Dave wrote:
I'm told there was no explicit grammar and that students would absorb from
reading and writing. (I found it hard to believe Chinese teachers would
let go of what they've done for years)
Is that the case with the book you're referring to above? (different
provinces use different books )
--------------
No it isn't. The books they have, junior high, have a unit which is
about 6 or 8 pages. The last page always has a third or a quarter
page explaining the grammar in that unit, i.e. after they have learned
the language.
However, teachers have the habit to begin with grammar and drill it so
that there is no time to do the exercises in the book which actually
use that grammar. Very little teaching is necessary when they already
know the language.
The books I have seen in Junior High all follow the same format. That
is why I tell the teachers to teach the book.
Another point. These same teachers always complain that there own
English is so lacking. Then I ask them if they know they did not
learn well, why do they impose the same routine onto their students.
They have never thought about it.
Ria
--------------
Ria Smit, Zhengzhou, China
Phone:(0371) 6761 2725
Mobile: 13523091304
SKYPE: riacalling
www.yellowwattleenglish.com
www.betterphoto.com?englishteacherinchina
***********************************
Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least
triviality that happens to us,
and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the
same person?
-- Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)
