Learning a Language

I was fortunate in that at school I learned Latin for 3 years, as well as French.  Latin has helped me with my own language (English), as well as French and at times Spanish.  When I was at school we had an Australian teacher, who may have been to France.  I can't remember.  All we had was the teacher, and our books.  No film or video in the classroom in those days, and no recording of any sought.  We learned by speaking loudly and repeating, and repeating.

After I left school I learned Italian at classes held in the Adelaide University.  As it turns out I've not had to use my language skills and they have all but gone, though I understand when I hear these languages spoken.

When I went to China I did for almost two semesters, learn Chinese (Mandarin), but I bailed out when the conversation learning was too difficult for me, and not only that the conversation we were supposed to be learning was not particularly useful for me at that time.  That was in 2008, and oddly enough we did learn by repeating, and we also had the use of voice recordings.

What a difference from language learning now, from my yearly learning days.  And to be able to learn at one's own pace either with a CD program or online.  I am keen to rejuvenate my Italian a little, and I don't mind brushing up on my Chinese from time to time.  However, I know if you don't 'use it' you may well 'lose it' so much of what I have learned is fading from my memory.

Still, I found a site yesterday and am working through some of the free lessons.  The introductory lessons go for 6 days, and after that one would have to pay.  Not me, or not at the moment as I would be determined to work on it if I paid, and I'm not in the mood to do so at the moment.

However, I do suggest, that the program on this site - Rocket Languages.  Of course there are many programs on the Internet, so it would be worth doing some research through Google.

There would also be quite a few on Youtube, and probably for no cost too.  I found these lessons with Yangyang. 

Seeking more teachers

One of the things I would like to do now I am back in Australia is help find good teachers for China. Good? What do I mean?

I'd love to see a program in Australia where quality teachers were registered, so that foreign schools (China, Japan, South Korea, etc) can check that the people who apply for work in those countries do in fact have the right qualifications. Especially that they are not fake. Fake?

It is not surprising to learn that on the Internet you can buy a degree for a relatively small sum, and no, there is no need to study. I know, because I know of one Australian who is working in China on one of these false documents.

The degree is supposedly from the same university that I worked hard to get my degree, and the paperwork looks very much like my certificate. I know it is false. I know it is a common thing in China, as no one actually checks that the documents are legitimate.

Not only that, it is common for males to go to China or other parts of Asia, with more on their minds than teaching. Sadly many of the young girls are enamoured of the foreign male teacher and to some degree they are putty in their hands. True, there are guys that are in search of a life partner, and who wil treat the girsl with dignity and respect, but there are some who are not interested in life long partners and they break hearts as the move from one girl to another.

In Australia, teachers having a relationship with a student (other than a teacher student professional relationship) is unacceptable, and often the male or female teacher involved in an unprofessional relationship with a student in China gets away with it without any repercussions.

Sadly in many schools, universities or other education facilities in China are managed by males, who seem to turn a blind eye to this behaviour - perhaps in part because they too are indulging in some unprofessional activities with students.

So, who do I think are good teachers? It is impossible to tell really. Though a mature aged female teacher may not be indulging in sexual or other exploits with their students, it doesn't mean that are good teachers.

I am not looking for mature aged women to teach, though I do encourage them to explore teaching in the Middle Kingdom. Young people are fine, but I tend to be a little suspicious of some young men.

Married couples are welcome - and they generally work well in foreign countries. I have worked with quite a few married couples. They work different hours, but have free time together, and most socialise with others as well as with their own partners.

It is hard to find god teachers - I will continue my search, as I do think the opportunity to teach and live in places like China is very helpful for us all.

Anyone one interested??? Let me know and I will help you find a good place to go.

Teaching English in Oz

I am enjoying my class at the college in Brisbane - and the student numbers are increasing. I like having some "fun" in the class room as it does make learning easier. In the book we are using in class we were doing exercises on appearance, important people etc, so to lighten up in the class we played "Celebrity Heads" - and the students all had a "go" at being at the front.

I don't have anything to put on their heads, but when I have sat them down in front of the white board, I write a name on the board behind them, so they cannot see it.

