Search results for 'tag:Literature tag:IELTS' matching tags 'Literature' and 'IELTS'

Re: Please Send me the Detailed Experience Letter format for S/W Developer

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:20:06 GMT

I have been working as English Teacher in Pakistan School Muscat where I taught IGCSE English Literature and Language in the morning and Headway English Series and IELTS/TOEFL Cambridge and Barron Series. I need a nice experience certificate. Please send me a good format.

Thanks

Mohammad Khalid Mehmood Sajid

Re: Please help me proof it. Thanks

Cheese1987 — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 04:39:46 GMT

Julielai wrote:

Some parts in red for you to fix

Cheese1987 wrote:

Thank you!

Account of the recent language learning experience and insights gained through the course both inside and outside of class

      I have learnt some useful skills in the course in these months.(incomplete sentence) The most impressing (missing three letters) lesson teach me how to write a composition in an (article) appropriate (sp.) style. I do know it is important to choose the appropriate style and tone when writing. I also understand that language style can be classified as formal, neutral and informal before. However, I do not know how I can write in an appropriate style correctly. The skills are not taught when I am in secondary school. After the lesson, I understand choice of vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar, use of transitional words and phrases, use of punctuation and use of abbreaviations and short forms affect the language style. I feel happy that I know how I can write in an appropriate style now. I believe that I can match the type of writing more correctly and therefore, my writing will _not__ _be__ (Insert words here) awkward or unnatural.

      Reading English newspapers also helps me to improve my English. I am not used to reading English newspaper before. But I am required to buy South China Morning Post from the courses. From then on I try to make reading South China Morning Post to be my daily routine. I find that it is an effective way to learn more vocabularies. It also helps me to broaden my horizon(Review your use of not only but also) Now I read South China Morning Post form Yahoo. So I can read South China Morning Post everyday. I deeply believe that South China Morning Post is worth reading.

Personal changed feelings/opinions/attitude towards English language learning

    I am convinced that English language learning are stressful and frustrating before. I feel nervous when everyone is focus on me and when teacher is listening carefully. I believe this feeling comes from my self- doubt. I think classmates are step ahead of me. I also cannot correctly pronounce some sounds and sets of sound. To be frank, I have thought that English is no more important because I am in Chinese Language and Literature Programme. I no need to improve my English anymore.

However, my friends told me that mastery of the English language is important. Hong Kong being a service - oriented economy, the advantage of having a competent English-speaking work force has become all the more improtant. I know that being a Chinese Language and Literature student is only an excuse to avoid learning English (You shouldn't think like that! Nothing wrong with being a Chinese major.). This thought only badly affects my interest and progress of learning English. I do know that if I lose the interest of learning English, my English cannot improve anymore. I need to find some ways to prevent feeling so embarrassed.

     There are ways for me to prevent feeling so embarrassed. I think the most practical way is to improve English. I should study English continuously. When I find some words that I cannot pronouce, I will check the electronic dictionary immediately. I will also try to speak English with my friends. I believe I can speak English fluently if I often do that. My friends can also kindly point out my grammatical mistakes. They will not laugh at my absurd mistakes. Therefore, I will not feel embarrassed anymore.

Personal Learning Plan

Long term goals:

a)         To get a C grade in Use of English in Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination

b)        To get a band score of 7 in IELTS

Short term goals:

a)         To finish all the exercises in Advanced Grammar in Use.

b)        To keep reading South China Moring Post and Hong Kong Standard

c)        To write compositions

Materials to use:

a)         Advanced Grammar in Use Exercise book

b)        South China Morning Post

c)        Hong Kong Standard

Activities to engage in:

a)         To join some workshops held by ITC

b)        To exchange oversea in Summer

How often:

a)         Doing 3 exercises everyday

b)        Reading Newspapers everyday (Look up the difference between "every day" and everyday)

c)        Writing a composition every 2 weeks

Mode of learning:

a)         Keep doing exercise and composition

b)        Keep reading newspapers

Mode of assessment:

a)         To sit for Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination.

b)        To sit for IELTS.

