Unit 1
Why should language teachers be language learners?
 Why Should I Learn English?
 A Czech proverb says,"Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem."
 "You live a life for every new language you speak. If you know only
one language, you only live once."
 This is what Nelson Mandela said about learning another language.
 "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his
head.
If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."
Unit 1
Why should language teachers be language
learners?
Why Should I Learn English?
 Learning a language makes your thinking and communication skills
stronger.
 English is the language most widely spoken throughout the world.
 It builds self-confidence.
 To do well in reaching a goal that China has set for all its students
 English is the main language for the greatest variety of news
coverage.
Unit 1
Why should language teachers be language
learners?
 To go to a good college or graduate school, and
perhaps study in another country.
 To get a good job.
 To build friendships with foreigners.
 To improve your abilities and attitudes in many
positive ways.
Unit 1
Why should language teachers be language
learners?
 China has entered the WTO and hosts many
international events
 English is the main international language for
business.
 You may have the chance of a government
career with strong English skills.
 To understand more about foreign cultures
Unit 1
Why should language teachers be language
learners?
 80% of computer data is stored in English, so one can
use a computer to do research more effectively.
 English will continue to become even more important in
China.
 In times of emergencies, like earthquakes, the language
shared by international workers is English.
 English is the main language of diplomacy, science,
International Conferences and athletics.
Unit 1
Why should language teachers be language
learners?
 Role/a role model:
 someone students should try to be like. Ex: Prof. Wang
is an excellent role model. She not only tells her students
to study hard; she also studies hard herself.
 Self confidence/self respect:
 to feel good about yourself, to take a pride in what you
do ;to be proud of yourself.
Unit 1
Why should language teachers be language
learners?
 "Ten rules for learning English"
 Imagine that a young Chinese student comes to you and
asks for advice about how to learn English. Based on
your experience learning English, what would you tell
him/her?
 In pairs or groups:
 1) Make a list of ten "golden rules" for learning
English. State each as a rule. (Ex: "Regularly review
vocabulary words.")
 2) Decide which three are the most important.
 3) Be ready to present your rules to the class, and
explain why you felt the top three were most important.
Unit 2
The characteristics of a good language teacher
 High expectations of yourself
 High expectations of your students
 Good preparation and planning
 Clear learning objectives
 Good organisation
 Good, clear communication. Good instructions.
 Someone who has good control of the class
 Encourages independent learning and skills
 A motivator
Unit 2
The characteristics of a good language teacher
Good humour
Warmth, care and good relationships with
the students
Develops the skills of the students
Able to judge the correct level of work for
the students
Good relationships with the parents of the
students
Unit 2
What are the most important roles of a good
language teacher?
Children learn what they live
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If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy.
If children live with shame, they learn to be patient.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with acceptance and friendship they learn to
find love in the world.
Unit 2
What is the most important role of the English teacher?
 Pair/Small Group Task: "The headaches we face."
Obstacles blocking the path to success
What are the main problems you face in
teaching English? In pairs or groups:
1) List the problems you face.
2) Decide which three problems are most
important, and be ready to explain why
you picked these.
Unit 3
Why do students fail to learn English well?
What is one reason why English is difficult
for Chinese students to learn?
What is the main reason why Chinese
students often fail to learn English well?
Do you agree with the passage? Can you
think of other reasons?
Unit 3
Why do students fail to learn English?
 Why?
 It simply takes a long time to learn any foreign
language.
 You have to learn a new grammar system, and
thousands of new words.
 It also takes a lot of practice to develop
speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in
a new language.
 So learning any foreign language generally
takes years.
Unit 3
Why do students fail to learn English?
While studying for tests may help students
learn English, passing tests is not the
same thing as learning English. In fact, it is
possible to get good test scores without
ever actually developing many usable
skills in English.
Unit 3
Why do students fail to learn English?
 One problem with tests is that it is generally
easier to test language knowledge (vocabulary
and grammar) than to test English skills, so
tests often encourage students to pay too much
attention to studying language knowledge rather
than building language skills.
 The greater problem is that passing tests often
becomes the goal for students, rather than a
step toward the goal.
Unit 3
Why do students fail to learn English well?
 Idea Bazaar - Ways to Study English:
 Study methods-tricks for effective English study is one
way to bring the issue of language learning strategies
into the classroom.
 Procedure:
 Think about how you study English, and write down one
or more tricks (methods, etc.) that have been helpful to
you in your language study.
 Thumbs up-thumbs down
Unit 3
Why do students fail to learn English well?
Top tips for learning English
Songs
Picture and word cards
10 words a day
Real life situations
T.V. news
DVD Film/tapes
Say the words/phrases out loud
drills
Unit 3
Why do students fail to learn English?
