ESL Kids

Well, I grew up in a pretty diverse place called Hong Kong. I consider myself pretty lucky in the sense that I got to learn and practise three languages - Cantonese, English and Mandarin - simultaneously during my school years. Although I still struggled with learning English in a Chinese society, I think my language encounter is less choppy than some of the ESL kids I've come across in my teaching. 

I think children who speak English at school and another language at home are easy to fall between two stools. It is hardly a problem for them to fit into the English-speaking environment – i.e. they have little problem making daily conversations with their peers, but they may experience difficulties in English reading and writing, hence poor school performance. Worse still, they may become distant from their mother tongue, which is receding to become a language of their parents' generation.

From my experience, the extent of the problem varies from child to child. In serious cases, children may do badly in all subjects. It is possible for them to lose motivation in studying because they are not able to express complex ideas properly in writing. In mild cases, which are also more prevalent, children do badly in only one subject – English.

To help an ESL kid catch up with English, to put it simply, we can give them extra guidance outside school hours. They need someone to follow up their homework and read texts with them. They need positive encouragement. Some parents are totally capable of doing all those themselves, but not all of them have got the time and abilities. For those who juggle their professions with family duties, or those who do not have a good command of English, they may choose to hire an English tutor.

And here is a million dollar question:
Should you get a tutor who speaks your child’s first language?
My answer would be: It depends on what kind of issue your child is having. 
Case 1: 
If your child have problems following the teachers' instruction at school, a tutor who speaks your child's mother tongue may be able to “translate” things for him/her, but it is debatable as a long-term healthy solution, as kids may soon develop reliance on the tutor/translator. They maybe getting through exams, but their incentive to improve their English remain unchanged. So, I think even the kids have poor listening skills in English, it is still a better bet to allow the tutors to speak to them purely in English, but in simpler sentences and slower pace. 

Case 2:
If your child's only weak at reading and writing, it may not be an issue what the tutor's first language is, as long as they have good written English and can motivate your child to read. Reading and writing is a rather common issue actually even for non-ESL students, so you really don't have to panic. Some tutors may chat with you and you kid regarding the family reading habit. More often than not, a house with books raises children who enjoy reading. For an ESL family, it is a subtle issue when it comes to encourage kids to read more texts in English as well as in their first language without putting too much pressure on them.

Case 3:
Funny enough, some parents choose to hire a tutor to help their kids with their first language. They must be feeling powerless trying to make the kids use their mother tongue. Well, knowing how to use a language does not mean you know how to teach it. If the ESL kid is moving towards refusing to continue using their first language, getting a tutor could give them some freshness in the subject.

It is always nice to have more than one language in your pocket. Especially when you are born with one, try not to lose it - it will come in handy one day. I went for a short trip in Taipei with my family last September, and I was glad to have kept up with my Mandarin. It saved us from getting lost...

There is a good tool in your pocket for studying IELTS

I always advise my students to download the ABC app onto their phones and use it as an IELTS studying tool. Why?

REASON 1: Practise reading 

This is so obvious. You can read the news using the app. There are local news, world news, sports news, education news, technology news... We all know reading the news in a foreign language is good for building your vocabulary. Your high school English teachers told you that, didn't they? They are right, and the app makes it convenient. You can always highlight a word and "web search" it for the meaning.

If you have read the news about the riots in Hong Kong over the last week, you probably would have learnt the words "melee" (n.) meaning disorder, disturbance, and "scuffle" (n.) (v.) meaning a short, confused fight.

Having said that, the Prime Minister of Aussieland also said a pretty unusual English word last week which sent many people (ESL and non-ESL backgrounds alike) to run for their dictionaries. Tony Abbott said he would "shirtfront" the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Don't you want to know what "shirtfront" means? Luckily, since the PM's choice of word is so special, even the news on the app includes a link to tell you the meaning. It's a movement, so it is easier to grasp with a video.

According to Wikitionary, "shirtfront" is a head-on charge aimed at bumping an opponent to the ground. In AFL, it is supposed to be against the rule, and the term is considered outdated already. Voila!

