People in China spend the longest time learning English, and the effect is the worst. This is related to the main misunderstandings in learning and applying English. First, the long-term "cramming" education method makes many people think that learning English is for exams, and their actual English level can be imagined. Second, I mistakenly think that English is only composed of "pronunciation, grammar, sentences and vocabulary". I believe that as long as you learn "pronunciation, grammar, sentences and vocabulary", you can learn English well. In fact, if the goal is to achieve effective communication, the most important part is English pronunciation, grammar and sentences, but people who study and use English in China ignore the correct ways, methods and contents that should be used to express the language and conform to English culture and customs.
First, let's discuss the purpose together. A ship without a goal will always drift at sea. There are many purposes for learning English, but there is only one purpose for learning spoken English: to communicate effectively with native English speakers, that is, to establish, maintain and develop a good working relationship with native English speakers at work; Or make more friends whose mother tongue is English in our life, so that we can exchange feelings, encourage each other and help each other. Not to communicate with compatriots, nor to say a few words to "foreigners" such as: How are you? I'm fine, thank you. My English is poor. Bye. Other kindergarten English turned around and left, leaving a "foreigner" with his head exposed and unable to find the north. Many friends who study English in China are like a great warrior who has been practicing martial arts for 65,438+00 years. "He has been grinding his sword for ten years, but he has never tried double-edged." Finally, when he had a chance to face the enemy, the only thing he thought of was: escape! ) Don't waste time chatting with foreigners just to "speak English"-after a few minutes of breaking up, others will never want to associate with you again and won't remember who you are at all.
In China, most poor foreigners are overwhelmed by the same, boring, uninspired and sometimes China-like questions, which have been asked thousands of times, for example, are you American? Do you like China? Something like that I found that some people proudly said: My spoken English is good enough to chat with foreigners. Come on! Give me a break!
At this level of English learning, English language ability, which is composed of Chinese-style, complex sentence structure, rigorous grammar and huge vocabulary, is just "deaf ears, just for decoration", because it is not called "communication" and it is not worth spending so much time learning spoken English.
Some time ago, a person in Singapore published a book called "Can Asia Think", saying that Asian countries, including Japan and South Korea, have no innovation ability except imitation, and it is difficult to really compete with Europe and the United States. I hope I won't be bothered by his unfortunate remarks.
Before I went to study in the United States, I thought my English level was ok: after all, I have studied for so many years, and I have made a lot of efforts and participated in many training courses-from ordinary to top grade, I spent tens of thousands of dollars inside and outside. Dealing with all kinds of exams, including studying abroad exams, can also be regarded as passing all the way. However, when I arrived in the United States, I learned the word "Chinglish"-Chinglish: I can cope with communicating with my compatriots in English, but when communicating with classmates, professors and other "native English speakers", it involves substantive issues, and neither side can understand it! For at least half a year, it was extremely painful! Suddenly I lost my ability to communicate, and the confidence and belief that I had built up over the years seemed to be destroyed.
What happened to them? What's new? Chatting or something. However, I just find it difficult to communicate with them, even if it is only serious communication. At home, I can easily make friends with most people, and I have always been proud of myself. Because you treat others sincerely, others will usually treat you sincerely, otherwise you will only "stay away from him" next time. But at the beginning of America, why was it so difficult? ! Sincerity doesn't work?
Is it your own pronunciation and intonation? Don't! If you have the opportunity to learn Indian English, you may be proud of the pronunciation of China people. I have an Indian classmate named Abe, and I didn't understand most of his words until I graduated! However, the "terrible" pronunciation of Indians does not affect their smooth and effective communication with Americans at all!
Is it grammar and sentences? Not really! I was lucky to meet an outstanding American professor from China in an American university. When he was nearly 40 years old, he immigrated to the United States because of his outstanding mathematical ability. Not to mention pronunciation, when he speaks English, you can easily pick out many grammatical and sentence mistakes, but this has not stopped him from living in the United States for nearly 20 years, teaching mathematics and business administration courses to Americans in English and achieving success.
