课题
Module 9 English for you and me
Unit 1 I’m proud of what I’ve learnt
教 学 目 标
德育目标: Help the students learn how to talk about the progress they made in their language studying
知识目标:Attributive clause joined by that , who, which, whose
although, even though引导的让步状语从句, because引导的原因状语从句, until引导的时间状语从句
能力目标: Enable students to listen to and talk about the progress they made in their language studying.
重点
Vocabulary : achieve bright handwriting level certain however no matter wherever fairly
Key structures I’m proud of what I’ve learnt.
It’s the subject that I’m best at, although my handwriting could be better.
I just hope I can continue to make progress next year.
…, although it’s a language which looks simpler than it actually is.
But it’s good to meet other people who want to learn English.
No matter how their English is…
Grammar: Attributive clause joined by that , who, which, whose
难点
Attributive clause joined by that , who, which, whose
课型
Listening and speaking
教法
PWP approach
StepⅠWarming up and lead-in
Talk about the picture, and then answer the following questions:
1. What are the people doing?
2. Where are they?
3. Have you ever been to a meeting like this?
After a few minutes, ask some students to answer them.
Step Ⅱ Listening and reading
Ask students to listen to the dialogue and then answer the questions.
Listening
T: First please read the words and the questions in Activity 2.
The sample answers to Activity 4:
Betty
Lingling
English corners are for people with a low level of English.
√
English is a simple language
√
Chinese may be more popular than English in the future.
√
English is spoken all over the world
√
To speak a language, you need to work hard.
√
You have to be bright to speak English.
English is my favorite lesson at school
√
It’s good to practice even if the other person is better than you are at English.
√
Reading
read the dialogue individually hen ask some students to speak out their answers. Language points:
1. I think I have achieved a lot, and I am proud of what I’ve learnt.
achieve: gain or reach something usually by effort, skill, courage. (通常借努力、技巧、勇气等)获得或达到(某事物)。
2. How much progress in English do you think you have made this year?
make progress: advance or development, esp. towards a better state. 取得进步,进展、发展。
3. Although my handwriting could be better.
handwriting: something written by hand 书写
4. You mean, those clubs where you go to practice your English.
practice: do something repeatedly or regularly in order to improve one’s skill. 练习,实习。
5. Learning a foreign language requires a certain effort, however easy it is.
effort:use of (much) strength and energy to do something. (做某事物使用的)力量和精力。
6. Although it’s a language which looks simpler than it actually is.
Simple: easily done or understood. 简单的
Grammar Points
状语从句
用一个句子(从句)来作另一个句子(主句)
的状语, 用作状语的句子就叫作状语从句。
作什么样的状语就叫什么类型的状语从句。
例如:
条件状语从句就是用一个句子来作条件
状语。
二. 状语从句的分类及连词
1). 时间状语从句连词: when, before, after, until, as soon as, as, while 等。
2). 条件状语从句连词: if
3). 地点状语从句:
常用where(哪里)和wherever(无论哪里)引导。
4). 原因状语从句:
常用的引导连词有because, as和since,三者的区别是:在回答问题的时候,使用because;对于显而易见的原因,常用as或since。as和since的从句常放在主句之前,而because的从句常放在主句之后。
5). 目的状语从句:
常用的引导连词有so that, that和in order
that 译为:以便, 为了, 目的是。
6)让步状语从句:although, though
7)比较状语从句: than; as
8)结果状语从句: so…that…;such…that…
The Attributive Clause
定语从句
定语从句的概念
用作定语的从句叫做定语从句。
定语从句通常置于它所修饰的名词(或代词)之后,这种名词(或代词)叫做先行词。引导定语从句的关联词为关系代词和关系副词。关系代词(who,whom, whose,that,which等)在定语从句中可用作主语、定语、宾语等;关系副词(when,where,why等)在定语从句中只用作状语。
II. 关系代词
先行词
关系代词用:
在定从中充当的成分
人
who
主 / 宾
whom
宾
人/物
that
主/宾
?物
which
主/宾
人/物
whose
=of whom/which
?定语
II. 关系副词
先行词
关系副词用:
在定从中充当的成分
?时间
名词
when
=at/in/on which
时间状语
?地点
名词
?where
=at/in/on which
地点状语
原因
名词
?why
=for which
?原因状语
Step Ⅲ Pair work
Step Ⅳ Pronunciation and speaking
Pronunciation
Ask students to listen to and then read the passage in Activity 7.
Speaking
T: It’s time to show you to everyone. According to Activity 9, you should work in pairs, talking about your progress in English vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, reading and writing. You can turn to the answers to Activity 6.
Step Ⅴ Homework
Ask students to learn the vocabulary and key sentences by heart.
Ask students to make a dialogue about the progress in their English studying.
