Learning a Foreign Language: Twice as Hard?
Teaching aims:
1. To train students’ basic reading ability of an expository.
2. To get students to know about the characteristics of a successful language learner .
3. To learn how to gain the writer’s viewpoint and the evidences to support it in the context.
Teaching aids:
A recorder, a computer and a projector
Teaching procedures:
Pre-reading
What is our foreign language? What is our mother tongue?
Which do you think is more difficult to learn?
While -reading
Step 1 Scanning for the statement of the writer’s
Q: What is the writer’s opinion?
Where did you find it?
Step 2: Skimming for the main ideas of each paragraph (write them down individually then discuss them in pairs)
Q: What’s the main idea of each paragraph? (Ss can pick up the topic sentence from the paragraph or sum up in their own words. The topic sentence may be the first sentence, the last sentence or in the middle . Sometimes no topic sentence at all)
Para 1 How was it possible for us to acquire our mother tongue without receiving formal instruction?
Para 2 Language experts have different answers to this question.
Para 3 Learning a foreign language is different from learning one’ mother tongue.
Para 4 Successful language learners share a number of characteristics.
Para 5 It tells us the importance of confidence.
Para 6 It tells us the importance of the purpose of learning.

Step 3 Detailed reading for the evidences to support the writer’s statement.
1. Q: What are the differences in learning English and Chinese?(first do it individually ,then check it )

Mother tongue Foreign language
Learn from Parents Teachers, friends and books
When to learn it After we were born
When we are older
When to use it All the time In school
Characteristics Natural environment Created environment

2. Language learning theories (pair work)
Experts Theory
Some Be equipped with special ability i.e. language-specific part of the brain
Others Be born with general ability such as walking or solving problems
All agree Life is a very successful language school.
The sentence “Life is a very successful language school” means .
A. the key to learn the language well is to communicate with the people around us
B. we are equipped with a special ability to learn language
C. parents can give children language lessons
D. people can learn the language by themselves

3. Q: Do you think our English learning environment is good ? Can we learn English fast and easily?
4. Q: What is the writer’s opinion? Why does the writer think so?
The time The help
Mother tongue Waking hours , all day long, for five years ,an awful lot of hours parents
Foreign language A few hours a week and in a few years’ time you can speak it. Textbooks, teachers, classmates, study methods and skills
5. Read quickly the last three paragraphs and find out the answers to the following
questions. Discuss them in pairs of four.
1) How many characteristics do successful learners share according to the research?
A successful learner should be ____ ,_____,_____,_____and ________.
2) What are the two most important characteristics of the five according to the writer?
3) What should you do to be a successful learner?
Tick(√) some of the following points that the writer thinks are important.
( )set a clear goal in learning , ( ) evaluate our learning
( )make proper study plans, ( )have good pronunciation and intonation
( )have interest in learning, ( )understand English grammar
( )put what we know to better use , ( )memorize new words,
( )be active and patient , ( )form a good study habit
( )take risks and put ourselves in created learning situations
Post-reading
Step 1 Sum up the main idea of the passage.
Q: What is the purpose of writing the passage?
It tells us learning a foreign language doesn’t have to be twice as hard as learning our mother tongue and also some tips for language learning.
Step 2 A writing task
Q: Are you a successful English learner? If not, what should you do to be successful in foreign language learning?
(Write down at least three sentences about what you should do.)
Step 3 Reading Practice: a passage from the college entrance examination paper

Blackboard design:
Tips for a successful learner
Set a clear goal in learning and make proper study plans.
Be confident.
Form a good study habit.
be patient and brave.

