To Tracy

Dear Tracy,

Thank you for your feedback. In fact, I believe you will be a very conscientious teacher because of your concern about what is really good for your students. You care.

 

 

I care, too.

This afternoon, I had an unexpected visitor--Ken, the guy I mentioned to you. He not only knows you but still remembers you as a student with very good English ability. He even knows you are studying at NTNU.

At dinner, I told him that what moved me most in teaching English was not that my student got a 100 on the test, but that my students read English novels or magazines out of their own will. Take the four 303 students for example. In their third year, Wei-chen tried reading Economist, Diego Fortune, Chao-lung Time, and Hsiuen-ann Reader's Digest. That really touched me. I believe that is what learning English is about: Use it as a tool to get information or just enjoy reading whatever is in English.

I don't mean vocabulary and grammar are not important. In fact, they are the basics. However, we shouldn't spend too much time on them or just stop there. They must learn to read through reading. I remember once a teacher from Studio Classroom said in her speech, "The only way to expand one's vocabulary is through reading." She did not say "The best way," but "The only way."

Thank you for discussing this interesting issue with me. Keep your faith.