 Small Group Activity: "Learning English - cost-benefit
analysis"
 Imagine that you have a friend who is a 25-year old college
graduate. She is a low-level official working in a state-owned
company that produces electronic appliances. She studied
English in university, but didn't learn very much. Now she is
thinking about her future, so she comes to ask you whether
you think it is worthwhile to go back to studying English.
 In groups:
 1) List reasons why she should try to improve her English.
 2) Also list reasons why it would not be worthwhile for her to
study English.
 3) Decide what advice you would give her.
Unit 3
Why do students fail to learn English well?
 The Great Debate: "Should all Chinese
students be required to study English?"
 An enormous amount of time and energy is
spent in China teaching all middle school and
university students English, but many students
never actually develop functional skills in the
language.
 In groups or pairs:
 1) Discuss this question, and decide whether
your answer is yes or no.
 2) Be ready to give your answer, and give at
least one good reason for your answer.
Unit 4
What is the best way to learn English?
There are different ways to develop each
of the English skills students need.
While there is no single best way to learn
English, there are two basic rules that will
help students decide what the best way is
to develop each of the English language
skills.
Unit 4
What is the best way to learn English?
 Rule 1: Skills are built through practice.
 Learning to read certainly requires knowledge of
English grammar, vocabulary, and even
knowledge of Western culture. But the skill of
reading requires being able to put all of this
together at the same time, and this can only be
learned through practice.
 Rule 2: You learn to do what you do.
Students who practice speaking English will get
better at speaking English.
Unit 4
What is the best way to learn English?
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What are you good at?
Knowledge
Grammar
Vocabulary
Culture
Skills
Speaking
Listening
Comprehension
Reading
Writing
Pronunciation
Unit 4
What is the best way to learn English?
Pair/Small Group Task: "Reading aloud
in the morning"
Most study methods are good for some
things and not for others. Learners need to
be able to analyze a study method to know
what kinds of knowledge and skills the
study method helps them gain - and what
it does not help them gain.
Unit 4
What is the best way to learn English?
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In pairs or groups
Analyze the following study methods.
For each:
1) List the kinds of English knowledge and skills you think this study
method would help students gain.
 2) List kinds of English knowledge and skills you think this study
method would probably not help students gain (but that students
might think they were gaining).
 Study method 1: Reading textbook passages aloud (zao du).
 Study method 2: Memorizing reading passages from a textbook.
 Study method 3: "Crazy English."
Unit 5
Why is listening in English so hard?
Comprehension Questions
 What is one of the main problems Chinese students
face in English listening comprehension?
 1.There are simply too many new and unfamiliar
words.
 2. You have to recognize words by hearing them
instead of by reading them.
 3. You also have to recognize the words very quicklylistening usually doesn't allow you to pause at all.
Unit 5
Why is listening in English so hard?
To "know" an English word can mean
different things. If a student says "I know
this English word," what are at least two
different possible meanings of this
sentence?
According to the passage, what is the
best kind of material to use for practicing
your English listening comprehension?
Unit 5
Why is listening in English so hard?
 Word and phrase list
 listening comprehension: the skill of listening and
understanding. Ex: Xiao Wang's English listening
comprehension is very good
 to keep right on going: to continue without stopping.
Ex: I waved at the taxi, but the driver kept right on going,
he didn't even slow down.
 The gist-the main sense of what you are listening to
 to get the main idea: to understand the most important
idea. Ex: I didn't understand everything in this article, but
I got the main idea.
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Unit 5
Why is listening in English so hard?
 Which is more important to practice - speaking or
listening?
 Obviously both are important. However, there are
several good reasons for arguing that students in
China especially need to focus on their listening skills.
When students' listening skills are good, their speaking
is likely to improve also.
 Listening is one of the main ways students learn more
English and become comfortable with the language,
so students who listen a lot generally find that
their speaking also improves.
Unit 5
Why is listening in English so hard?
 Focused Listening activities are listening tasks
in which you help students predict what they
might hear by first giving them clues. These
clues can be in the form of
 1) outlines;
 2) questions to answer; or
 3) forms or graphs to fill in.
 These clues help students focus their listening,
and make listening practice easier
Unit 5
Why is listening in English so hard?
Total Physical Response (TPR) is a "Simon
Says" type of activity in which the teacher gives
students instructions, and they respond by doing
what the teacher asks (rather than by speaking).
Because students respond with action rather than
speech, they can focus their attention more fully
on listening to what the teacher says (rather than
having at the same time to worry about
constructing an oral response).
Unit 5
Why is listening in English so hard?
Simon Says
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Stand up
Put your right hand in the air
Touch your nose
Turn around
Clap your hands
Shake hands with your neighbour
Jump up and down
Face the window
Face the blackboard
Sit down
Pick up your pencil
Write your name
Stand up
Balance on one leg
Touch your ear
Put both hands in the air
Touch your chin with your left hand
Touch your elbow with your right hand
Pick up your chair
Sit down
Unit 6 Speaking in English
Is it useful to practice speaking English with
other students?