Re: Please help me proof it. Thanks

julielai — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 22:06:53 GMT

Some parts in red for you to fix

Cheese1987 wrote:

Account of the recent language learning experience and insights gained through the course both inside and outside of class

     Some useful skill I have learnt in the course in these months.(incomplete sentence) The most impress_ _ _ (missing three letters) ~~me is the~~ lesson teaching me how to write a composition in a (article) approicate (sp.) style. I do know it is important to choose the appropriate ~~and~~ tone when writing. I also understand that language style can be classified as formal, Neutral and Informal before. However, I do not know how I can write in an approriate style correctly. The skills are not taught when I am in secondary school. After the lesson, I understand choice of vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar, use of transitional words and phrases, use of punctuation and use of abbreaviations and short forms ~~are a critical issue~~ affect~~ing~~ the language style. I feel happy that I know how I can write in an approiate style now. I believe that I can match the type of writing more correctly and therefore, my writing will ~~be avoided to regard as~~ ___ ___ (Insert words here) awkward or unnatural.

      Reading English newspapers also helps me to improve my English. I am not used to reading English newspaper before. But I am required to buy South China Morning Post throught the courses. From then on I try to make reading South China Morning Post to be my daily routine. ~~I find that not only vocabularies I can learnt more , but also the horizon I can borden.~~ (Review your use of not only but also) Now ~~when the days I cannot received Newspaper from the lesson,~~ I read South China Morning Post form Yahoo. So I can read South China Morning Post everyday. I deeply believe that South China Morning Post is worth reading.

Personal changed feelings/opinions/attitude towards English language learning

    I am convinced that English language learning are stressful and frustrating before. I feel nervous when everyone is focus on me and when teacher is listening carefully. I believe this feeling comes from my self- doubt. I think classmates are step ahead of me. I also cannot correctly pronounce some sounds and sets of sound. To be frank, I have thought that English is no more important because I am in Chinese Language and Literature Programme. I no need to improve my English anymore.

However, my friends told me that mastery of the English language is indispensible. Hong Kong being a service - oriented economy, the advantage of having a competent English-speaking work force has become all the more improtant. I know that being a Chinese Language and Literature student is only an excuse to avoid learning English (You shouldn't think like that! Nothing wrong with being a Chinese major.). This thought only badly affect my interest and progress of learning English. I do know that if I lost the interest of learning English, my English cannot improve anymore. I need to find some ways to prevent feeling so fear and embarrassed.

     There are ways for me to prevent feeling so embarrassment. I think the most basical way is to improve English. I should study English continuously. When I find some words that I cannot ~~ensure to correctly~~ pronouce, I will check the electronic dictionary immediately. I will also try to speak English with my friends. I believe I can speak English fluently if I often do that. My friends can also kindly point out my grammatical mistakes. They will not laugh at my absurd mistakes. Therefore, I will not feel embarrassed anymore.

Personal Learning Plan

Long term goals:

a)         To get a C grade in Use of English in Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination

b)        To get a band score of 7 ~~marks~~ in IELTS

Short term goals:

a)         To finish all the exercises in Advanced Grammar in Use.

b)        To keep reading South China Moring Post and standard

c)        To write compositions

Materials to use:

a)         Advanced Grammar in Use Exercise book

b)        South China Morning Post

c)        Hong Kong Standard

Activities to engage in:

a)         To join some workshops held by ITC

b)        To exchange in Summer

How often:

a)         Doing 3 exercises everyday

b)        Reading Newspapers every day (Look up the difference between "every day" and everyday)

c)        Writing a composition every 2 weeks

Mode of learning:

a)         Keep doing exercise and composition

b)        Keep reading Newspapers

Mode of assessment:

a)         To sit for Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination.

b)        To sit for IELTS.

Please help me proof it. Thanks

Cheese1987 — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:41:16 GMT

Please help me proof it. Thanks!

Account of the recent language learning experience and insights gained through the course both inside and outside of class

Some useful skill I have learnt in the course in these months. The most impress me is the lesson teaching me the skills to write a composition in a approicate style. I do know it is important to choose the appropriate and tone when writing. I also understand that language style can be classified as formal, Neutral and Informal before. However, I do not know how I can write in an approriate style correctly. The skills are not taught when I am in secondary school. After the lesson, I understand choice of vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar, use of transitional words and phrases, use of punctuation and use of abbreaviations and short forms are a critical issue affecting the language style. I feel happy that I know how I can write in an approiate style now. I believe that I can match the type of writing more correctly and therefore, my writing will be avoided to regard as awkward or unnatural.

