Job Discussion Forums

[Paul Barufaldi]

[quote="Gregor"]THIS doesn't happen very often,
But I agree with Roger on this one.

1. Reading aloud probably does more harm than good,

Yet reading is the very best thing they can be doing. The problem is they are always trying to read way beyond their level. I mean, they can read a CNN article and get 80% comprehension -after spending two hours on it and hitting their dictionaries 5 times per sentence. But where's the flow in that? Where's the enjoyment? It's just painful for them. I tell them to read children's books or condensed novels, with interesting stories. They sell of series of these in the Beijing bookstores. I can't remember the publisher, but they have titles like "The Smuggler" and "Ring of Thieves", written in very simple English, and are nice and short. There's no surer road to fluency than exposure, and there's no better form of exposure than reading. Forget the grammar books, a well read student will find structures and patterns snapping into place effortlessly. With exposure, the language works it's way into the subconcious. Part of the problem is the lack of suitable reading material available. The other is the exam taking mentality that relegates English to the level of Chemistry and Mathematics -neither of which even begin to challenge our glorious English language in terms of elegance, complexity, or what it can accomplish. Of course, the same can be said for their glorious language as well. But they're already getting plenty of practice with that.

[laska]

How about encouraging students to write? A lot of my students actually haven't done a lot of writing. This kind of focused language output helps them gain better active recall. (I repeat the old mantra that output, such as writing sentences, is at least three times more efficient than passive review for learning vocabulary.)

The writing practice, in my opinion, should focus on using correct collocations, idiomatic expressions, phrasal verbs. "Always practice to your weakness," as a music teacher of mine once said.

Students could write essays on controversial topics. Or they could compose dialogues. Then they could receive feedback on strengths and weaknesses.

And can't writing be a good way to encourage creativity?

Of course different people have different learning styles, but I find regular writing has helped me a lot with learning foreign languages. It's not always easy to have the discipline, and it's kind of scary. You are really confronted with how much you don't know when you start trying to put your thoughts into words on a big white piece of paper. But if you write a sentence out in Chinese, for example, you aren't likely to forget those tones ever again. At least not until tomorrow. :-) $.02

[brsmith15]

Reminds me...............

A guy is walking down the streets of Boston lugging a tuba. He stops another musician and asks,

"Hey, man, how do I get to Symphony Hall?"

"Practice, man. Practice."

[latefordinner]

Paul Barufaldi posts:

[Roger]

I can only say what I have felt throughout years of teaching in China - this overemphasis on "oral English" is a waste of expensive resources and it makes a mockery of talented teachers' efforts at raising Chinese students' ability to use a newly-acquired skill, the ability to communicate in a second tongue.
It is a horrendous misallocation of funds and time. Most kids actually need speech therapists, not English teachers, to remedy some of their deeply engraved problems.

Let's recap that the spread of English is owed to Deng Xiaoping, and he certainly didn't imagine China's youths would need to learn under foreign teachers how to engage in chitchat and empty shallow gossips. He wanted Chinese to become able to learn from the West, and English was viewed as the transmission belt of scientific exploration and explanation. Where dowe stand these days? Far, far from that ideal place - a single-digit number of percents is capable of using English competently in all four skills...
Just read today that 70 percent of Chinese study visa applicants FAIL - not before they actually go to Oz but AFTER completing their studies; one of the special features of Aussie study visas is that foreign students can study down under while still learning English; at the end of their academic stint they must pass an IELTS so they can stay in the country... but they do not make it.

A language is a character-modifying skill, and it is wise to behold this fact so that we know what's involved: you cannot remain 100% a Chinese if you want to become at least 70% functional in English - you become a somewhat watered-down Chinese, or put differently: you become a 170% person that embraces two separate though overlapping cultures.
My question is: does anyone encourage our students to do just that? There must be a resounding NO!

Consider: even their Chinese English teachers do not converse with them in English. Has any of you guys studied a foreign language under teachers that were unwilling to talk to you in the target lingo? Nor me!

One of the immediate consequences is: Chinese always need their special fuzzy comfort zone, their mother language. When they first are face to face with a non-Chinese speaking person they feel completely at a loss, are unprepared, react clumsily.

We discussed the reading-aloud a couple of times before; there usually would be general consensu that it is a good idea if done moderately and prudently: the reader must have a listener who can point out the reader's pronuncation and intonation fault lines.