Actually, you can use the ABC website on your computer instead, but for reading the news, I do recommend using the phone, because it has a smaller screen. We are supposed to be reading faster from a narrower column, so you can train up your reading speed by reading from your phone. In IELTS reading tests, they always arrange a passage in two columns, so they are actually helping us to read faster. Aren't we grateful?

REASON 2: Practise listening

Well, apart from reading, you can listen to the radio and watch TV through the app. I personally don't enjoy watching videos on my phone, but the radio function is good. You can live stream radio or select programs in their archive. Just explore! Many students find IELTS listening challenging because they are not reacting fast enough when the keywords come up. By listening to the radio more, you will eventually get used to the way native English speakers talk, their tones and sentence patterns, which allow you to predict when the main points will come up. So, you won't be surprised when a piece of information pops up.

REASON 3: Collect materials for speaking

I've observed something interesting from tutoring IELTS speaking. Many students find it hard to answer questions regarding aspects of our lives, such as, sports, mass media, the internet and arts. Here are some of the typical questions:

Part I:
What's your favourite TV/ radio program?
Which types of news do you read most often?
Which types of music do you listen to?

Part II:
Describe a useful website.
Describe a movie you dislike.
Describe a piece of electronic equipment.
Describe a kind of sports that you want to try.
Describe an artwork.

Part III:
How do newspapers attract readers?
Which one do you prefer: reading magazines or newspapers?
Should there be more educational TV programs?
What do you think about advertisements?
Should arts be made part of school curriculum?

Perhaps some students are not interested in some of the subjects, that's why they don't think about them much, and so it is natural that they don't have an idea when they are asked those questions. Or, they are actually familiar with some of the subjects, but they just don't have the words to describe, which is really sad :( Whichever the reason is, I think listening to the radio and watching TV more often can widen your scope of knowledge and vocabulary, and give you more ideas for your speeches.

Since I have mentioned music, I want to say I do listen to old Mandarin pops. Here is one of my favourites. P.S. It is a KTV video, so we can sing along =)

Under the Ultimatum

Who can imagine one of the world's safest cities was issued an ultimatum by its ruler? 

Being in Hong Kong last month, I witnessed the brewing of discontentment over Beijing's decision, which overrules Hong Kong's right to exercise universal suffrage in the next chief executive election. I had already been back in Melbourne when the whole thing boiled over. I follow the petition over the internet. Day after day, the strikes in the CBD, tear gas, conflicts and street violence shocked me. It has been a long and exhausting week. Then, an ultimatum came.

As I am writing this post and counting down to the deadline, I am genuinely worried about the safety of the petitioners. We all know very well the authority would resort to force if the students refuse to retreat by Monday morning. "Monday morning, government officials have to  be able to return to the  headquarter and restore their function," said the ruler.

Theme songs are wonderful things; they bind a chain of actions together. Here is the theme song for what has been happening in Hong Kong over the last week. We are yet to know what's going to happen next. While the ultimatum is still in effect, let me purloin this English teaching blog of mine to publicise the song. All for my love to my hometown.

撐起雨傘

給那夜，或者無數日夜，撐著雨傘或赤身淋雨的無私奉獻者：所有為我城命運付出，不計個人前途得失的年輕人，所有令香港變得更美麗的人，你們並不孤單。

靜坐人海 你我非不怕會畏懼這樣下去怎辦但是人生 到了這一晚更怕未表白內心呼喊

站在前方 勇氣驅不散卻信越怕命運更黯淡但是誰想 要看穿荒誕卻會在催淚下睜開眼 一起舉傘 一起的撐一起儘管不安卻不孤單 對嗎一起舉傘 舉起手撐一起為應得的放膽爭取 怕嗎任暴雨下 志向未倒下雨傘是一朵朵的花不枯也不散

為著明天 要記得今晚你我用鎮定面對憂患若是人生 錯過這一晚 怕再沒機會任意呼喊

To the selfless contributors who stood bare in the rain except for their umbrellas, all those who have contributed to the fate of our city, those young people who risk their future willingly and all those who make Hong Kong more beautiful that night, or at countless nights. You are not alone.

