Characteristics of English

Your learning efforts will be more effective if you have an overview of the language you are working with. That's why we have put together a number of features characterizing the English language. In some aspects we compare English against German to better illustrate -- you might want to compare these features with your mother tongue:


# English is a very compact language. The average English word for example is shorter than its German equivalent. That's because English verbs, nouns and adjectives don't have endings. But don't forget the Present Tense that has the letter "s" for the third person as in "he speaks". Also, there are many more English words containing only 3 or 4 letters than in the German language for example.

# In English there is no "Du" or "Sie" form -- an idiomatic pitfall that causes non-Germans as much trouble as the appropriate use of the formal "Sie" and the chummy "Du" when addressing people.

# There is almost no declension and no conjugation in the English language which makes it much easier for someone who is learning the language to form simple sentences that are grammatically correct.

# There are 19 German equivalents to the possessive adjective "your".

# There is only one definite article in the English language whereas in German there are three.

# Most words in English have several meanings. This can be an advantage for learners as you can convey different meanings using the same word in a different context. On the other hand this might cause confusion especially for beginners.

# In English all nouns are spelled with small letters. Exceptions are:

* proper names
* the days of the week
* the personal pronoun "I"
* the names of the months
* titles, positions and greetings such as Mr, Mrs, Dr, Director of Marketing, CEO, etc.


# The English language contains a lot of homophones. These are words that have the same pronunciation but are spelled differently. Of course they have different meanings.

Examples: meet/meat/, by/buy/bye, son/sun, waste/waist, through/threw, write/right, our/hour, then/than, here/hear...

You probably have made your own observations about the English language. Please feel free to contact us if you feel that something is missing here. Thanks.

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Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it.

Cooperative efforts result in participants striving for mutual benefit so that all group members:

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gain from each other's efforts. (Your success benefits me and my success benefits you.)
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recognize that all group members share a common fate. (We all sink or swim together here.)
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know that one's performance is mutually caused by oneself and one's team members. (We can not do it without you.)
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feel proud and jointly celebrate when a group member is recognized for achievement. (We all congratulate you on your accomplishment!).

Why use Cooperative Learning?

Research has shown that cooperative learning techniques:

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promote student learning and academic achievement
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increase student retention
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enhance student satisfaction with their learning experience
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help students develop skills in oral communication
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develop students' social skills
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promote student self-esteem
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help to promote positive race relations


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Characteristics of Effective Elementary School Foreign Language Programs

1. Access and Equity
All students, regardless of learning styles, achievement levels, race/ethnic origin, socioeconomic status, home language, or future academic goals, have opportunities for language study.

2. Program Goals and Program Intensity
Program goals are consistent with the amount of time actually provided for instruction. The desired program outcomes determine time allocations for elementary school programs. There are three types of programs at the K-8 level:

* FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School)
* Immersion
* FLEX (Foreign Language Experience or Exploratory)

These programs vary in levels of language proficiency to be achieved, amount of cultural knowledge to be gained, and time required to reach the program goals.
FLES programs are designed to provide a sequential language learning experience aiming for some degree of language proficiency.
Immersion programs combine foreign language instruction with content learning from the regular curriculum.
FLEX programs are designed to provide limited exposure to one or more foreign languages for presecondary students.

3. Extended Sequence
Elementary and middle/junior high school foreign language programs are the foundation for a long, well-articulated sequence of carefully developed curricula that extend through grade 12. Students in such programs can develop increased language proficiency and cultural competence.

4. Articulation
Articulation of the extended sequence is both vertical and horizontal, including the elementary school, the middle/junior high school, and the high school. This articulation is the result of consensus, careful planning, and monitoring among language teachers, administrators, and parents at all levels. Students in these programs achieve outcomes that are consistent across grade levels.

5. Curriculum
Human, fiscal and time resources are available for systematic curriculum development. The curriculum review cycle provides for assessment.

6. Instruction
Instruction is appropriate to the developmental level of the students and consistent with program outcomes and current professional practices.

7. Materials
Materials appropriate for students' developmental level, rich in authentic culture and language, and related to the curriculum are key components in elementary school foreign language programs. The main focus of all materials, both print and non-print, is the teaching of communication.

8. Evaluation
Processes for evaluating both student achievement and program success are in use. Evaluation processes are appropriate to the goals, objectives, and teaching strategies of elementary school foreign language programs, as well as to the developmental level of children.

9. Staffing
Programs are staffed by certified teachers who have completed preparation in methods and materials for elementary school foreign language instruction, developmental characteristics of the elementary school learner, and the nature of the elementary school curriculum. Modern foreign language teachers should have a high level of language and cultural competence. Based on the ACTFL/ETS proficiency scale, a teacher's oral proficiency in a foreign language should be "Advanced."

10. Professional Development
An ongoing program of professional development should allow teachers to advance in their levels of language, culture, and instruction.

