In this week's listening test we are going to deal with the heading-matching kind of task.
Listen to seven people expressing their opinion on multiculturalism and match the headings A to I with the corresponding speaker. There are two headings you do not need to use.
A - A lingua franca is needed
B - Better educational opportunities
C - Important for several reasons
D - Important if you’re on the move
E - It helps you to integrate in other societies
F - It opens up your mind
G - Many people can already speak more than one language
H - To speak out for yourself
I - We should all be polyglots
Speaker 1
Well let me see … German, Italian, French, English … I can get by in Spanish because of Italian. I like languages; I study them for fun. I’m teaching myself Japanese, believe it or not. But I also think we should all speak one common second language – and that one should be Spanish. It’s the easiest language to learn – even easier than Italian, and I’m Italian!
Speaker 2
Three. English, French and a little bit of Spanish. Err … it’s important to be able to talk with other people and err … erm … can discuss and err … and share your opinions with, err, other populations.
Speaker 3
So, I speak French as my mother tongue. I speak English and a little bit of German … err … and I think that … err, speaking different languages is very important because you … when you want to travel or do anything else nowadays, it’s just, err … essential. You cannot do anything if you do not speak at least two languages, yes.
Speaker 4
Err, I speak erm … two languages, English and Afrikaans – I’m from South Africa. Erm, I’m holidaying in this region. Err, I speak a smattering of French, I’m busy learning the language. And I think it’s very important to try and speak more than one language because it broadens the scope of your interests. You’re able to speak to French people. There are parts of Switzerland and other countries in the world where they speak French and, of course English is an international language – so yes I do think it’s important to speak more than one language.
Speaker 5
Erm … I speak two languages. I’m English and I also speak French … because I live in France. I think it’s very important to speak the language because it enables people to join in in their local community … and … to … show the people that you’re serious about being part of the village or the town where you live.
Speaker 6
How many languages do I speak? Err, I do my best to speak English, my native language is French and I can speak err … decent, err … German. And, err … is it important to know foreign languages? Yes, I think today it’s essential and, err … for young people I think they even have a hard time to find a job if they don’t speak foreign languages. So, it’s amazing now how many young people, how many languages they can speak, so it’s not anymore that you need to speak maybe another one, you … everyone should probably be able to speak at least three, err, if not four.
Speaker 7
Err, in terms of speaking, err … a foreign language, I, I speak, err … English as my main, main language of course … and French. Now, I think it’s very important. You can get more out of life, more out of your travels, if you speak another language. And it also can present, err, good job opportunities to somebody who speaks a foreign language. So, yes. A very big yes. I think it’s important to speak another language, other than your native language.
KEY:
Speaker 1A
Speaker 2H
Speaker 3D
Speaker 4F
Speaker 5E
Speaker 6I
Speaker 7C
