Reading B1 (Unit 3 Gateway to the world level 3)

AN AMAZING LANGUAGE LEARNER

A When Lýdia Machová recently gave a TED Talk about learning languages, she did not speak in Slovakian, which is her first language. Instead, she spoke in perfect English, and she also told the audience that she can speak another seven languages – and she learns a new language every two years.

B To many people, that sounds impossible. However, Lýdia says that she is not particularly intelligent or talented – anyone can learn a new language easily. From her own experience and from meeting other people like her, she has worked out some important rules.

C She says that there are lots of different ways of learning. You can learn the 500 most common words or study the grammar. You can pick up a phrase book or listen to podcasts. Almost any method is OK – the most important thing is that it’s fun and you enjoy it.

D She gives the example of when she was having German lessons, she also started watching Friends on TV – but in German. At first, she didn’t understand a word, but she kept watching, and in the end, she could understand almost everything. She did the same sort of thing with Spanish. When she was a child she used to love Harry Potter. So she read Harry Potter books in Spanish and learned much more quickly.

E There are a few other suggestions. When you learn vocabulary, it’s easy to learn 50 words one day and then forget them next week. The important thing is to revise them after maybe a day, a week and a month – and that is how you remember them. Another piece of advice is to give yourself time – maybe half an hour every day – and to make 100% sure that you never miss a day.

F Finally, she says that talking is an important part of language learning. It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes – everybody does, and mistakes can help you learn faster. And the great thing is that if you’re learning French for example, you don’t have to travel to France. Thanks to the Internet, it’s easy to find forums and chat sites where you can practise any language in the world – and you don’t even have to leave home.

The text says that Lýdia …

AN AMAZING LANGUAGE LEARNER

A When Lýdia Machová recently gave a TED Talk about learning languages, she did not speak in Slovakian, which is her first language. Instead, she spoke in perfect English, and she also told the audience that she can speak another seven languages – and she learns a new language every two years.

B To many people, that sounds impossible. However, Lýdia says that she is not particularly intelligent or talented – anyone can learn a new language easily. From her own experience and from meeting other people like her, she has worked out some important rules.

C She says that there are lots of different ways of learning. You can learn the 500 most common words or study the grammar. You can pick up a phrase book or listen to podcasts. Almost any method is OK – the most important thing is that it’s fun and you enjoy it.

D She gives the example of when she was having German lessons, she also started watching Friends on TV – but in German. At first, she didn’t understand a word, but she kept watching, and in the end, she could understand almost everything. She did the same sort of thing with Spanish. When she was a child she used to love Harry Potter. So she read Harry Potter books in Spanish and learned much more quickly.

E There are a few other suggestions. When you learn vocabulary, it’s easy to learn 50 words one day and then forget them next week. The important thing is to revise them after maybe a day, a week and a month – and that is how you remember them. Another piece of advice is to give yourself time – maybe half an hour every day – and to make 100% sure that you never miss a day.

F Finally, she says that talking is an important part of language learning. It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes – everybody does, and mistakes can help you learn faster. And the great thing is that if you’re learning French for example, you don’t have to travel to France. Thanks to the Internet, it’s easy to find forums and chat sites where you can practise any language in the world – and you don’t even have to leave home.

Lýdia seems to believe that …

AN AMAZING LANGUAGE LEARNER

A When Lýdia Machová recently gave a TED Talk about learning languages, she did not speak in Slovakian, which is her first language. Instead, she spoke in perfect English, and she also told the audience that she can speak another seven languages – and she learns a new language every two years.

B To many people, that sounds impossible. However, Lýdia says that she is not particularly intelligent or talented – anyone can learn a new language easily. From her own experience and from meeting other people like her, she has worked out some important rules.

C She says that there are lots of different ways of learning. You can learn the 500 most common words or study the grammar. You can pick up a phrase book or listen to podcasts. Almost any method is OK – the most important thing is that it’s fun and you enjoy it.

D She gives the example of when she was having German lessons, she also started watching Friends on TV – but in German. At first, she didn’t understand a word, but she kept watching, and in the end, she could understand almost everything. She did the same sort of thing with Spanish. When she was a child she used to love Harry Potter. So she read Harry Potter books in Spanish and learned much more quickly.

E There are a few other suggestions. When you learn vocabulary, it’s easy to learn 50 words one day and then forget them next week. The important thing is to revise them after maybe a day, a week and a month – and that is how you remember them. Another piece of advice is to give yourself time – maybe half an hour every day – and to make 100% sure that you never miss a day.

F Finally, she says that talking is an important part of language learning. It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes – everybody does, and mistakes can help you learn faster. And the great thing is that if you’re learning French for example, you don’t have to travel to France. Thanks to the Internet, it’s easy to find forums and chat sites where you can practise any language in the world – and you don’t even have to leave home.

Lýdia says that if you want to learn a language, you must …