 Pair/Small Group Task: "Finding
opportunities to speak"
 In China it is sometimes difficult for students to
find opportunities to practice speaking English,
so you need to be creative and actively make
opportunities. In pairs or groups:
 Make a list of ways to practice speaking
English. Be as creative as possible, and list as
many as possible.
Unit 6 Speaking in English
 Striking up a conversation
Finding opportunities to speak in English
 Imagine you are walking in the park and you see
a foreign tourist. You want to practice your
English so you need to strike up a
conversation.
 List one or more strategies for starting up a
conversation with the foreign tourist
 First you should……
 Then you should…..
 Be willing to explain your strategy.
Unit 6 Speaking in English
Striking up a conversation
 Hello, I’m very pleased to meet you.
 It is good to meet you. Welcome to…………
 My name is……. I’m a Teacher at…….
 Excuse me. I know that you are a visitor to……
 Would you be willing to spend a few moments
speaking with me?
 Could you spare the time to speak with me?
 I would be very grateful if you could …..
Unit 6 Speaking in English
Striking up a conversation
May I ask your name?
Why are you visiting….?
Are you enjoying your visit here?
Do you have family or friends here?
How long will you stay here?
Are you here on business or is it a social
visit?
May I ask you…?
Unit 6 Speaking in English
Striking up a conversation
 Would you be willing to…?
 Could I ask you about….?
 I am interested in…
 Could you tell me about…?
 What do you think about……the
weather/events…?
 Could I help you with?
 Is there anything that I could help you with?
Unit 6 Speaking in English
Striking up a conversation
 Would you be willing to…?
 Could I ask you about….?
 I am interested in…
 Could you tell me about…?
 What do you think about……the
weather/events…?
 Could I help you with?
 Is there anything that I could help you with?
Unit 6 Speaking in English
The shopper
Xiao Wang is out shopping and in a store he sees a middle
aged western woman who is trying to ask the storekeeper
how much an item costs. The woman looks frustrated and
is using lots of sign language but the storekeeper still
does not understand what she wants.
Xiao Wang decides that this would be a good chance to
practice his English, so he goes over, explains to the clerk
what the tourist wants and then tells the tourist how much
the item costs. The tourist says thank you, and then
begins looking at other items in the store.
Encouraged by his success, Xiao Wang asks the tourist if
she would like him to acts as interpreter as she shops.
The tourist however says “no, thank you” and then walks
off to another part of the store.
Unit 6 Speaking in English
The Shopper
How do you think Xiao Wang might have
felt when the shopper refused his offer of
help?
What do you think Xiao Wang expected?
Why do you think the shopper refused his
offer of help?
List several possible explanations and then
decide which seems to be the most likely.
Working together-one person
writes-but all share ideas
Group analysis/discussion of one of
the Encounters
How to conduct group work
 Make sure every group appoints one recorder
to write down what the group decides.
 While groups discuss, the teacher should
wander from group to group, listening in and
looking at what they have written.
 To close, have each group briefly report their
conclusions as you take notes on the board.
 Ask each group to report just one
comment/idea at a time rather than having one
group give a long report while others sit and
wait.
Unit 6 Getting to Know You
Xiao Lee has recently arrived in a western country to
study English and moves into a dormitory with western
graduate students. Xiao Lee is the only international
student in her Hall. On the first day there is a party for all
the people in Xiao Lee’s Hall of Residence. First they
have a planning meeting where they all sit in a circle and
introduce themselves, and when Xiao Lee says where
she is from, one of the other women say, “You will have to
tell us all about your country,” and the other people all
agree. Xiao Lee is pleased because she wants to tell
them about China. Later, when the party starts, Xiao Lee
waits for people to come and talk to her about China, but
instead all of the western students talk to each other, and
nobody comes over to talk to Xiao Lee.
Unit 6 Getting to Know You
How do you think Xiao Lee might have
felt?
What do you think she expected?
Why do you think that no-one went over to
talk to Xiao Lee about China?
List several possible explanations and then
choose those that seem to be the most
likely.
Unit 6 Getting to Know You
What could Xiao Wang have done to
help herself in this situation?
Unit 6 Speaking in English
 "Make a list": (Ex: List the most beautiful places in your
country.)
 "List reasons why ______": (Ex: List ten reasons why
middle school children should -- or shouldn't -- study a
foreign language.)
 "List advantages and disadvantages of ______": (Ex:
List the advantages and disadvantages of using
standardized examinations to determine who should
have the opportunity to enter university.)
Unit 6 Speaking in English
 "Prepare directions": (Ex: Prepare a list of
directions for how your foreign teacher should
bargain at the market. Or: Make a list of
suggestions on how to choose a good bicycle).
