English and My Future

Huei-Chen Helena Yeh, Ph.D.

St. John’s University

March 16th, 2011

Agenda Something about me, Helena Yeh Why is English important? English vs. my life adventure GPA (Graduation Pledge Association) Conclusion

Helena Yeh Academic training:

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 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. Cross-cultural skills

2. Cross-disciplinary skills

3. Communication skills http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83DnP0_FSq

Q&mode=user&search=

Mad about English

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? 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)

“Standardized English” is now transforming…

A new trend is now developing based on needs of globalization. Neither American English Nor British English

But a standardized English for all the people communicate in a common language.

4-skills? 4 skills of language proficiency

Listening Speaking Reading Writing

Listening

Speaking

ReadingWriting

VocabularyPhrases

SentencesParagraphs

Articles

How to improve overall English proficiency

taking classes Creating a whole-English environment

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.) 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 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 Taking classes

At school At language schools

Watching TV programs, Discovery, Travel channels

Watching movies, HBO movie programs, eg. Cartoons, Romantics, Actions Theaters (online or replay movies)

Joining social and casual events English-speaking café/bar Student clubs (either international student groups or Taiwanese

student groups.) Attending shows, e.g. “Lion King”

Practicing Listening & Speaking Reviewing phonetics (for correcting pronunciations)

Learning it from words & K.K. phonetics. Practicing pronunciations with various resources

English songs, movies, and TV programs E-tutor/online tutor system, eg. “My English tutor” Travel overseas during breaks Summer overseas parttime jobs

The more you listen, the better you can speak the language.

http://www.ftes.tyc.edu.tw/7teacher/engweb.htm

Reading Learn to read

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 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

Steps: comprehending the topic, brainstorming, organizing the ideas, getting ready to write proofreading the writing paragraph(s).

Structures of English Writing: Sentence Paragraph Article/essay

Ways to practice Reading 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

Previewing Predicting the Topic Skimming for the Main Idea Scanning Ignoring Unknown Words Recognizing Signal Words

How to improving Reading Compression skills

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

Prof. Day thinks that Intensive Reading includes: Grammar Translation, Comprehension Questions,

Language Analysis, Skills, and Strategies 。

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 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

Magazines News (from TV, online, or papers)

Some good websites to practice English online 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=link

http://www.ftes.tyc.edu.tw/7teacher/engweb.htm

What you need… Pen & paper Several good dictionaries with different purposes

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 ?

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 : 學到英文 : (input)

清楚的架構 ， 正確的示範 然後照著 : (practice)

不斷反覆練習 ， 發音要注意 最後形成 : (knowledge)

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

Culture as Civilization Culture as Worldview Culture as Symbols Culture as a stabilizing Mechanism

Graduation Pledge Association (GPA) What is the GPA program?

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:

“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 3 must-have skills:

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 hcyeh@mail.sju.edu.tw