Open the Door to Another Language — Speech Comprehension — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 6 reading comprehension comprehension exercise.
Year 6 · English · Reading Comprehension
Open the Door to Another Language — Speech Comprehension — Answers
Open the Door to Another Language
This speech was given by a student at a school assembly. Read it carefully and notice the techniques the speaker uses to persuade the audience.
Good morning teachers, parents and students. My name is Jonah Okafor, and I am the Year 6 representative on the student council. Today I want to talk to you about something our school does not offer, but should: a language program for every student from Year 3 up.
Let me start with a question. How many of you have a grandparent, a neighbour or a friend who speaks a language other than English at home? Look around. Nearly half the hands in this hall are up. Australia is one of the most multilingual countries in the world, with hundreds of languages spoken in homes across the country, including many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Yet most of us leave primary school able to speak only one.
Some people say learning a language is too hard, or that it takes time away from 'real' subjects like maths and reading. The research says otherwise. Children who learn a second language become better at paying attention, switching between tasks and solving problems. They also understand their first language better, because they start to notice how grammar actually works. In other words, a language lesson is a maths lesson and an English lesson in disguise.
Learning a language is also about respect. When you learn even a few words of someone else's language, you are saying, 'Your world matters to me.' Imagine greeting the new student from Vietnam in her own language on her first day. Imagine being able to learn the local Aboriginal names for the creek and the hills around our school. That is not a luxury. That is what it means to be a good neighbour.
Finally, think about the future. Our region trades, studies and travels with Asia and the Pacific more every year. Students who can speak Indonesian, Mandarin, Japanese or Hindi will have doors opened to them that stay shut for everyone else.
I know the school cannot hire a teacher overnight. So here is what I am asking for. First, a lunchtime language club run by volunteer parents, starting next term. Second, that the school council put a language program on the agenda for next year's budget. And third, that every one of you learns to say hello in a new language before the end of this week.
Languages are not a door that is closed to us. The door is wide open. All we have to do is walk through it. Thank you.
Part A — Right there in the text
Find each answer in the speech.
Answer: Jonah Okafor, the Year 6 representative on the student council.
- Aa new library
- Ba language program for every student from Year 3 up
- Cmore maths lessons
- Da trip to Vietnam
Answer: a language program for every student from Year 3 up
The first paragraph names 'a language program for every student from Year 3 up'.
Answer: Paying attention, switching between tasks and solving problems.
Answer: Indonesian, Mandarin, Japanese and Hindi.
- Aa new teacher next week
- Ba lunchtime language club run by volunteer parents
- Ca trip overseas
- Da budget meeting
Answer: a lunchtime language club run by volunteer parents
The speaker says: 'First, a lunchtime language club run by volunteer parents, starting next term.'
Answer: Learn to say hello in a new language.
Part B — Reading between the lines
Use evidence from the speech to explain your answers.
Answer: To involve the audience and prove his point with their own experience: when they see how many people know a speaker of another language, the issue feels real and close to home.
Answer: Learning a language also builds the thinking skills used in maths and the understanding of grammar used in English, so it does not take away from those subjects; it secretly helps them.
Answer: To show he is realistic and reasonable. By admitting the limits, he makes his smaller requests seem sensible and hard to refuse.
Answer: The title talks about opening a door, and the ending says the door is 'wide open' and we only need to 'walk through it'. The repeated image makes the goal seem easy and leaves the audience with a strong, hopeful final picture.
Part C — Word meanings
- Aonly one language is spoken
- Bmany languages are spoken
- Clanguages are not taught
- DEnglish is banned
Answer: many languages are spoken
'Multi' means many and 'lingual' relates to language.
- Asomething essential
- Bsomething expensive and not really necessary
- Csomething boring
- Dsomething dangerous
Answer: something expensive and not really necessary
A luxury is a pleasant extra rather than a necessity. The speaker argues language learning is a necessity.
Answer: People who speak other languages will get opportunities, such as jobs and travel, that are not available to people who speak only English.
Part D — Analysing the speech
Model answer: First, the speaker uses a rhetorical question: 'How many of you have a grandparent, a neighbour or a friend who speaks a language other than English at home?' This makes the audience think about their own lives and realise the topic affects them. Second, he deals with objections: 'Some people say learning a language is too hard... The research says otherwise.' By raising the opposite view and answering it, he makes his argument seem stronger and fairer. Third, he uses repetition and the rule of three in his requests, 'First... Second... And third...', which makes the plan sound clear, organised and easy to agree to. He also repeats 'Imagine' to help the audience picture the benefits.
Success criteria:
- Identifies three different persuasive techniques correctly
- Quotes an accurate example for each technique
- Explains the effect of each technique on the audience
- Uses the correct names for techniques
- Organised in clear sentences or paragraphs
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.
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