Job Discussion Forums

[vikdk]

[Craig!]

sheeba, back to your original question. are you satisfied with the answers? They are interesting replies, but not all succinct answers. Let me summarize, and add an important point (1.)

Absolutely YES, learning Chinese helps in teaching English. Because
1. as a learner of Chinese, you learn by thinking and questioning, much like learners of English.... What's this word? How to pronounce it? How to spell it? What's the meaning? Similar meanings /homonyms? How to use it in a sentence / sentence patterns? How to use it in other sentence patterns?
2. For classroom management, vikdk is right, speaking Chinese is very useful to get their attention and ccoperation, and...
3. speaking CH is useful when trying to explain or describe something, we all agree there.
4. I allow my students to speak some "Chinglish", even encourage it for some of them. i find it helps them get over over their oral obstacles. (i'm in a junior middle school)

[Super Mario]

Learning any new language gives one an understanding of what it's like to be a 2nd language learner; particularly if you're in situ, and need that language for your daily dealings.
Empathy is all.

[vikdk]

heres is something I wrote in another thread which has relevance to the power of using Chinese when teaching pre-school kids English -

Dual Coding Theory predicts that storing an associated mental picture alongside verbal information will provide an extra pathway for recall of the verbal information.


I teach kindy kids � in the type of kindergartens where the teachers were always saying English only in English classes. We now have had great success with mixing Chinese and English � having taught Children from the age of 4 the meaning and concept of English name/Chinese name. Therefore if we teach a new word then it always starts out in our class as a picture, then a Chinese word, then an English word. And until the children fully remember the English word � will we then stop asking for a Chinese name before asking for the English name. We have found this method to be very effective � with word retention being improved and many Children enjoying the challenge. If done properly it can be also entertaining with children playing the role of teacher for the FT � teaching her the word in Chinese. I theorise that the power of this method can be linked to an - associated mental picture gateway � where I utalise that picture that has already been formed through native language learning, so that mental translation becomes both quicker, effective by utalising that which has already been internalized � I would call this co-internalisation
Of course this is the way older students learn English � by learning it through Chinese, where the written word often takes the role of mental picture (anybody who has learnt a second language knows the difference between learning a word as a sound and in its written form) � but for kindy kids who cannot read, or use dictionaries � without my method they often have problems finding out what is what � and where an English only/flashcard environment seemingly just doesn�t do the job in forming that mental picture. So since some pictures can mean different things to different kids I believe its important to lable it with an understandable title in the native language.

[pandasteak]

[Roger]

[vikdk]

[pandasteak]

[sheeba]

[Roger]

[quote="pandasteak

The contradiction is this: Chinese was used in your classroom - maybe not by you - but by the TA/attendant. But it was used, and that's something you seem to be quite stongly opposed to.

So why go along with the convention of having an attendant in your class at all? Why not say: "I firmly believe that this practice is getting in the way of our students' education!"

My point is this:
Sometimes, it helps. I do believe in keeping it to a minimal, but I'm not opposed to dropping a word now and then, if it saves time.
It helps.

I don't see how anyone can say it doesn't.

By the way... Has no one answered "YES" to my previous question? (see below)

[vikdk]

[pandasteak]

[barry3000]

learn enough of the local language to ask after class, where's the toilet, telephone, and bank to collect your pay... and some items of food you like so you can get them in a restaurant and probably how to say I love you to your new chinese girlfriend...job done...

[Roger]

[vikdk]