Job Discussion Forums

sojourner · Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2003 4:46 pm Post subject:

John,

Watching ANY movie - not just the "Sound of Music" - 100 times would drive me up the wall .Yet, apparently, there are people who thrive on such activities;and not merely the lady TV personality I referred to in my previous posting.In Sydney (Australia) for many years there was - could still be - an organised cult-following of the mid 1970s 'classic',"The Rocky Horror Picture Show".Every Friday midnight ,year after year,the "Rocky" fans,appropriately attired in gothic gear, would troop up to a mid-city cinema to watch the film.Undoubtedly,there would have been fans who had watched it for at least 200 times ! Who knows, there could have been some people who may have noticed something unique about the dialogue,music,etc,at EACH screening !

Regards,

Peter

johnslat · Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2003 4:54 pm Post subject: I'm projecting

Dear sojourner,
And don't forget to pity the poor projectionist. I had that part-time job while attending university. I ran "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" FAR too many times (it got to where I had the lines all memorized, too).
Regards,
John

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing

dduck · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 422 Location: In the middle

johnslat · Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2003 5:37 pm Post subject: Who am I?

Dear dduck,
Don't feel too bad - MY whole concept of who I am falls apart two or three times every day.
Regards,
John

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Forget lots of hard work and X amount of time spent in the classroom. I have the solution. I recently met a columbian friend who gave some special pills. Take one a day for 2 months and you will be able to speak English in no time atol. PM me if you want to pay me for a bottle of 20 at $5000 a time

guest of Japan · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 1601 Location: Japan

I once taught a high school girl English prodigy. When she was 13 she started studying English by listening to Maria Carey. Then she went to Nova conversation school for 1 hour every two weeks for 6 months. She then came to my school for one year. She studied with my predecessor. They discussed literature. She then went abroad for about one year. When she came back, I was her teacher. Her English was better than most native English speaking high school students. She did all this in two and a half years. She learned at a phenomenal pace.

johnslat · Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2003 10:40 pm Post subject: A bitter pill to swallow

Dear guest of Japan,
Obviously your student was taking some of dmb's "special pills". Yikes, I'd better order a gross or two of those bottles right now, before the supply runs out.
Regards,
John

guest of Japan · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 1601 Location: Japan

She was something. A unique characteristic of hers was that her brain never rejected information. This made her very effective at learning English, but left her a little too impressionable in other ways. When she came back from her home stay she also come back with the religion of her host family. I learned very quickly not to express too many opinions to her because they quickly became her opinions too.

Midnightstar · Joined: 07 Nov 2003 Posts: 20

I've found that the traditional way of learning English (e.g., grammar drills, listening, etc.) is good, but only to a point. Then, total immersion into the language is necessary for complete mastery. It has been my experience that students with 8+ years of FORMAL education in the English language are worse than the students who have had much less formal experience but went overseas to North America, Austrailia, New Zealand, or England for 6 months or a year. I think total immersion in an english-speaking culture is necessary for good or excellent english-speaking capabilities.

Best Regards,
MS

dduck · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 422 Location: In the middle

MS,

I agree with you. Fortunately, I think the teacher still has a role as the students become more advanced. I think that teachers need to let the students learn to direct their own learning when their language is mature enough. Before this point teachers should be encouraging students to explore and discover things for themselves, gradually building up the student's self-reliance.

To me it's a lot like raising a child. You naturally want your child to grow up and be successful in their own right (the healthy attitude). So, you encourage them to develop their interests and skills. To begin with however, you need to provide them with a framework (of support) which you gradually remove as they learn to do it by themselves.

Iain