Introduction
The expression "Mind your language!" is used to tell someone they have used potentially offensive language and to stop doing it. With the same meaning, we can also say, "Watch your language!", "Watch your 'Ps' and 'Qs'!" and "Watch your tongue!".
"Mind Your Language" was also a UK TV comedy from the late 70s about a class of foreign students of different nationalities learning English.
Wikipedia article - Mind Your Language: The TV series
Definition - Mind: Grammar use
Listening
1. Lots of communication problems (and humour!) can occur because of misunderstandings. Watch the video and see how many examples of this you can find.
- Answer to Listening 1.
- Giovanni mistakes the word 'shopping' for 'Chopin'.
- Ana answers the question, "What's this?" by saying, "Paper bag." when the teacher wanted to know the name of the product in the bag.
- She also confuses the meaning of the word 'flour' with 'flower' as the pronunciation of both words is the same.
- Jamila hears the word 'carrot' and mistaking the sound for 'cart' says, "horse and cart".
- The teacher stops Ali from making a comment on 'fish fingers' because he anticipates that he is going to say that fish don't have fingers.
- Juan says "cow juice" instead of 'milk' after Giovanni says "lime juice" .
- He also answers the question, "Do you know where we get milk from?" saying, "The milkman." instead of saying 'cows'.
- Ranjid hears the word 'oats' and says his colleague told him the night before, "he'd had his oats" which is a euphemism for sex.
- When asked, "Where does bacon come from?" Juan again says, "From the milkman" instead of saying 'pigs'.
- When Giovanni corrects Juan saying "Pig, pig." Juan thinks Giovanni is insulting him.
- When asked what a pig is called after it has been killed, Ali says "A dead pig." instead of 'pork'.
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Question 1 of 1
1. Question
2. Watch the video again to 1:16 and order the text.
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Ah, I like him. He's very good!
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No Giovanni, that's Chopin. He must've misheard me.
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No, we're going to talk about shopping - buying things.
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Now I have here, various items which at some time or another you'll all probably have to purchase.
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So I'm gonna hold them up and ask you to identify them, and we'll see how well you do, alright?
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Who shall we start with? Ali. / Yes please. / What is this? / Apple. / Yeah. / Lovely. Very good.
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You're not supposed to eat it! / Oh, I'm most sorry. I only had a small bite.
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You may as well finish it now.
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Su-Lee. What is this? / It is olange. / Rrr, rrr, orrrange. / O-range.
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That's better. / You really must work at those 'R' sounds. / I try very hard.
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Try saying, "Rrround the rrrugged rrrock the rrragged rrrascal rrran.". / Lound the lugged lock the lagged lascal lan.
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Yes, you're gonna have to keep practising.
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Language Focus: Modals
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Question 1 of 1
1. Question
3. Look at this example from the script:
“You’re gonna have to keep practising.”
The expression in bold is a recommendation. Match the functions below to the expressions from the video.
Sort elements
- deduction
- prediction
- prohibition
- permission
- recommendation
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"He must've misheard me."
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"you'll all probably have to purchase"
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"You're not supposed to eat it!"
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"You may as well finish it now. "
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"You really must work at those 'R' sounds."