Transcript Unit I Ways of Learning

Unit I Ways of
Learning
Teaching Objectives
• Students will be able to:
• Grasp the main idea and structure of the
text;
• Appreciate the difference between
comparison and contrast, as well as
different ways to compare and contrast;
• Master the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text;
• Conduct a series of reading, listening,
speaking and writing activities related.
Teaching Set-up
• Text A
• Pre-reading:
• Warm-up activities Unit I Ways of
Learning.ppt
• Background information
• Text prediction
• While-reading:
• Text organization
• Writing strategies
• Language points
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Post reading:
Useful expressions
Questions for discussion
Text B
Background information
Language points
Assignments
Warm-up activities
I.
An interesting class activity---a practical
experiment
Suppose two children are given hula
hoops---a toy they are unfamiliar with.
• Hula hoop
• Angela is given a hula
hoop with instructions on
how to use it.
• Jonathan is given a hula
hoop but no instructions.
Question 1: What kind of
outcomes do you expect?
Result:
• Angela learns to keep the hula hoop in
motion by keeping her body in certain
ways.
• Jonathan explores the hoop and invents
some ways to play it. For example, he
may find that the hoop is big enough to
step through. He then balances the hoop
between two objects and practices kicking
a ball through the hoop.
Question 2: How do you comment
on these two outcomes?
suggested answer: Both outcomes are good.
Angela learns a useful play skill. Jonathan
uses his hoop in a different, yet equally
playful way.
Question 3: Which one do you think is better
in developing children’s creativity?
And what conclusion can you draw from this
experiment?
• In fact, we can’t arrive at a definite
conclusion about which is better.
• Angela, followed the directions given,
will have a skill that she can use anytime
she wants to move her body in that
specific way. But the outcome is limited to
having followed directions and mastered a
particular skill.
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Jonathan, on the other hand, had the
experience of exploring and discovering
an item he was unfamiliar with. He used
what he learned about this circularshaped object to solve a problem of his
own and incorporated the hula hoop as an
innovative solution to help him do
something that he wanted to do---kick a
ball through a target. Jonathan learned
he could use his observation and
exploration to learn about new objects.
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II. A survey:
Do you agree with the following statements?
1. Play is the best way to learn.
2. Children are naturally curious, inspired, motivated
learners, but sometimes the enjoyment of learning can
get lost in the pressure to “succeed” in formal education.
• 4. Parents are the most important instructors to the
children, so they should give as much guidance as
possible.
Background information:
• Western education:
• It is generally true that western methods are more
student-centered, expecting students to discover things
for themselves rather than relying on their teachers to
tell them. An extreme version of the student-centered
approach can be seen at Summerhill, a school in
England established by the educationalist A.S.Neill.
There children have complete freedom to decide what
they’re going to learn and which lessons they’ll attend. If
they wish they need not attend any at all.
• Mainstream education in England is far
more strict, demanding that children
attend lessons and follow a national
curriculum. This curriculum and the
importance of achieving good exam
results tend to reinforce a more teachercentered approach, as both teachers and
students find the pressure of time leaves
less opportunity for an exploratory
approach to learning.
Text prediction:
• With the activities we’ve done, can you
predict what the text is mainly about and
what does the author start his writing with?
While-reading:
• I. Text organization:
• An essay is usually divided into 3 parts,
and how many parts are there in this text?
Structure of the text:
Introduction of the topic by an
incident/anecdote
Elaboration by comparison and contrast
Conclusion by a suggestion
Parts lines
Main Idea
I
1-32
An anecdote: the Chinese staff helped
Benjamin to place the key.
II
33-97
The author’s thoughts about different
approaches to learning in China and the
west.
III
98-102 In the form of a question, the author gives
a suggestion of a more rational approach.
Text analysis:
Q: There’re several ways to introduce a theme.
What are they?
A beginning is where the topic is introduced, so
it can be
a. a directly stated sentence；
b. a story or an anecdote；
c. a question or a series of questions；
d. a quotation from a person or a magazine
etc.；
e. a surprising fact or statistic；
f. An idea or situation opposite to the thesis.
Q: How does the author introduce the topic in
this text?
In this text, the author introduces the topic by
the key-slot anecdote.
Look through the first 5 paragraphs
to answer the following questions:
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Where and when did the incident take place?
Jinling Hotel in Nanjing, Spring 1987.
Who are the main characters in this incident?
The author, his wife Ellen, their son Benjamin, hotel staff.
What’s the incident mainly about?