 "Decide whether or not___": (Ex: Decide
whether or not middle school students should be
allowed to date.)
Unit 6 Speaking in English
 "Rank/prioritize": (Ex: In order of importance, rank
China's ten greatest heroes.)
 "Decide whether you agree or disagree with (a
statement)" (Such as "It should be against the law to
not wear a seatbelt when riding in a car.")
Unit 6 Speaking in English
 "Make a plan": Ex: Plan the ideal three-day
local vacation trip for your English teacher.
 "Solve a problem": Ex: A foreign teacher is
interested in world news but can't understand TV
news programs in China. What suggestions do
you have as to how she/he can find out about
world news while in China?
Unit 7
Should I try to pronounce English like
a native speaker?
Word and phrase list
 realistic: to be possible, something that can
actually happen. Ex: We can hope to live a long
time, but it is not realistic to hope to live foreto
speak with (an accent): to have (an accent).
Ex: Peter speaks English with a German accent.
 ver.
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Unit 7
Should I try to pronounce English like a native
speaker?
 Activity: "Being a mimic"
 One of the most important ways to improve your
pronunciation is by learning to be a good mimic;
in other words, learning to listen carefully and
copy the way your teachers pronounce English.
(The way children learn to pronounce their
native language is by listening to their parents
and then mimicking what they hear.)
Unit 7
Should I try to pronounce English like a native
speaker?
Jazz Chants
 Repetition
 learned response
 strong rhythms-The rhythm is the glue that holds
the chant together- the language “sticks” in your
head and so aids learning.
a clear steady beat
choral chanting.
 effective and fun
 a good way to model and then repeat.
Unit 7
Should I try to pronounce English like a native
speaker?
 Method
 The essential element in presenting a chant is to
maintain a clear, steady beat and rhythm.
 Review the chant-the cultural context, the situation.
 Model the chant. Suggest that they tap out the rhythm
with a pencil or tap the table with their fingers as they
listen to the chant.
 Choral chanting-take one line or section at a time
depending on the ability of the class. Practice any parts,
pronunciation that the students have difficulty with.
 Group or individual chanting. Act out the chant if
necessary or helpful.
 Personalize the chants-substitute their own names,
situations etc.
 Exercises based on the chants.
Unit 7
Should I try to pronounce English like a native
speaker?
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1. Departure and return home
Have a wonderful trip!
Have a wonderful trip!
Don’t forget to call me
when you get back.
Have a wonderful trip!
Have a wonderful trip!
Don’t forget to call me
when you get back.
Have a wonderful trip!
Don’t worry, I will.
Have a wonderful trip!
Don’t worry, I will.
Don’t forget to call me.
Don’t worry I won’t.
Don’t forget to call me.
Don’t worry, I won’t.
Unit 7
Should I try to pronounce English like a native
speaker?
Tongue Twisters
You've no need to light a night-light
On a light night like tonight,
For a night-light's light's a slight light,
And tonight's a night that's light.
When a night's light, like tonight's light,
It is really not quite right
To light night-lights with their slight lights
On a light night like tonight.
Unit 7
Should I try to pronounce English like a native
speaker?
 Tongue Twisters
 Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry.
 Which witch wished which wicked wish?
 The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.
Unit 7
Should I try to pronounce English like a native
speaker?
Tongue Twisters
A pleasant place to place a plaice is a place
where a plaice is pleased to be placed.
Unit 7
Should I try to pronounce English like
a native speaker?
 Should I try to have a British accent or an
American one?
 The accent taught in most English textbooks in
China is a standard British accent called
"received pronunciation" or "RP"
 This accent is also called the Queen's English or
BBC English. This accent is widely known and
respected throughout the world, so it is a good
accent to have.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or accuracy?
 Word and phrase list
 on the whole: in general. Ex: There are some
parts of this book that are boring, but on the
whole it is quite interesting.
 to convey: to communicate, to carry. Ex: He
didn't say that he was happy, but the smile on
his face conveyed his joy.
 to result in: to cause, to make something
happen. Ex: Her long hours of English study
resulted in good test scores.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or accuracy?
 to give the impression that: to cause
(someone) to think that something is true. Ex:
The bored look on his face gave me the
impression that he didn't like the movie.
 to judge (A) by (B): to use B as a way to decide
whether or not A is good. Ex: You can't always
judge a book by its cover.
 to be taken seriously: to be respected and paid
attention to. Ex: If you want your employer to
take you seriously, you will have to work harder.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or accuracy?
"What is the hardest thing in English
grammar?"
Survey several of your classmates, asking
them what they think the hardest thing in
English grammar is.
Ask them to give you specific examples for
each point they make. Be ready to report
your findings to the class.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or accuracy?
Common Errors in Grammar and Word Use
 Gender: Confusing ‘he’ and ‘she’.
