INTRODUCTION
At any given moment there are twice as many Chinese learning English as there are citizens of the U.S.A. English instruction begins in kindergarten and continues into postgraduate study, for both English majors and non-English majors. Everyone in China must study English. Local variants of English such as Chinglish and Chinese English are discouraged as inappropriate. Students are placed under extreme pressure to “master” English. National English competency exams are a predicate to further study or employment. China employs more than 150,000 native English speakers to teach English in its schools. Some programs encourage Chinese learners of English to locate foreigners on the street and run up to them and yell “Hello” in the foreigner’s face. This crazy approach is predicated upon the belief that the only way to improve your English is to engage with a native English speaker. Teaching English as a Foreign Language in China is predicated upon 4 GREAT LIES.
1. FIRST LIE – YOU MUST MASTER ENGLISH
Every Chinese learner of English is instructed that they must “master” English.
Due to the inordinate influence of the British Council on English learning in China, most Chinese students of English own the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary or Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. These are also the most available dictionaries in school libraries and book stores throughout China.
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China EFL: The Four Great Lies
• In my view, the four great lies have existed in China for many years,but some of the phenomenon in the four lies are not quite serious.I find a sentence is right completely. Chinese learners of English build self-confidence, intrinsic motivation, self-discipline and develop autonomous learning skills, and then go on to produce comprehensible English, but not perfect English. Appropriate method and aim is a good way to learn English. Just as “The four great lies”.It give me a clear guide in how to learn English in proper way.
I have learning english for so many years, but I haven’t never comprehensive use english at all. After you tell me about the four great lies, it really a shock to me and made myself seat down to think about this. The students in China really spend so much time on useless thing like exam and did not practiced our oral English very much. Speaking English can improve your skill of talking. It is by no mean you know more the culture or knowledge of the language you speak. Ability to reading information in English is also very important.
And what’s more, I become a tutor this year and teach a high school student English. Because of your article, I ask my student to speak to me in English. I hope this can help her oral English and improve my English too.
The lies have existed too many yares in China and I believe talking to eliminate these, it is not easy. There is a thorny way to go through. Considering the first lie, it means all of us must be a master of english, however, have we been masters in the end? Of course not! We not only do not be masters but also don’t learn english very well. To the second lie, I think it is entirely unnecessary and impossible to learn our English with native English speakers. We can make a calculation on the population of Chinese comparing the number of native English speakers around us. To the third lie, since many courtries have their our english, why shouldn’t we have one? We have 1.3 billion people! To the fourth lie, we can get some benefits from english, but should everyone learn? Maybe. In my opinion, the four lies has changed gradually nowadays.
The first question, why do we have to learn English?
Because china has entered into WTO, so all the folks should learn the international language, to attract foreign investment or do business with foreigners, to promote cultures mingle, to educate talent go abroad and learn high-technology, maybe these are all what they are expect for. In a word, we learn English just as a language tool can help us understand others.
The second question, how many of us are still use English when we step out of college?
Most of us will hardly use it for the qualities of our careers, and this seems doesn’t affect our daily life at all. And maybe after several years, we will forget English forever just like we have never learned it at all.
The third question, the aim of learns English has been reached?
If the aim has been reached, may be the translator will out of work, but in fact this kind of career are still popular, so it hard to tell.
The last question, is it efficient?
We have spent a lot of time on learning English and doing practice from primary school to high college, but we won’t use it, or we can’t use it. It seems that we are wasting our time even our lives. Is it efficient?
Very often we are blinded by the surface phenomena.We are not thinking about other people’s comments, and easily accept other people’s views.The 4 lies are truly great lies for learning English. Actually, to learn another language as our second language for us is better than just to learn our native language.So We should make it clear that we learn English is not for others,not for exams,not for better work.
I always think chinglish is no good because it maybe very hard for those English speaking persons whose native language is english to understand. But after watching this article, maybe I am wrong.
Maybe something is really wrong!
English is just a foreign language for us Chinese people. Nowadays it is most comman second language here in China. It is of course very useful, but what we really need is a way to communicate with foeigners and learning something that is written in English. We do not need to be so called “master”!
