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1999

English Language Workshop

Dear Readers,

1999

A Continent Short on Bridges

Somewhere over the River Ubangi, in Likuali, the land of the pygmies, a white hunter once told me:" In this world all national borders are artificial. For thousands of years the only thing that has counted here has been the tribes and their laws. But who can work out the complicated geography of ethnic and tribal divisions?"

1999

Staś's Page

Some linguists claim that the Polish language is the second most difficult language to master..... and I won' t argue with that. One of the many reasons I find it so difficult is that the Polish lexicon contains a zillion Zs ... and if you think that I' m exaggerating ...check out these facts:

COLLINS S£OWNIK POLSKO-ANGIELSKI, edited by Jacek Fisiak (The World of English consultant), lists 2,289 Polish words beginning with the letter Z. Its companion dictionary ANGIELSKO-POLSKI contains a grand total of 38 English words that begin with the letter Z.

1999

Travel, Music and Love: We speak with Kayah

Since the huge success of her recent album with Goran Bregović - the biggest-selling record in the history of the Polish music industry - Kayah has become an even bigger name throughout Poland and her fame has begun to spread to other parts of the world. In an interviewconducted entirely in English she talked to The World of English about how she learnt the language and how important it is for her to be able to speak it.

WoE: How did you learn English?

1999

Miss Somebody: We speak with Ania Mucha

Ania Mucha has acted in numerous films, including Panna Nikt, Młode Wilki, and the series Matki, żony i kochanki. She also had an Englishspeaking role in Steven Spielberg' s acclaimed Schindler' s List. She spoke to Monika Jaworska about her life, her films and how the English language influences her career.

M.J.: How did you start acting?

1999

Saving Asia' s Green Turtles

The Sandakan fishmarket on the east coast of the Malaysian state of Sabah, Borneo, always boasts a huge variety of marine life on sale. Every day, fish, crabs, prawns and squids are brought to the stalls, ready for a buyer. Sometimes you might even catch some vendors selling pingpongballsized eggs eggs laid by the green turtle. These eggs are very rare and always sell out quickly, even though they are sold at RM$1 (current rate US$1.00=RM$3.80) each, an expensive price for a mere egg. Unfortunately, the huge demand also means that the survival of the green turtle is threatened./p>

1999

The Man-Eaters of Borneo

Crocodile tales are always popular among Malaysian children. When I was younger, I was toldcountless stories about the "Mouse deer and the crocodile" , how the mouse deer tricks the crocodile each time it is about to be eaten. But it wasn' t the mouse deer that interested me, it was the crocodile.

1999

The Africans

Contrary to general belief, Africa is neither a monolithic nor a monocultural society. There are three mainly Negroid groups - West African, Sudanic and Bantu, scattered all over the huge continent. These main groups are further divided into subgroups. For example, the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria, who are the second-largest African tribe (population: about 20 million) are made up of at least 25 subtribes each with distinct customs, traditions and cultural practices.

1999

Call to CALL

Mr. Deji Akala found us through our Internet pages. He told us an interesting story of how he had become a leader of a discussion group for EFL teachers in Central and Eastern Europe. He has suggested four subjects about computers which we thought would be interesting for our readers. Here is the second one.

Teachers and students of EFL who are interested in having fun during the teaching/learning process might consider entering the adventure-filled world of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL).

1999

Patrick: Ireland's Patron Saint

Patrick (c. 389-461) lived in Celtic Britain, not far from the sea on the west coast, perhaps in what is now known as Cumbria, although some think it might have been Wales. He was taken captive from his comfortable home by a ship' s crew from Ireland, just before his sixteenth birthday. Ships often crossed the Irish Sea to trade with Britain and sometimes pirates raided the coast in search of plunder and slave labour.

1999

We are Europe's Future!

"We are the future of Europe. The future shape of our continent depends on us." So said the young people who came to Strasbourg from 43 countries for the 50th anniversary of the Council of Europe.

1999

The Paperless Classroom

Mr. Deji Akala found us through our Internet pages. He told us an interesting story of how he had become a leader of a discussion group for EFL teachers in Central and Eastern Europe. He suggested four subjects about computers which we thought would be interesting for our readers. Here is the fourth part.

1999

Tracking Down the Hackers

If you have seen The Matrix you will have some idea of how sinister the world of computers could be. It' s not like that really (we hope!), but computing is certainly not always confined to the innocent activities of typing text, sending emails and downloading web pages. Enter the world of the hackers.

1999

The British Council

The Support for Polish Reform in Teacher Education (SPRITE) project was set up in September 1998 by the British Council. It is aimed primarily at educating and training English language teachers in view of new requirements in the Polish education system resulting from the coming reform of the sector.

1999

The Institutions of the European Union

If you live in Europe, whether in a European Union Member State or not, you will definitely be affected by the EU." Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life," as Humphrey Bogart said in the film Casablanca. He wasn' t referring to the EU, since it didn' t exist in the 1940s when the film was made. But more recent European history has been largely shaped by the development of the EU, and in the future the EU' s influence can only increase.

1999

Euroscola: A Day at the European Parliament

Euroscola is a multilingual programme designed to give schoolchildren from all parts of Europe a chance to participate in the workings of the European Parliament. A group of 500 secondaryschool pupils spend one day learning about the European Parliament' s role, and debate a chosen issue. The results of the debate are presented in the Chamber of the European Parliament at the end of the day and later passed on to the relevant parliamentary bodies.

1999

Wings 1999

2nd Annual Polish Youth Honors Music Camp

With last year' s success feeding her optimism, Peace Corps volunteer Rebecca Wileman once again organized the Polish Youth Honors Music Camp as a summer project in addition to her teaching work in the village of Błażowa - but this year with a new title symbolizing the chance it truly gives youth musicians:" WINGS 1999."

1999

Frankenstein Foods or Manna from Heaven?

If somebody told you that the tomato you're eating contains a gene taken from a fish would you continue eating it? Like animal cloning, the genetic modification ofcrops is a a hot topic at the moment, especially in Britain, where many people are protesting against it. Recently even Prince Charles joined the campaign.

1999

Our Publisher's New Year Message

As you read these words you may be thinking about the Christmas and New Year activities you plan to enjoy with your families and friends. Perhaps it wouldn' t be a bad idea to also give some thought to the fact that we are at the threshold of a new millennium. It' s only natural for us to wonder what lies ahead: How will our lives develop? What course will our careers take? What challenges will we face in the near and more distant future? Where will we be a year, five years and ten years from now?

1999

Celebrations World-Wide

As well as public holidays and religious feastdays thatfall on afixed date or in a particular period, certainanniversaries are regularly celebrated. This year, for example, marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Polish-born composer Fryderyk Chopin and is being celebrated as Chopin Year with special concerts and exhibitions. Recently, the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War wasobserved with speeches, military parades, patrioticassemblies andwreath-laying ceremonies. Let us now look at some of the holidays celebrated during autumn in different countries.

1999