Transcript How to Improve your English

English and My Future
Huei-Chen Helena Yeh, Ph.D.
St. John’s University
March 16th, 2011
Agenda
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Something about me, Helena Yeh
Why is English important?
English vs. my life adventure
GPA (Graduation Pledge Association)
Conclusion
Helena Yeh
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Academic training:
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B.A. in Psychology at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois
M.A. in Educational Psychology at College of Saint Rose, Albany,
New York
Ph.D. in Higher Education at University of Denver, Colorado
Feb.~ July 2006, Section Chief of International
Collaborations at PCCU
Currently served at St. John’s University
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Assistant professor, the Department of Applied English
Section Chief, the International Exchange Section (2009-2010)
Director, the Center of Cross-Strait Affairs
蔡英文：
3大核心能力，成就未來人才 (2007)
1.
2.
3.
Cross-cultural skills
Cross-disciplinary skills
Communication skills
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83DnP0_FSq
Q&mode=user&search=
Mad about English
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Some real facts:
*Youtube video clip: English mania
*English becomes a dominant communicative tool
*English could be a crucial factor to determine your
salary and position,… most importantly, it will
effect your scope of life and career.
*Travel agents (with can be paid double or triple of
their salary)
Why is English important?
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A communicative tool to others who speaks different
languages
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Communication: active (speaking/expressing) to passive
(listening/comprehending)
Expending life experience & scope
Good English proficiency +
Excellent professional knowledge +
Decent moral sense =
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outstanding professionals
**(to echo with GPA program)
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“Standardized English” is now transforming…
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A new trend is now developing based on
needs of globalization.
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Neither American English
Nor British English
But a standardized English for all the people
communicate in a common language.
4-skills?
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4 skills of language proficiency
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Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
Listening
Writing
Vocabulary
Phrases
Sentences
Paragraphs
Articles
Speaking
Reading
How to improve overall English proficiency
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taking classes
Creating a whole-English environment
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Watching English-speaking movies
Watching English-speaking TV programs (eg.
Discovery, travel channel, and NBC news.)
Making some international friends (who only can
speak English to you.)
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eg. Online penpals, or hosting international students…
Practice makes perfect.
1.Giving yourself more opportunities to practice the language.
2. The more you use it, the better you speak it.
Listening
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The first step to learn the language
It doesn’t mean it is easy to learn, but it is
easier to other 3 language skills which are
speaking, reading and writing.
Usually you will be suggested to practice
listening and speaking skills approximately at
the same time/step.
The more you listen, the better you speak.
Ways to practice English Listening
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Taking classes
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Watching TV programs,
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Discovery, Travel channels
Watching movies,
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At school
At language schools
HBO movie programs, eg. Cartoons, Romantics, Actions
Theaters (online or replay movies)
Joining social and casual events
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English-speaking café/bar
Student clubs (either international student groups or Taiwanese
student groups.)
Attending shows, e.g. “Lion King”
Practicing Listening & Speaking
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Reviewing phonetics (for correcting pronunciations)
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Learning it from words & K.K. phonetics.
Practicing pronunciations with various resources
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English songs, movies, and TV programs
E-tutor/online tutor system, eg. “My English tutor”
Travel overseas during breaks
Summer overseas parttime jobs
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The more you listen, the better you can speak
the language.
http://www.ftes.tyc.edu.tw/7teacher/engweb.h
tm
Reading
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Learn to read
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Word/Vocabulary
Phrase
Sentence (where Grammar starting involved in)
Paragraph (where Structure getting involved in)
Essay/Article (where Style getting involved in)
Book
Elements to improve Reading & Writing
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Syntactical functions and morphological features 詞性
Phrases, slang, and special usages/expressions 片語、俚語、及特別用法