It is always a fun activity and the student must ask questions. It get's them talking. David Beckham, kangaroo, Mickey Mouse etc appear on the board and we all get a laugh. The students get more confident in talking with each other (and me) doing these exercises.

I am not in class today as I am attending a funeral mid afternoon, but I will be back in the class room tomorrow.

I really do enjoy it all, but have some concerns about the way we Aussies are treating these students who come from overseas to learn English. I shall try and find out a little more about it. The students pay a lot of money to study, and to live here, and I only hope they are treated with dignity and respect.

The college that I am working with appears to be above board, but I do know some that are not.

English in Korea

For my readers who are also teachers of English, you might be interested in this article from the Korean Times - click here about the sad state of affairs of the English language learning programs in Korea. The people spend a fortune on English language lessons here - but the results are appallingly low.

Having spend time in China and more recently Korea, I have some thoughts on this.

I remember attending an English Teachers' Conference in Hangzhou in December 08, where the state of affairs of English language learning in China was described in not very glowing terms. It was stated that many students after 16 years of English lessons were still functionally illiterate! However they do rate higher than the South Koreans according to the report mentioned in the Korean Times, and strangely North Korea rates higher than South Korea.

My time in Korea has been very short - just over three weeks, but I have learned that there are few people here, despite the fact that many would have learned English, who are prepared to try and say a few words to a foreigner. I've met just two - one a young gun toting security guard in the local KB Bank, and another in another bank.

In China we discovered that many people were coy about speaking English, and if you asked anyone if they spoke English, they would reluctantly admit "just a little" but it was always enough to get the help we wanted. In Korea, they are extra-ordinarily shy - and just won't admit to it. The lady in my little local shop, I am told, speaks English well. When I spoke to her - she just waved her hands " No".

My students - themselves employed as English teachers have poor English skills - and admit they don't talk much in English, and that they have in many cases forgotten their skills. "If you don't use it, you lose it" I say, and one keeps repeating that saying as he is determined to improve his skills.

Despite the fact that there is English on many buildings, and on many products, there seems to be a total reluctance to use the language. There appears to be no similar program here like the regular"English Corner" programs in China where the Chinese and foreigners met for discussions as I did on some occasions in the Dio Coffee Lounge on a Friday night in Shaoxing.

In Korea there are few if any opportunities to practice conversational English. I see the "English" in the English schools - very much Konglish. (like Chinglish is crazy Chinese English, Konglish is crazy Korean English).

I was looking at the Korean English Dictionary of one of the students today and was gobsmacked. It was huge and had so many pages and so many words - many of which I did not recognise. I've never seen them. Ever. I don't think any average English dictionary in Australia would have that many complex words. So why is it "fare" for Koreans. The dictionary was based on a Japanese dictionary!

So it is a struggle teaching English, and quite a challenge to be teaching teachers how to speak, read, and comprehend English - so that they can help their students.

Somehow we must get more native English speakers to counicte with the Chinese and the Korean students - otherwise they will keep on wasting their money.

OMG!

Korean accent

Here I am sitting at Adelaide airport - and a young Asian girl is sitting near me, and when I hear her talking on the phone, I know it is not Mandarin. Something made me ask her what her nationality she was. I could not believe it - she is Korean.

We had quite a chat - she has been in Australia improving her English and returns to Korea a week after I go.

Amazing world we live in. She is a sweet kind young girl - maybe we will meet again, as she has given me her phone number, in case I need help in Korea.

Am I totally mad?

This I am beginning to worry! Why am I doing this? I am about to sign the contract for the position in Korea, despite the scant information. Boy I wish I had more, but time is running out. I am due to fly to Korea in about two weeks, but I have a trip to Perth and Adelaide BEFORE hand, and I have so much to do.

It seems I will arrive in Korea one day and teach for seven hours the next. So why amd I doing it? I don't know, but it sounds like a great adventure and despite the initial hardships I can do it. I know I can. I hope I can!

I will have scan time to prepare - and time is running out to fast. But.....

I have bought a Lonely Planet guide on Korea, which gives me a lot of information. I will buy a phrase book. There is less English spoken in Korea, and I'm not sure what assistance (if any) I will have in the classroom. And certainly getting around I will NEED the phrase book.

Scary!

