Lesson video

Hello, and welcome to today's English lesson on a history of the English language.

My name is Mr. Young, and it's a great pleasure to be with you here today on this learning journey as we learn a little bit more about the history of the English language.

So as always, we are going to be guided today by a very clear learning outcome.

So hopefully, by the end of today's lesson, everybody should be able to explain how the history of England influenced the English language.

And just like in any lesson, we are going to be accompanied by some very important words, our key words, which we will revisit again and again throughout today's learning.

So let's take a quick look at what they are.

Conquer, invade, colonisation, adopt, and jargon.

So today's learning journey will have three different cycles.

We're going to start off with the impact of invasion.

So we are going to look at all the different groups, and tribes, and people that have come to Britain over the years and the impact that that has had on the development of English.

Then we're going to look at two very specific things that have had a massive impact on the development of English, and that is the Bible and William Shakespeare.

And finally, we are going to look at the growth of the British Empire and the Scientific Revolution to see what kind of impact they had on the language that we continue to speak to this day.

So let's make a start with the impact of invasion.

Firstly, what I'd like you to do is to imagine that five people are shipwrecked on a deserted island, that we've got an image of what that might look like there on the screen.

They all speak different languages, and they are unable to understand each other, however, they need to work together in order to survive.

What I'd like you to do is to discuss the following questions.

What challenges will they face? How will they communicate? And what might happen over time to their language? Pause the video, have a discussion, and push play when you are ready to continue.

Okay, some really nice work, some really nice discussions.

I particularly like discussions that suggest or suggested that they may experience some difficulties at first because they speak different languages, but potentially, over time, they might develop a shared way to communicate, potentially a shared language.

And a similar thing has happened, but on a much bigger scale, in the development of English.

Throughout history, many different types of people with many different languages have colonised England.

And remember, to colonise means to conquer a place and build settlements there.

By bringing their own languages, they have each shaped our language through the addition of many new words and phrases.

And over time, this has led to the creation of a rich and diverse language, English, that we speak today.

So let's go back to the fifth century and look at the impact that the Anglo-Saxons had.

So during the fifth and sixth centuries, England was invaded and conquered by several different Germanic tribes.

Germanic tribes would've come from kind of modern-day Germany and Denmark, places in northern Europe.

These tribes were called the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes.

And this period of time became known as Anglo-Saxon Britain.

So I've got a quick discussion question for you.

How do you think language might have changed after this invasion? Pause the video, have a discussion, and push play when you are ready to continue.

Okay, some fantastic discussions taking place there.

Really well done to those of you that said the Anglo-Saxons may have introduced lots of their own words, lots of their own language to Britain as a result of their invasion.

So the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes were ancient tribes that invaded England around 1,500 years ago.

They conquered England and introduced around 4,500 words to the English language.

And in particular, as part of their colonisation, they introduced many commonplace words that we use to this day, such as house, food, sleep, and work.

So we have a very quick check for understanding.

What I would like you to do is to answer the following question.

Which of the following statements best describes the impact the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes had on English? Is it A? The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes had a very small impact on the development of English? Is it B? The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes had a big impact on the development of English, introducing many words to describe everyday things.

Or is it C? The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes had a big impact on the development of English and added many words to our vocabulary.

Pause the video, complete the task, and push play when you are ready to continue.

Excellent work if you said B, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes had a big impact on the development of English, introducing many words to describe everyday things such as house and sleep that we saw earlier.

So now let's take a look at a second group of people that conquered England and had a very big impact on the development of English.

And those people are the Normans.

So the Normans were a group of people who conquered England in the 11th century.

They spoke a sophisticated language called Norman French.

They used this for important things such as law and government.

And this is where we get words like judge, jury, and government.

In fact, they added over 10,000 words to the English language.

The Normans also introduced new food and cooking techniques to England, creating words like beef, lamb, and roast.

So I have a very quick discussion task for you.

Look closely at the words introduced by the Normans.

In what ways might their society have been different from the Anglo-Saxons? Pause the video, discuss the question, and push play when you are ready to continue.

Some fantastic discussions taking place there.

And I was really impressed with those who suggested that perhaps Norman society was significantly more sophisticated than Anglo-Saxon society.

They are using very complex words for things like law and government, and they also seem to have far more sophisticated cooking techniques as well.

