Language and communication

Language and communication

Global perspectives. Grade 7

Language and communication

• Language is a system of communication that relies on verbal or non-verbal codes to transfer information.
• Communication is a way of interchanging messages or information between two or more people.
• Language is a tool of communication.
• Communication is a process of transferring messages.

Is communication important?

Types of communication

Five Types of Communication

• Verbal Communication. Verbal communication occurs when we engage in speaking with others.
• Non-Verbal Communication. What we do while we speak often says more than the actual words. Gestures
• Written Communication.
• Listening.
• Visual Communication.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEOPCEiigYQ

How many languages are there in the world?

It’s estimated that up to 7,000 different languages are spoken around the world. 90% of these languages are used by less than 100,000 people. Over a million people converse in 150-200 languages and 46 languages have just a single speaker!

terminology

• First language
• Second language
• Preferred language
• Mother tongue
• Heart language

Group work

• Task 1
• How many languages do you speak?
• Make a list

• Task 2
• How many languages are spoken in your community/ city/country?
• Make a list

What is the official language in your country? How does this connect with

• ‘Which other countries also have this/these official language(s)?
• ‘Which languages do our closest geographical neighbours use?’, ‘
• Has the official language of our country changed at any time in our history, and if so when and why?’,
• ‘How do language borders compare with national borders?’,
• ‘If the country has more than one language, how could we find out the proportion of people speaking each? 

Research and evaluate

• How many people speak different languages in the world ?

Possible answers

• The most spoken languages in the world
• English (1.132 million speakers)
• Mandarin (1.117 million speakers)
• Spanish (534 million speakers)
• French (280 million speakers)
• Arabic (274 million speakers)
• Russian (258 million speakers)
• Portuguese (234 million speakers)

The world’s most widely spoken languages

• The world's most widely spoken languages by number of native speakers and as a second language, according to figures from UNESCO (The United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), are: Mandarin Chinese, English, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, Bengali, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, German and French.

Making graphs

Writing.
Describe the graph using the following information

Summative assessment. The history of the language

• Research and evaluation.

Learners present the results of their research using a variety of timelines, maps, charts and graphs, taking responsibility for thinking through how to best share this information. Learners evaluate their research

(Learner Resource – Understanding each other L9.1).

What might be regarded as global languages? Where are these languages spoken? 

• Learners research international organisations such as the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee to find out which are the official languages of these organisations. They decide on their own definition of a ‘global language’.
• Using world maps, learners identify the regions of the world where these global languages are spoken. Which countries or regions are left out? What are the implications of this for people living in these regions? 

Imagine that your school is going to introduce the teaching of a new language. Which one would you recommend and why?

• Using what they have learnt, groups of learners each present the case for a new language to be taught in school, giving their reasons and explaining when and how they think it should be introduced. This could include a survey of learners in the school. 
• Learners vote, in order to come to a conclusion.