11. School and Community Support and Development
The foreign language teachers work with the entire school community to integrate the foreign language curriculum into the school educational program. The elementary school foreign language program shows responsibility for and makes effective use of parent and community resources and of school board and administrative staff.

12. Culture
The connection between language and culture is made explicit, and foreign language instruction is implemented within a cultural context. Cultural awareness and understanding are explicit goals of the program. The program collaborates with other cultures and countries (exchange programs, pen pals, etc.) to assure language learning within a context of cultural experiences.

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Culture Shock (3)

The students at this school are boarders and they live to a regimented lifestyle. At around 5.30am they are awake and getting dressed in their normal uniform, or whatever clothes they have, and then at 6.30am are ordered to run around the oval in class formations to the tempo of a whistle blast. From my living quarters on campus I can hear them screeching "Left, left, left right left". The cold weather does not prevent the early morning exercises. However, rain does stop the morning routine.

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Then it is time for breakfast and the first class begins at 7.30am. Each period is for forty minutes separated by a 10 minute break with the last period ending at 8.30pm for the primary students and 9.00pm for the senior students. The young children can't wait to get out and play. The play surface is an enclosed tiled courtyard and this can be both very hot and cold with seasonal changes. At around 11am there is a general assembly of primary school students and this is when the head "Moral Teacher" gives a speech and if necessary publicly punishes and chastises anyone who is on report for misbehaviour.

The lunch break, is between 12noon and 2.30pm, and this period offers both teachers and students relief from this blistering fast pace. Everyone on campus uses this time for sleep. The place is a ghost town over the lunch break. The food is served as "slop" and it can have a bitter sweet reception from students and staff. I eat on average one meal a day in the school's dinning room.

At the end of 10 days I see a convoy of buses and cars coming to take the students home and the teachers are seen leaving with luggage for a visit to family and loved ones. There is no leave given to the teachers during the 10 days of school and they must obtain special permission to leave the campus during the day or evening. A guard is posted on all exits and the school is surrounded by a high wall that has broken glass along the top. Since I have been here two Senior School teachers have been absent without leave and were sacked from their job. I often see teachers slumped over their desks asleep throughout the day. Students are struggling to stay awake and attentive in class. During one class I stopped 10 minutes short of the period and had everyone put their heads down for a rest. I still kept on speaking to them in English or I would sing to them a new English song they have just learnt.

In brief, the other major aspects of my culture-shock are:

The traffic chaos.

The tremendous contrast in human faces; some are very old and some just beginning to blossom; some expressing optimism and some pessimism.

The Chinese language and having all public signs in Chinese.

The poverty, the dense population, the sound of car/truck horns is unrelenting and drifting odours can come with a stench that goes right down into my stomach.

Litter and pollution is rampant.

Being stared at in public.

Yet there are hidden surprises awaiting me each time I turn my head. In a single moment I can turn from disgust to pure joy that displays immense love. The society is so polarised. A good example of this is when I manage to go to Mass at a Catholic Church in Nanjing; the people demonstrate a strong devotion and friendliness and sing like a choir of "Chinese" angels.

I walk a familiar path when I go shopping. I pass the tailor shop where an elderly woman who mended my trousers still smiles at me. With purpose I look into her tiny workshop and say "Ni hoa ma" (Hello, how are you) with a smile. The local people are slowly beginning to stop their staring and I am slowly feeling accepted. The shop assistants have not spoken to me as yet as no one speaks English. They laugh and talk amongst themselves as I pay for my goods. Even so, everyone is polite and very willing to help when they can. I feel safe in my new neighbourhood.

I have lost my nervousness and fear about cycling on the public roads. I ride with "the pack" and follow their lead. I have done a lot of walking and I have learned so much from simple observation. What I first perceived as chaos there is now order and protocol. Yet it never seems to surprise me what awaits me around the corner. Yes I could remain blind to it all. Withdraw and hide but each day I willingly venture out to find new meaning to this place called China.

There is so much I am yet to discover about this strange and contrasting place.

Paul Hodge

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Culture Shock (2)

The school where I teach is a full-time privately owned and managed boarding school and except for a minority of students the school provides all meals and accommodation. It has a large campus and conducts classes for Primary school (grades 1-6) Junior (grades 7-10) and senior (grades 11-12). There is a nursery on campus and it caters for kindergarten age children (2-4 years old). Each grade is further divided into Class 1 and Class 2.

The average class size is 25-30. I can only use chalk on the blackboard and there are no whiteboards or computer facilities as teaching aids in the classroom. Each classroom has a TV, VCD (video disk player) and radio/cassette player. Therefore, PowerPoint cannot be used in class but there are OHP's and a pull down screen in some classrooms. Running maintenance on OHP's is poor and I have yet to see anyone using overhead slides as a teaching aid. I asked a fellow teacher why she does not use OHP's and she said, "They are never working". I have been experimenting with taking pictures with my digital camera and then using them for visual aids in class during oral English. My camera has a video out port to connect to a TV switched to AV mode.

