I have been some south-easten countries,and met many English leaners,when I asked
them why learning English was important to them thay said it was essential for their own
and the development of their country.Their answer were same with the chinese student's
So,is learning English difficult for the chinese student?Well,in Beihai,whenever I
meet the students,I hear thinks like"Ican not express myself well in English"
"Please,don't ask me to speak.My English is very bad.There are too many mistakes
in my English"
"I can not find proper words to express myself "
They have studied English for about six years,on average.
In learning grammar,the students follow the traditional chinese style of rote learning
and often spend a lot of time memorising ever single word .(and yes ,many of them are
good at grammar rules! )It's not uncommon to see studtents memorising vocabulary
lists just to pass exams.As a result, many chinese students know everything about
grammar but can not express themselves even in simple English.
Another problem is,many chinese students have "modelled "their pronunciation not
from television,radio or even their English teachers but from a small electronic mandarin-
English dictionary ,which voice the vocabulary items.
Students memorise the entire vocabulary from the machine, including the pronunciation and many chinese students end up having serious problems in pronunciation and oral communication .
whenever I ask the students to give a presentation, they often tell me ,"I will speak English in front of everyone when my English is good "
The point here is , how is their English ever going to be "good " when they refuse
to use the language?
I trust in the adage ,"practise makes perfect " to master the English language is
by no means a simple task.
Ultimately,if chinese students want to develop their communication cocompetency
and master the English language,the motivation to learn must come from withih.