The spoken forms of ‘he’ ‘she’ and ‘it’ are all the same in
Chinese. Chinese speakers find difficulty in applying the
rule consistently.
e.g. ‘She is a good Director. His films are very good.’
I’ve a brother and she’s working in a factor
 Tenses and Time
Chinese and English speakers express the concept of
time very differently.
e.g. ‘My brother left home since nine o’clock’.
I’ve seen her two days ago.
I found that the room is empty.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or accuracy?
Common Errors in Grammar and Word Use
Articles
 There are no articles in Chinese and therefore Chinese
speakers find it hard to use them.
 They may omit the article:
‘Let’s make fire’, ‘I can play piano’. X
 Or insert unnecessary ones:
‘He finished the school last year’, ‘‘He was in a pain’. X
 Or confuse the use of the definite and indefinite articles:
‘She is a tallest girl in the class’ X
‘He smashed the vase in the anger’. X
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or accuracy?
Common Errors in Grammar and Word Use
Countable and uncountable nouns
 The English concept of countability is hard to grasp.
 For example, furniture, equipment, luggage, news
etc. can all be counted to the Chinese way of
understanding.
 This leads to errors such as:
 ‘Let me tell you an interesting news.’
 ‘She as brought many luggages with her.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or accuracy?
Common Errors in Grammar and Word Use
Progressive aspect causes difficulty
 ‘ What do you read?’ for ‘What are you reading?’
 I sit here for a long time for- I have been sitting here
for a long time.
Adjectives and verbs are frequently
identical in Chinese.
 Thus the verb ‘to be’ tends to be dropped when
followed by predicative adjectives.
 ‘I busy’, ‘She very happy’.
 I am busy. She is very happy.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or
accuracy?
Common Errors in Grammar and Word Use
Parts of speech
 Parts of speech in Chinese are not always formally
distinguished. The same word may often serve different
structural functions. It is easy to confuse related words
such as ‘difficult’ and ‘difficulty’ in terms of their parts of
speech or to appreciate the fact that certain functions in
a sentence can only be fulfilled by words from certain
classes:
 ‘She likes walk’, ‘It is very difficulty to convince him’.
 I have not son.
Unit 8
Which is more important –
 Situation: fluency or accuracy?
Xiao Wang is taking an English class which is taught by a
Western teacher. Xiao Wang's teacher never lectures on
grammar; instead the class usually consists of conversations
in pairs or large group discussions of cultural issues.
Today, Xiao Wang was confused about how to use "the" and
"a" in English, so in class she asked the teacher to explain.
However, instead of explaining, she said: "I generally prefer
not to explain grammar rules. Tell me what you want to say
and I will tell you how to say it correctly."
Why do you think the teacher refused to explain?
 List several possible explanations and then choose several
which seem most likely.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or
accuracy?The English Teacher
Some possible interpretations:
 The teacher avoids explaining grammar because she
doesn't know how to explain grammar very well (and doesn't
like it very much).
 The teacher doesn't think grammar is important. The
teacher's main goal is to build students' communication
skills, so she focuses more on communication and fluency
than on grammar.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or
accuracy?
The English Teacher
 The teacher refuses to give long explanations because she
thinks they will slow down the lesson.
 She feels her method is more efficient.
 The teacher thinks the students rely too much on
memorizing grammar rules, so tries to encourage them to
figure out rules for themselves.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or accuracy?
 Dictogloss is a listening exercise in which you read a
short passage to students and have them write down
what you say.
 Unlike Dictation, however, in Dictogloss you read the
whole passage to students several times at a fairly
natural pace rather than stopping after each sentence.
 Students then work together in groups to reconstruct the
passage. Because they cannot copy down every word,
as they would in Dictation, Dictogloss forces students to
use their knowledge of grammar as they reconstruct the
passage.
Unit 8
Which is more important –
fluency or accuracy?
 The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month,
usually in February or March. Lanterns of various shapes and sizes
are hung in the streets. Children will hold self made lanterns or
bought lanterns. Guessing the lantern riddles is an essential part of
the Festival. Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and
stick them on to the lanterns. If you can solve the riddle then you
may pull out the paper and check your answer with the owner of the
lantern. If you are correct then you will receive a small gift.
 In the daytime there may be performances such as a dragon lantern
dance, a lion dance or a land boat dance. There may be stilt
walking. At night there may be firework displays.
 People eat rice dumplings during the festival. These can be boiled,
fried or steamed.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or accuracy?
 The parts of speech
 Every name is called a noun,
 As field and fountain, street and town.
 In place of noun the pronoun stands
 As he and she can clap their hands.
 The adjective describes a thing
 As magic wand and bridal ring.
 The verb means action, something
done To read, to write, to jump, to run.
 How things are done, the adverbs tell,
 As quickly, slowly, badly, well.
