Learn English with Teacher Joe

I have mentioned in previous blog posts that I believe it is important to learn sentences. As I often say to my students, “words are knowledge but sentences are fluency”. Knowledge is certainly important, but our main goal in learning a language is to speak fluently, so sentences should be our focus rather than learning vocabulary.

The big question, then, is how can we learn sentences, especially when we have trouble. When I was learning how to teach, my professor taught us an interesting technique for helping students learn long sentences. I describe this technique, called “Backwards Recitation“, in an article which you can read by clicking here.  When my students struggle in class, I use this technique, and it really seems to help. Please read my article and tell me what you think…

My favorite season, summer, is coming to a close. We’re getting a bit more rain in Beijing and the evenings are turning quite cool. It’s comfortable for now, but I hate the thought of another cold winter coming. Still, there are some good points to the fall season. I remember as a child, growing up in western New York State, all the leaves changed to different shades of red and yellow. It was almost magical to see the colors everywhere. I was reminded of this recently when I read a quote by the French writer Albert Camus who wrote: “Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower“.

Thinking back to those days, autumn seemed almost perfect! But then I found another quote, by the English writer P.D. James. She wrote: ”It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life“. Yes, when I think back the reality of my childhood, there weren’t that many truly perfect autumn days! And in my hometown, autumn can be terribly cold!

But I have spent most of the last 20 years (wow, that sounds like a lot!) in Japan and China, where fall IS the best season of the year. Here in Asia, I have not seen as many colorful leaves as back home, maybe because I’ve lived in big cities with fewer trees, but the weather is very mild. I was reminded of this by reading a quote by Samuel Butler: “Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes. Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits“. I’m pretty sure Butler was talking about people more than the seasons, but it applies to what I see outside everyday.

How about you? What is your favorite season? Why? Have you lived in different countries or in different climates before? What is your ideal climate? Leave a comment to join the conversation!

Sunday was the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. I saw no full moon because it was raining in the evening, and I did not eat any traditional “moon cakes” either. I did, however, get to see various athletic events of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games at the Bird’s Nest. I saw several gold medal races including both wheelchair racing and among athletes with artificial legs. It was both impressive and inspirational to see these athletes overcome their disabilities in such a dramatic way. The one-legged sprinters, in spite of having an artificial leg, can run almost as fast as the best athletes of the main Olympic Games, and they can run MUCH faster then I can! Now, if they can be so dedicated and so strong in the face of adversity, they anyone can be.

 Check out the Paralympics (click here) and also watch some videos (do a search on You Tube) to see what I mean. I found the wheelchair basketball, floor volleyball and football for the seeing-impaired, which I watched on TV, to be especially entertaining. Check out your own country’s athletes and give them your support! 

Some readers have asked me about my new job. Yes, I am still teaching English. My new students are adults working in Beijing. They are highly motivated so every day, though busy, is also very interesting. The best thing for me is that my students really appreciate my lessons.

One unique feature of my school (better called a “learning center”, actually) is that there are many clubs and activities where students can practice English in a variety of situations. We have cooking clubs, a karaoke club for singing songs, a photography club, a philosophy club, and even a poker club!

 I think some of you know that I am a member of a public speaking club called Toastmasters. To help the more advanced students, I plan to start a new Toastmasters club in our schools soon. One idea I have is to write some articles giving all kinds of practical advice for becoming a better public speaker. I would hope to write these articles especially for non-native English speakers, but the advice would be appropriate for anyone who wants to give better speeches and presentations.

 What do you think about such articles? Good idea or not?