Throw a baby in the water. Watch them struggle to get to the surface. Watch them struggle to stay on the surface. Watch them figure out how to stay on the surface without struggling. No baby drowns.  That is how we teach a baby to swim in the west.

You have been thrown [...]]]> LEARN TO SWIM

Throw a baby in the water. Watch them struggle to get to the surface. Watch them struggle to stay on the surface. Watch them figure out how to stay on the surface without struggling. No baby drowns.  That is how we teach a baby to swim in the west.

You have been thrown into the immersion water of English. You may be scared, you may be struggling. BUT, you will figure it out and survive.

In 8 years no one has drowned in the Holistic English pool.

Do not use machine translations. They are not even as good as your Chinglish.

UNREACHABLE AND UNTEACHABLE STUDENTS

Every Chinese college and university has them, from top tier down to the bottom 4th tier.Usually every class has at least one and the unlucky teacher may be saddled with several. Occasionally, an entire class may be beyond reach.

No matter what the pedagogy, the methodology, the materials; there are some students who [...]]]>

UNREACHABLE AND UNTEACHABLE STUDENTS

Every Chinese college and university has them, from top tier down to the bottom 4th tier.Usually every class has at least one and the unlucky teacher may be saddled with several. Occasionally, an entire class may be beyond reach.

No matter what the pedagogy, the methodology, the materials; there are some students who have decided that higher education is only an endurance requirement.  In America there is an educational philosophy that no child shall be left behind. China has a slightly different bent – no college student shall fail to receive a diploma so long as the tuition has been paid.

Nationally, 5% of Chinese university students are unreachable and unteachable. At Zongshan University 1.6%  of the post-graduate non-English majors are unreachable and unteachable.

Chinese students know full well that they will not be failed even if they never attend classes. They are allowed to retake a final exam, with a different teacher each time, until a teacher is found who will pass them. Failing grades issued by foreign teachers are administratively changes rather regularly. The Chinese educational system deprives the teacher of a major external motivational tool and the students take advantage of this situation.

These students are not too hard to identify. They sit in the back row and try to blend into the back wall. Some sit up front, arms crossed with a scowl on their face that says a D-8 bulldozer isn’t going to move them.

Some give themselves away by telling the foreign teacher “you do not understand China” or “you do not understand Chinese students” or “you do not teach like a Chinese teacher.”

Others will declare their open contempt for English due to some misguided nationalistic pride. Some will state that they do not need English now or in the future. A Shanghai University student declared that his father was a very high Shanghai Government party official and that his father would always take care of his future, both politically and financially. This boy was well connected and his future was assured. Within months his father was caught up in the political purge and power shift that saw all of Shanghai’s political leaders replaced. His father was imprisoned and made to forfeit all of his money and property.  The boy was weeks away from graduation and would receive a useless degree.

A young man in Guangzhou insisted that he would never need English because his father was Chairman of the Board and majority Shareholder of a major Chinese company. This boy wasted his educational opportunity in reliance on his father’s position and wealth. Within two months of the boy’s graduation his father was imprisoned for economic crimes and sentenced to death and forfeiture of all money and property.

It is sad indeed to watch any misguided student pursue a path of self-destruction. But no matter what you say or do, they are determined to serve their time at university without earning an education because they know an education (Diploma) will be handed to them as long as their tuition is paid. Educated idiots!

This semester the academic pressure was completely off. No extrinsic motivation was applied to any student. It was made very clear that every student with a perfect attendance record would receive at least a passing mark of 60, even if they never participated in any homework assignment or class discussion. No one was threatened [...]]]>  

This semester the academic pressure was completely off. No extrinsic motivation was applied to any student. It was made very clear that every student with a perfect attendance record would receive at least a passing mark of 60, even if they never participated in any homework assignment or class discussion. No one was threatened with failure at any time. The students were relaxed. This approach was first pioneered in China by Stacy Meeking at Guangxi University.

However, in the 10^th week of the semester, numerous students were heard to complain that there was too much homework in the Holistic English Program. It was necessary to remind the students that the Holistic English Program has no mandatory homework. Only those students who wanted to make their English better needed to do that amount of homework commensurate with the desired level of improvement they desired in their English skills. Through classroom discussion of this issue, it was discovered that the complaining students were those seeking the highest possible grade, as opposed to those seeking to improve their English skills. It must be conceded that when the “A” grade is the objective, the amount of homework can be daunting because it is approached with an academic checklist mentality that is counter-productive to improving English skills and it takes the fun out of the Holistic English program.

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

Intrinsic motivation can be heavily influenced by a student’s attitude toward their school (an inferior institution in their mind), their assigned course subject matter (English) and their teacher (a foreign devil). Negative feelings about any one of these factors can limit or even eliminate a student’s intrinsic motivation.

A teacher who understands the psychological profile or group mentality is better equipped to adapt teaching methodologies to avoid disruptive student behavior and have a positive influence on the students’ attitudes, maybe even changing some.

At the end of the first class, one student confessed “I hate this school and was thinking about quitting until I hear the orientation lecture. I think I am going to enjoy Holistic English.”  The orientation lecture was delivered the week prior to class commencement. Emphasis was placed upon student dissatisfaction with their school and why they may wish to consider a more positive attitude.

Intrinsic motivation drives a student to autonomous learning, self-study and development and progress of a real and lasting nature. Extrinsic motivation is effective in creating short bursts of lack luster performance without any meaningful long term development and progress; retention simply does not exist where extrinsic motivation abounds but intrinsic motivation is lacking.