Hold up Your Umbrella

Sittin’ in this sea of crowd, it’s not that we’re unafraid,
Afraid of what’ll happen if we carry on like this
But to live until tonight
I’m more afraid if my cry will be unheard
Standing at the front, courage can’t be dispersed
For fear will only diminish life. Who is willing to see through the absurd?
And who – through the smoke of tears – is willing to keep her eyes open?
Together, let’s hold up our umbrellas
Together, we may be uneasy, but we cannot be alone, right?
Hold up our umbrellas, hold up our hands, holding on
Together, we’ll be brave, fight for what’s ours, right?
Let the brutal rain fall, our spirit has not flailed
Each umbrella blooms like flower
They don’t wilt, they don’t disperse
For the sake of tomorrow, remember tonight
We calmly face our worries
If you miss tonight
You may never have the chance to cry out freely again

Note: This is an unofficial English translation of the lyrics. I edited it a bit.

Announcement 通告

Mary won't be available to teach in Melbourne from 22 Aug to 19 Sept 2014 because I have to make an overseas trip. Yay! I can be reached via email wy4chan@gmail.com during this period.

I will resume teaching when I come back.

Hurray!

The Interpreter of The Grandmaster

Two weeks ago, an important figure in Hong Kong history 鄭仰平 Cheng Yang-ping passed away. 

Who's he? He was one of the two interpreters who bridged the communication between Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping. It is said that late Mr Cheng didn't talk much when he wasn't interpreting, even though he spoke superb English, Cantonese and Mandarin. He was also a strict follower of an interpreter's professional conduct - he had never leaked a word about the historic negotiation.

The news probably has got into my head. While I was watching The Grandmaster 一代宗师 the other day, I wondered how they can possibly interpret the complex Chinese imagery uttered by Ip Man 叶问 and Gong Er 宫二. The scene below is especially perplexing. Sadly, I can't find a clip of the scene with English subtitle, but I found the official English subtitle script. I've marked four places which are worth ruminating upon. So, let's do an odd thing - play the video and read the script at the same time. 

English Subtitle:

I was lucky to meet you in my prime.

Sadly, my time is running out.

To say there are no regrets in life,

is just to fool yourself.

How boring it would be without regrets.

Mr Ip, to tell you the truth,

I cared about you.

I don't mind telling you that.

It's not a crime to love.

But that's all it can ever be.

I never said that to anyone before.

Seeing you tonight,

I don't know why, it just came out.

Let's say we suspend this game

of chess between us.

Take care.

In life, as in chess,

a move once made stays on the board.

What we have

is simply fate.

Your father once said,

never give up the faith.

Keep the light burning.

I hope that one day

I'll see the 64 Hands once more.

I hope you enjoyed the scene - I like it a lot. I want to talk about four things about the translation.

1) I cared about you. 
The original Chinese is 我心里有过你, a literal translation can be "I have had you in my heart". Of course, it doesn't sound that natural. Thinking about it, to have someone in your heart allows quite a flexibility for interpretation and choice of words. I like their choice "cared about" which is subtle enough for Gong Er as a woman in that era, but it also contains ample meaning just like the Chinese original. 

2) Let's say we suspend this game of chess between us.
The original Chinese is 就让你我的恩怨像盘棋一样保留在那儿, a literal translation can be "let's keep the resentment between us there like a game of chess". Having said that, ”resentment“ can be replaced by "scores", meaning all those wrongs one has done to the other. At this point, it becomes obvious that "a game of chess" actually can symbolise tension, fights, resentment and scores. That's how smart this translation is - why to repeat two similar things when you can use one to embed the other.

3) What we have is simply fate.
In Chinese, the line is 我们之间本来就没恩怨，有的只是一段缘分。Well, this is indeed a big challenge for the translator. Again, a literal translation can be "We have never had any scores between us even from the start. What we have is just fate." I don't see why the first line is omitted in this case. I find it a pity not to have it, as if something has gone missing in the rhythm.  Another thing is about the word "fate" which seems to be the only English counterpart for 缘分 but never quite fits. Simply put it, while the pair means the same thing, "fate" sounds heavy but “缘分” has a softness in it. Can't blame anybody I guess.