Unit 8
Which is more important – fluency or accuracy?
 The preposition shows relation
 As in the street or at the station.
 Conjunctions join in many ways
 Sentences, words, or phrase and phrase.
 The interjection cries out ‘Hark!’
 I need an exclamation mark!
 Through poetry we learn how each
 Of these make up the parts of speech.
 Three little words you often see
 Are articles- a, an and the.
Unit 9
What is the best way to develop reading
skills?
 Word and phrase list
 is appropriate for: is good for, suits. Ex: Sweaters are
too hot to wear in the winter, but they are appropriate for
winter.
 to look up (words): to find words (in the dictionary). Ex:
If you want to know what this word means, look it up in
the dictionary.
 ____ alone: just, only. Ex: Exercise alone won't make
you slim; you also need to eat less.
 to encourage (a habit): to cause someone to develop
(a habit). Ex: Watching too much television encourages
laziness.
 tends to be: usually is, often is. Ex: For some reason,
girls tend to be better at learning language than boys
are.

Unit 9
What is the best way to develop reading
skills?
 Word and phrase list
 to fall into (a habit): to develop a (bad) habit.
Ex: People who always stay up late often fall into
the habit of getting up very late.
 to come to dislike: to begin to not like. Ex: At
first I thought Albert was a nice person, but later
I came to dislike him.
 just as ______, ______: (Used for comparing
two similar things.) Ex: Just as flowers need
sunshine on order to grow, children need
sunshine in order to be happy.
Unit 9
What is the best way to develop reading
skills?
 Look up a word when:
 It is a new word in the title
 It occurs lots of times
 It appears in the title and is very important
 You can’t guess the meaning
 it does not appear in the glossary
 it is a special or technical word
 Otherwise:
 Underline or highlight unknown words
 Jot them down in a note book-then look them
up later.
Unit 9
What is the best way to develop reading skills?
 Small Group Task: "When should I use the
dictionary?"
 Imagine that a university student comes up to
you at an English corner, and he wants to
improve his extensive reading skills in English.
He knows he shouldn't stop to look up every
new word in the dictionary, but he doesn't know
how much he should use his dictionary and
when.

Unit 9
What is the best way to develop reading skills?
 Skimming is a way of quickly looking over an article or book
to get a rough idea of what it is about. Skimming is not the
same thing as fast reading; instead, it is selective reading
of a few parts of a text. In real life, people often skim to
decide whether or not they want to read something. In
class this is a useful pre-reading exercise before reading an
article or a book.
 1.Choose a passage for students to skim.
 2) Tell students their goal is to very quickly get a rough idea
of what the text is about..
Unit 9
What is the best way to develop reading skills?
Then give them the following instructions:
 a. Read any titles or sub-titles.
 b. Read the first few lines of the first paragraph.
 c. Read the first line of one or two paragraphs on each
page.
 d. Read a few lines from the conclusion.
 e. Look at any pictures or illustrations
Unit 10 Vocabulary
What is the best way to build vocabulary?
 Word and phrase list
equivalent: equal to something else, have the
same value as something else. Ex: One US
dollar is equivalent to approximately 8 Chinese
yuan.
connotation: a good or bad feeling associated
with a word. Ex: Americans consider
independence very important, so for Americans
the word "reliance" has a bad connotation
Unit 10 Vocabulary
What is the best way to build vocabulary?
What is the best way to study vocabulary?
What is the best way to learn the proper
usage of new vocabulary?
How do students in China usually go about
studying vocabulary?
Unit 10 Vocabulary
What is the best way to build vocabulary?
Make lists
Learn 10 new words each day
Learn words according to spelling patterns
or letter strings
Flash cards
Partner work-test each other
Put the new words into a sentence/silly
sentence/phrase
Unit 10 Vocabulary
What is the best way to build vocabulary?
 Say it out loud
 Visualisation
 Link new words together into a story
 Antonyms and synonyms-learn the opposites/put
them into a sentence
 Model a sentence-students then repeat it and
give an alternative
 Crosswords and word searches
 Songs
Unit 10 Vocabulary
What is the best way to build vocabulary?
Put new words together into a silly story
Words that are the same grammar type
e.g. adverbs
Add some letters to make a new word e.g.
apple/pineapple -melon/watermelon
Copy the word out many times
Unit 10 Vocabulary
What is the best way to build vocabulary?
New vocabulary
contagious
asthma
bracelet
sketch
cosmetics
reservation
Unit 9 Vocabulary
New vocabulary
contagious –infectious
asthma - breathing difficulties
bracelet – decorative bangle worn on the
wrist
sketch – draw a picture
cosmetics – make up worn on the face
reservation – a booking
Unit 9 Vocabulary
New vocabulary
aerobics
itinerary
embroidery
duplicate
recreation
pantomime
New vocabulary
aerobics – keep fit, exercise to music
itinerary – schedule/diary entries/plans
embroidery – sewing with thread to make
a picture
duplicate – a copy, to imitate
recreation – a sport/past time/a hobby
pantomime – a theatre performance for
children and families
Unit 10 Vocabulary
What is the best way to build vocabulary?