What is the reason? After living abroad for several years, I gradually understand a truth: "If the goal is to achieve" effective communication ",English pronunciation, grammar and sentences are certainly not as important as emphasized by various people in China, and the most important part that domestic English learners ignore is precisely the correct way, method and content to express language and conform to English cultural customs.
Language is the carrier and precipitation of its culture and customs. Although human cultures have something in common, they are more special. Western culture has the opposite side to China culture. For example, her attitude of advocating "positive or ambitious" often conflicts with China people's principles of "modesty and art", which constitutes an obstacle to effective communication. This is the so-called "cultural conflict and difference".
Therefore, it is not surprising that the learning methods and application methods of applying English to our own culture and customs, coupled with learning too many "useless" words, outdated words and sentences that many native speakers have never used or even heard of, make it impossible to understand real English and communicate with "native speakers"!
All English learning strategies and skills can be roughly divided into two categories. One is that you need to calm down and take the time to remember-to remember the knowledge summarized by yourself and others. No one can replace you in this part of the work, no matter what kind of genius! Because eating fish is good for intelligence and memory, someone asked Mark Twain how much he ate. Mark Twain replied: It seems that you should eat at least two whales! However, if we can learn English well only by studying hard, the English level of Chinese people should be top in theory, but the fact is just the opposite. Studying abroad, I deeply feel: probably because of long-term training, the ability to remember and recite, especially those things we don't understand, are our strengths at home; But practical application and innovation ability are our weaknesses in general. )
Therefore, the other is the experience and skills of "how to use English effectively in real life to achieve the purpose of communication". China people are brave in theory, but not as good as others in practice (reading for the sake of reading: "everything is inferior, only reading is the best"). Because of their strong application ability, these skills have long been ignored by English learners in China. Either because of limited contact with native speakers, it is difficult to get the "true classics", or because of the hobby of pursuing "high, big and complete" English in learning English and the psychology of saving face of Chinese people, most people are willing to adopt the traditional and safest learning method: persistent preference for sentences, grammar and vocabulary, rather than communicating with native speakers in English. In fact, language is just a tool. Unless you regard it as a profession, if it can't serve the purpose of communication, it is meaningless and useless in itself.
Reading and self-study help to improve English. But the disadvantage of books is the same as self-study, that is, there is no feedback and no two-way communication. What you know in theory is different in practice. Language, in particular, follows the principle of "use in and discard out". The most effective way to master this part is to create conditions and opportunities to learn and communicate with native English speakers or people who have lived abroad.
Practice, practice, practice again!
Research shows that when people talk, 80% information comes from body language, pronunciation and tone. In addition, the influence on the effectiveness of communication includes many factors, such as communication intention, conversation content, understanding and effective use of English culture, not just sentences, grammar and vocabulary.
Therefore, we can often see such an interesting phenomenon: a secretary assistant with only five or six thousand words can communicate with foreigners fluently in English, while some masters and doctors with a vocabulary of 30,000 to 50,000 and a CET-6 certificate have studied English for ten or twenty years. Besides the simplest words, how many people can "talk" with native English speakers? Not to mention expressing your ideas in English instead of Chinglish.
Chinglish refers to the application of English culture in China's culture, thinking and habits. In this way, the so-called "fluent English" is limited to communicating with compatriots, and when communicating with "native English speakers", the two sides cannot understand and communicate with each other because of the expression of "cultural differences"!
Instead of understanding and learning the culture of English-speaking countries in communication and application, it is often the cause of communication obstacles. Its consequences and harm are far greater than those caused by defects in pronunciation, grammar and sentences. Because pronunciation, grammar and sentences are not good for the time being, everyone will understand, because after all, English is not your mother tongue, so you can improve it slowly. The misunderstanding of character and conduct caused by "cultural conflict" may even produce the opposite result to what you want to achieve and ruin valuable development opportunities! In a person's limited life, if age, career development track, objective environment, conditions and other factors are taken into account, life really belongs to you only two or three times!