Reading English newspapers also helps me to improve my English. I am not used to reading English newspaper before. But I am required to buy South China Morning Post throught the courses. From then on I try to make reading South China Morning Post to be my daily routine. I find that not only vocabularies I can learnt more , but also the horizon I can borden. Now when the days I cannot received Newspaper from the lesson, I read South China Morning Post form Yahoo. So I can read South China Morning Post everyday. I deeply believe that South China Morning Post is worth reading.

Personal changed feelings/opinions/attitude towards English language learning

I am convinced that English language learning are stressful and frustrating before. I feel nervous when everyone is focus on me and when teacher is listening carefully. I believe this feeling comes from my self- doubt. I think classmates are step ahead of me. I also cannot correctly pronounce some sounds and sets of sound. To be frank, I have thought that English is no more important because I am in Chinese Language and Literature Programme. I no need to improve my English anymore.

However, my friends told me that mastery of the English language is indispensible. Hong Kong being a service - oriented economy, the advantage of having a competent English work force has become all the more improtant. I know that being a Chinese Language and Literature student is only an excuse to avoid learning English. This thought only badly affect my interest and progress of learning English. I do know that if I lost the interest of learning English, my English cannot improve anymore. I need to find some ways to prevent feeling so fear and embarrassed.

There are ways for me to prevent feeling so embarrassment. I think the most basical way is to improve English. I should study English continuously. When I find some words that I cannot ensure to correctly pronouce, I will check the electronic dictionary immediately. I will also try to speak English with my friends. I believe I can speak English fluently if I often do that. My friends can also kindly point out my grammatical mistakes. They will not laugh at my absurd mistakes. Therefore, I will not feel embarrassed anymore.

Personal Learning Plan

Long term goals:

a) To get a C grade in Use of English in Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination

b) To get 7 marks in IELTS

Short term goals:

a) To finish all the exercises in Advanced Grammar in Use.

b) To keep reading South China Moring Post and standard

c) To write compositions

Materials to use:

a) Advanced Grammar in Use Exercise book

b) South China Morning Post

c) Hong Kong Standard

Activities to engage in:

a) To join some workshops held by ITC

b) To exchange in Summer

How often:

a) Doing 3 exercises everyday

b) Reading Newspapers everyday

c) Writing a composition every 2 weeks

Mode of learning:

a) Keep doing exercise and composition

b) Keep reading Newspaper

Mode of assessment:

a) To sit for Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination.

b) To sit for IELTS.

Re: EFL Resumes

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 07:40:45 GMT

Curriculum Vitae

Calum J D Sutherland

calumn1@yahoo.com

39 Garthdee Rd

Aberdeen

Objective To find employment in English and /or Hospitality

Education Management. To contribute to a qualitative

Teaching system.

To be a positive player in the development of

English and/or Hospitality Education

Experiences Substantial International experience in English Education

Health Services Management, Hospitality

Education and Education Management

These experiences

Include:-

UK Solihull District General Hospital

Lode Lane

Birmingham

Hotel Services Manager 1989 â 1995

Responsibilities:-

Managed six major facilities services departments

within the hospital. Played a very active role in the

commissioning of the new hospital.

Saudi Arabia King Fahd Military Medical Center

Dammam

Catering Contract Co-ordinator 1995-1997

Responsibilities:-

Monitor the Catering Contract for this 300 bedded teaching

Hospitality ensuring optimized health and quality.

Malaysia University Putra Malaysia

Serdang

Senior Lecturer 1997-1999

Responsibilities:-

Teaching a range of Hospitality subjects.

Manage the faculty shop.

Consultant for HACCP for MAS â Common Wealth Games

Philippines Institute of Hotel and Tourism â IHMES

BF Homes

Manila

Head of School 1999

Responsibilities:-

Manage the day-to-day running of the school.

Aid in the commissioning, marketing and development

of the school.

Manage the curriculum, teachers and schedules.

Switzerland Glion Hotel School

Leysin

Senior Lecturer 2000-2002

Teach a number of Hospitality related subjects.

Aid in the management and development of the school.

China He Hua Business English College

also, Iron and Steel University

Baotou

Inner Mongolia

Assistant to the President 2003-2004

Responsibilities;

Teach English, Business English and English for

Hospitality.

Advise the President/Owner on Academic matters.

Manhattan Language Center

Yiwu

Zhejiang

Dean 2003-2004

Responsibilities;

Manage the day-to-day Academic issues of the center.

Manage and train all the teachers.

Be responsible for the academic schedules.

Advise the owner on Academic matters.

Play an active role in the marketing of the center.