 It is a good idea to have students memorize a
short simple phrase or sentence that correctly
uses the new word. (For learning usage, it is
better to memorize phrases or even sentences
instead of just individual words.)
 Students should review their new word list day
after day until they can quickly and accurately
remember what the new words mean and how
to use them, even after not having seen the
word for a day or more.
English Slang words
Rhyming slang e.g. up the apples and
pears-up the stairs
Plates of meat-feet
wiped out
two left feet
ace
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
Write down 5 adjectives that you would
use to describe Chinese culture.
Unit 11 Why study culture along
with English?
• What do you think are the most important
things students should learn about foreign
cultures?
• What is the best way to learn about a
foreign culture?
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
Survey: "That strange Western culture"
Survey several classmates, asking them to
name several things that they find strange
or difficult to understand about Western
culture. Be ready to report your findings and be sure you can explain what your
classmates told you.
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
Survey: "That strange Chinese culture"
Survey several classmates, asking them to
name several things they think foreigners
(Westerners) would find difficult to
understand or accept about Chinese
culture. Be ready to report your findings.
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
 Is communication between people of
different cultures really different from
communication between people of the same
culture?
 In one sense, yes. People who share the same
culture can usually understand each other much
better than people who are from different
cultures, so the "gap of understanding" is usually
much greater in intercultural communication.
This makes it especially important for people to
be careful in how they communicate.
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
 Shared knowledge
 Shared values
 Shared perspectives
 Shared beliefs
 Shared behaviour
 Generalisations and stereotypes
 Stereotypes are dangerous as they may trick us
into believing that knowing a few stereotypes is
the same thing as understanding another
culture.
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
English Culture
 An Individualist culture-emphasis is on the needs
of the individual
 The need for personal space/privacy
 Independence/self reliance
 High achievement/career
 Take credit and responsibilty for what they have
achieved
 Try to place limits on the power of people in
authority
 Equality
 De-emphasize differences in rank and power by
creating an appearance of equality
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
English Culture
 Inability to accept compliments
 Reluctance to answer personal questions
 A clear and firm distinction between your private and
your public life
 Westerners tend to speak directly-plainly and openlythey ‘get to the point’ (perhaps more common in men
than in women)
 Tolerant of behaviour that does not conform to cultural
norms-accept a wide range of views and values
 Family relationships-care of elderly/independence of the
young.

Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
Chinese Culture
 A Collectivist culture-view themselves as members of a groupfamily/work unit/-consider the needs of the group to be more
important than the needs of the individual
 Obligation to help others in their group
 Generosity
 Shared values-The host culture
 Modesty
 Tend to communicate in a way that is more indirect and subtle
 High degree of conformity is expected-a clear consensus as to
what is/is not acceptable behaviour. Pressure to conform
 China’s long history and culture
 Holistic medicine
 Relationships with the world
 Self respect, dignity and ‘face’ are perhaps more important in
Chinese culture.
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
 A western Manager has been told by the company that
she has to reduce staff by firing one of two technicians.
Both have been with the company for 5 years and their
work performance is equal.
 A is from the local town, is easy to work with, has good
friends in the company-including the manager. His wife
has a long term illness and cannot work so the family
depend on him financially. He has a BA Degree
 B comes from another part of the country, is very difficult
to get along with and knows few people in the company.
He is single and so has no family financial obligations.
He has a Masters Degree.
 Which of these two technicians would the westerner
consider firing?
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
 Ethnocentrism
 We tend to use the norms of our own culture as
standards when we judge the behaviour of
people from other cultures.
 We need to try to understand the world from
other cultural perspectives.
 We are often not even aware of the cultural
assumptions that we make.
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
The Critical Incident Exercise:
Write a critical incident story, perhaps
based on a real incident that occurred
between Chinese and foreigners.
Unit 11 Why study culture along with
English?
 "Intercultural communication" is communication
between people from different cultural
backgrounds; for example, communication
between Chinese and Americans.
 Intercultural communication tends to be more
difficult than communication between people
who share the same culture, and learning to
communicate well with foreigners is not an easy
thing to do.
Understanding other cultures
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
 Rule 1: Be careful, and don't jump to conclusions
too quickly.
 Rule 2: Try to see things from the foreigner's
perspective.
 Is it possible that this foreigner means something
different than what I think? If so, what could it be?
 Rule 3: Always keep trying to learn more and
understand better.
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
 Word and phrase list
 to jump to conclusions:
 to form an opinion too quickly (often an incorrect one).