What can we see from their different attitudes towards
Benjamin’s action?
• People in the western countries and in China have
different ways of learning.
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Western way
Chinese way
Question for part I:
• Please sum up the contrast between the
attitude of the couple and that of the hotel
staff toward Benjamin’s efforts in inserting
the key into the slot.
• 1)the couple: let him explore and enjoy
himself.
• 2)the hotel staff: held his hand and taught
him how to insert the key correctly.
Part II
• The body is where the topic is developed
and there’re many ways to develop it,
such as cause and effect, comparison and
contrast etc.
• You can organize comparison and
contrast through 2 major ways:
a. One-side-at-a-time method/linear
method
• b. Point-by-point method/zigzag method
• Q: scan the first sentence of both para. 6 and para. 7 to
decide on what method of comparison and contrast is
used here?
• One-side-at-a-time method.
• Q: Sum up the contrast between Chinese western ways
to learn to fulfill a task.
• The Chinese: show a child how to do sth., or teach by
holding his hand.
• The westerners: teach a child to rely on himself for
solutions to problems.
• Question: Read from para. 11 to para. 13
and decide which method of comparison
and contrast is used?
• Point-by-point method.
• What are Chinese and westerners
attitudes toward creativity and basic skills?
• Chinese: giving priority to developing skills
at an early age, believing creativity can be
promoted over time.
• Westerners: putting more emphasis on
fostering creativity in your children,
thinking that skills can be picked up later.
Part III conclusion
• There’re many ways to conclude an essay:
• A. restating the main points previously
mentioned;
• B. proposing a solution;
• C. quoting from some book or person;
• D. predicting future developments;
• E. making a suggestion in the form of a
question.
• Q: How does the author end this text?
• The author ends this text by making a
suggestion in the form of a question. (Can
we gather, from the Chinese and
American extremes, a superior way to
approach education, perhaps striking a
better balance between the poles of
creativity and basic skills?)
II. Language points:
• Difficult sentences:
• 1.Because of his tender age and
incomplete understanding of the need to
position the key just so, he would usually
fail.
• Because of his younger age and
incomplete understanding of the need to
position the key carefully to fit into the
narrow key slot, he would usually fail.
• 2. In the best Chinese tradition, they were
ba zhe shou jiao –so much so that he
would happily come back for more.
• In the best Chinese tradition, they were ba
zhe shou jiao- to such an extent that he
would happily come back to learn more.
Words and phrases:
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attach
not in the least
critical
in retrospect
apply
priority
evolve
valid
1. attach: fasten or join
(one thing to another)
attach sth. to sth.
Scientists discovered they could measure
wind speed by attaching a wind meter to a
kite and sending it up.
Attached to this letter you will find a copy
of the document you asked for.
To attach great importance to sth.
a school attached to Shandong University
2. not in the least: not at all
• I am not in the least touched by the
Marilyn Monroe kind of beauty.
• Ann did not seem in the least concerned
about her study.
3.critical:
• 1) very important
• Environmentalists say a critical factor in
the city’s pollution is its population.
• Your decision is critical to your future.
• 2) very serious or dangerous
• In the car accident yesterday, ten people
were killed and five people are still in a
critical condition.
• be critical of sth.: find fault with
4. In retrospect: on evaluating
the past; upon reflection
• The young man knew in retrospect that he
should have married his first love.
• In retrospect, I wish that I had chosen
biology as my major.
5.apply:
• 1) be relevant (to sb. / sth.); have an effect
 apply to sb. / sth.
The new pension arrangements won’t
apply to people born before 1960.
• The advice given by the professor only
applies to some of the college students.
• 2) write a letter or fill in a form in order to
ask formally for sth.
 apply for sth. / apply to do sth.
• How many jobs had you applied for before
you were offered this one?
• We went to the sports clubs so often that
we decided that we might as well apply to
join.
6.priority:
• 1) sth. that one must do before
anything else
• -Being a qualified teacher is her first
priority.
• -Earning enough money to maintain his
family is a high priority.
• 2) sth. that holds a high place among
competing claims
• -The school will give priority to English
and computer studies.
• -The proposals deserve support as they
give priority to the needs of children.
7. evolve: (cause to)
develop gradually
evolve into / from
The story evolves into a violent tragedy.
Popular music evolved from folk songs.
8. valid: based on truth or sound
reasoning
• -It is valid to consider memory the oldest
mental skill.
• -Scientific theories must be backed up
with valid evidence.