British English School

Tongliao

Inner Mongolia

Teacher 2005

Responsibilities;

Teach all levels of students Communicative English.

Viet Nam SIBME â Informatics

Su Vanh Ha

District 10

Ho Chi Minh City

Deputy Center Director 2004-2005

Responsibilities;

For the management of the English Department.

and its development.

Creating English programs; Basic, TOEFL, IELTS

Creating ESP English Programs.

Negotiating ESP Hospitality Contracts.

Aiding in the development of the Marketing Department.

Thailand International Hotel & Tourism Institute of Management

I-TIM

79 Ramkhampeang Soi 50

Bangkapi

Bangkok 10240

Director of Academic Affairs 2002

Responsibilities;

Teach English and a variety of Hospitality subjects.

Manage the teaching and student schedules.

Develop the teaching programs; Schemes of work,

Course Reference Sheets.

Advise the Board of Directors on Academic matters.

Sudan Cambridge International Training Centres

Khartoum

Cambridge Kidâs Centre

Academic and Centre Manager Feb 2006 -

Responsibilities:-

The management of the Teachers, Schedules and Courses,

Schemes of Work.

The management of the day-to-day running of the Centre.

Qualifications Master of Arts â Honours

Majors; History and International Relations.

Minor; English Literature

Aberdeen University 1970-1975

Higher National Diploma â HND - Business Studies

Perth College of Higher Education 1984-1986

Post Graduate Diploma â HCIMA

Catering and Accommodation Management

Glasgow Caledonia University

Queens College 1986-1987

Certificate in Health Services Management IHSM

Rapid Results College- London 1988-1989

Also

Lead Auditor Certificate ISO 9000 - 1995

TEFL Certificate - 2003

Pub Management Diploma â 1995

Dilpoma in Food Safety Management â 1989

Craft Trainer Award â Hotel and Catering 1994

MSc. Facilities Management â incomplete.

Interests Golf and Industrial Psychology.

References William Barbour

Abertay University â UK

Peter Cross

Glion Hotel School â Leysin

Switzerland

Christain Daujat

Glion Hotel School â Leysin

Switzerland

Other references available on request.

Re: INTRODUCE YOURSELF!!

Hepburngeng — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 15:07:21 GMT

Hello everbody,it is a good chance to find this forum and nice to meet you all here.I am Hepburn Geng , a 23-year-old gentleman from People's Republic of China. I was born in the beautiful city of Fuxin,Liaoning Province.Now,i am a senior student at Southern Yangtze University,which is located in Wuxi,Jiangsu Province.My major is Chinese Language and Literature.I will get my BA in June this year.After that I will go to the University of Melbourne,Australia,as a postgraduate to study and research the course of Master of Applied Commerce (Accounting).However,before i get there,i have to enhance my Enlish level,although i had got a Band 7 IELTS result.Let's interact to help each other.

With regards

PS: MSN hepburngeng@hotmail.com

Re: Linguistics not science

julielai — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 01:48:07 GMT

Yes, Hong Kongers adopt a rather utilitarian, if shortsighted, approach to learning. Sadly, the longest distance between two points is often a shortcut.

A-level shouldn't take up that much time. Active listening, thinking, and participation in class all minimize the need for revision. My elder sibling became é«èçå without burning that much midnight oil. (I did okay in my mock exams, though I didn't take the real thing.). Just goes to show you: in HK, quantity trumps quality--students put in more time to make up for their increasingly passive learning style (writing 50 essays with the same mistakes instead of doing one right, for instance) You've just proven my point.

etymons (... um... I mean the root of a lexical item. I don't really remember the English jargon for it):

Why use jargons when simple words will do?

Looking at dictionaries for meanings, phonetic representations whatever does not mean you are forming rules of some sort.

Didn't I say we would be spinning around our own definitions of "prescriptivism"? Your understanding of the term is framed by grammar; mine by the outcome.

In any case, the example proves we shouldn't make assumptions as to what native speakers use dictionaries for.

Language is of course not a science, but the STUDY into it can be, just as one may well argue whether translatology is an art or a science.

Last time I checked, linguistics is still in the Faculty of Arts. Never seen it listed among the sciences.

CUHK translation majors told me all they do is practise; no theories. Beijing U.'s foreign lang. institute (???) does the same thing: language labs all day long. They are not elite programmes for no reason.

I am not really sure whether university English courses lay more stress on the scientific side of languages than on the cultural side thereof.