So really well done if you said that.

So a quick check for understanding.

True or false.

Many words associated with law and government were influenced by the Normans.

True or false? Very well done if you said true.

Now let's look at justifying that answer.

How can we justify that answer? Is it A? The Normans continued to use Norman French for important things like law and government.

Or is it B? That the Anglo-Saxons did not have a system of law and government, so did not need words for these things.

Pause the video, complete the task, and push play when you are ready to continue.

Really well done If you said A, the Normans continue to use Norman French for important things like law and government.

So now let's spend some time applying our knowledge that we have developed about the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans.

Using the sentence starters below, summarise the main differences between the Anglo-Saxon and Norman influence on the English language.

And your sentence starters are, whilst the Anglo-Saxons influence around 4,500 English words, the Normans.

And whereas the Anglo-Saxons mainly influenced everyday words, the Normans.

Pause the video, complete the task, and push play when you are ready to continue.

Okay, some really nice work there taking place, and well done if you said or suggested the following.

Whilst the Anglo-Saxons influenced around 4,500 English words, the Normans introduced around 10,000 words.

And whereas the Anglo-Saxons mainly influenced everyday words, the Normans influenced important words associated with law and government.

Well done.

So excellent work on the first part of today's lesson, looking at the impact of invasion and the impact that it's had on the development of English.

We're now going to turn our attention to two very specific events that have had a big impact on the growth of the English language.

And that is the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare.

So let's take a look at the Bible first.

So Christian missionaries first brought the Bible to England in the second century AD, so quite a long time ago.

This was written in Latin and influenced many English words we have today.

In fact, around 30% of all words are thought to have Latin roots, and this includes words like salvation, redeem, and glorify.

So I've got a quick discussion task for you.

So look at those words highlighted above.

Where might you have seen these words before? Pause the video, have a quick discussion, and push play when you are ready to continue.

So really well done if you were able to link those words to religion.

These words are all associated with religion as Latin was used as the language of the Bible, many modern English words related to religion have their roots in Latin.

Like those examples you've got on the screen in front of you.

Looking specifically at the Bible in English, in 1611, the King James Bible was published.

This was an English-language version of the Bible that had a big effect on the English language.

And we're gonna have a quick look about why that was so.

So firstly, the King James Bible had widespread influence.

What we mean by that is it was read by people across society, meaning it influenced people in all walks of life across all different classes.

It also was very accessible.

The creation of the printing press meant many more people were able to read it than ever before.

So lots of people were able to read the Bible.

It also had religious authority.

And what we mean by that is it had great moral authority.

Its stories and its message were discussed widely in society.

And finally, it also had cultural significance.

That is to say that the stories became an integral part of English culture, and references to them became common.

So for all of these reasons, the Bible started to have a very big impact on the development of the English language.

So let's have a quick check for understanding.

So which two statements best outline why the Bible had a significant impact on the development of the English language? Is it A? The Bible stories were culturally significant, meaning that they became part of everyday language.

Is it B? People across society read the Bible meaning it had a widespread impact on the language of all types of people.

Is it C? Bible study was compulsory, which meant that lots of people knew its stories.

Or is it D? Nearly everyone went to church, so they were exposed to the language of the Bible regularly.

Pause the video, complete the task, and push play when you are ready to continue.

So excellent work if you were able to identify A and B, that the Bible's stories were culturally significant, meaning that it became part of everyday language, and that people across society read the Bible, meaning that it had a widespread impact on the language of all types of people.

So great work if you managed to get that correct.

So let's move on to the second part of the learning cycle, looking specifically at William Shakespeare.

So William Shakespeare was a famous English playwright who was born in the 16th century.

Despite being only one person, he had a huge impact on the English language.

Before we look at that impact in a little bit more detail, what I'd really like you to do is to discuss the following questions.

What do you already know about William Shakespeare, and how do you think a playwright like Shakespeare might influence English? So pause the video, have a quick discussion of those questions, and push play when you are ready to continue.

So I heard some really great discussions taking place there.

So I particularly like those of you that were able to bring up some of the plays that you may have already studied, written by William Shakespeare.

So "Romeo and Juliet," "The Tempest," "Hamlet," or "Macbeth" maybe.