I like this article, a good article to account for the strange phenomenon. The first lie that you master English is insane. In terms of a language, if you were not a linguist, you don’t need to master it. Your purpose of learning English is just to communicate with the others, to make a effective communication. There are many methods to make your English well. Communication with a native speaker is a good way, but not the only way. The second lie brought to a strange. This is my own experience of a English corner. The students in the English corner just wanted to speak the foreigner. There were many people around but they chose to wait rather than speak to the ones around. This resulted to a strange phenomenon that the students asked the foreigner questions. How insane!
Since I began to learn English in primary school,I was totally confused by the methodology of learning a new language. Nothing in my head told me that I have mastered Chinese gramma before I was able to use it, so nothing should be done about gramma of any languages in my opinion. However, I was always beening told that English and Chinese are different, because we don’t have a language circumstance, so we should learn the second language by rote. Thanks to your points, professor, I’ve now had more evidence that gramma is not that important and also been expended on the methods of acquiring English.
I’m shocked by the article. The article helps me reflect on myself. The four lies are our problems on studying english. English is a tool for communication,so our unversity should not make English a compulsory subject. Not everyone has a flair for languages. Not everyone can excel in English, and not everyone will put it to economic use.
I used to get into all the lies mentioned above,and I was also confused by all of them.When I did not know why I have to learn English,I was forced to do that to get good marks for final exams.When I felt English was important to help on my major development,I was told the way to learn English well was to have a good English learning Environment and to talk with Americans.When I felt my English had improved a little,I was told that what I said and what I wrote was Chinglish,not English.How confusing have I benn!And now I am told they are all lies.What shall I fell?To be happy,or be sad?Maybe I should be thankful for not to lose another ten years in the wrong hard way and I hope for that deeply!
I can’t agree with you more on the first lie. When we learn English at the very start, we are just told to “master” English by learning so many grammars and vocabularies of no use. We are trapped in difficult grammars and numerous vocabularies, which make us can’t find the happiness in learning English and the true target to learn English. I think the true aim we learn English is to communicate better with the other people who can’t say Chinese, but not just for the exam. During the learning time, we neglect our oral English, which is the result of the “dead English”, so we can find many people who can get a high score but can’t speak a native English sentence. I think it’s a big pity, and what we should do is to improve the way to teach English and learn English.
Now i know that childhood teacher sayd was a lie.
Indeed, we can learn English in a various way which we can learn it well.
The day has come, to open our minds. There is a philosophical proverb promoted by Bruce Lee after absorbing the essence of Tao philosophy says Empty your cup, then it can be filled again. The same thing can be said to our English learning. We long have been flooded by the thought s and theory of CET committee and so on, and we don’t even have a chance to ask ourselves, why do we learn English, can this method in English teaching guide us towards the real acquisition of English? So let’s take some time to think of that.
Master English is a difficult job for a person who grow and live in China.Without the background of culture, lack the
environment to speak English every second and miss the best time to master a language– childhood as a baby.How hard it is!
However I enjoy to hear different pronunciations by different people.Such as Indians, Japanese, Chinese, French, Russian they all have their own ways to pronunce,that is beautiful! With their own style, you can easily separate them. Trust me, if everyone can say a same language in the same pronunciation, what a borning world will be!
Someday when a foreigner come to China, and he or she lost his/her way, he can randomly stops a person and ask for help successfully, that will be good enough!
I do really hold these wrong faith before. I do really want to master English and to avoid the so called Chinglish. Moreover my parents always ask me to take every chance to talk with foreigners. Now I quite agree with your opinion, almost no one could master English, we should learn English for potential using, not everyone in China need to use English, and for most of us, Chinglish is enough, how should we trying to master English? If we change our attitude, maybe it will be helpful for we Chinese to learn a really Practical English.
It can not deny that the four lies do make sense to us and it’s thougt-provoking.Learning English is just for communication, but there are many ways for us to communicate with others. No matter through what way we use, the problem lies in whether we can make ourselves understood by others. Even body language is ok for communication. So Chinglish is ok for us as a new way to learn English.
There are many kinds of language in the world, there is no such saying that without English we can not make a living.So it’s not necessary for everyone to learn English.I think learning English depends on your own interest,if you have no intention or interest in English, no one can help you to have an influent English.