You're mixing up English and Lang. Ed. programmes (Yes, Lingnan has both in the same dept., with IED components as an add-on) But most TEFL-like programmes cover mostly linguistic and educational theories, including sociolinguistics. Mandatory cultural literacy coverage, including literature, are kept to a max. of five courses. (Lingnan's has four; some have fewer or none.) No wonder my CUHK friend says "Lang. Ed." depts aren't real English programmes (sorry!). My TEFL friends tell me themselves how little they are learning (there's more, but I won't leave specifics here).

My IELTS suggestion isn't about cultural literacy; I'd like the incompetent English teachers screened out. I've nothing against exams, as long as they are only part of the requirement.

If these programmes have a common core curriculum, we won't need a benchmark. As it stands, many TEFL majors aren't learning the same thing; exams will help measure everybody against one standard.

even if the government has declared equal legal status of Chinese and English. Discriminations of this sort conduce to English being >treated the utilitarian way.

Beg to differ. English used to be the medium of instruction for many secondary schoolers, so cultural literacy wasn't a big problem. We were exposed to English vocab. in every core subject. After 97, HK lost its linguistic identity, as is epitomized in the ever-changing language education policy.

But the 'study' was halted by the profs, on the grounds that I am but a yr1 student, so that I should leave the topic to my yr 3 (actually yr 4) final paper.

Your prof. is right to keep your project in hiatus. Students should be well-rounded before they become specialized--there's plenty of time for that yet! Again, going back to what I've said about a lopsided education.

Your suggestion relative to the English curriculum is good... but I wonder if it would be possible even in the university, as the topics suggested are each already a large topic.

Many of these courses I've seen in curriculum outside of HK. Eng. teachers don't have to be experts in any of these areas; a basic course in each will suffice (except for writing and lit.--we are making up for lost ground)

This is a fairly typical Eng. teacher curriculum in the states: http://www.tamiu.edu/catalog/current/ba-engl8th-12th.shtml (and this is not even a top program. See how much a HK student is missing, both in English and general education)

I love linguistics not really because I treat language in a parochial scientific way. I am limiting 'language' to the 'essence' (leaving >this undefined) because I am more interested in the common traits shared by ALL human languages.

Linguistics is like åµæ³. Too much strategems on paper will turn anybody into a é¦¬è¬.

am therefore applying by non - JUPAS for CU linguistics... to see if I have a chance.

Good luck. You have a great shot given your passion for the subject--but won't non-jupas disqualify you from student aid? (I have no clue)

PS. I've written to the local papers on these subjects, so some of my comments are nothing new.

Re: Inferior dialects?

Randy_Tam — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 09:36:48 GMT

I am not quite close to 'homeless'. I am living at my aunt's home because my granny invited 3 of her siplings to stay... aiya, according to my parents this is going to last 2 weeks or more. I am currently using my uncle's PC just to get here and take a look at what you say. Though I cannot come here as frequently as I used to.

Looking at dictionaries for meanings, phonetic representations whatever does not mean you are forming rules of some sort. I am sorry I didn't include this in describing what a native speaker's going to do with a dictionary... lol. This is especially true with languages belonging to the Sino family, the orthography of which is ideographic, for which reason the phonological form can hardly be guessed just from its shape (I remember I read a passage during my F3 Chinese lessons called <æ¼¢åççµæ§>, in which the author asserted that there's a kind of Chinese letters, the å½¢è²å, whose pronunciations could be guessed. I can hardly agree with this. Even an L1 speaker of Chinese, without prior training, can hardly succeed in this.). This is also true, to a certain extent, of English because of its hybrid source of etymons (... um... I mean the root of a lexical item. I don't really remember the English jargon for it): French, Old English, German, Irish, Greek, Latin... all contribute to the English language as it is today, leading to the lack of consistency between the orthographical and phonological forms of English words. These little 'cracks' of course can not be formulated by the human cognitive system (simply by means of conjecture, etc).

Language is of course not a science, but the STUDY into it can be, just as one may well argue whether translatology is an art or a science.

I am not really sure whether university English courses lay more stress on the scientific side of languages than on the cultural side thereof. To the best of my knowledge, this is not the case. Both are given equal stress. I come to this conclusion from information available to me. Lingnan University, where I am taking my undergraduate yr1 course in Contemporary English and Education, and Chinese University, where a friend of mine is currently a yr2 student in English, both have introductory courses into 'English Grammar', as well as introductory courses into literature in English. The workload is virtually the same for the 2 parts, at least in yr 1. But as the course goes on, more such courses as 'language and culture' or 'sociolinguistics' are available, making the curriculum more relevant to the relationship between language and social factors.