“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” But, you can put salt in its mouth and encourage it to drink.  You can assign a student to a school, a course of study and a teacher, but you can’t force the student to learn. If the teacher knows and understands the psychological profile of the target teaching group, the teacher can apply the proper amount of “salt” and encouragement.

The level of intrinsic motivation will have a direct correlation to the students’ final performance based grade. But more importantly, intrinsic motivation will have a direct effect on long term retention of educational benefits.

The University does not provide any English speaking environment so the students are encouraged to take certain steps to create their own. At the commencement of the term an official class roster was provided which indicates the total number of registered students. (Column 1 on chart # 31) The students were instructed to register for important English email communications. (Column 2 on chart # 31 indicates the number of students who registered for email communications)  The students were encouraged to register at http://chinaholisticenglish.org to read and write more English. (Column 3 on chart # 31 indicates the number of students who registered before the 5^th week of the 16 week term. The students were asked to consider changing their mobile phone language to English and to answer their phone in English. (Column 4 on chart # 31 indicates the number of students who answered their phone in English during the first 4 weeks of the term) No class had 100% attendance at the initial orientation lecture. (Column 5 on chart # 31 indicates the number of student who attended the orientation lecture.) Column 6 on Chart # 31 indicates the number of students who answered their phone in English in the 11^th week of the semester and Column #7 indicates how many students attended the Free Choice Movies shown every evening of week 10 of the semester. Chart # 31 indicates a serious lack of intrinsic motivation and/or self- discipline, across the board.

The overall intrinsic motivation of class 1 is rated as 4 on a scale of 10.

The overall intrinsic motivation of class 2 is rated as 5 on a scale of 10.

The overall intrinsic motivation of class 3 is rated as 8 on a scale of 10.

The overall intrinsic motivation of class 4 is rated as 3 on a scale of 10.

The overall intrinsic motivation of class 5 is rated as 1.5 on a scale of 10.

The overall intrinsic motivation of class 6 is rated as 6 on a scale of 10.

The overall intrinsic motivation of class 7 is rated as 2 on a scale of 10.

The overall intrinsic motivation of class 8 is rated as 7.5 on a scale of 10.

Intrinsic motivation measured early in the semester is a truer measurement. Late semester increases may amount to little more than final grade paranoia. What may appear, upon first blush, to be a general across the board increase in intrinsic motivation in the latter part of the 18 week semester; may simply be explained as an increased awareness of the class requirements or a last minute attempt for a higher grade.

Possibly the disparity of intrinsic motivation between the 8 classes is the result of different majors having different perspectives regarding the importance of English in their future. Hence, the students were given a supplemental questionnaire to establish the students’ perception of the importance of English in their future. The class-by-class breakdown appears in chart 32.

CLASS #1 (Fundamental Mathematics and Polymer Chemistry and Physics)

CLASS #2 (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)

CLASS #3 (Textile Engineering, Material Engineering and Dyeing and Finishing Engineering)

CLASS #4 (Business Management)

CLASS #5 (Physics and Chemistry of Materials)

CLASS #6 (Information Technology)

CLASS #7 (Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Communication Engineering and Computer Technology)

CLASS #8 (Textile Design and Textile Engineering)

The Mid-Term grades have a close correlation to the attitude toward English. Chart 33

QUESTIONS:

WHY DO SO MANY STUDENTS FAIL TO REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH IN THEIR FUTURE?

DO THEY NOT BELIEVE THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT THAT MAKES ENGLISH EDUCATION MANDATORY?

Chart 31

Chart 32

Chart 33

In the Holistic English Program we do NOT teach English language or English culture.

We facilitate English communication at whatever level the students find themselves capable. There is no individual mandatory accomplishment level to be obtained. In other words, the academic pressure is completely off.

The goals of Holistic English, in their order of priority [...]]]> Holistic English Goals

In the Holistic English Program we do NOT teach English language or English culture.

We facilitate English communication at whatever level the students find themselves capable. There is no individual mandatory accomplishment level to be obtained. In other words, the academic pressure is completely off.

The goals of Holistic English, in their order of priority are:

1. Correct the 4 Great Lies the students have been told for the past 10 – 16 years.
2. Confidence to speak (Chinglish is OK)
3. Self-discipline
4. Intrinsic motivation
5. Autonomous learning skills
6. Creative thinking
7. Expanded world view

As the above goals are reached the students will experience growth and development in their listening, speaking, writing, and reading abilities.

Holistic English is a process of growth and development that can not be measured incrementally. No single class can be evaluated on what was learned by any particular student. The assessment comes at the end of the process.



I am a post-graduate non-English major at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

I am required to study English for one more semester. I do not want to study English. I am only doing it because it is required by the university. I will never need to use English after I graduate. I rarely [...]]]> I’m NOT Lovin it!

I am a post-graduate non-English major at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

I am required to study English for one more semester. I do not want to study English. I am only doing it because it is required by the university. I will never need to use English after I graduate. I rarely attend class, never do the homework and frankly do not care if my English improves or not. When I do attend class I sit as far away from the teacher as possible to avoid any participation in the class activities.

Some of my classmates feel differently. They know that English is increasingly important in the job market. They are highly motivated to study English because they realize that with English they can earn a higher salary. These classmates never miss a class and complete all of their homework assignments. They always sit in the front row and constantly volunteer for participation in classroom activities.

Some of my classmates study English because their parents expect it and we Chinese do what we can to please our parents. They approach English study with a “so-so” attitude and their English capabilities are “so-so.”

Tell us your story, what is your attitude towards the further study of English?