课题
Module 9 English for you and me
Unit 2 We all own English
教 学 目 标
德育目标:To know the importance of learning English
知识目标:
a. Words & phrases生词和短语
own, everyday, tourism, quarter, recent, typhoon, importance, Indian, in place of
b. Key sentences重点句子
Until English became important in the 20th century, people who had any education spoke French.
More and more schools in Europe are teaching Chinese as a foreign language, in place of other European languages.
Even if there are differences in grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling, we all belong to the international English speaking world.
能力目标: To understand the passage and write a composition called “The future of Chinese”.
To learn how to analyze the passage in this unit and write a composition about the future of Chinese.
重点
Learn to write a composition about the future of Chinese.
难点
Learn to write a composition about the future of Chinese.
课型
Reading and writing
教法
Listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Teaching procedures and ways教学过程
Step Ⅰ Revision and lead-in
Review what the students learned last period and introduce what will be learned in this period.
Revision: let’s play a game. You are divided into four groups. You have chances to say the progress you have made in English vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, reading and writing. When your group’s answer is right, your group will get a red star. The group which has the most stars will be the winner. Now, Start! Please do it as quickly as possible.
Lead-in
The teacher shows a map to the students:
Look at the map.
What are the names of these countries? Does anyone know the names of the countries?
Can you tell me what language has the largest number of speakers?
StepⅡReading
Please look at the pictures on Page 74 and then find the questions in Activity 1. First, look at the pictures and then tell me where they are and what languages you can see?
read the passage carefully and answer the questions in Activity 2.
check the answers.
Please work in pairs and talk about your answers to the questions.
Step Ⅲ Writing
Ask students to write a composition about The Future of Chinese
The sample:
Chinese is one of working languages in the United Nations. Not only people living inside China, but also many Chinese outside China speak it. You will find large or small groups of Chinese people living in almost every country in the world. They are living and working there. Chinese has the largest number of speakers in the world. However, we have entered a period in history when children are all learning beginner or higher level English. But looking into the future, the number of learners may grow smaller almost as quickly as it increased. Many language learners are expressing an interest in learning Chinese.
Step ⅣHomework
1. Ask students to learn the key sentences by heart
2. Retell the passage.
课题
Module 9 English for you and me
Unit 3 Language practice
教 学 目 标
德育目标:To know about the importance of learning English
知识目标:
a. Words & phrases生词和短语
speaker period express
b. Key sentences重点句子
Lao She is the author who…
Even though you don’t understand much, you should…
However, we have entered a period in world history when children are all learning beginner or higher level English.
能力目标:Enable students to use attributive clause and other adverbial clauses to say something
learn how to choose the right conjunctions in different clauses.
重点
Learn to talk about giving advice and learn about the future of the English
难点
Learn to talk about giving advice and learn about the future of the English
课型
Revision and application
教法
Formal and interactive practices
Teaching procedures and ways教学过程与方式
StepⅠRevision and lead-in
1. Ask some students to retell the passage “Who owns English” to have a revision.
2. Introduce attributive clause and other adverbial clauses to students.
Step Ⅱ Grammar Practice
Do Activity 1: Read the words in the box and the following example carefully. Then you join the sentences with the words in the box according to the example.
check our answers.
Activity 2: Complete the sentences so that they are true for you.
Ask students to practice the attributive clause and other adverbial clauses using the given conjunction words.
let the students exchange their ideas.
let’s go on with Activity 3.
Check the answers.
Step Ⅲ Listening and speaking
Listening
Let students do some listening comprehension.
listen to an advertisement and say what it is for.
Then check the answer.
listen to the passage again and then answer the questions. Please read the questions as quickly as you can.
listen carefully, and try your best to grasp the main idea.
After listening, talk about them and check the answers.
Speaking
a. Ask students to read the reports and then discuss the following questions in pairs in Activity 4 on Page 77.
b. Then go on with Activity 5: Complete the sentences and give advice.
Exchange their ideas.
Step Ⅳ Reading
1. Ask students to read the passage about the development of English.
Please read the passage carefully and finish the following choices on Page 78.
Then check the answers.
Read the passage “Invented languages” in “Around the world”.
Please read the passage and fill in the blanks, and the first letters have been given.
People have been i______ languages since the 17th century in the hope that a world language will bring world peace. One of them called E_____ was invented by a P____ man Zamenhof. The language is b______ on Latin, German and Greek vocabulary. The letter of the language has the same s_____ and the s_____ grammar rules. But because many people have learned it as a first language, it is u______ to become a new world language after all.
Step Ⅴ Module task
The tips for learning English:
Improve your English grammar
﹡Use self-study grammar books.
﹡Learn the different tenses. Learn by heart a simple example sentence using each tense.