But your statement is true in that Hong Kongers are culturally more and more illiterate, being ignorant not only in foreign cultures but also in their own. Their ignorance in local culture being irrelevant here, I'd like to suggest some plausible reasons why language education from a cultural perspective is losing its ground.

1. It appears students are less motivated (in their learning) these days. What I mean by this is that days at school become more and more dreary: schooling is more or less a long toil, against which students devise one of the most primitive countermeasures known to man --- go have some sleep and look for your Juliet in your dream, handsome Romeo.

But this 'countermeasure' has its roots in that at night students have to attend tutorial classes, which they deem even more useful than classes at school. They having had such classes head back home have their dinner, do some homework and perhaps some reading as well, and, hey mama, I need time to play and relax a while. Voila, time to sleep puppy, it's already 0300 in the midnight. Frankly last year when I was having my A Level, I spent almost 7 hours everyday after school just to revise and read something more (I didn't take tutorial classes, save for economics), it was already 1200 when I returned home from the self - study facilities. It was hell. All this lead to a persistent fatigue in students.

So, the consequence is that, even if the cultural side of language is come across at school, there could hardly be anyone listening (lol.... reminds me of my UE class. Almost 2 / 3 of our class were sleeping if no assignments were given).

2. One may well ask an old question, 'why do students opt for tutorial classes instead of school?' To this old question I give an old answer, 'because students think tutorial classes are more useful, in that they cut the craps and just get straight to the point.' ---> I didn't take tutorials so don't blame me for that. But from what I hear, from my ex - gf (...), my friends, and my classmates, this is the case.

What is meant, then, by 'craps'? ie. anything that is not relevant to the examinations ahead. Examinations, strangely enough, dominate students' minds. My classmates may well think that I am good at linguistics, and so they will immediately conclude, without exception, 'so you must score a high GPA'... Sadly, the thing that is immediately associated with 'good or bad' is a score.

Your suggestion about IELTS (that I took 2 years ago lol without attending any tutorial classes or doing preparations of any sort... just fulfilling your 'minimum requirement' when I was a 6th former) therefore, in this context, does not really render any use in determining the (always abtract) 'language standard' of English teachers. IELTS has nothing about 'culture'. Given that absurd formula (good / bad = score), and given the fact that actually there are tutorial classes given on this test available in Hong Kong, IELTS is simply another UE.

3. These lead to the 3rd possible cause: All that Hong Kong (as a physiological identity separated from its people) wants about English is to make it a little utility: the current English curriculum is concerned with how to use English (as the name of the subject suggests: Use of English), not how to appreciate English as a language or, as Sapir - Whorf's hypothesis suggests, a fruit of a culture. Think about the writing assignments: Letter to the editor, Letter of complaint, Informal letter to a friend (sharing students' own experience perhaps), and essays (on the sheer knowledge on some current social issues). Listening is more or less to make students a 'phono - type', write whatever you hear. (of course, that needs some thought... but what is needed in a real dialogue: any puns suggested? the attitude of the speaker? 'slips of tongue'? all these are absent). Oral~ haha, that's a joke. Just keep talking and make your points understandable to your partners to score high. If this is not enough, sham having some 'foreign accents'. What is the most 'important part' in English exams in Hong Kong, as an interviewee in a programme produced by TVB (name really forgotten, but the programme is great!) pointed out, is 'comprehension', not how to express oneself, accounting for the 'deteriorating English language standard' these days.

4. What makes the situation even worse is the availability of such 'lures' as PC games, movies, and the Internet (-_-... am I not surfing the net?). Students 20 years ago may take pleasure in reading fictions: Le Docteur Pascal, Women in Love, the God of Small Things (I didn't take AL E. Lit.; I really read it for pleasure), Sybil (by Benjamin Disraeli), these are all fictions that I like. But as other forms of leisure can be more easily reached today, reading (to learn from the 'experience of another person': a 'function' of literature) becomes a hefty burden from which every students wants to escape.

