澳大利亚WSL教师一席谈.doc

1、Australian ESL Teacher Presents His Viewpoints Lixin: Mr. Shaw, as an experienced ESL teacher, how long have you been in China? Mr. Bill Shaw: Ive been in China for nearly five years. I just finished teaching in a college and was invited to PEN (Patrick English Network). Li: What kind of subjects do you usually teach? Mr. Shaw: English, mainly spoken English, specializing in conversation. I think its a big disadvantage of Chinese students. They all have very good written and reading capabilities, but when they come to speaking and listening, they get dumbfounded. Unfortunately, Chinese students dont get enough practice. I find that very hard because the students all learn English, but they dont tend to get together and talk English to each other. But they have to speak English, and only in this way they learn a lot faster. For the students going overseas to study, they have to practice more because theyll need to survive straight away in English. Li: Yes, they have to do so, but that requires extensive exposure to the English environment. What should our Chinese students do then? Mr. Shaw: Yes, thats true. Because most of the students that are more advanced here in China with their spoken English have had good exposure by working for foreign companies or have had the experience of traveling overseas. But they do seek out good English magazines such as your English Salon and read them regularly. Besides, they also seek out English corners and practice their English a lot. Li:Just now you mentioned that you teach spoken English, specializing in conversation. Could you say something about it? Mr. Shaw: You know, I teach my students how to start a conversation and how to keep the conversation going, but at the same time, keep it short and simple, so the person you are talking to wouldnt be bored. To start a conversation with a foreigner, for example, there is a right way and there is a wrong way. The wrong way is to walk up to a foreigner and say, “ Hey, can I