﹡Do online exercises. Keep a note of how you did and go back in a few weeks to see how you have improved.
Improve your vocabulary
﹡Use English notebooks
﹡Use flash cards
Improve your listening
﹡Watch English Films
﹡Listen while reading is a good idea. ﹡Keep up to date with current events and watch an English-language news station,
such as BBC World. Watch news reports on events you are already aware of.
﹡Find out how to switch languages on your TV. If you have digital or satellite TV there are several channels that broadcast in multiple languages. Eurosport is one and Euronews is another, you should be able to set these to the English language.
Improve your speaking
﹡Speak clearly, concisely and use simple vocabulary.
﹡Avoid idioms and slang
Improve your reading
﹡Make a habit of reading regularly.
﹡Read as many English books, newspapers and magazines as you can find.
﹡Find an author you like and read all their books. By doing this you will get used to the style of a particular author and the typical vocabulary and grammar they use. As you read more of his/her books you will find it easier and easier.
﹡If you have a local library find out if they stock English books or if they have bilingual editions of English classics. Or ask them to stock English translations of books you are already familiar with.
﹡Try reading things more than once. Read something and then read it again a few weeks/months later. You should find your understanding has improved.
Improve your writing
﹡Write frequently, in a wide range of formal and informal situations.
﹡Get the most out of your dictionary by understanding how to use it correctly.
﹡Copy out short passages of English text from newspapers, magazines or books.
﹡Try dictation exercises. You can do this online or get friends to read out text for you to write and then check your writing - concentrate on spelling and punctuation.
﹡Use a blog to create a diary about your life. Write it in English and if you have a thick skin, ask for feedback.
﹡Be careful about using abbreviations when writing on forums and in chat rooms, they are fun and quick, but can cause bad habits to form.
﹡If you are using a computer, use an English spell checker (but don’t rely on it). There are spell checkers available for Google and Firebox browsers too.
StepⅥ Homework
1. List more tips for learning English.
2. Review what have been learned in this module
Module 9 English for you and me
一、选择填空
Uncle Wang gave all his savings to the Hope School _______ he himself was not rich.
A. because B. as if C. though D. or
It was _____ bad weather that we decided not to go there.
A. so B. such C. very D. quite
He met many problems ____ he was going over his lessons.
A. before B. while C. until D. as soon as
Don’t be afraid of asking for help ____ it is needed.
A. unless B. after C. although D. when
We were just ready to play football ____ it began to rain.
A. after B. as soon as C. when D. before
-Please wait here. I’ll come back soon.
-All right. We’ll stay at the library ____ you come back.
A. until B. for C. while D. as
- Is David at school today?
- No, he is at home ____ he has got a bad cold.
A. because B. if C. though D. until
Someone called me at midnight, but he hung up ____ I could answer it.
A. as B. since C. after D. before
—Do you know the man ______is talking with your father?
—Yes, he’s our headmaster.
A. he B. who C. which D. whom
Is this the river _____I can swim?
A. which B. in which C. that D. the one
This is the best hotel in the city _____I know.
A. where B. which C. that D. it
Can you lend me the dictionary ______the other day?
A. that you bought B. you bought it
C. that you bought it D. which you bought it
Anyone ______with what I said may put up your hands.
A. which agrees B. who agree
C. who agrees D. which agree
My watch is not the only thing ______ is missing.
A. that B. it C. which D who
The man ______coat is black is waiting at the gate.
A. who’s B. whose C. that D. of which.
The girl ______ is reading under the tree _____my sister.
A. which; is B. whom; was C. who; is D. who; was
I love places ______the people are really friendly.
A. that B. which C. where D. who
The world ______ is made up of matter.
A. in that we live B. on which we live
C. where we live in D. we live in
二、完形填空
阅读短文,指出能填入相应空白处的最佳答案。
It was Monday. Mrs. Smith’s dog was ___1, but there was no meat in the house. Thinking that there was no 2 way, Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it:“Give my dog half a pound of meat.” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said, “__3__ this to the butcher, and he’s going to give you your lunch today.”__ 4 the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher’s shop. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it __5___ , and recognized (辨认) that it was 6 Mrs. Smith’s handwriting. So he did __7__ he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once.
At midday, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave half a pound of meat __8__.
The next day, the dog came again just at midday. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at the paper, and gave the dog __9__ meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers. But, the dog came again at 4:00 p.m. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher’s surprise, it came for the third time at 6:00 p.m.. The butcher felt puzzled. He said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?” Looking __10__ the piece of paper, he found that there were no words there.