Ex: The weather is cloudy, and it looks like it might rain
tomorrow. But let's not jump to any conclusions, instead,
let's watch the weather report.
 to see things from the foreigner’s perspective:
 to look at things the same way someone else does, to
see them from the same viewpoint. Ex: I don't agree with
what you did, but I can see things from your perspective
so I think I understand why you did it.
The Encounters-short stories

Critical incident exercises start with a short story
describing a encounter between two different
cultures-an encounter in which there is some kind of
problem or misunderstanding.

There are different possible explanations for what
may have gone wrong.
A range of possibilities are considered when
considering the behaviour of people from other
cultures.
There is no ‘right ‘explanation of the situation.


Encounters
 Encounters builds students awareness of how
they go about interpreting the behaviour of
foreigners.
 They encourage the habit of stopping to
consider alternative possible explanations
of puzzling or problematic behaviour on the part
of foreigners, rather than jumping to wrong
conclusions.
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
 Pair/Small Group Task: "Why didn't she want
my help?"
 This summer at your school there is a short-term
English training course being offered by several
Western teachers, and you have been assigned
to be one of the assistants for the program. The
Western teachers have not been in China
before, and don't speak any Chinese, so your
duty is to help them with daily life issues, and to
generally serve as a host while they are in
China. It is also your duty to make sure that they
remain safe and well while they are in China.
"Why didn't she want my help?"
 During a break between classes, you overhear
Jane, one of the older Western teachers, say
that she needs to buy some T-shirts. You offer to
go out shopping with her this afternoon, but
Jane says, "No thank you" and then rushes off to
class.
 The next day, you overhear the students talking
about how Jane got lost yesterday when she
went off alone to a market on the other side of
the city to shop for T-shirts.
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
 In pairs or groups, do the following:
 1) First, decide how you would feel when you
heard the students talking about Jane.
 2) Then think of several possible explanations
for why Jane turned down your offer to take her
shopping. (There is no single right answer, but
there are a number of likely possibilities.)
 3) Talk with your teacher about this situation,
and see what she/he thinks of the explanations
you suggest.
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
Who should pay for the meal?
Who pays?
Marie is an American exchange student who has recently come to
China to study. A Chinese friend met her in town and after a while
invited her to go for dinner.
They went to a small restaurant nearby and they each had a meal of
noodles. The Chinese friend felt that as she was new to the town that
she should pay for the meal and that she should treat her to the
meal. The Chinese girl paid for the meal.
However Marie, the American student was not happy and wanted to pay
for her own meal. The Chinese student kept refusing to take her
money and finally Marie agreed but she still did not seem to be very
happy about the arrangement.
The Chinese friend found the experience a little awkward and
unpleasant. She did not have that good feeling that she usually had
when she treated her Chinese friends to a meal.
Who should pay for the meal?
Why did the American student feel so
strongly that she should pay for her own
meal?
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
Banquets
Xiao Wang works for a Chinese Company and has been
given the responsibility of making arrangements for Mr.
Smith, a westerner who will visit the company for a week.
Xiao Wang arranges all the meals for Mr. Smith and makes
sure that there is always plenty of food at each of the
meals.
Mr. Smith says that he enjoys the meals, but after three
days of these banquets he starts to get annoyed with Xiao
Wang for some reason. He says that he likes to make his
own decisions about what to eat, at least some of the time
and that he doesn’t like being served more food than he
can eat at each meal.
He becomes more unhappy and annoyed and Xiao Wang
cannot understand this and begins to feel that he should
be more appreciative of all the efforts that he has made for
him. He thinks that Mr. Smith is being ungrateful.
The Banquets
 Why are there these problems between Mr.
Smith and Xiao Wang?
 How could this misunderstanding have been
avoided?
Unit 11 Why study culture along with English?
 Other Discussion Questions:
• Why do you think Westerners feel it is impolite to ask
how much money someone makes?
• Why do you think Westerners feel privacy is so
important?
• Why do you think Westerners place so much emphasis
on the idea of intellectual property rights?
Unit 13
How can I continue to improve my English skills?
How do you plan to continue studying
English after you finish this English
course?
Be ready to report one interesting idea.
Unit 13
How can I continue to improve my English skills?
As a result of being in this course, have
you gained any new ideas that might be
useful in your teaching in China?
 List any new ideas and also ways in
which the ideas might need to be modified
for your classroom.
Unit 13
How can I continue to improve my English skills?
 Pair/Small Group Task: "Language learning:
Time and opportunity"
 In pairs or groups, discuss three questions:
 1) How much time do you have on the average day to
study English, especially time when you are not
exhausted?
 2) What opportunities can you create to use English
outside teaching?
 3) Which kinds of English study do you like enough that
you will do them even when you are tired and busy?