A Talk at the First Encounter about Learning English

This morning, I met Class 215 for the first and also the last time.  Instead of teaching any lesson in the textbook, like what I had done in Class 209 last Friday and this Monday, I gave a talk in English on the importance of learning English and how to learn it.

To my surprise, when asked why they learned English, several of the students said they didn't know.  Then some told me they learned English so that they could pass the test, talk to foreigners, watch movies without subtitles, and find a job.

I told them that besides these, being equipped with English ability opens for them a new window to the world and provides them with more opportunity to help others.  Then I related to them some true stories of people I know who have a good command of English.

After that, I suggested some good ways to learn English.  I started with ways to acquire vocabulary, trying to convince them to say words aloud and make sentences with new words they've just learned.  I added that English should be learned in chunks most of the time rather than word by word.

When it comes to grammar, I emphasized the importance of finding the verb, especially the main verb of a sentence.  To exemplify this assertion, I challenged them to translate the following sentence into Chinese, which is a line from the song "Colors of the Wind."

"You think the only people who are people are the people who look and think like you."

If they know the verb of the clause after the word "think," it would be easy for them to understand the sentence.

After that, I focused on four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  I told them how a good friend's daughter whose English is excellent benefited from listening to Studio Classroom and how someone created an English environment for himself by turning on the radio in each room, which had been tuned to ICRT.

As for speaking, I invited them to read aloud, practice shadowing, and talk to themselves and friends in English.

When we came to the subtopic of reading, I advised them to start with what they love.  For example, basketball lovers can read stories about their favorite player in English.  Also, I mentioned the Seventeen magazine, readers, English novels and recommended to them Reader's Digest and the Chicken Soup series. 

Finally, writing.  Besides making sentences at this stage, I encouraged them to keep a diary or blog in English.

Usually I don't teach English in my first class.  I try to motivate students and I use English to communciate with them to remind them that English is not just a subject to study but a skill to use.

Happily, after class, a student approached me and asked to borrow an English book.  I handed him a Reader's Digest.

As an English teacher, I feel ecstactic when students are eager to learn English on their own.