1. A. hungry B. thirsty C. hot D. ill
2. A. another B. other C. others D. the other
3. A. Take B. Bring C. Get D. Carry
4. A. Picking B. Having C. Dropping D. Holding
5. A. carefully B. quietly C. slowly D. clearly
6. A. possibly B. really C. exactly D. strongly
7. A. when B. like C. as D. after
8. A. too B. also C. again D. either
9. A. its B. his C. himself D. it
10. A. at B. for C. into D. up
?三. 阅读理解
阅读理解下面的短文,然后按要求答题。
A
根据表格内容,指出能完成所给句子的最佳答案。
1. The art show will last ___.
A. one day B. two days
C. three days D. four days
2. The students will have the school meeting ___ in May.
A. four times B. three times C. twice D. once
3. We can see that the students will have exams from ___ to ___.
A. May 1, May 5 B. May 10, May 12
C. May 22 May 26 D. May 8, May 11
4. From the above chart (图表) we can see that there are two ___ groups in this
school.
A. sports B. art C. science D. language
5. There will be ___ ball matches in May.
A. two B. three C. four D. five
B
When most people think of the Olympics, they don’t think of science. But in the USA, each year, students take part in a kind of competition called the Science Olympiad.
It has a lot of different events. Students go there to show how much they know about the science of music, biology, chemistry and others. My best event is forestry (森林学). This time, I went to the Olympiad with my school’s team. We had worked hard, but this was the state competition. It would be hard to win.
The Olympiad was out of town, so we got to ride on a bus and stay in a hotel for a night. The Olympiad was in three big rooms. When we got there, we set up our team’s “camp” off to one side. The big day had come at last! First, I went to watch the tower building competition. That’s when students build small towers and put heavy things on top of it. They hope they can hold them up. One of my schoolmates was putting things on her tower. She was nervous, and in the end it was too heavy for her tower to hold it—it broke! I felt bad for her. After lunch, I helped some teammates with their events. One was geography, and the other was history. I don’t know much about those things, so I just watched my teammates do most of the work. At last, it was time for my favorite event—forestry. Another student was also in the forestry event. The rules were easy. We had to look at more than 40 different kinds of leaves and find out which plants they were from. We also had to answer some questions about the uses of each leaf. I knew almost all of the leaves and could answer most of the questions. I had spent more than a month studying on the Internet to get ready. At the end, it was time for the awards (颁奖), I was nervous, because the forestry awards were last. We won second place in the whole state! A nice man gave me a medal and smiled at me.
I had a great time at the Science Olympiad. I can’t wait for next year!
根据短文内容。指出能完成所给句子的最佳答案。
6. Which of the following is true?
A. When people talk about Olympics, they never think of the sports games.
B. The writer got some help from others in getting ready for the competition.
C. No one thinks the Olympics has anything to do with science.
D. The writer thought the competition was difficult.
7. The writer felt ___ about the competition.
A. nervous B. excited C. sad D. bad
8. We know that ___.
A. you know a lot about biology if you’re good at forestry
B. it’s the first time for the writer to be in the competition
C. the writer had to do some experiments in the competition
D. the state competition lasted several days
9. The writer took part in the competition ___.
A. in the morning B. at noon
C. in the afternoon D. at night
10. The writer ___ at the Science Olympiad.
A. won the first prize B. lost the state competition
C. enjoyed himself D. got 40 different kinds of leaves
四、根据所给的首字母或单词的正确形式填空:
1. I can’t understand the foreigners because my English level is f_________ low.
2. Learning a foreign language requires a c_________ effort, however easy it is.
3. How much have you a___________this year in English? Have you made much
progress?
Even though there are d__________, we all belong to the international English
speaking world.
It’s the most important foreign language that children will learn at school,
because it’s e_________ for tourism
There are many outside class activities in our school and I’m in the __________
(dance) group.
The teacher is _________ (please) with what we have done in class.
He worked hard and ___________ (success) in his business at last.
Tom ran so _________ (quick) that I couldn’t catch up with him.
You’re so _________ (luck). This is the last ticket for Guiyang.
五、补全对话
A: Good morning. May I help you?
B: Yes, ________________________________________ (1).
A: Do you want an English storybook or a Chinese one?
B: _______________________________ (2). I want to improve my English.
A: _____________________________________________ (3)?
B: Let me have a look. Er--- I think it’s too difficult for me. .
_________________________________________ (4).
A: All right. This book is easier, I think.
B: Oh, this is very interesting. ________________________ (5).Here’s the
money.
A: Thank you. Please come again..
B: Thank you.
六、. 任务阅读
阅读下面短文, 根据短文内容回答问题.
In a classroom in any countries, the teacher teaches more than art or history or language. He or she teaches something behind--- the culture (文化)of the country.
In a country such as the United States, people with different history, culture and language join together and they pay much attention to person ideas. Teachers try to make each student special. Students do not have to remember a lot of information, instead, they work and find answers by themselves. There is often discussion in the classroom. At an early age students learn to have their own ideas. Their education encourages personal thought (思想). The importance is placed on how to arrive at an answer and not only to get the correct answer.