There are two Koreas - simply South Korea and North Korea. North Korea I am unlikely to visit - sounds a bit scary really, but I will not have time. It would be interesting to see this country which is really under th control of a strict communist regime. There's no internet, and if I did choose to visit I would need two tour guides with me, as it is impossible for foreigners to visit the country without this type of chaperone to ensure one does not see certain things, and that one does not talk unsupervised with the local people. Of course we know much about the nuclear program, and no doubt they have missiles aimed at China, and South Korea. Who knows really.

South Korea is apparently quite a lot more sophisticated. In fact I'm told I should find things more advanced than in China.

I'm glad to see that Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonalds, and Subway are there - so if I don't like the local fare, I won't starve to death. I'm hoping that I lose more weight - another 10 kgs would be nice. No one will know me when I get back.

So, I am scared and excited. A lot of work to do in the meantime.

Why the different names? Peking or Beijing?

It can be confusing reading/talking about places in China. Most folk know the capital of China as Beijing now, but also know it was called Peking. Or should I say is! Hangchow or Hangzhou? Soochow or Souzhou? One is Mandarin and the other is Pinyin.

Why is this? The explanation is simple, but confusing. It is about the romanization change. So that we westerners can more easily learn the language, and that Chinese children can more easily learn their own language. The best explanation I think is on Wikipedia. I know that is not necessarily the "authority" but it is a good explanation. Click here.

Another site to read.

It is a bit complex. Students in China studying English will have three names. Their Chinese name (Chinese characters), their name in Pinyin, and oddly their English name. Strange as it might be, students choose a name so that their English teacher (if a foreigner can remember, and pronounce his/her name.)

An oddity with this is that Chinese names are different. Perhaps a few wise words. "Heavenly Child", for example. While we might call a girl "Grace" if we want to think of her as a heavenly child, we use a "name" not a "description".

Chinese students choose a strange English names, according to what we are familiar with. Sunny, Moon, Moonshine, Winter, Wind, Eleven, etc. Any word can be a name for a Chinese student. And they change their names from time to time. THAT is confusing.

Editors needed!

My time in China has shown me that the Chinese language is not easy to translate into English - and that more quality editors are needed. So often there is a literal translation from Chinese to English and the folk think that it is a quality translation.

For example the word "river" - it seems that in China an element of water that in the English language in the UK, or Australia, a river would be a large flow of river, a natural water course. Here "river" is used to describe waterways that clearly are not natural, and don't resemble anything I would call a river.

Recently while staying at a hotel that was described as 'overlooking a river' I discovered it was a "canal" - a somewhat polluted man made waterway.

I've written elsewhere about that - but additionally when things are printed - the come out different, because the printers do not know the difference. If they are typesetting in English, it is very hard for printers. Thankfully things are more computerised now, but still no one can pick up the errors.

I have had students in exam consistently write some bad English - when I refer to the text book, the errors are there. The students are learning incorrectly from text books that should have been edited and corrected.

If a Chinese company hires a translator to translate from Chinese to English, they usually do not know that the resulted words are Chinglish, and don't make sense in English. It is impossible to translate directly from Chinese to English without editing. Impossible!!!

As well, with Chinese English teachers, they often have to rely on material that is prepared without an editor. Not only that, Chinese naturally have difficulty pronouncing some sounds "th" and "l" in particular. So "mother" becomes "muzer" and "fall" and "tall" become "for" and "tor".

Then comes a foreign teacher whose native tongue is English and it is somewhat of a nightmare. The students believe their Chinese English teacher!

It is a nightmare for a foreign teacher to mark examinations because in many cases one knows that the errors are because the students have been taught incorrectly. The longer I am here the more I understand.

What to do about it? I have no idea!!!

Snow

This morning it is cold - and it snowed for the first time. Not a lot as you can see - and I didn't see it fall, but it is there none the less. The temperature gauge says -2, but there is a wind blowing so outside it feels a lot colder than that.

I don't know if we will have any more snow forecast - but hopefully we will see a little more of it.



There is a little snow on the car which was parked there overnight. Actually the guy that drives that car is currently in Victoria, Australia. My apartment is directly behind the snow covered car. Ground floor (or first floor as it is known here) - I'm told it is warmer than the floors above.