ThewaytoimproveyouroralEnglish
ByYezhenxin
IhavebeenteachingEnglishinaMiddleSchoolforfourteenyears,butIdarenotsayIhaveatrueunderstandingofspeakinggoodEnglish,butthreesimpleEnglishwordsstrikememost.Whatarethey?Youmayask.Theyare“teach”,“learn”and“know”.Aretheyspecial?Yes.IwouldliketotellyoutheBritishwayofthinkingisverydifferentfromtheChinesewayofthinking,whichcanbeseenveryclearlyfromtheusagesofthesethreewords.
WeChinesesay教某人做某事,学做某事知or道做某事,whiletheEnglishsayteachsomebodyhowtodosomething,learnhowtodosomethingorknowhowtodosomething.TheEnglishemphasizehowtodosomething.Whatdoyoumeanbysayinghowtodosomething?Howtodoathingmeansameansofdoingthings.SotheEnglishthinkmoreofmethodsofdoingthingsthanusChinese.WeChineseonlyknowwhatweshoulddowithoutcaringaboutmethods.
SincewemajorinEnglish,wehavetopaygreatattentiontowaysinordertomasterthespiritoftheforeignlanguageinasimpleanddirectway.InthisarticleIonlywanttolaystressonthewaytoimproveouroralEnglish.
ThethreeperiodsintheenhancementoforalEnglish
Inthefirstplacewemustfacesuchafactthatwehavethreeperiods,orratherstages,inthe
enhancementoforalEnglish.IfyouarealearnerofEnglishyoumusthaveknowthosethreeperiods.Inthefirstperiodwhenwewanttosaysomethingwehavetofirstofallthinkinourmothertongue,thentranslatewhatwethinkintoEnglish.Thereforeonlyinthiswaycanwedisplayourthoughtsinaforeignlangue.Itisinevitableandunavoidableforabeginner.IthelpsbeginnerstrytouseEnglishandfillsthemwithconfidence.Well,ithowever,hasobviouslymanydemerits.Firstlyitwastesmuchtimeofboththespeakersandthelisteners.It’sratherinefficient.Secondly,theEnglishthespeakerusesisagreatdealaffectedbythemotherlanguage.Hisdiction,structures,pronunciationandintonationmustbeinaChineseway.Thosearejustwhatweshouldtrytoavoid.Thirdlyandlastly,it’seasyforthespeakertoformabadlinguistichabitwhichmightleadtobrokenEnglishandmightmakethelearnerlackofunderstandingofforeignlanguages.
Aftersometimeofhardworkandacquaintance,thelearnermighthavecomeintothe
secondperiod,whichismarkedbythewayofthinking,inthisperiodlearnersarecapableofthinkinginEnglish,thoughnotveryeloquently.This,personally,isagiantstepone’staken.IfalearnerbeginstothinkinEnglish,it’scertainlyasymbolwhichshowshebeginstomasterthespiritofEnglish.Andithelpspeoplelearntospeakfasterclearly,logically,accuratelyandproficiently.TheperiodyouarenowinsuggeststhatyouhavethecapabilityofspeakingEnglish.
Tobeactiveyoucansaywhatyoucan;tobetalkativeyoucanevensaywhatyoucan’t!
YouhavetoalwaysforceyourselfinthestateofEnglish.Youmaysaysometimesyou’vemadeverygoodpreparationandsentencesarewellorganizedandwordsarecarefullychosen.EverythingseemsOK,butwhenyouarebeginningtospeakbeforeyourclassmatesoryourteachersuddenlynothingwasinyourhead!Youhadanemptyhead!Suchasuddenandstrangephenomenonputyoutoembarrassment.Thenyoucannotbutsay,“Sorry,sir.I’venothingtosay.”It’sausualhappeninginclassofEnglish.Howtodealwithsuchanawkwardsituationisaproblembeforeus.You’dbetterbetalkative.EvennonsenseisOK,sometimes.Trytohaveawiderangeofknowledge,trytoshowspecialinterestsineverythingnew,andtrytosaywhat’sfamiliarwithyoufirstsothatyourself-confidenceinspeakingwillbestrengthened.Ifyouknowsomethingverywell,fishing,forexample,isyourfavorandyouhavemuchexperience.Soyouhave,ofcourse,somethingtosayevenveryvividlyandspecifically.
Butifyouareinvitedtosaysomethingyoudon’tknowwell,thentrytosaysomethingyoudon’tknowwell,whichmightbrokenyourexperienceinlifeandenlargeyourvocabulary.
Athingwellworthmentioningismorepracticemakesyouamanofnerve.Youarealwaysreadyandbravetoconveywhatyouwant.
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