12 verbal tenses 十二語態
English-writing steps and structures 一般英文寫作步驟、及結構分析
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Steps:
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comprehending the topic,
brainstorming,
organizing the ideas,
getting ready to write
proofreading the writing paragraph(s).
Structures of English Writing:
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Sentence
Paragraph
Article/essay
Ways to practice Reading
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Dictionary (eg. Dictionary of English Usages,
& English-English Dictionary)
TV or online news
Short articles with clear topics from textbooks
or simplified story books.
Academic papers
English-written textbooks
How to practicing Reading proficiency
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Previewing
Predicting the Topic
Skimming for the Main Idea
Scanning
Ignoring Unknown Words
Recognizing Signal Words
How to improving Reading Compression skills
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Finding Main Ideas in Paragraphs
Distinguishing Fact from Opinion
Recognizing Author’s Purpose
Guessing the Meaning of Words from Context
Making Inference out of the message/ reading
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Prof. Day thinks that Intensive Reading
includes:
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Grammar Translation, Comprehension Questions,
Language Analysis, Skills, and Strategies。
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Adapted from “如何學習閱讀？何不從「開始」閱
讀做起！--專訪Cover to Cover作者 Professor
Richard Day”
Writing
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The most complicated skills among other 3
language skills (eg. listening, speaking, and
reading.)
Your skills to organize the selected ideas
Background knowledge for common senses
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Magazines
News (from TV, online, or papers)
Some good websites to practice English online
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http://www.etweb.fju.edu.tw/yueh/toeic/listenlink.ht
m
http://www.hwsh.tc.edu.tw/teaching/english/listenin
g.htm
http://www.ftes.tyc.edu.tw/7teacher/engweb.htm#E
NGLISH%20LEARNING
Digital Online English self-learning Center:
http://elearning.eng.ntnu.edu.tw/index.php?page=lin
k
http://www.ftes.tyc.edu.tw/7teacher/engweb.htm
What you need…
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Pen & paper
Several good dictionaries with different purposes
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e.g. Chinese-English dictionary, English-English
dictionary, online dictionary, and reference books for
English usages or different purposes/functions.
A good self-motivation
A supporting group of friends, online penpals, and
classmates.
學英文從何處著手?
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從閱讀童書開始. :)
哈佛人出版社執行長張錦娥的話:
"不想死背乾脆就從童書開始吧!"
"大多數的人以為托福就要猛讀 Times、
Business Week或Economist，...其實托福就
是考你具不具備美國高中及以下的英文程
度與常識，因此最重要的是去發掘美國那
些學生都在念些什麼。"
閱讀英文童書其實是不錯的開始. 基本上,
童書都是非常生活化, 淺顯易懂; 對有心想
學好英文的人這是一個非常好的起點. ~~
Adapted from
http://mayflower.english.tw/post/6/1880
學習英文的正確步驟:
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學到英文: (input)
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然後照著: (practice)
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清楚的架構 ， 正確的示範
不斷反覆練習 ， 發音要注意
最後形成: (knowledge)
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在腦中的一個網 ， 舉一反三地運用
~仲華, ET today.com
English vs. the World
Ways of Looking at Culture
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Culture as Civilization
Culture as Worldview
Culture as Symbols
Culture as a stabilizing Mechanism
Graduation Pledge Association (GPA)
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What is the GPA program?
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The Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental
Responsibility began in the spring of 1987 at Humboldt
State University (HSU) in California
a progressive activism toward issues effecting the society
and environment.
Social & environmental responsibility works. The
Graduation Pledge of Social & Environmental
Responsibility states:
“I pledge to explore and take into account the social and
environmental consequences of any job I consider and
will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for
which I work.”
The Graduation Pledge of Social &
Environmental Responsibility states:
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“I pledge to explore and take into
account the social and environmental
consequences of any job I consider
and will try to improve these aspects
of any organizations for which I
work.”
GPA vs. Career planning
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3 must-have skills:
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Cross-cultural skills, Cross-disciplinary skills, and Communication
skills
Good English proficiency +
Excellent professional knowledge +
Decent moral sense =
______________________________________________
outstanding professionals
**(to echo with GPA program)
Why is English important?

A communicative tool to others who speaks different
languages


Communication: active (speaking/expressing) to passive
(listening/comprehending)
Expending life experience & scope
Good English proficiency +
Excellent professional knowledge +
Decent moral sense =
_________________________________
outstanding professionals
**(to echo with GPA program)

“Education is concerned with
unexpected outcomes.”
~Stenhouse, 1975
Contact me: Helena Yeh
[email protected]