1、Period 1Module 5British and American EnglishIntroduction Reading and SpeakingIntroduction-1.Reading(3m)Read the quotations and tell whether you agree or disagree.A We have really everything in common with America nowadays,except of course,language.-Oscar Wilde,19th century writerC America and Englan
2、d are two countries divided by a common language.-George Bernard Shaw,20th century writerIntroduction-2.Discussion(5m)Read the quotations and answer the questions1.What is the topic of the quotations?2.Which is the most optimistic?3.Which is the most pessimistic?4.Which(if any)do you think are funny
3、?5 Which is good news for students of English?6.Can you guess which quotations are from British people?Introduction-3.Imagination(2m)Write down your expectations What do you expect British and American English to be like?Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the British and American English?Introd
4、uction-4.Reading(5m)Read the e-mails and decide which writer is AmericanWhich is American and which is British?(point out the reason)Key to the answers The second writer is American.some of the reasons we know are:British EnglishAmerican EnglishMumMomprogrammeprogramtheatretheaterrealisedrealizewrit
5、e to mewrite meReading and Speaking-1.Warming-up(5m)Check the following statements.1 People from Hong Kong can understand people from Beijing.2 People from Shanghai sound the same as people from Xian.3 Chinese characters can be understood by all speakers of Chinese.4 American English is very differe
6、nt from British English.5 People from Britain cant understand people from America.Reading and Speaking-2.Skimming(5m)Read the passage and find the differences between British English and American English.Read the titles and the first sentences of each paragraph and find four ways in which British an
7、d American English are different.Reading and Speaking-3.Scanning(10m)Read again paragraph by paragraph and make notes of the differences.The first two paragraphs:the differences in vocabularyBritish EnglishAmerican Englishcarsfreewaygasundergroundtaxitorchstand in linechipsautomobilesmotorwaypetrols
8、ubwaycabflashlightqueue upFrench friesWordBEAEpieces of hot fried potatochipsFrench friesvery thin and are sold in packetscrispschipsRead the third paragraph The third paragraph:the differences in grammarBritish EnglishAmerican EnglishHave you got?My friend just arrived.in the team/at the weekendwri
9、te me soon!Do you have?My friend has just arrivedon the team/weekendWrite to me soon!Read the 4th paragraph The 4th paragraph:the differences in spelling and pronunciationBritish EnglishAmerican Englishspellingpronunciationcentre,colour programmecenter,color programReading and Speaking-4.Practice(5m
10、)Read the passage and complete the sentences with the correct words or phrases.1.There are _ differences between American and British varieties of English.A.no B.a few C.lots of2.Americans _ understand what the British are saying.A.Sometimes B.usually C.never3.There are _ differences between British
11、 and American grammar.A.no B.many C.not many4.American spelling is _ British spelling.A.the same as B.simpler than C.harder than5.For a Londoner,an American accent may be easier to understand than _.A.a Chinese accent B.some British accents C.a CNN newsreader6.Television and the Internet have made i
12、t _ for the British and Americans to understand each other.A.harder B.easier C.impossibleNotes:1.There are hundreds of different words which are not used on the other side of the Atlantic,or which are used with a different meaning.2.The other two areas in which the two varieties differ are spelling
13、and pronunciation.3.The accent,which is most similar to British English,can be heard on the East Coast of the US.4.A Londoner has more difficulty understanding a Scotsman from Glasgow than understanding a New Yorker.5.at the flick of a switch6.But it has also led to lots of American words and struct
14、ures passing into British English,7.This international dimension suggests that in the future,there are going to be many“Englishes”,not just two main varieties.Reading and Speaking-5.Discussion(5m)Discuss the following questions.1.How many main varieties of Chinese are there?2.In what ways are they d
15、ifferent?3.Do Chinese people from different regions have problems understanding each other?4.What will happen to Chinese in the future?Homework Task of the lesson Try to collect more words or expressions which are different in British English and American English in the 4 ways.(vocabulary,grammar,spelling and pronunciation)Find some information about the Chinese that people in different regions of China speak.
