Listen&Learn: Koko the Gorilla

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock

Learn about the gorilla who used sign language to communicate.

Pre-listening vocabulary

sign language: a type of language where gestures are used instead of spoken words
psychologist: someone who studies the mind
invent: to make something up
express: to communicate your thoughts and feelings
skeptic: someone who doubts that something is true

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13 — 1.1MB)

Gapfill exercise

Koko was a famous who could communicate using sign language. She was born in 1971 at the San Francisco Zoo in California. In 1972, a psychologist named Francine Patterson began to Koko some basic signs. Over time, Koko developed a of over 1,000 signs, and she was able to over 2,000 spoken words. She even invented some signs of her own. Patterson insisted that Koko could express her through language. However, some skeptics believed that Patterson was looking for meaning that wasn’t really there. Koko died in 2018, but her accomplishments have caused many people to wonder if humans can learn to speak with animals.

Comprehension questions

[wp_quiz id=”20507″]

Discussion/essay questions

Some people believe that language is a skill only humans can learn. They often argue that Koko didn’t really understand language, and she simply learned to copy the signs that her trainers taught her. What do you think? Could animals really use and understand language?

Transcript

Koko was a famous gorilla who could communicate using sign language. She was born in 1971 at the San Francisco Zoo in California. In 1972, a psychologist named Francine Patterson began to teach Koko some basic signs. Over time, Koko developed a vocabulary of over 1,000 signs, and she was able to understand over 2,000 spoken words. She even invented some signs of her own. Patterson insisted that Koko could express her emotions through language. However, some skeptics believed that Patterson was looking for meaning that wasn’t really there. Koko died in 2018, but her accomplishments have caused many people to wonder if humans can learn to speak with animals.

Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub

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34 comments

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Muhammad Airil Najmi Bin Raman says:

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I think that animals can understand the peoples
words and can become friends with people.
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Nur alyaa says:

I dont think animals need to understand human language because animals will do good to anyone who is good to them.
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Thao Nhung says:

To my mind, KoKo really understands our word. And I hope so the animal can use and understands the human word. Thank you for your story very much, it is nice!
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Ha Tran says:

I think that Koko understands the human’s word.
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Joseph says:

I think that Koko can understand human language and sing language.
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