Article: A Language Disappears Every Few Weeks
Write a thoughtful feature article for a quality magazine on endangered languages, combining fact, reflection and a clear point of view.
- Time
- 50 min
- Length
- 280-320 words
Writadia · C2 · Articles
NameClassDate
The situation
A quality monthly magazine is publishing a series called "Things we lose quietly". You have been asked to write a feature article about endangered languages for a general, educated readership.
Your task
Write the article. Explain why languages disappear, what is lost when they do, and whether efforts to save them are worthwhile. Your tone should be reflective but not sentimental.
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Open with a specific image or story rather than a statistic.
- Explain the causes briefly and precisely.
- Reflect on what is lost: be concrete (a word, a way of counting, a song).
- Consider the counter-argument: is language loss simply natural change?
- End with a nuanced view.
Useful phrases
Openings
Causes
What is lost
Counter-argument
Ending
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- endangered
- at risk of disappearingan endangered language
- abandon
- stop using or supportingFamilies abandoned the old language.
- revitalisation
- bringing back to active uselanguage revitalisation projects
- encode
- contain information in a systemLanguages encode knowledge.
- sentimental
- showing too much soft emotionAvoid being sentimental.
Model answer (274 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
What Goes Silent
Somewhere, at this moment, an old woman is the last person who dreams in her language.1 When she dies, the words will survive in a few recordings and a dictionary, but nobody will argue, joke or comfort a child in them again.
Languages rarely die suddenly. They are abandoned gradually, often for understandable reasons: parents want their children to succeed at school, find work in the city and be spared the prejudice they themselves faced. Within two generations, a language spoken by an entire community can shrink to a handful of grandparents.
What disappears with it is harder to measure than vocabulary. Some languages describe directions by landscape rather than by left and right; others have precise words for kinds of snow, soil or tide that their speakers needed in order to live.2 Songs, place names and jokes that only make sense in one language go too, along with a particular way of noticing the world.
It could be objected that languages have always come and gone, and that Latin's disappearance gave us French, Spanish and Italian. That is true, as far as it goes. The difference is that Latin changed into its descendants; most endangered languages today are simply replaced.3
None of this means that every language can or should be preserved by outsiders. Revitalisation projects succeed only when a community wants them, and they fail when they turn a living language into a museum exhibit. Saving a language cannot be done for its speakers, only with them. Our part, perhaps, is simply to stop treating the loss as natural, and to listen while there is still someone to hear.
- A specific, quiet image instead of a statistic.
- Concrete examples of what is lost.
- Counter-argument taken seriously, then answered precisely.
Teacher notes
Note: the model deliberately avoids precise statistics, which change and are disputed. Encourage students to use figures only if they can cite a reliable source.
Style: C2 feature writing balances fact and reflection. Ask students to find two sentences in the model that state facts and two that reflect.
Extra challenge
Write a 60-word introduction for the magazine's contents page.
Lesson plan
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: endangered, abandon, revitalisation, encode, sentimental.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “Somewhere, at this moment, ...”, “When the last speaker of ... died, ...”, “Languages rarely die suddenly; they are abandoned gradually as ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (280-320 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Assessment rubric
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | In-depth, persuasive, fully suited to the reader. | Strong; one idea could go further. | Adequate but surface-level. | Below the task. | |
| Organisation and coherence | Seamless flow; elegant, unobtrusive transitions. | Clear structure; transitions sometimes mechanical. | Structure present but uneven. | Weak organisation. | |
| Vocabulary and style | Precise, natural collocations; consistent style. | Wide range; a few unnatural phrases. | Memorised phrases and repetition. | Style does not fit the task. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Complex structures, flexible and accurate. | Minor, occasional slips. | Errors in complex structures. | Errors strain the reader. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I opened with an image, not a statistic.
- I explained causes and consequences concretely.
- I took the counter-argument seriously.
- My tone is reflective, not sentimental.
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- I opened with an image, not a statistic.
- I explained causes and consequences concretely.
- I took the counter-argument seriously.
- My tone is reflective, not sentimental.
Writadia · C2 · Articles
Assessment rubric: Article: A Language Disappears Every Few Weeks
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | In-depth, persuasive, fully suited to the reader. | Strong; one idea could go further. | Adequate but surface-level. | Below the task. | |
| Organisation and coherence | Seamless flow; elegant, unobtrusive transitions. | Clear structure; transitions sometimes mechanical. | Structure present but uneven. | Weak organisation. | |
| Vocabulary and style | Precise, natural collocations; consistent style. | Wide range; a few unnatural phrases. | Memorised phrases and repetition. | Style does not fit the task. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Complex structures, flexible and accurate. | Minor, occasional slips. | Errors in complex structures. | Errors strain the reader. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I opened with an image, not a statistic.
- I explained causes and consequences concretely.
- I took the counter-argument seriously.
- My tone is reflective, not sentimental.
Teacher comment
Writadia · C2 · Articles
Peer-review sheet: Article: A Language Disappears Every Few Weeks
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I opened with an image, not a statistic. | |||
| I explained causes and consequences concretely. | |||
| I took the counter-argument seriously. | |||
| My tone is reflective, not sentimental. |
Questions
- Is the main point clear in the first paragraph? Write it in one sentence.
- Which sentence is the most convincing? Why?
- Is there any repetition or memorised phrasing? Underline it.
- Does the style suit the reader and purpose?
Two stars and a wish
★ Something I liked
★ Another thing I liked
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Writadia · C2 · Articles
Lesson plan: Article: A Language Disappears Every Few Weeks
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: endangered, abandon, revitalisation, encode, sentimental.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “Somewhere, at this moment, ...”, “When the last speaker of ... died, ...”, “Languages rarely die suddenly; they are abandoned gradually as ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (280-320 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
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