Take an example to illustrate the cultural conflict: Westerners pay attention to "eye contact" in conversation, and both sides should look into each other's eyes. Most people in China think it is impolite to stare at others "straight". Westerners, on the other hand, believe that the speaker's "direct eye contact" shows his sincere and frank mind, while the listener's "direct eye contact" shows his interest in the topic and respect for the other party. Therefore, when westerners meet, they cooperate with "eye contact", which is a confident smile (no matter what they think in their hearts), a firm handshake (politely touching hands, called "shaking dead fish" in English) and a positive thinking dialogue, which will make people have the will to continue to associate with you. On the contrary, if it is evasive eyes (some people scratch their heads, grin or roll their eyes because they want English words), callous expressions (for example, anger is not good for color) and negative conversation content, no matter how pure and excellent your grammar, pronunciation and sentences are, it will make others "stay away from you". Do you want to date someone who is completely out of your league? !
For another example, the pursuit of wealth is the same, and the popular practices and concepts in China and the West are completely different. Westerners, especially North Americans, admire entrepreneurship: those who start from scratch by their own talents and efforts, rather than nepotism and submission to powerful people. They abandon the possible comfortable life to take risks, start businesses and struggle (for example, I Henry, ha! ), and make full use of modern commercial operation means: market research, product development, advertising marketing, quality control, after-sales service, etc. Let your products and services be accepted and liked by the society, and ultimately win-win. Entrepreneurs are unquestionable heroes in the eyes of westerners! It can be said that the admiration and pursuit of entrepreneurship is that the United States can stand out in just over 200 years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it has simply turned the suzerain British Empire, which is known as "the imperial empire", into a follower of today.
Many people in China are not. They love money and envy the wealth and influence of entrepreneurs, but they call money "smelly things" and all entrepreneurs "profiteers"-all businessmen are dishonest. They refuse legitimate business practices, such as reasonable advertisements, and they are dismissive. Don't you know that the prosperity of the nation is closely related to entrepreneurship? There is a famous saying in American business circles: a good product is not advertised, just like you are just hiding in the dark and blinking at the opposite sex you like.
In the west, entrepreneurship is still an obstacle to a "free society". America is based on Puritanism. 1620 Twenty-four years after Mr. Li Zicheng plundered Beijing by millions of peasants, a group of Puritans set off from Southampton, England, on the may flower and arrived at the east coast of the United States, known as the father of Puritans. Puritans believe that poverty and laziness are equally evil. People should also be able to achieve success through self-struggle, including financial freedom.
"The only way to be free is to work hard or have a rich father," said America. Ha ha. Sorry, Henry added the last part himself! Smart people don't leave too much money to their children and grandchildren: if they have the ability, they will earn enough money; Without ability, how much money is left is not enough to squander, but it hurts them. China people know that "wealth cannot exceed three generations", but they are still willing to leave all their property and career to their children and grandchildren, alas!
Westerners believe that an educated gentleman has the responsibility and obligation to give back to the society with his wealth and skills, instead of taking them endlessly. China people are not very welcome in some communities abroad, not because of racial discrimination, but because many China people lack this spirit of "giving back to society". American colleges and universities receive a large number of corporate and private donations every year. The main teaching building of the American Business School where I am located was built by an old couple who donated 5 million dollars on 1998.
Thus, once upon a time, individualism was regarded as a scourge in China. Individualism translated into individualism and egoism, as derogatory words or taboo words, has been used to this day. In fact, in the west, individualism is a commendatory term, while selfishness is: selfishness in English. In the western society where the win-win concept prevails, people think that selfish people are short-sighted, ultimately hurting their own best interests and pursuing the greatest value of enterprises and individuals. The famous Enron, a banner of American enterprises, lost the public's trust because of fraud, which led to the suicide of the vice president and criminal prosecution of the senior executives. The huge empire suddenly disappeared and became the laughing stock of the world! A friend said that China has also gone from the era of "black cats and white cats, as long as they catch mice" to the era of "black cats and white mice, as long as they don't catch mice"! I hope this is not true, my motherland! "The building is thousands of hectares and sleeps seven feet; Delicious, but full. " Henry: I think: life is only a hundred years, like a traveler. On the one hand, we should cherish time, strive forward, feel the ups and downs of the world as much as possible, and waste our lives; On the other hand, recognize the essence of wealth: life does not bring, death does not bring, be the master of money rather than a slave, make good use of wealth, benefit others and benefit themselves!