In most Asian countries, people have the same language, history and culture. Perhaps for this reason, the education there pays more attention to group goals than personal ideas. Children in China and Japan often work together and help each other on homework. In the classroom, the ways of teaching are often very traditional. The teacher says, and the students listen. There is not much discussion. Instead, the students repeat (重复) rules or information that they have been taught in order to keep them in mind.
In many ways these differences come from different educational ideas. In Western countries teachers are taught to help students to learn. They make it easier for the students to learn by themselves. In some Asian countries, however, teachers often feel that their job is to pass knowledge to students.
1. Do students in the United States have to remember a lot of information?
__________________________________________________________
2. There is often discussion in the classroom in America, isn’t there?
___________________________________________________________
3. What does the education in the United States encourage?
___________________________________________________________
4. Which does the education in some Asian countries pay more attention to, group goals or personal ideas?
___________________________________________________________
5. Put the sentence “In some Asian countries, however, teachers often feel that their job is to pass knowledge to students,” into Chinese.
_____________________________________________________________
七、综合填空
根据短文内容及首字母提示, 填写所缺单词, 使短问意思完整.
High school students in America hear about twenty b (1) every day. The first bell is the tardy bell (上课铃). If students are not at their desks when the tardy bell r (2), they know they are late. Another bell rings at the end of each class, and everyone leaves class q (3) and goes to the next class. When students are in a h (4), they are often happy to hear the bell ring. If the class is i (5), they do not want the bell ring.
M (6) students like the lunch bell best. They know that is time to enjoy their l (7). They b (8) a hot meal in the school dinning room or they b (9) their lunch from home in big paper bags. A (10) a nice lunch everyone knows that it is soon time for another bell, another bell…
八、书面表达
请根据下图和表格的提示, 写一篇题为Saving the Earth 的英语短文.
注意: 1 词数在80---100个左右.
2. 标题和开头已经给出, 不计入总词数.
3. 内容要点见表格.
人类的不明智之举
1. 乱伐树木 2. 乱扔垃圾 3. 不加处理排放废物
导致的问题
1. 土地沙化 2. 河水变脏 3. 空气质量差 4. 全球气温升高
建议
合理化建议至少三条
Saving the Earth
As time goes by, man is making the earth sick.
参考答案:
一、选择填空
1-5 CABDD 6-10 AADBC 11-15 CABAB 16-18 CCB
二、完形填空
1-5 ABABA 6-10 CCAAA
?三. 阅读理解
1-5 BCCCA 6-10 CBBCC
四、根据所给的首字母或单词的正确形式填空:
1. fairly 2. certain 3. achieved 4. divisions 5. essential 6. dancing 7. pleased 8. succeeded 9. quickly 10. lucky
五、补全对话
1. I want to buy a story book.
2. An English one.
3. How about this one?
4. I want a easier one.
5. I will buy it.
六、. 任务阅读
1. No, they needn’t.
2. Yes, there is.
3. The education in US encourages personal thoughts.
5. group goals.
七、综合填空
1. bells 2. rings 3. quickly 4. hunger 5. interesting 6. Many 7. lunch 8. buy 9. bring
10. After
八、书面表达
略
How to learn English well
As the modern economy and technology are hooked up with international communication, more and more people have joined group of learning English, regardless of age, gender, education, background. There is no denying the fact that English has been playing an important role all round the world.
We would say that some problems of the students’ learning habits are also the source of inadequacy. Chinese students tend to separate vocabulary memorizing, grammar, listening, speaking, reading and writing. Therefore their English is also broken in this way. In addition, they are generally reluctant to practice speaking. This has greatly contributed to “dumb English” of Chinese students. So all the English educator, not only university but also English assistant organization should encourage students to speak English in their daily communications and hold more activities with the purpose of promoting students’ speaking of English. Witty school is aiming at this kind of effect.
Anyway, not only university but also English assistant organizations, both are senders of knowledge. We alone are the receptors. As the saying goes” more haste, less speed”. We should digest knowledge well based on a long-term process.
Basically, everyone is groping our own learning methods. As far as I am concerned, I will list the below mentioned points for your information:
1. Vocabulary To some extent, when you communicate with foreigner, a large number of vocabularies prove important comparatively. Although we could change another word to express what you want to say, out ultimate purpose is to keep more vocabulary in our mind.
2. movie Too many successful examples proved that watching foreign movies could get more daily expressions, escpecially slang. Therefore movie is an effective method to make our remarks more native.
3. Communication in English anytime and anywhere If we are usually ashamed to speak English in front of the public, our English skills will be never improved. So we should put our face aside and speak out what we want to say without hesitation. Such being the case, this kind of experience will be also graced to your life road. “Come on! Guys” we are winners as long as we adhere to our initial dreams. English fortress will be defeated sooner or later.