And also, great work to those of you who may be thought about the impact that a playwright might have on a language.

Potentially, they might be inventing new words or new expressions as a result of their plays.

So great work if you were discussing those things.

So let's look in more detail at how Shakespeare influenced the English language.

So he did this in several very distinct ways.

So firstly, he created 1,700 new words in English.

And this includes words like swagger, dwindle, and lonely.

He also created lots of common expressions that we use even to this day.

Expressions like break the ice.

His plays also contributed to a standardisation of spelling and grammar across English.

Up until this point, those things hadn't really been standardised.

And finally, his poetry influenced how English was spoken through its rhyme and metre.

So Shakespeare wrote lots of poems called sonnets, and these really influenced both rhyme and metre of spoken English.

So a quick check for understanding.

So the question is, which of these statements best explains the influence Shakespeare had on the development of the English language? Is it A? Shakespeare's plays were widely read and introduced many common words and expressions we use today.

Is it B? Shakespeare's stories were culturally significant, and they influenced English as they were discussed widely.

Or is it C? Shakespeare invented new words and phrases, standardised grammar and spelling, and even influenced the way that we speak.

Pause the video, complete the task, and push play when you are ready to continue.

So excellent work if you chose C and were able to identify all of those things that Shakespeare did to influence the language that we speak today.

So now we are going to apply our knowledge from that learning cycle.

So what I would really like us to do is to use the sentence starters below, explain why Shakespeare had such a big impact on the English language.

And those sentence starters are, Shakespeare influenced the English language because.

Shakespeare was only one person, but.

Shakespeare's plays were full of creative expressions, so.

Pause the video, complete the task, and push play when you are ready to continue.

Okay, great work on that task, looking at the impact that Shakespeare has had, and in particular excellent work, if you identified any of the following things.

So firstly, Shakespeare influenced the English language because he contributed to a standardised system of grammar and spelling.

Shakespeare was only one person, but he was still able to contribute over 1,700 words to the English language.

And Shakespeare's plays were full of creative expressions, so many of these became part of everyday language, like break the ice.

Great work if you identified those or anything similar.

So excellent work in today's lesson so far.

So now we are going to move on to our third and final learning cycle for today, which is empire and science.

And in particular, we are going to take a look at the impact of both the British Empire and the Scientific Revolution on the English language.

So let's take a quick look at the British Empire first.

So firstly, did you know that at its height, the British Empire covered about 1/4 of the world's land area? During the 20th century, the population of the British Empire was around 450 million people.

There are 54 countries in the world that were formerly part of the British Empire.

So what I'd like you to do is have a quick discussion about this, and your discussion question is, why might new words have been added to English as a result of the British Empire? So pause the video, have a quick discussion, and push play when you are ready to continue.

So I heard some excellent conversations there taking place, and I was particularly impressed by those conversations that focused on the size and scale of the British Empire.

As a result of being so big, the British Empire was likely to encounter lots of new things, new places, new cultures.

And these words from these places would naturally kind of influence the development of English.

So many new words and phrases were added to English due to the scale of the British Empire.

And this included words such as bungalow from Hindi is a word for a single-story house, which originally came from the Hindi language and the Hindi word bangla.

Jungle, again from Hindi or Sanskrit.

This word came from the word jangala, which means a wild or uncultivated land.

Again, we've got the word tea, which comes from Chinese and is derived from the Chinese word cha.

And kangaroo, from Australian Aboriginal languages, coming from an Aboriginal word, which is gangurru.

So we can see all of these words are being added to English as a result of the scale of the British Empire.

So a very quick check for understanding to test your knowledge.

So true or false, many new words and phrases were added to English as a result of the British Empire.

True or false? Okay, really well done if you said true.

Now let's look at justifying that answer.

So how can we justify that answer? Is it A? That the British Empire scale meant that many new things were encountered that needed a name in English, such as kangaroo.

Or is it B? That the British Empire encountered many other languages and some of their words were better than the English versions? Pause the video, complete the task, and push play when you are ready to continue.

Okay, great work on that task if you identified A, that the British Empire's scale meant that many new things were encountered that needed a name in English, such as kangaroo.

So now we're going to move on to look at the specific impact that science has had on the development of the English language.

So our language is changing all the time, and new words are constantly being added.