I have learned English for many years, but I really don’t how to use it. These lies exit for long time, they won’t change in a short time. But we believe that it will be more and more appropriate. Let us see it.
It is no doubt that four great lies have affected us many years.If you want to master English,you must spend much time and study hard for it.But we have learned so many years and we cannot communicate with others in English.It means that much time has wasted.English tests make our interest of English gradually decrease.The depattment of education must consious the four points.The reform is urgently needed.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
YOU ARE TRULY A ONE OF A KIND UNIQUE PERSON HAVING ESCAPED FROM EXPOSURE TO THE 4 GREAT LIES. OR, YOU SIMPLY DID NOT CORRECTLY UNDERSTAND THEM.
most of the opinion i don’t agree with, although most of you saying is right in some point of view.
Unfortunately,i’m not the guy of the description in the article.
1. FIRST LIE – YOU MUST MASTER ENGLISH
I have never been told like this, most of my english teacher told me that english is very important for you,and you should learn it well, but the never said like that,i think that it’s very different between them.
2. YOU CAN ONLY MAKE YOUR ENGLISH BETTER BY SPEAKING WITH A NATIVE SPEAKER.
most of us have been told like this you can make your english better by speak with a native speaker. i think we can’t ignore the existing of the word “only” .
3. Chinlish is not good. I think so.if chinlish is good, we have no need to learn the trueborn english. China has the most population all over the world, if all of us speak chinlish, maybe Chinlish will be most pure english,and other country will all learn it.Obviously, it’s impossible.
4. everyone in china needs to learn english. My english have ever told me like what you say, the difference between yours and his is the range,he give the limit condition.
It is a big challenge for me to use English freely.
Sometimes I use English as a tool for me to pass the exam. Before I just thought English was useful.But I don’t thought very much.When I read this article ,I found English is so useful for me. we made a mistake about the purpose of learning English at the beginning, which leads the result we all do well in grammar and remembering words, but without good speaking. I think it’s a good way to talk with a native English speaker, for their customs is different from Chinese, and the way they talk is different from what we are familiar with. After this I will learn English in a better way.
“SECOND LIE – YOU CAN ONLY MAKE YOUR ENGLISH BETTER BY SPEAKING WITH A NATIVE SPEAKER. ”
I myself at first belived this lie,so I attributed my not good spoken English level to the atmosphere.But when I listend that”L2 sharpens L2″,I suddenly knew I was just in a nearly perfect atmosphere to speak English with my classmates,because we can understand each other and we can help each other,the last but not the least,we have the same purpose.
At first,I want to say,for me,English is a tool for communication!
FIRST LIE – YOU MUST MASTER ENGLISH
Yeah,’master’is a steep demand for us,just for communication that is enough!
SECOND LIE – YOU CAN ONLY MAKE YOUR ENGLISH BETTER BY SPEAKING WITH A NATIVE SPEAKER.
Absolutly not!It is beneficial that speak with a native speaker,but it is not the only way to enhance your english.
THIRD LIE – CHINGLISH IS NO GOOD
Whether white or black cat,the one who can catch mice is a good cat!
FOURTH LIE – EVERYONE IN CHINA NEEDS TO LEARN ENGLISH|
Funny!I have commented this topic in ‘Question-Question-Question’, funny!
The four lies sound familiar with us. Everyone who learned English must at least heard one of these four lies. Some of them I still believe know. You can only make your English better bu speaking with a native speaker. We cannot deny that sometimes people, who learn English as the second language, their pronunciation is quite strange. For example some Hindoo pronunciation always has some lingual which made others hard to understand. I know there has British English American English Australia English we cannot say which one is standard English. In china we have hundreds of dialects, they are all Chinese, but only mandarin can be understand by everyone. And foreigners only learn mandarin when they want to learn Chinese. So I still believe that we should learn the English which is used in the BBC or other TVs or broadcasts.
I only want to say something about “Everyone in china needs to learn english”.There is,nowadays,still a hot debate in chinese education that whether chinese students have to study english or not.To some people viewpoints,as the global economy is growing fastly,english has become a universal communicative language ,it palys a key role in globalization.therefore,they hold that chinese people,especially students have to learn it well.Others,however,against above views.They ,to begin with,claim that it is not all students to communicate with foreigners in the future,only a few students to do that;In addition,even if having learned it,people have little opportunity to use it in daily life.To me,I agree with the formers.It is no doult that the importance of englishhave more and more clear,it contributes to globalization largely.As modern students,we have the responsibility and the need to learn it well.