4) Never give up the faith. Keep the light burning.

Lastly, 念念不忘必有回响，有灯就有人。These two are very poetic lines, a superficial meaning is "If you hold on to your thought, it will resonate. When there is light, there are people". I think Ip Man's interpreter has captured the gist of the lines precisely, though I kind of like the second line more literal.

It's not easy to be an interpreter indeed. You rack your brain just to get messages across, and they are not even about you. Poor souls :)

Another Story (cont.)

Let's continue with our Space Odyssey and Star War crossover essay. The topic I was writing about is:

The money spent on space research has brought enormous benefits to mankind, but it could be more usefully applied. How far do you agree?

In the previous post, I have already written my introduction and two supporting paragraphs. According to our 5-paragraph structure, I still need a third body paragraph to talk about the opposite point of view and one conclusion.

For the third body paragraph, we need the following two elements:

1) Opposing argument - one sentence is enough
2) Rebuttal - be brief, normally two sentences

Those who harbour the view that funds for space research should be spent elsewhere might suggest that there are other problems in our society that need money more urgently, for instance, poverty and burdens in education and medical sectors. However, while space research might seem less pressing an issue, it could also offer creative, alternative and possibly more sustainable solutions to our current problems. From this perspective, space research is absolutely relevant to our current and future social development.

Compared to the previous two body paragraphs, this one should be a little shorter. It is important to bear in mind this ratio because our word limit is 250 words. A merit for follow the 5-paragraph approach is that you will definitely meet the word count. A demerit of the structure is that if you write too much in the third body paragraph, your essay will very likely be too long. As long as your marker has the right to lower your grade when your essay is 30 words or more off-limit, it is always wise to restrain yourself from over-expanding your paragraphs, especially the third body paragraph.

Finally, for conclusion, we should include two things as well:
1) Paraphrase your stand in one sentence
2) A projection to the future - one to two sentences

In conclusion, I believe science research deserves financial investment, insofar as it would provide valuable insights into the survival of the human race. Thus, governments should seriously consider budgeting funds for this field. It is indeed time to adopt farsighted approaches in planning for our planet's future.

A trick to construct a high sounding final statement is to give some advice to governments regarding school education, investment or community program. They make sound like empty statements, but they do work. 

So it's not that hard to write a well-organised essay after all. More on coherence and cohesion next time. 

Anyone following Le Tour de France these days? I watch a bit. Since I'm on this "futuristic" essay topic, let me tell you about a new invention for cyclists. It is the INVISIBLE HELMET. What? Well, it is actually an airbag device that you wear like a scarf around your neck when you cycle. When an accident happens, the airbag will pop out to wrap around your head like a helmet. Sounds cool, doesn't it? It has already been approved in many European countries but Australia is yet to have it. I would really be interested in getting one when they do arrive. God knows I'm a clumsy cyclist...

Another Story

Last time I told you a funny story about myself in the Melbourne storm. How about a prince and princess story this time?

I like opera. I like both Chinese and Western operas. Some may say the emotion and acting in this art form tend to exaggerate, but it is exactly what this art form is about. It sets out to tell a story and makes sure you know it is a story, i.e. you don't see it everyday in your life. To put it in a literary way, it is an elevated reality that means to charm and to mesmerise. I listen to opera music a lot, I find it purifying... 

In case you're not familiar with opera, here is a sample for you. Nessun Dorma (None Shall Sleep) - one of the most popular opera songs - is an extract from Turandot, an opera written by Puccini. It is sung in Italian but guess what? The story is actually set in Peking! It's about a cruel Chinese princess and her suitors... Well, listen to it if you haven't already done so. Then listen to it again. Don't you want to cry sometimes when you encounter something so stunningly beautiful?

Okay, dry your tears now. That was our classic story of the day.

I introduced the 5-paragraph essay structure in the last post and let's look at how it is applied in the sample essay below.

