|
A Meat posted:Wow, the English teaching situation in South Korea sounds pretty bad if most of the teachers aren't actually fluent in English, but use rote memorization to teach. I work in a high school and university in China. It's not uncommon to walk past classrooms full of English majors...who are having A DICTIONARY read to them, with them repeating the words and definitions verbatim. That's their class. I'm at one of the best programs the country. Kids have 18 years of English instruction, often from unqualified or overworked teachers in a ridiculous system--so you end up with people who only know a few stock phrases while unable to communicate, even though they've been in school for 18 years. "I am an sunshine boy!" Student: "I donated my toy to the earthquake victims!" Other teacher: "That is nothing to you!" "I like many tings. Favorite thing is sleep. I love sleep. I like sleeping. Sleep is good for your health!"--paragraph meant to describe your favorite thing
|
#
¿
Dec 26, 2013 12:22
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 3, 2024 09:55 |
|
|
A Meat posted:
It depends on the class/exam. In my writing-centric courses I permit it because using a dictionary really won't make or break a performance, but having it there for spelling and word choice makes students feel a little more secure. For other courses that are speaking heavy they're not permitted one because I want their experience to be as close to a "normal" speaking environment as possible, which means they need to learn to work around vocabulary when they're unsure about something. To be clear, though, I only permit PAPER dictionaries during tests; a lot of electronic dictionaries have sentence translation options now, which isn't permissible for exams. I do allow electronic dictionaries during day-to-day class, but in my experience kids will use them like mad for a month or so before slowly getting tired of it and stopping. They're more useful as a homework/study aid than a "holy poo poo need a word right now--ohnoteachingiscallingonme" tool.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 26, 2013 13:50
|
|
|
Phlegmish posted:The true part refers to Mormon missionaries generally speaking foreign languages well, not to them having some sort of special method. The ones I've met in China--and yeah, they come on mission here but it's often hush-hush--are so into the idea of talking to native speakers (rather than living in an expat bubble) that their skills progressed faster than mine.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 28, 2013 16:58
|
|