
French).
c an example of a word from their language that has
entered another language.
Feedback. Write examples on the board. Ask: Which
foreign language has the biggest influence in your
country? Why? 10 mins
2 Students look at the article headline, photo and caption.
Write up these sentences. Elicit words to fill the gaps.
The article is about words from the _____ language that are
entering _____. (English/German).
Where is one of the new words from? (WikiLeaks –
website that publishes secret information). 5 mins
3 Write up the task below. Students read the first five
paragraphs and write one word for each question.
Feedback. 12 mins
What word might Germans use when they …
a think something is good on Facebook? _____
b want to relax? _____
c stop being friends with someone on Facebook? _____
d go online? _____
e go to a late-night celebration? _____
Which word is now “Anglicism of the Year”?
Answers: a liken b chillen c entfreunden d surfen
e Afterparty. “Leaken” is Anglicism of the Year.
4 Write up the sentences below. Students read the rest of
the article and choose the correct alternative. Feedback.
8 mins
a Some groups want to increase/cut the number of
foreign words.
b Holger Klatte is/isn’t worried about the German
language.
c Some people think that English/German sounds less
modern.
d Klatte/Stefanowitsch wants German alternatives to
new English words.
e Stefanowitsch thinks/doesn’t think that German has a
serious problem.
Answers: a cut b is c German d Klatte e doesn’t think
5 Write up these sentences. Elicit possible words to fill
gaps. Students complete the sentences with their own
opinions and discuss their ideas in groups. 15 mins
a Borrowed words are often in the area of _____.
(technology etc)
b People under the age of _____ often use these foreign
words.
c Most people feel _____ about the new words.
d I think trying to stop foreign words is a _____ idea.
News-based English language activities from the global newspaper

March 2011

Materials sheet Article: German language

finds English voice
1 Germans are already “chillen” in their free time, “surfen” the
internet and, when they leave a nightclub, they may go on
to “eine Afterparty”. But the latest English word to enter the
language is the verb “leaken”, which recently became Anglicism
of the Year in Germany.

2 Under the international influence of WikiLeaks, the website

Source of the latest borrowed words
that publishes secret documents, Germans have adapted
the English verb “to leak” and journalists now write about a
Student tasks “geleakte Dokumente”.

1 Read the first five paragraphs and write one word for 3 The jury awarding the prize for Anglicism of the Year was
each question. chaired by professor of linguistics Anatol Stefanowitsch. He
a think something is good on Facebook? said: “The word has really established itself in the German
language over the past year.”
b want to relax?
4 Other contenders for the prize came from the world of social
c stop being friends with someone on Facebook? networking. In second place was “entfreunden”, a translation of
the verb “to unfriend”, which has become a common word on
d go online? social networking sites.

e go to a late-night celebration? 5 The influence of Facebook also appears in the introduction of

the verb “liken” to the German language, rather than plain old
Which word is now “Anglicism of the Year”? “mögen”.

2 Read the rest of the article and choose the correct
alternative:
a Some groups want to increase/cut the number of
foreign words.
b Holger Klatte is/isn’t worried about the German
language.
c Some people think that English/German sounds less
modern.
d Klatte/Stefanowitsch wants German alternatives to
new English words.
e Stefanowitsch thinks/doesn’t think that German has a
serious problem.
6 But not all Germans are happy about English words and
phrases entering their language. There are several groups that
aim to protect German from the increasing number of foreign
words. These include the German Language Association.
7 Holger Klatte, a spokesman for the association, said: “The
problem is not so much that English is an influence on the
German language but that it is such a powerful influence.
8 “There seems to be this attitude that English is somehow
‘better’ than German, that German somehow sounds old-
fashioned.

3 Think of words to fill the gaps that are based on your

9 “Linguists should make more effort to develop German
own opinions:
alternatives to new English words.”
a Borrowed words are often in the area of
. (technology etc) 10 But Stefanowitsch insisted that German was not in danger,
b People under the age of saying: “The borrowing of words is a natural process which
often use these foreign words. takes place in every language.”
c Most people feel about
the new words.
d I think trying to stop foreign words is a Original article by Helen Pidd, rewritten by
idea. Janet Hardy-Gould