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kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

I'm kind of on the opposite side with this name dilemma where I teach small kids and am often tasked to appoint them English names. Some are easy. If his family name is "Li", then he becomes "Lee". Those I can handle. I have two small boys this year, one named Robin (not too bad really, considering Christopher Robin) and the other Rain. As they are 1st graders, I don't sweat it all that much. Robin can later become Rob if he'd like. As for Rain . . . ??? Ray maybe? I tried to give one little boy an English name and his English speaking mother balked at it so he is the only one in class keeping his Chinese name. One of my students last year has a brother who called himself "Joy". I tried to tell him that Joy is a girl's name, maybe he'd prefer Jay instead. He said he liked Joy so I left it at that. The next time I met him, he asked me to please call him Jay. Laughing

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

Kev

Buck Lin · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 405 Location: nanchang china

I've had over twenty girls with the name Apple. When they ask me for a name I recommend Rumplestilskin. Seriously they don't know each others English names in many cases so if you ask a classmate about a student they are not sure who you are talking about. I learn their Chinese names and how to write them. When you have large classes it is easy to cheat you if you don't know who they are.

Voldermort · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 597

I have a rather large list of popular English names dived into male and female, each with a short description of the meaning (If anybody cares for a copy send me a PM with your email). At the beginning of the year, I will hand out a form to the class, on which each student is to write their English name and Chinese name (in both pinyin and hanzi). I will then seperate out the duplicates, plain stupid and those with no name. Hand them my list and force them to choose an appropriate name. At the end of the day, I am a teacher and I am here to educate them.

Instead of trying to remember each students name, I will pick one at random from the list and ask them to do whatever. After a while you learn to match the face with name. If they forget their name, well you have the pinyin in front of you.

Saying that though, I do have some somewhat strange names. A guy called T-Bag, let it slip because it's used in "Prison Break". A gal called Gale, she is about 4 foot tall a Gale certainly would blow her away. A gal called Tichontrius, I have a T-Rex in the same class so it's kinda hard to force a change. The strangest of all has to be a girl called ChuanChuan (串串 is a popular Sichuan dish). I once asked the students to volunteer a word associated with food, all was going well until she took her turn and came out with ChuanChuan. The class split themselves laughing and the name stuck.

Buck Lin · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 405 Location: nanchang china

I am just a llittle curious why they must have English names. I lived with French people most of my life and they never would call you a French name. For French people a name is important and should be respected.
I lived in Korea for ten years and the same thing. Now here in China I have a Chinese name because it is easier to fill out forms. The space they give you to write your name on bank sheets and other documents just isn't enough if you have more than five letters in your name. Even so my students refuse to call me by my Chinese name. Only my wife and kid and some friends of my wife call me by my Chinese name.
My policy is to call people what they want to be called, but I make an effort to learn their names.
Only the Chinese allow this. Teaching foreigners in Canada for the government of Canada I found many teachers getting into hot water over this. You must call a Japanese person by their given names in most cases.
Koreans also liked to be called by their Korean names. Spanish people also won't take an Engish name.
I know it is a kind of bonding but they don't know each others English names so how can you communicate to them about a missing person in the class.
To repeat what is wrong with calling someone by their name especially here in China where we are guests?

Voldermort · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 597

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

They do know each others english names .. not that that makes it good or bad. In America, in Chinese class we always took a Chinese name, the same for Spanish, Japanese classes. German class we didn't, I don't think, but it wasn't a very serious class.

I do think there are very good reasons for using an english name. Actually, many immigrants in America found success much more easily achieved by Americanizing their name. Obviously a personal choice. English names in class can not be a personal choice of the student, just like all activities done in the classroom. When the student starts deciding which activities tehy will participate in, and which ones they won't, chaos reigns. Schools based on this principle have famously failed in the history of education, except in the Simpsons. where Bart blew up such a school.

Buck Lin, not saying should or should use names (I can think of arguments on both sides, I think practicing english names is a very useful skill). My question for you ... can you think of any reasons why it's a good idea to practice english names ... or are al the teachers and schools and clasrooms that have studenyts take an english name just 100% full of it? No reasons at all it might be useful? Play a little Devil's advocate? If you can't think of any good reasons yourself, then surely you will never be likely to think there are any good reasons, yah?

I do a test my first day of class or so. I give them my Chinese name (it's a "real" CHinese name) and then I give them my English name.

I then later in class ask them "What is my Chinese name?" "What is my English name?" All of them, just about can remember my Chinese name, and almost none of them can remember my ENglish name, nor can they pronounce it well the first couple of times (a very common name)

Dale??? Carnigie wrote a book , "How to win friends and influence people" most important ... remembering names, adressing the person by their name (and title, quite important in China) correctly. I usually have a full class just on how to say hello, greet people. Chinese greatly like it when we address them by their Chinese name and title here in CHina. The vast majority of laowai teachers simply can't. And once you get to know the Chinese teachers, they do care about this. We care when somone pronounces our name poorly. So many laowai actually insult Chinese. Know a laowai who always acalls a teacher Mr. ma, 4th tone Rolling Eyes

My students even feel bad when classmates mispronounce their english name wrong. Small things matter

evaforsure · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 1217

In our program, students can have enlgish names but due to the reporting of grades and assignments, the chinese name is always used based on the attendence roll sheet.

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

So, us laowai here in CHina should really learn Chinese names, yes?

Buck

Voldermort · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 597

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

Buck Lin

Buck Lin · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 405 Location: nanchang china

I agree in America you have a melting pot and everyone must go to the same church and attend the same school ,play for the school football team. But in other countries it is different. In Canada you are a French Canadian an Italian Canadian and so forth so having an English name is not so important for being Canadian.
Personally I find calling role a total waste of time. If I do it I will have them introduce each other using his name is and her name is. I found doing this they didn't know the English name.This way they learn something. I have watched Chinese teachers calling role three times in one class. Like spending time givng them English names it is pedagogical featherbedding.
Ya I have many Chinese friends with English names also and they are constantly changing them.
It is not important but like I said the Chinese are not like the rest of the world. They think it is fun to have an ENglish name. But like many of you have pointed out there are shysters out there changing there names every month along with their recruiting companies name. The Chinese play on your confusion about names. So when you grade them someone must tell you who everyone is in English? I find them trying to trick me a lot here. When you have over 600 students it is easy to have someone else sit for you in an exam. I have caught them doing this in the top business school in China. I learn their names and how to write them in Chinese.
I have worked with many Japanese teachers here teaching Japanese. None of them give their students Japanese names.
Anyway to each his own. I will continue learning Chinese names for my own edification. And I will continue calling people by their given name out of respect. I think maybe our differences are a result of my having lived the over fourty years outside English speaking countries. Learning names is like learning vocabulary, You use the name or word and it sticks in your head.
I find the students make it hard for you to use their names here because they laugh when we try and say it. Many Chinese teachers have trouble also because there are some unsusual characters in Chinese writing Everyone knows how to write Wang and Lee in Chinese but name's like Lu can be hard to recognize. So I let them laugh and keep trying to get the right pronunciation.
The main reason I do this is when I need to get my grades in. I have no difficulty filling out the university form. It just makes things simpler in the long run.