So... the entire 'English pedagogic machine' becomes a miserable thing brewing students who treat English as nothing more than a tool to show their 'erudition', as is observed from the fact that complaint letters written in English to the Government or to such other authorities as concerned are paid more attention to, even if the author thereof is a Hong Konger. I do not mean Hong Kongers are in their nature 'inferior' to non - Hong Kongers. What I am trying to bring out is that there exists a sort of 'linguistic discrimination', even if the government has declared equal legal status of Chinese and English. Discriminations of this sort conduce to English being treated the utilitarian way. Actually I was writing an essay on this attitude toward English when the semester started. But the 'study' was halted by the profs, on the grounds that I am but a yr1 student, so that I should leave the topic to my yr 3 (actually yr 4) final paper. Anyway, I don't give a damn anymore.

Your suggestion relative to the English curriculum is good... but I wonder if it would be possible even in the university, as the topics suggested are each already a large topic. Or are you actually suggesting it as a framework that is to be followed through during the 16 years (university years inclusive) of schooling?

I love linguistics not really because I treat language in a parochial scientific way. I am limiting 'language' to the 'essence' (leaving this undefined) because I am more interested in the common traits shared by ALL human languages. Culture... yes, that sounds great, and in my literature studies I remember I once looked into the relationship between 'gender roles' and why Alice Munro's <Boys and Girls> is written that way. But still, linguistics studied in the way I mentioned before is what I am most interested in, for which reason I am not really ok with the course I am taking and am therefore applying by non - JUPAS for CU linguistics... to see if I have a chance.

Language study being too much like science?

julielai — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 11:12:37 GMT

Randy_Tam wrote:
As I said earlier, what a native speaker looks more on is the meaning (which, if broadly defined, can be regarded as a 'rule'. After all, language as a whole can be defined as a 'social institution'.) instead of the structural rules which constitute the language, as it is something 'inside'.

Not quite. I look up pronunciations in Chinese dictionaries. (I won't speak for other languages--inadequate sample. I'd infer incorrectly. I suspect Japanese native speakers look up pronunciations too, with their on and kun readings)

In this case the term is an include - all word, which has virtually no meaning, and resembles 'All human beings have a physiological brain.'

The laws of science aren't arbitrary; but the rules of human institutions could be argued as such. Language is not science (unlike "earth as a cube", which isn't common sense either).

Your argument has a local flavor to it. Hong Kongers hang on to the bones because they are getting less meat (cultural literacy). Had they done more "immersion", they'd have had more "instinctive"/native-speaking feel of Eng. The diff. between L1s and 2s here is perhaps sheer exposure.

I see the impact of the exposure problem even on university research. English students prefer linguistics because it's more tangible than cultural literacy. Local research is now lopsided--too much on structures and theories; not enough on literature/etymology--hence my criticism on learners treating language like science. I see the influence even on their writing. If they become profs, the Eng. ed. curriculum and research will be even more unbalanced. Hence my jab at Chomsky (though I'm not picking on him per se.).

An excellent lang. ed. curriculum should cover:
1. Three writing courses at least 2. literature (7-8 courses, covering poetry, drama, fiction and prose) 3. Greek and Latin roots of Eng. 4. English and American civilization 5. child psychology 6. Children's lit. (for primary school teachers) 7. Juvenile lit. (for sec. school teachers) 8. Two years of foreign lang. 9. Public speaking 10. phonetics and syntax 11. History of English 12. Intensive listening lab 13 music (for primary teachers)

Save pedagogy for the last year. Make IELTS (with a minimum of 7.5) a graduation requirement. Bump up teachers' salary for those who make the cut.

Many people, like myself, form their own theories based on life experiences. Instead of talking about love, I want a real love affair with English. I'd pick an Ishiguro novel over Chomsky's papers any given day.

There, I feel better now.

Hope you're not homeless (hey, the library has internet access!) Merry X'mas [:-)]

Good Luck!

rizwanaomar18 — Wed, 06 Oct 2004 08:30:39 GMT

Dear EnglishForums Team:

I'm a new member of this site. I was looking for a website as yours but after a search finally i got it. I love english language. My speaking is good, writing is also fine but my reading is very very slow and if i try to read fastly i cant make out the things i mean it remains unclear. I work in an office and rcvd many letters and faxes and i need to finsih up things in time but with proper understanding. I also read newspapers, books and novels. I hv done English Literature (Part-i) and busy in prepration. I also have done IELTS (International English Language Testing System). I made good score but less score in reading sections. Pls advise how should i improve my reading speed.

Once again i would like to say that its sucha great help for those who faces problem in English and want to improve. Pls keep it up! (y)