How to love learning English
Improving your motivation for learning English
In this article, we share our techniques for improving your motivation for learning English as a foreign language. We used them all the time when we were learning English and we still use them when we need to boost our motivation in areas other than English.
Imagine yourself in the future
Imagine you can talk to native speakers just like you talk in your first language. Imagine other people wanting to speak English as well as you do. Imagine the possibility of writing e-mail to people from all over the world.
It is helpful to read an article about the advantages of knowing English well. You should know that it is possible to learn English really well. Just look at other people who have done it.
Remember that you are already good
You already know some English (you're reading an article in English right now). That's a big success! Now it's time for more successes. Time to start using powerful methods of effective learning. Time to gain an impressive knowledge of English.
Remember there is a lot that you don't know
You are good, but your English probably isn't perfect. You probably can't understand English-language TV, read books in English, talk to native speakers easily, write letters without mistakes, etc.
You should never think your English is perfect. Even if you are the best student in your class, always try to find your weak areas and work on them. When you've learned to speak English well, your problems will be quite small: punctuation, rarely used grammar structures, rare words, understanding "street language". Right now, your problems are probably more basic: mistakes in pronunciation, small vocabulary, grammar problems with the present perfect tense and conditional structures.
Use your English whenever you can
This is very, very important. The more you use English, the more you will want to learn it.
Because English is so popular, you can use it everywhere. You can use Google to find English-language websites with interesting information, you can watch American cartoons, you can play adventure games on your computer, you can read interesting books in English, or you can do other things that we write about.
If you do these things, you will not only have fun and learn English. If you see that a new English word lets you understand your favorite TV show (or communicate with people, or beat a computer game), you will want to learn more words. So you will learn English more, use it more, learn it more, use it more... If you also use effective learning methods, your English will grow faster than you can imagine.
The eight magic words for learning English
The eight magic words for learning English well. This article has previously been published in two other BBSes under two different pennames. I only realize today that I never put this up right in my home base: Rainlane. So here it is. The material is a bit old, but still has some merits in it.
The eight magic words for learning English well: Live and breathe the language; be persevering and consistent.
One of the most popular questions you will find on an “English Corner”type board is:“How do I go about learning English well?”You will also find the related question:”How can I become so fluent that I can speak and write like a native-speaker?”
There is actually no need for you to ask someone else that question; you only have to ask yourself the following hypothetical question.
If a foreigner were to ask you:“How do I go about learning Chinese well? How can I become so fluent that I can mimic the speech and writing of a Chinese?”What would you have said to him?
You probably would tell him to read a lot, listen more and practice writing and speaking as much as possible. On top of that, you would tell him that knowing a bit of Chinese tradition, culture, history, myths and legends, folklore, children’s rhymes…, will all contribute to his proficiency in the language.
So, there you have it. You do not need to go around asking other people how you could become proficient in English. You have the answer all along. All you need to do is to apply those same principles you would have given to this foreigner and apply them to your own situation.
I am not here to endorse or condemn any particular method of learning. One must realize that different people would thrive under different techniques. (However, I do object to certain hypes and misleading promotional methods used by certain schools.) Just remember the old saying:”All roads lead to Rome”.
The following are two follow up posts in response to queries and comments from readers.
(I) To the people who commented, "(It is) Easier said than done."
Yes, I do agree. But keep in mind that whether it can be "done" or not depends solely on your commitment and determination.
Rule No. I : Don‘t make excuses.
Rule No. 2: Make it happen.
If you said, twenty or thirty year ago, that “It is difficult for me to get English materials to read and listen to.” I would have agreed with you completely. But today, with TV, CDs, and the Internet, there is just no excuse.
For most people, the problem is “not enough time." Well, if you are really determined to make a go at it, you will have
to make time. How do you make time? You make sacrifices.
When you go to work or school, do you put on a pair of earphones and listen to music. Why not put on a language tape on instead. Here is a bit of trivia for you. Do you know how the "walkman" came into being? Sony engineers noticed Japanese students were constantly listening to language tapes on poorly made tape recorder. That gave them the idea of a producing a good quality portable music system.
When you, ahm... go to the toilet, what do you bring? A newspaper, a magazine, playboy, playgirl....? Why not bring an English novel? Do you read when you go to bed? Why not make it an English novel instead of a Chinese one? Go through your day and see what "time slots" you can use for reading and listening. Even if it is only half an hour a day, but if you do it day in and day out, you will find yourself making enormous progress.
(2) I strongly believe that writing can only be improved by reading a lot and with as many different variety of books as possible. Of course, you need to practice writing too. The key is in the variety. Anything that is well written, be it the classics, novels or children‘s literature.