The money spent on space research has brought enormous benefits to mankind, but it could be more usefully applied. How far do you agree?

This is a standard agree/disagree question. I always find it easier to take sides rather than arguing for both.
You can say "I totally/absolutely/strongly/to a large extent agree/disagree with the statement" depending on how strong you think your points are. The beauty of writing five paragraphs is that no matter how far you agree, you still write two supporting points and one opposing point.

For introduction, we should include two things: 1) Paraphrase the question, 2) State your point of view. Like this:

Many nations nowadays assign significant ratio of their budget on space research. Whereas knowledge about the astronomy is obviously beneficial to human beings, it is argued that money should be more wisely spent on other aspects of our life. I strongly disagree with the latter point of view.

Some students like to reveal their point of view only at the end of the essay. It is not illegal but imagine you are an IELTS examiner and you have already read five hundred essays since 9am. Would you feel your patience is being stretched a little bit when you have to tread through another 250 words (with grammatical mistakes and all) to arrive at a perspective only in the conclusion? That's why I think you would do your examiner a favour by stating your opinion at the onset.

For the first two body paragraphs, we need two supporting arguments and each paragraphs should be arranged in the following way:
1) Topic sentence
2) Explain
3) Evidence
4) Link back

To begin with, we should note that developing space engineering would be a global trend in the centuries to come. Due to the advancement of internet and digital technology, our scientific research is expanding further into the space. We need more satellites and space stations to support our frequent interactions with people from all over the world. Insofar as worldwide communication is a major practical component in our modern life, we should invest on space research.

Secondly, venturing into the space might help us find solutions to many problems in our planet. As we know, we are facing issues of energy crisis, food shortage and severe pollution, just to name a few. There could be abundant resources in other planets that we can utilise. It is possible that we might even discover another planet suitable for us to reside. In short, space research is absolutely essential for the existence of the human race and thus deserves investment.

I know, the two paragraphs above look really colourful and the ideas sound more and more Star War-like, but you got the gist of how to structure the first two body paragraphs.

Actually, to present an argument is not unlike telling a story - our words need to be coherent and cohesive so that others can follow. In other words, there got to be glue to stick your passage together so it doesn't fall apart. But allow me to break the flow at this point, I'll explain what I mean by that and continue the space essay next time :)

Proper Planning

Hands up if you have had the following experience:

You are in your warm bed 5 o'clock in the morning and in your dreamy state you hear a storm roaring outside. Then suddenly, somewhere in your brain a voice emerges, it asks, "Have you put the garbage bins out for collection?"
You hate to admit it but the answer is "no". 
The voice continues, "You should put them out now before the garbage truck comes." 
That's true, but it's freezing cold outside and rainy too. 
"If you don't take them out now, you will be stuck with stinky garbage for a week and you will regret." 
Since the voice shows no mercy, you get up, get dressed, and venture into the stormy darkness to wheel the lovely bins. When you head back in, you are all wet and shivering like mad. There's no way to go back to sleep.

The above experience happened to me last Tuesday morning. Did anyone read on the news that Victoria was ripped by a "weather bomb" that day with winds of up to 130 km per hour?

Yarra River flooded its banks 24/6/2014

Interesting story. And the moral of the story is: Plan. Ahead.

IELTS task 2 writing requires us to write a 250 word essay to discuss an issue. We should allocate no more than 40 mins on that so a decent essay plan is very important because it would increase your efficiency. Basically, there are three types of question: 

1. Do you agree or disagree with the statement?

2. What's your opinion regarding the point of view?

3. What are the causes for the problem and what are the effects/possible solutions? 

Regardless of how they put their question, I would suggest writing 5 paragraphs. For the first two types, we can make a plan like this:

Para 1: Intro (paraphrase the question and state your opinion)

Para 2: Supporting reason 1 

Para 3: Supporting reason 2

Para 4: The opposite point of view and your rebuttal against it

Para 5: Conclusion

For type 3, we make a slightly different plan based on the 5-paragraph structure:

Para 1: Intro (paraphrase the question and make a general statement about the causes of the problem)

Para 2: Cause 1 

Para 3: Cause 2

Para 4: Effects/ Possible solutions

Para 5: Conclusion

Why 5 paragraphs?