The language of a nation is the carrier and precipitation of her unique culture and the accumulation of her tradition. The power of tradition is so powerful, and the influence of our national culture is so deep-rooted, that after I came to the United States for two years, when chatting with foreigners, I often can't help asking some "taboo questions" that I already know I shouldn't ask.
For example, how old are you? What a common question in China, especially when you are familiar with it, you will naturally ask about your age and call each other brothers and sisters. Shouting "Lao Zhang, Lao Li" or something, although not old, is also happy in the heart of the called party.
China culture, with a deep-rooted nostalgic complex, is addicted to the past-perhaps because our ancestors were so excellent. "A century-old shop with a long history" and the like are attractive highlights. We advocate "old age", which seems to be synonymous with great wisdom and authority.
But in North America, there are some ideas that are completely contrary to our cultural traditions. New and young are symbols of life and vitality, and people advocate youth. Old and old are symbols of death and backwardness. Therefore, age is a very taboo issue in North America, even among friends. If you want "native English speakers" to hate you, especially ladies, please ask her age boldly (they say: you are a pain in the ass. ) Many people in North America are particularly afraid of celebrating their 40th birthday. It seems that after 40 years old, I will be abandoned by society. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. She is no longer young, which is a common slang in North America.
Therefore, when dealing with a "foreigner", never hint at her/his age, even if you accidentally know it. Westerners have a humorous saying, "The only secret to staying young forever is to lie about your age!" Foreigners advocate humor, which is called positive thinking and positive attitude. I have discussed it in other articles. But you must be careful when you joke with foreigners in English. After all, you come from different cultural backgrounds. However, I have a real American joke myself: Americans are really confident. Of course, I was stopped by an American beggar in the street and asked for money: a dollar for pizza! The voice is round and loud. Suddenly, I really thought I owed him money! After moving to new york, I was stopped by beggars many times and asked, Do you have five dollars? Who made new york's living expenses so expensive? ) 。
In fact, to be fair, what does age matter? Many people, who claim to have lived for decades, are actually just mediocre, living a day and repeating it tens of thousands of times. Don't you smell: some people die at the age of 20 and are buried at the age of 70! Is age really that important? In North America, no matter Canada or the United States, according to its labor law, employers are not allowed to ask candidates' age, marital status, gender, race, religious beliefs, etc., and the above reasons cannot be used as reasons for not hiring, otherwise it is illegal. From losing the government procurement contract to resorting to law.
Common job advertisement in China: "Under 25 years old, unmarried". Forgive me for being stupid, but I just don't understand: besides recruiting nuns, monks and the elderly, what other jobs are related to "marriage"? What jobs must be under 25 or 30!
How can you not learn the really good things in the west? ! Many ideas, including her respect for individuals, her yearning for freedom, wealth and happiness, and her unremitting pursuit, are really worth thinking about. You will also find that these ideas will be fully reflected in English communication, and our training will naturally involve these.
Therefore, friends who want to improve their English, besides listening to the original and watching the modern original, can also find a foreigner to practice oral English (and exchange ideas). Language is just a tool, which has no meaning in itself. Otherwise, a better training class would be nice. The need for communication will stimulate the motivation and interest in learning. You just bury yourself in your studies, or you will have endless pain forever, or you will only learn dumb English and Chinglish. Communicating with native English speakers or people who have studied and lived abroad is of great help to improve English, especially oral English. Otherwise, the "dragon-killing skills" that you have learned with time, effort and money are limited to the "Chinglish" communication with your compatriots. Do you have to repeat the mistakes made by many people in China when they learn English? !