tutorUnit 2 A Language Teacher

Unit 2

A Language Teacher’s

Personal

Opinion

Will Pidcroft

1

Every day I see advertisements in the newspapers and on the buses

claiming

that it is easy to

learn English. According to these advertisements, with very little effort

on the student’s part

, he

will

be

able

to

speak

the

language

fluently

in

three

months

or

even

ten

days.

There

is

often

a

reference to William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens to encourage him even more

. When I see

advertisements like this, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

If it were as easy to learn English as

they

say,

I

would

have

to

look

for

another

job,

because

very

few

qualified

teachers

would

be

needed.

But

a

large

number

of

people

must

believe

these

ridiculous

claims,

or

else

the

advertisements would not appear.

2

It

is

natural

for

students

to

be

attracted

to

methods

that

will

teach

them

as

quickly

and

efficiently and cheaply as possible. But it is difficult for anyone to explain in simple language why

one method is better than another, and

it is no use

pretending that anyone has discovered a perfect

way

of

teaching

English

in

every

possible

situation

.

Some

experts

even

argue

that

there

are

as

many good methods of teaching a language as there are good teachers, because every teacher is an

individual

with

his

own

personality

.

No

doubt

this

is

true

to

a

certain

extent

,

but

it

is

not

very

helpful to students.

3

For a long time people believed that the only way to learn a language was to spend a great

deal

of

time

in

a

country

where

it

was

spoken.

Of

course

it

is

clear

that

students

who

go

to

England, America, or Australia to learn English

have a great advantage over

others, but a large

number of students cannot

afford

to do so. Some students

go to the opposite extreme

and think

they can teach themselves at home with dictionaries. But it is wrong to

assume

that each word in

English has a

precise equivalent

in another language and

vice versa

, and it is impossible for any

translation method to

provide

students

with

the natural forms of a language in speech,

let alone

produce good pronunciation and intonation.

4

A great deal of teaching is still based on behaviorist psychology. Behaviorists

are fond of

making

students

repeat

phrases

and

making

them

do

exercises

where

they

continually

have

to

change

one

word

in

a

sentence.

If

we

were

parrots

or

chimpanzees,

these

methods

might

be

successful.

A large number of theorists seem to think it is a pity we aren’t, because it would make

it easier to use their methods.

5

In my personal opinion, no one can ever learn to speak English or any other language unless

he is interested in it.

Human beings, unlike parrots and chimpanzees, do not like making noises

unless they understand what the noises mean and can

relate them to

their own lives.

It is worth

remembering

that language is a

means

of communication. What people want to say and write in

another language is probably very

similar to

what they want to say and write in their own. What

they listen to and read cannot be a formula

. It must be real.

6

There is another

relevant

point worth mentioning here. We need other people to talk to and

listen to when we communicate. If what we are learning is strange to us, it will be helpful if there

are other students around us who can work with us and practise the unfamiliar forms with us in

real situations, talking to each other about real life in real language.

