Page 51 - In Focus (demo)

UNIT 1

5 Critical thinking

A Fact or opinion?

There are many different points of view on the topic of English. Work with a partner
and decide if the following statements are fact (F) or opinion (O).
1 Spanish sounds more beautiful than English.
2 Chinese is the most diffi cult language to learn.
3 English has more words than most other languages.
4 English has borrowed words from many other languages.
5 British English is easier to understand than American English.

B Categorizing

1 Decide if the statements below sound positive, neutral, or negative. Put checks (✔)
in the boxes. Underline any words in the sentences that support your choice.

Positive Neutral Negative

1 English is spoken widely throughout the world.
2 The spread of English is destroying many
languages and cultures.
3 English as an international language will lead to
world peace.

4 Pilots flying Mexican planes in France or Germany
always use English.
5 It is impossible to escape English in the world of
entertainment.

2 Compare your answers with a partner and explain your reasons.

C Writing

Look back at the statements in B above. Write a short paragraph about the positive
and negative results of English becoming the world language. Use the model below.

There are many different opinions about English becoming the world language.
On the positive side . . .

However, there are also a number of negative results. For example, . . .

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