Reading Comprehension - Check Your Understanding

A. Choose the correct answers.

1. At first, _______ in English was difficult for Shakira.
A) singing
B) songwriting
C) speaking

2. How often does Shakira use English in her music today?
A) never
B) rarely
C) often

3. Why did Jay say his lines phonetically at first?
A) He wanted to sound cool.
B) He was still learning English.
C) He didn't want to remember his lines.

4. What did Jay teach Seth Rogan to do?
A) cook Chinese food
B) speak Chinese
C) sing Chinese songs

B. How did Shakira and Jay improve their English? Read the phrases below. Then complete the-chart.

Critical Thinking

1. Look at the ways of learning English in B above. Do you ever do these things? Do.they help you? Why?
2. What were the biggest challenges for Shakira and Jay Chou? Do you ever have these problems?

ARTISTS IN TWO LANGUAGES

Shakira

First album in English: Laundry Service

How she learned English: Many people wanted to translate Shakira’s songs from Spanish to English. Shakira agreed, but she felt nervous about losing control of her music. So she decided to write her own songs in English.

Shakira studied grammar and common expressions. She started reading newspapers and poetry because she wanted to know how people use English to express their feelings.

Biggest challenge: Writing her first songs in English. Today, Shakira writes and performs her music in Spanish and English for fans around the world. In the summer of 2010, Shakira was selected to record and perform the theme song for the World Cup in South Africa, called "Waka Weka (l' his Time for Africa)."

Jay Chou

First film in English: The Green Hornet

How he learned English: Jay spoke very little English before he got his role in The Green Hornet. He practiced every day for more than a month. At first he said all of his lines phonetically,¹ but soon, Jay's English improved. He was able to speak English and talk with his costars. His English was not perfect, but he got compliments from the other actors.

Language exchange: As they shot² the movie, Jay and his costar Seth Hogan took tums teaching each other Chinese and English.

Language crossover: Jay is an award-winning singer but all of his current songs are Chinese. He hopes that in the future he can write songs in English as well.