Reading a lot is a "brain washing process." After a while, you will be able to have an idea what is proper English and what is not. You will be able to recognize what is comprehensible English and what is not. When you reach that stage, you will be able to notice the flaws in your own writing.
Spoken English can be improved by carrying on an imaginary conversation with the characters on a TV --live or a recorded VCD/DVD. Just make sure you do not look at the Chinese subtitles. Or you can tape conversations from TV shows and use that. Repeat after the actors. After a while, listen to person A, stop the tape, and supply the answer for person B. You don‘t have to have the exact answers. The idea is to be able to talk back intelligently to person A.
What is necessary to learn English well?
Learning English requires action. You may know all the learning tips, but if you don't start doing things, you will achieve nothing. The fact is, if you want to learn to speak English well, you must change your life. Here are some examples of things you will have to do:
Read a book in English for an hour every day, analyzing the grammar in sentences and looking up words in an English dictionary
Listen to an audiobook or other recording in English, stopping it frequently, trying to understand what is being said, and trying to imitate the speaker's pronunciation
Spend your afternoon practicing the pronunciation of the English "r" sound
Carefully write an e-mail message in English, using a dictionary or a Web search every 20 seconds to make sure every word is correct, and taking 5 minutes to write one sentence
Think about an English sentence you've read, wondering if it could say "a" instead of "the" in the sentence, and trying to find similar sentences on the Web to find out the answer
Walk down the street and build simple English sentences in your head (talking to yourself in English about the things you see around you)
What kind of person would do all these crazy things? Only one kind. The kind of person who enjoys doing them. If you want to learn to speak English well, you're going to have to become that person. You cannot hate doing these things. Have you ever heard of a person who became successful by doing something he hated?
The problem with learning and teaching English as a foreign language is that all English learners want to speak English well; however, most learners don't want to spend time on learning English on their own. (Which is probably why they sign up for English classes and hope their teacher will force knowledge into their heads.)
This lack of motivation means that learners basically don't spend their own time on learning English, and if they do, they don't do it regularly. For example, a typical learner might study English phrasal verbs for 12 hours before an English exam. However, he will not read a book in English for 30 minutes every day. He just doesn't feel that learning English is pleasant enough, so he will only do it if he has to. The problem is that a huge one-time effort gives you nothing, while small, everyday activities will give you a lot.
If you are one of those learners and don't feel like practicing the pronunciation of the "r" sound or thinking about English sentences every day, we have news for you: You're going to have to make yourself want to do these things. In other words, you'll have to work on your motivation. Fortunately, there are proven techniques to help you with that.
Typical learner vs. motivated learner
Paula is a typical learner of English with a generally low level of motivation. She has occasional moments of high motivation — like the day before her English test or that time when she couldn't communicate with a foreign customer who called her at work. These kind of situations make her think "I've got to do something about my English!". However, they happen very rarely — less than once a month. So even if she studies quite intensively (e.g. for two whole days before an exam), the results are poor, because she forgets 90% of the things she learned within a month. This is no surprise: The way human memory works, you need to review things all the time; otherwise you just forget them.
Now let's look at a different English learner: Judy. Judy reads a special novel for English learners (written in simplified English) almost every day for 30 minutes. She bought an English-English dictionary and uses it to look up English words whenever she doesn't understand a sentence in her book. It was hard to study regularly at the beginning: Reading books and using a dictionary were not "normal activities" for her. And every English sentence was a challenge.
But now, after only two weeks, she can read much faster. While reading, she often sees words that she has learned in the past two weeks. When she recognizes such a word, she doesn't have to look it up in a dictionary and she knows she has made good progress. Judy feels she has learned a lot of English recently, and she is eager to learn more. Every day, she looks forward to reading her book. The book gives her the chance to use what she has learned (enjoy her progress) and to learn even more. Because she reads regularly, she forgets little and her vocabulary keeps growing.
Judy is on the right track. She will soon be able to read English-language newspapers and other resources written for native speakers.
If you enjoy learning English, you will spend more time on it, and you will do it regularly. A high level of motivation will also give you another advantage. It will be easier for you to memorize new words and grammar structures. The reason is that the brain easily remembers information on a subject that you like. (For example, some people like history and know everything about World War II. If you told a "normal person" to memorize all these facts, they could never do it.) So enjoyment of learning gives you double benefits.
