Learning languages

Complete the sentences with a word or words from the following .

challenging • look it up • parrot-fashion • coming along • monolingual
get by • rewarding • mother tongue • pick some up • accent • multi-lingual
communicate • self-access centre • recycle • lingua franca • native • progress
fluent • second language • bi-lingual • pronunciation

1. People speak lots of different languages in my country, but the __________ is English - it is used in business, politics and education as the main language of communication.

2. My school has an excellent __________ where we can listen to tapes, watch videos and use computers to improve our English.

3. I have terrible problems with my English __________. Nobody can understand a word I say.

4. Always carry a good dictionary around with you. If you don't understand a word, you can then
__________.

5. When you learn a new word, you should try to __________ it as much as possible in your written and spoken English.

6. I didn't learn Spanish at school, but I managed to __________ when I was travelling around Spain.

7. He has an unusual __________; it's not British, and it's not American. It's something in between.

8. There are two types of dictionary you can use; a __________ one, which gives a translation of the word, and a __________ one, which explains the word in the same language.

9. I think my English is __________ well. Last year I passed my PET exam, this year I passed my FCE, and now I'm studying for the CAE. I can definitely say that I'm making good __________.

10. Of course I speak good English. I've spoken it all my life. It's my __________. I also speak French as a __________.

11. My English, French, Spanish and Portuguese are __________. I speak them perfectly, like a __________ of those countries. I suppose you could say that I'm __________.

12. When I learnt German at school, I learnt it __________; we listened to the teacher and simply repeated what he said. I never learnt to use it properly.

13. My Italian isn't great, but when I go to Italy I can usually __________ in restaurants, shops, bars, etc. Basically, people understand what I'm trying to say.

14. Learning a language can be __________, but it is always __________, especially when you find you can __________ with people in their own country.