Well, there are so many ways to tackle an IELTS essay and many would suggest writing only two body paragraphs, hence a 4-paragraph structure. Nothing wrong with that. The advantage of putting three body paragraphs is to reduce the length of each paragraph so they are easier to handle. The fact is, many students tend to "get carried away" when they try to elaborate an idea within a paragraph. They tend to temporarily forget the main point of the argument as stated in their introduction; as a result, the ideas presented in the body paragraphs do not answer the question.

Let me show you how it works with an example in the next post :)

Confession of a Procrastinator

About two years ago, I came across a popular theory online developed by a Stanford Professor in Philosophy whose name is John Perry. Let's not yawn just yet, because the "theory" is more like a fun parody rather than one of those hardcore and long-winded chains of thought. The theory is called Structured Procrastination. I'm not an internet expert who knows before everybody else what's hot in the cyber world and I guess by the time I realised the theory's existence many people might have already heard of that. Well, I could be late, but it doesn't change my opinion of it - that guy's essays are ridiculously funny.

He published a book on it too

If you haven't visited the procrastinating webpage, I think you should. It means to offer a self-help program for procrastinators by making them productive without changing their procrastinating manner. Sounds great, doesn't it? We all know how hard it is to shake a bad attitude. I consider myself an occasional or maybe seasonal procrastinator, and I think the theory would work for me.

For instance, I was supposed to post stuff on this blog a few months ago but since I am in my procrastinating state of mind, I prefer to clean the house, change into my Lycra gear to do yoga, even peel and core seven Granny Smiths to make apple crumble. I was ready to undertake more complicated tasks just to run away from the most pressing one on the list. I'm pretty sure everyone behaves that way from time to time - some more often than others.

So, one of the method Prof. Perry suggests is by using a to-do list which breaks down one task into smaller portions. For example, instead of writing on the yellow sticky note: "Write a blog entry", I write: 1.Turn on your laptop and position it in a well-lit spot; 2. Log on to Blogger; 3. Put a sexy heading; 4. Write four lines; 5.Drink a glass of water; and so on. By so doing, we enjoy the thrill of checking the listed items every two minutes and feel so productive - almost like a non-procrastinator. Not a bad way to lure me in.

I have some students who are somewhat reluctant to study for IELTS. They can take half a day to write a 250 word essay and one whole day to finish three reading passages. Well, why don't we try the method above? Make a list: 1. Take out your IELTS practice test; 2. Find some room on your desk; 3. Read the writing Task 2 question; 4. Draw a table for the essay plan; 5. One sip of tea as you put down the main idea for the first paragraph... 

Wait a second, what is an essay plan?

More on that next time :)

Grand Opening

Hello Everyone.

Some of you might have known me from my Chinese blog. Welcome to this new English site! 

Mary knows IELTS (Chinese) has been up and running for a year sharing my thoughts, experience and materials on improving English in preparation for IELTS. While that Chinese-English site is tailored for Chinese-speaking students, this English-English learning site is open to all. I will regularly upload articles to discuss the keys to success in IELTS, as well as how to talk and write properly in English in everyday context.

Students from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds tend to experience different types of difficulties on using English. Having been a language instructor in multicultural learning environments in Melbourne and Hong Kong, I will attempt to address various obstacles that students from diverse background usually face. I hope my insight, plus your hard work, will take you through the test smoothly; yet, more importantly, I do hope to help improve your language skill for the future.

As I always say, there’s no shortcut to mastering a language – it takes hours of practice and certain sensitivity. Worse still, for learners of any second languages, the learning process will never end. But let’s not sigh just yet, if you keep working on it, you will find using English a second nature soon enough, just like swimming, driving, skipping rope, head-standing, using chopsticks, and so on. (Doesn't matter if you don’t know any of the above, you get my point …)

So people, let’s get cracking!