If I hear one Chinese say he master English, I will think he is crazy. There are so many English that we can’t decide which English is the really English. It is well known that most Chinese learn British English and some people learn American English. But we can’t say they are motivated to “master” English, in my opinion, both English mentioned above are only two English which are used widely. We should understand that the aim that we learn is to communicate with foreigners, not to “master” English. We have been learning English for more than ten years, we only learn to use a tool which we can benefit from, so we needn’t master English, in fact, we can’t master English. Although mastering English is impossible, we can study hard to know more.
The four great lies made me into a thought.may be,we can find the real reason why we failed to learn English so many years from that. All of my days, our aim of learns English is only to pass exam, but not to gain a tool which improves our communication competence and increases ways of gaining knowledge for our career. So we rarely use English when we step out of college. I can’t sure if we have been reached the aim of learns English as a lie. It is high efficiency that we study reading listening and writing other than speaking. So we got a mute English no holistic English.
Many of us have these four lies as truth for many years. But the real one isn’t like that we think before. ‘You must English very well’. The first lie shows an unrealistic view. First this is the problem of interest. Second our time is not limitless, we should spare it to do some other important things. English is just a communicative tool. Master it you will have a better future. But if not for some reason, you must have some other skills to make it up.
The first lie that you master English is crazy. I think if you were not a linguist, you don’t need to master it. Your purpose of learning English is just to communicate with the others, to make a effective communication. There are many methods to make your English well.
The second lie you can only make your English better by speaking with a native speaker.I don’t deny that speaking with a native speaker is a good way, but not the unique way.
I have never heard such sayings from any Chinese English teacher. It shocks me that the time I spent on English learning is s kind of waste. I can’t say that it doesn’t help at all, but if I keep doing that way, there is no way for me to accomplish English acquisition. So I guess I can benefit a lot from this course and a new type of English learning if I follow our oral English teacher well.
Most of us have learned English for more than ten years,but it is the first time to know The Four Great Lies in learning English.However,it is a real phenomena in China ,in most foreigners’ opinion,that is difficult to imagine it.For many different reasons,many people have to learn English even master it although someone is not will to do it.As a college student ,I face the same problem!We may pay our attention to some wrong direction,such as the meaning of the word ,but indeedly,we can’t use them ,even can’t read them!
To the students in China,it is really a great pity because many of them spent much time on the English learning during the school life, but once they graduate from school.They find that they can speak little English.What is more,even some of them are good at English,they find their spoken English are all poor and they have’t ny chance to practise their English because they find everyone around all speak chinese.I think the four great lies is a reason,but the education system is also couse this case.
The article poses some true situations of English teaching and learning in China. For example, many guys dear not to speak his English aloud because of his broken pronunciation and poor knowledge of English. But the truth is that, since most of them have learned English for so many years, they should had enough accumulation of the skills to use English, though not neatly enough. What becomes the obstacle for them maybe the psychic problem as well as the affect of public opinion, which considers it awful to practice English since the voice sounds horrible. In this situation, then, the proposal of Chinglish should be a better choice.
The four lies have been deeply located in my sense of learning English. During 18 years of English study, I have mistaken learning English well for high English scores, which it drove me to study English hard before reading this article. No matter how many words and phrases, I always forget how to use it when I have to speak English. I like reading English magazine, watching film classic in Hollywood, but I don’t like speaking English. That my English is substandard makes me shy and unconfident in English speaking.
I completely agree that English is a tool for communication and we don’t have to “master” English. Actually, Chinglish is also enough for us to communicate with each other in daily live. Thanks to your article guide, I get some confidence and feel relaxed in English learning. The leaning English is not a burden for me any more .I am sure to enjoy learning.
I think the four great lies have been in our minds for so many years. And most of us even didn’t know they were lies until we went to hear professor’s speech. I was never doubt that they were not true. But now I must change my mind, and try to overthrow these lies by my own experience.