• invalid
Post Reading
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Useful expressions:
1.被系在。。。上 be attached to
2. 探索行为
exploratory behavior
3. 偶尔
on occasion
4. 父母的责任
parental duties
5. 揭示，阐明
throw light on
6. 最终目的
an ultimate purpose
7. 要做得动作
desired action
8. 所希望的结果 a desirable outcome
9. 关键
critical point
10. 育儿观
a value of child rearing
• 11. 弥补某种错误行为 making up for a
misdeed
• 12. 回想起来
in retrospect
• 13. 善意的
well-intentioned
• 14. 前来帮助某人
come to sb’s rescue
• 15. 极其熟练地，温和地
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with extreme facility and gentleness
• 16. 使用于
apply to
• 17. 发展到
evolve to
• 18. 发展创造力
promote creativity
• 19. 值得追求的目标 worthwhile goals
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Proverbs and quotations:
1. There’s no end to learning.
学无止境。
2. What’s learned in the cradle is carried to the grave.
摇篮里学到的东西终身受用。
3. Questioning is the door to knowledge.
提问为通向知识之门。
4. No man ever yet became great by imitation.
--- Samuel Johnson,
British lexicographer and writer
模仿不成大器。
--英国词典编纂者，作家塞缪尔。约翰逊
Exercises:
• Please decide whether the following statements are true or false.
• 1. Benjamin was worried that he couldn’t put the key into the slot.
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• 2. In the Chinese staff’s opinion, the parents should guide Benjamin
to insert the key. ( )
• 3. The author and his wife didn’t care whether Benjamin succeeded
in inserting the key into the slot. ( )
• 4. For the westerners, learning should take place by continual
careful shaping and molding. ( )
• 5. Chinese teachers hold the opinion that skills should be acquired
as early as possible, while American educators think that creativity
should be acquired early. ( )
• Reference answers:
• 1. F 2. T 3. T 4. F 5. T
• Questions for discussion:
• 1. What do you think is more important,
creativity or basic skills?
• 2. How do you comment on the learning
methods you used in high school?
• 3. Are you employing new learning
methods helpful to the study of college
course?
Text B Children and
Money
• Background Information
• Students all around the world think it great
to have some money in their pocket. But
how much do they get?
American kids and pocket money
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In the US, a little pre-school kid may get
a dollar or two, but older children get more.
A lot of American parents give pocket
money to their children, but their children
have to do chores.
Most American children think having
pocket money will help them to
understand money better.
• British children and pocket money
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In Britain, kids in primary school get 4 or 5 pounds each week.
When they enter middle school, they get about 9 pounds.
In London, children get 10 pounds every week, children in
Scotland get 8 pounds, and children in Wales get the most, about
13.5 pounds! Also, British boys get a little more pocket money than
girls.
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Like kids in the US, British children do chores to earn their pocket
money. That’s why British children know a lot about spending
money. 7% of them spend less than ￡1 each week, 22% spend
between ￡1 and ￡5, and 20% spend over ￡5 each week. What
do they buy with their money? Most of them spend it on sweets,
crisps and chocolate.
Words and phrases:
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1. account: 1) arrangement made with a bank to pay in or take out
money;
e.g. open an account in a bank
2) description
e.g. Your account of the story is different from your friends’.
take… into account.: take… into consideration
e.g. When judging my achievements, please take my recent illness
into account.
on account of: because of someone or something
e.g. She can’t work much on account of the children.
Account for: to be the reason why something exists or happens是。。。
的原因，引起，导致
e.g. A number of factors account for the differences between the
two scores.
to form, use, or produce a particular amount or part of
something占，占据
Repeat purchases account for 73% of our sales.
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2. intend to do…: have in mind as a
purpose or plan
e.g. What do you intend to achieve in
English study in the first semester?
be intended for: to be made, done, or
said for a particular purpose or person
e.g. The posts are intended for students
who have recently completed a first
degree in biology.
• 3. access: the right or opportunity to have
or use something
• access to : e.g. Access to up-to-date
financial information is important to our
success.
• Vt. To get to and enter a place
• e.g. The road is closed but can be
accessed by emergency vehicles.
• Accessible/inaccessible
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4. keep track of : follow the
development of; keep in touch with
e.g. We need a system to keep track of
all our expenses.
5. on demand: when demanded
We can’t make the cosmetic surgery
available on demand.我们无法一经要求
就进行整容手术。
Assignment:
• Please write an essay with the title: Ways of living: in
the urban area or in the rural area based on the
pictures below with no less than 120 words, making use
of comparison and contrast.
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