What I'd really like you to do is to discuss the following questions.

So, can you think of any new words that have been added to English recently? Pause the video, have a quick discussion, and do push play when you are ready to continue.

I really heard some excellent conversations there taking place, and I was particularly impressed by those of you that were able to focus on technology to speak about how technology is constantly increasing our vocabulary with new things.

Words like selfie, YouTuber, to Google, wifi, tweet, and podcasts.

So again, let's look at those words.

What do these all have in common, and why have they been added to English? Pause the video, have a quick discussion, and push play when you are ready to continue.

Again, excellent work if you are able to link those words to our technological progress as a society.

So these words are all related to technology.

As our technological knowledge increases, we invent more and more things which need naming, just like some of those examples that you can see on the board in front of you.

So a very similar thing happened in the 17th century as part of the Scientific Revolution.

The Scientific Revolution was a time when scientists made big discoveries in science and started using a new way of thinking called the scientific method.

And this influenced the development of English in two very distinct and specific ways.

So firstly, in the invention of new ideas and concepts.

So as science was inventing new things, these things needed naming.

So these new discoveries included things like gravity and electricity.

And secondly, and just as importantly, in precision and clarity.

Scientists wanted to be very clear about their findings, so they used words like experiment and hypothesis, and these were added to our language as a result.

So let's check our understanding of the Scientific Revolution.

So you have a question on the board in front of you which is, which of these is not a reason why the Scientific Revolution was influential in the development of English? Is it A? The Scientific Revolution introduced lots of new words and concepts to English.

Is it B? Scientists were very educated and were able to introduce lots of words from other languages.

Or is it C? That scientists needed precision and clarity for their findings so introduced lots of words related to this? Pause the video, complete the task, and push play when you are ready to continue with the lesson.

So great work if you were able to identify B, scientists were very educated and were able to introduce lots of words from other languages.

This is not a reason why the Scientific Revolution was influential in the development of English.

Okay, so now it is time to apply our knowledge from this learning cycle into a task.

So what I would like you to do is to complete the timeline below by annotating it with key events that have influenced the development of English.

So you've been given an example of what that might look like.

So at the bottom left of the timeline, we have the impact that the Anglo-Saxons had on English.

So we can add something like, "The Anglo-Saxons introduced lots of words for everyday things in the fifth and sixth centuries." So what I would like you to do is using the sentence starters that you can see on the board, is to complete this timeline with key events that have influenced the development of English.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and I'm really excited to see how you all get on with this task.

Do push play when you are ready to see some feedback.

Okay, let's have a look at how that task could have been completed.

So we've already seen the impact that the Anglo-Saxons had in the fifth and sixth centuries.

Following that, we could discuss the Normans, so we could write that in the 11th century, the Normans introduced lots of new words associated with law and politics.

Then, we might want to talk about the impact Shakespeare had on English by writing something like, "Throughout the 16th century, Shakespeare introduced lots of new words and phrases." Equally, we might also want to talk about the impact of the Bible, and in particular, the King James Bible.

So we could say, "The introduction of the King James Bible in 1616 influenced English with its stories and message." Moving on to the 17th century, we could talk about the Scientific Revolution, and we could say, "The Scientific Revolution of the 17th century introduced many words as human knowledge increased." And finally, we might like to finish our timeline by talking about the British Empire.

Specifically, we could write, "The growth of the British Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries saw new words added from other places to English." So fantastic work if you completed that timeline.

And really good work if you were able to identify these kind of key things running throughout the development of English.

Great work if you were able to do that.

Well done.

So let's look at today's summary slide and recap all of the things that we have learned throughout today's lesson.

So firstly, the invading Angles, Saxons, and Jutes brought useful language for describing everyday things.

Latin words were added to English through the Bible and French words through Norman colonisation.

Both the King James Bible and Shakespeare influenced the development of English by adding new words and phrases.

The expansion of the British Empire led to many new words being adopted and English travelling widely.

And the Scientific Revolution led to the creation of many new English words, including scientific jargon.

So that's the summary of today's lesson.

It's been a great pleasure to be with you on this learning journey, and I'm super impressed by all of your hard work throughout today's lesson, and I very much look forward to teaching you again on some other lessons in this unit.

Thank you very much, and goodbye.