F2F Class Notes (Nemo) [R]

Vocabulary

expert (n): 1- a person with a high level of knowledge or skill relating to a particular subject or activity:
E.g.: a gardening/medical expert
E.g.: My mother is an expert at dress-making (= she does it very well).

interaction (n)互动: 1- an occasion when two or more people or things communicate with or react to each other:
E.g.: There’s not enough interaction between the management and the workers.
E.g.: Language games are usually intended to encourage student interaction.

react (v): 1-to act in a particular way as a direct result of something else:
E.g.: She slapped him and called him names, but he didn’t react.

call somebody names – If a person, especially a child, calls someone names, he or she addresses that person with a name that is intended to be offensive:
E.g.: Tom’s worried that if he wears glasses at school the other children will call him names.

criticize (v): 批评 to express disapproval of someone or something:
E.g.: The government is being widely criticized in the media for failing to limit air pollution.
E.g.: We’ll get nowhere if all you can do is criticize.

integrate (v):整合– to mix with and join society or a group of people, often changing to suit their way of life, habits, and customs:
E.g.: It’s very difficult to integrate yourself into a society whose culture is so different from your own.
E.g.: Children are often very good at integrating into a new culture.

multicultural (adj): 1-多种文化的 including people who have many different customs and beliefs:
E.g.: Britain is increasingly a multicultural society.

A UK government official wants everybody in England to speak English. She is an expert on community interaction. She thinks a “common language” would heal divisions in England. She criticized governments for not focusing on integration as England becomes more multicultural. Politicians have not kept up with the “unprecedented pace and scale of immigration” for decades. Communities are becoming divided because of poor English skills.

The government said 770,000 people in England speak no English or hardly any. Up to 70 per cent of those were women, mostly from Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. They are at risk from discrimination. The official said: “Everybody of working age and of school age should be able to speak one language.” Opponents say England should be proud to be a multi-lingual country and not force people to learn English if they don’t want to.