附：
课程标准要求掌握的项目
1． 话题：Talking about learning and study skills
2． 词汇：motivation, dictation, correction, alphabet, stick, acquire, acquisition, awful, instruct, data, academic, comprehension, anxious, secure, translator, interpreter, everyday, patience, adopt, pile, PLA, tyre, overweight, operation, level, junior, senior, association, appropriate, postcode
3． 词组
1. make progress 前进；进步
2. make sense of 弄懂…的意思
3. in other words 换句话说；换言之
4. take risks/a risk 冒险
be at risk=in danger
at the risk of 冒着……的危险
risk doing 冒险做某事
5.experiment with 进行试验；进行实验
6.piles of 一大堆；一大批；一大团
7. knock sb / sth down 撞倒
knock… into… 把- - - 敲入
knock in 敲入
knock at / on the door 敲门
knock over 打翻
knock…out of 把--- 敲出来
knock off 敲落
8.that is to say 也就是说
9. fall behind 落后
fall sick / ill
fall down跌倒
fall over 摔交
fall into 陷入; 跌入
fall off 掉下
fall in love with sb.
fall back 后退;退让
fall asleep 10. be different from 与…不同
11 .communicate with 与…联系；与…交流
12. distinguish…from… 把与区别开来
13. adjust to 调整；调节；使适合；使便于使用
14. in the process 在进行；经过；在…过程中
15. in common （团体）共同的；公有的16.make mistakes 犯错误
17.make friends with 与…交朋友
18.take (an active ) part in （积极）参加
19.take patience to 有耐心去做….
20. come across 偶然遇见
21. regardless of…不顾 /不管 /不关心…
22. all of a sudden =suddenly
23． broaden one’s horizons 拓宽了视野
23. be concerned about
24. be anxious about / be anxious to do
be eager for / be eager to do
be curious about
28. more than + 数词 = over
more than + n. =only
more than + v. =very，深为
more than can/could = not
more than + adj./ adv. = very非常
more than one = many a 不止一个
29. get stuck/burnt/hurt/dressed/separated/
washed/changed/lost/married/drunk
句型以及部分知识点讲解
 .p66. (Zhao li ) Learning English is fun.
fun [U.] n.------ 区别funny adj. May you have great fun.
Seeing monkeys in the zoo is of great fun. / What fun it is to have a game after work.
in fun= for fun 娱乐, 消遣 He couldn’t say such a serious thing for fun.
Look at the funny person with a strange hat on. (滑稽可笑）
 .Instead we learnt or acquired our mother tongue by communicating with…(p66.para1)
1) acquire.“取得，获得”指通过漫长的过程逐步获得或学到。She acquired a knowledge of French.
He has acquired a good knowledge of history in these few years.
 .Some believe that we are equipped with a special ability to learn language and that our brain adjusts itself to the language … (p67.para1)
(1) adjust (oneself) to vt.使自己适应。 She soon adjusted (herself) to his way of life.
We will have to adjust ourselves to new conditions.
(2) adjust+名＋(to sth) （为配合而）调整；调 节…，校正…Will you please adjust the clock? It’s slow.
You can adjust this desk to the height of any child.
(3) be equipped with . 本身具有（学问、能力之类。) The children are equipped with some special skills.
 and that what we are born with is a general ability to learn and adapt, not a language specific…(p67.para1)
(1) adapt (oneself) to =adjust oneself to 适应…… He is quick to adept (himself) to new circumstance.
(2) adapt + sth.+ (to sth). He could not adapt his way of life to the company.
(3) 改编，改写；修改(为……用） It is hard to adapt this story for children. 要将这小说改编为适合小孩子很困难。
 We should try to adopt some of the study habits and characteristics described above. …(p67.lastpa.
adopt: (1) 采用；采取（计划、方法、措施等）；采纳(议案、意见等）；吸取，采用（外国语词）。
Our school has adopted a new teaching method.
We’d like to adopt your idea.
(2)收养（某人） They are not my real parents, I am adopted./ (adopted son/daughter 养子/ 养女)
 Regardless of their theories , …(p67.para1)
He says what he thinks, regardless of other people’s feeling. 他想到什么就说什么，毫不考虑别人的感受。
The coal boss risked making money regardless of workers’ safety.
 The less anxious and more relaxed the learner, the better their language acquisition. …(p67.para4)
The+比较级……,the+比较级……,越…...就越…… The easier the text is, the happier they will be.
The more novels you read, the more you want to read./ The harder you study, the more you can learn.
 .We may find that learning a foreign language does not have to be twice as hard as learning our mother tongue. …(p67.last para.)
 But it is enough to broaden your horizons and improve your understanding. …(p71.para2)
 Many parents worry about the safety of their children and may also be concerned about the cost.
1) concern oneself about/for sth.某人（为……)担心
sb be concerned about/for sth.某人（为……)担心. She is concerned about her son’s future.
2) concern + oneself + with/in 使（某人）与……有关系；使关涉；使参与
Sb be concerned in sth.某人与……有关：某人参与 ……
She concerns herself with/in social welfare. / He is concerned in the new project.
3) as (so) far as…be concerned 就……而言。As far as I am concerned, I cannot object to your marriage.
4) .concerning prep. 关于 He likes to refer to something concerning Chinese history.
(5) concerned adj. “关心的，关切的，忧 愁的”， a concerned expression忧愁的表情
“有关的”，放在被修饰词之后 the authorities concerned 有关当局