▇

课文参考译文

一名语言教师的个人看法

威尔

·

皮德克罗夫特

1

我每天都会在报纸上、公共汽车 上看到各种广告，声称轻轻松松就能学好英语。按照这

些广告的说法，

< br>学生不必费什么力气，

要说一口流利的英语只需短短

3< /p>

个月

,

甚至

10

天就行。

广告还常常提到威廉

·

莎士比亚和查尔斯

·

狄更斯等英语文学大师的 名号进一步激励学生。

每

当看到诸如此类的广告时，

如果学英语真像这些广告所说的那么轻松，

我

恐怕得另谋出路了，

因为不需要那么多合格的英语 教师了。

但是肯定有许多人相信这些可笑

的噱头，不然的话这些 广告也不可能出现。

2

学生们喜欢实惠的速成学习方法也在情理之中，

但要用浅显易懂的语言去解释为什么某

一方法比另一方法更有效并不是一件简 单的事，

而且也无需装模作样地声称有什么人已经找

到了一个万 能的适合所有学习环境的教学方法。

一些专家甚至认为，

有多少 个好老师就有多

少种好的教学方法，

因为每一个老师都有其自身 的特点。

这种说法无疑是有几分道理的，

但

对学生来说不是很有帮助。

3

有很长一段时间，

人们认为学好一门 语言唯一的方法就是去使用那种语言的国家待上一

段时间。

当然 去英国、

美国、

或者澳大利亚等国家学英语的学生肯定比那些不 能去的学生具

有很大优势，

但是很多学生支付不起那笔费用。< /p>

有些学生走向另一极端：

他们认为可以借助

词典在家自学。如果你认为英语中的每一个词在另一语言中都有完全对等的词，那就错了，

反之亦然。

通过翻译法来给学生讲解口语的自然形式是不可能的，

< br>更不要说做到语音、

语调

地道了。

4

现在大量的教学活动还是建立在行为主义心理学的基础之上。行为主义者热衷于让学

生复述短语，

不断做一些只需更换句中某个词的练习。

假如我们是鹦鹉或黑猩猩，

那这些方

法或许能奏效，

可惜我们不是，

这似乎让很多理论家引以为憾，

否则他们提出的那些方法用

起来就会容易得多了。

5

< /p>

我个人认为，假如没有兴趣，任何人都不可能学好英语或其它任何语言。与鹦鹉或黑

猩猩不同，

人类不会无缘无故地发出噪音，

除 非他们明白这些声音是什么意思，

并且能将其

与自己的生活联系 起来。

值得牢记的是：

语言是一种交际手段，

< br>人们在母语中怎么说怎么写，

用另一种语言表达时也大同小异。

< br>因此，

人们所听所读的不应该是程式化的东西，

听的读的

材料必须真实自然。

6

还有一 个相关的问题值得一提：在交际时我们需要有交谈或倾听的对象。在学习较生

疏的内容时 ，如果身边的其他学生能和我们在中一起学习，一起练习那些陌生的语言形式，

用真实的 语言去谈论真实的生活，那一定会受益匪浅。

Good Usage

（

Para. 1

）

according to these advertisements

with very little effort on the student’s part

a reference to William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry

ridiculous claims

or else

Good Usage

(Para. 2)

as quickly and efficiently and cheaply as possible

in simple language

it is no use pretending

in every possible situation

there are as many good methods of teaching a language as there are good teachers

an individual with his own personality

no doubt (that)

to a certain extent

Good Usage

(Para. 3)

have a great advantage over others

afford to do

go to the opposite extreme

it is wrong to assume that .

a precise equivalent

vice versa

provide students with .

let alone

Good Usage

(Para. 4)

is based on

are fond of making students repeat phrases

if we were parrots

it is a pity

Good Usage

(Para. 5)

in my personal opinion

unless he is interested in it

relate them to their own lives

It is worth remembering that language

…

is a means of communication.

is very similar to

Good Usage

(Para. 6)

another relevant point worth mentioning

we need other people to talk to and listen to when …

Key Words and Expressions for Text A

personal

a.

[

no comp

.] concerning, belonging to, or for the use of a particular person; private [

无比较级

]

个

人的；私人的

e.g. 1. Please do not take what I said too seriously; it was just my personal opinion.

2. I don

’

t want to have a hand in his personal affairs.

我不愿意过问他个人的事。

CF: personal, private, individual

这些形容词均含“个人的，私人的”之意。

< br>personal

指属于或关于某人或某些特定的人，以区别于其他人。例如：< /p>

He learned this lesson the hard way

—

from his own personal experience.

private

指属于私人所有或具有私营性质，

以区别于集体或公共的，

有时 含不公开的意

味。例如：

His children go to a private school.

indivi dual

与“集体的”相对，指“个别的”或“个体的”。例如：

They wait for the group to decide rather than making individual decisions.

claim

vt.

declare to be true; state, esp. in the face of opposition; maintain(

尤指面对反对意见

)

断言；声

称； 主张

e.g. 1.

I don’t claim to be an expe

rt, but I did study the subject when I was a university student.

2. They claim to have discovered a cure for the disease.

他们声称已经发现了治疗此病的一种药物。

n.

a statement that sth. is true or real, esp. one that other people may disagree with

声称；（尤指

< br>他人可能反对的）主张；断言

e.g. 1.

Janet made a claim at our meeting

—

she wanted to have an office entirely to herself.

2.

Though the work is broad in scope, it makes no claim to completeness.

尽管该作品涉及面很广，但它并不追求面面俱到。

on one’s part

of or by sb.

在某人一方；就某人而言

e.g. 1. It was an error on my part; I do feel sorry about that.

2. A frank question on his part led to a frank answer on mine.

他问题提到直率，因此我也回答得坦诚。

qualified

a.

having suitable knowledge or qualifications, esp. for a job

有资格的，适合的，胜任的

e.g. 1. What makes you think that you are qualified for this job?

2. He is recognized to be a qualified announcer.

他被认为是合格的播音员。

ridiculous

a.

derog

deserving ridicule; silly or unreasonable

〖贬〗可笑的；荒谬的

e.g. 1.

Don’t be ridiculous! You can’t pay $$ 50 for a T

-shirt like this.

2.

I’m glad that ridic

ulous plan has finally been laid to rest.

我很高兴那个可笑的计划终于被取消了。

or else

otherwise; if not

否则；不然的话

e.g. 1.

We must be there by six, or else we’ll miss the beginning of the movie.