Still of the subject of maintenance, the school buildings and grounds have been allowed to run down and the library is virtually non-existent. At this point I am tempted to make comparisons with schools in Australia but I will avoid doing this as I want the reader to from his/her own image of the school.

My working roster consists of 10 days followed by a break of four consecutive days. My average contact time with students is restricted by law to a maximum of 16 hours per week but the school has me on a 14 hour per week contract. What this means is that I get only one period per week for each class. There are five Chinese English teacher on staff who have the children for their textbook English but the students distinctly favour talking in Chinese and become "lazy" to learn oral English. I cannot comment on the examinations except I am not privy to critiquing the exam papers nor am I ask to contribute. I am also not required to be in the classrooms around exam times. Something is a miss because every student passes the exam and their report card scores are above average for the local district and other Government schools. Also, the school's recruiting advertising highlights this above average score in local newspapers and self-published literature. I will reserve my decision at this point.

All I can do is my best under the circumstances and in some cases I am breaking new ground and have the students keen to converse in English. Sadly, in the long run it is a lost cause. They go away for a four day break or a holiday and I am back to square one.

For reasons I am yet to investigate, the Chinese education system has placed restrictions on the number of hours foreign ESL teachers can work. It would appear that the Chinese Government gives priority to teaching their children 'the China way' by means of their peculiar style of teaching. I have witnessed a mode of teaching that is very much rote learning with the teacher having disciplinary rights to punch, slap, twist and kick students. I have seen children crying and withdrawn after being punished by their teacher for behaviour that would be tolerated and disciplined in a different way in Western schools. As part of my culture-shock I am angry and frustrated because I am helpless to intervene as I must avoid embarrassing the teacher so they do not 'lose face' in front of the student or other teachers. However, when I am left alone with the students I single out the ones who appear to be "hurting" or have low self-esteem, and through my words of praise and encouragement I can make a difference and return a smile to their faces. Another frustration is that I am legally answerable to a contract that carries heavy financial penalties if I leave.

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Culture Shock (1)

This article is a personal reflection and therefore the observations and the perspective taken by the author should not be generalised to reflect the diverse culture or societal values of China. An invitation is extended to other writers come travellers who can confirm, add or substantiate the information contained in this article.

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What is culture shock? The English (UK) Encarta Dictionary defines culture shock as a "Sudden exposure to unfamiliar culture. The feelings of confusion and anxiety experienced when an individual or a group suddenly finds itself in an unfamiliar cultural environment".

I grew up within a culture dominated by the Australian way of life beginning in 1951 and except for a twelve month "tour of duty" in the military outside Australia I have lived and worked in Australia. Paramount to my enculturation was the education I received from the young age of five years old and which continued into my late teens. My values were firmly structured and permeated by a society steeped in Anglo-Saxon tradition and Christian religiosity. All-the-while, in another part of the world, my destiny had an appointment with the extraordinary and mysterious culture of China. Apart from the few months I had to research the customs, values and language of China, I had not given attention to this "juggernaut of civilization" that for centuries had remained shrouded in mystery and feared by the democratic "free world". Throughout Australia's history its foreign policy had seen China as a hostile country having a population that dwarfed the Australian continent and had a political system with values and beliefs opposed to the core values and ethos esteemed by Australians. However, a series of revolutions and counter-revolutions and the tentacles of capitalism and consumerism have transformed many of the old perspectives about China. I have yet to form an opinion on how to best describe China today. One phrase I have in mind is "a juggernaut of continuous change that appears to be dismantling an ancient and creditable culture". The rest is guesswork.

So here I am, teaching Oral English to both kindergarten and primary school children in present day China in the province of Jiangsu. I have survived the initial culture-shock of language, customs, food and the extraordinary density of population. However, after being her six weeks I was struggling to remain motivated to stay. It was during those few weeks that I was grieving the loss of being with the woman who I love very much, the comfort and love of family and friends and the clean fresh air of south-east Queensland. I felt almost totally cut off from all things familiar – hugs, food, love, friendship and knowing my way around town. I was facing an identity crisis and so very much alone. Thanks to modern technology – internet and telephone – I was able to find an oasis of emotional and psychological support from people back home. I also had promised myself that I would visit home the first holiday break I had. I was able to go home for eight days after being in China for three months. I have been in China since 29th January 2004 and my contract is for 12 months.

I think confidentially is important so I will not be mentioning the actual name of the school where I teach, not will I be using the names of real people. However, I will adopt pseudo characters based on my observations and experiences. So let me make it very clear that what I have written in the article is limited to my personal perspective.



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