关于英语学习
英语难学吗?说难确实难,很多人天天不忘背单词,读课文,但几个月下来却发觉收效甚微,英语水平老是提不上去。但如果说容易也并不为过,even a child can do it! 确实有些人感觉学好英语是那么自然的事情,甚至不费吹灰之力。
每个人的英语学习能力是不一样的,学习能力主要是通过学习方法来体现的;一个人的能力与他的天资相关,但主要还是通过后天的培养形成的。我想大家都应该知道这样一个道理:如果你三天打鱼,两天晒网,你可能终生不能学会;如果你能以持之以恒的态度去学习,学好英语是没有问题的,持之以恒的学习是一个知识积累的过程。每一个能学好英语的人都应该是积极的,注重积累的。其实对于其它的学习,何尝又不是一样呢?,因此,假如您真的希望学好英语,首先您应该知道,学习语言是一个长期的过程,是一个不断学习积累的过程,积累到一定的程度,自然就能“滔滔不绝”、“脱口而出说英语”,正所谓“厚积薄发”。
当然在积累的同时我们不能忽略了学习方法的重要性,因为它能给我们带来极高的学习效率。值得我们借鉴的学习方法很多,例如:钟道隆先生的“英语学习学习逆向法”,黎学智教授的“英语词汇逻辑记忆法”,李阳的”疯狂英语“等都是一些非常成功和有影响的的学习方法。但是把别人介绍的各种方法变成自己的东西要有一个过程。看了几遍书上介绍的学习方法,似乎理解了,其实不一定。因为“感觉到了的东西,我们不能立刻理解它,只有理解了的东西纔能更深刻地感觉它”,只有在自己的不断实践中一步一步领会各种方法的要领。正如俗语所说的,“师傅领进门,修行在个人”。在学习别人介绍的各种方法时,也不要过分迷信这些方法而限制了自己的创造性。只有用心思索,不断总结,找出适合自己情况的特有的学习方法来是最有效的。
还要说的一点就是学习兴趣的培养,很难想象一个人能够持之以恒去做一件自己毫无兴趣甚至让他感到厌烦的东西,因为那简直就是一种折磨!又怎么会取得良好的效果呢?在现实中不乏一些对英语头疼但迫于考试或者其它压力又不得不学英语的人,如果这种”症状“出现在您的身上的话,不必为其而忧虑,因为英语学习并不可怕,其实在学习中还是有很多乐趣的,您不觉得很多经典的欧美歌曲是那么的动听吗?您不觉得很多外文的DVD配上中文显得那么的别扭难听,而希望听到纯正的原声吗?再看些英文幽默故事吧,你会发现英文有时是多么的可爱!还有英文小说,它同样具有让你心动和意犹未尽的情节!...慢慢的挖掘吧,不妨暂时避开那些会让你觉得头疼的内容,找一些相关的但你感兴趣的东西,兴趣培养起来了,想学不好都难了!
提醒您:
1.英语学习贵在坚持
2.要养成良好的生活习惯
3.要有计划的学习
4.你一定可以学会“英语”
因为您很小的时候就学会了说:外国人觉得异常难学的“汉语”,不妨想想你到底是怎么学会[听]、[说]、[读]、[写]汉语的? 先学拼音? 汉字、词?然后学习造句? 再读课文? 对了,老师还老要求我们写令人头痛的作文? 再是你迷上了看小说、散文、诗歌? 还有呢?平时天天都在说? 还是根本就不知道怎么学会的呢? 那就是不知不觉吗?
学拼音花了多长时间?学常用汉字花了多少时间?学会写简单的作文花了多少时间?看中文数据您花了多少时间呢?后来你怎么又会写长篇大论了呢?其它的语言学习是否也是如此呢?
英语学习是不是呢?语音?单词、词组?造句?学课文?写作文? 小说?多读?多听?多写?多说?
5.多阅读各种英文数据,积累知识,并从中寻找乐趣,让自己学得乐不思蜀,自然不会因为厌烦而半途而废了。
6.别只顾着[看]、[听]、[读]、[写],还要大声的[说]出来(将你看到的、听到的英语知识化为己有,说出来给[自己]、[他人]听,不断训练自己用英文表达你的任何意思)
很多人可能有难以开口说英语的想法,担心发音不标准或者犯语法错误,成人笑柄,个人觉得这主要是因为缺乏对话训练引起的,或许你又觉得自己没有条件跟人用英文交流,而有机会时又不敢交流,因此这方面很难有所提高。
您不妨自己设想一个对话场景(初中英语及新概念英语中包含了非常多的情景对话),自己跟自己对话,训练多了,心里有底了,在他人面前就容易开口说英语了。对于发音,也不必太在乎完美,在中国有多少人说普通话不带着乡音呢?在英国、在美国,在整个世界,不也一样吗?我们是否应该以知识、交流为重呢?说一口让懂英语的人都能理解的“中国特色英语”又如何呢?
当你做梦都会说英语时,不言自喻,你已经成功了。
7.不要害怕犯错,知错能改即可;不要抱怨自己没有语言天赋,调整好心态,步步为营,学好英语是肯定没有问题的!