A Letter for Parents

 

The primary concerns of these English classeps are for the students to study English. As all the students are young, they have opportunity to study English in the same way as it is taught in foreign English speaking countries.  As I am fully bi-lingual and have studied both these language form an early age, I know and understand the important aspects of studying tow languages. As this is not a training centre we do not work on volume. I do not fill the class with 20/30 students in the classes, as my first concern is not money but results. Parents and students need to understand that the classes are balanced between many different aspects. Vocabulary is first on the list. Students can be taught to remember a sentence form but not understand it. So can a bird.

It is important that the students can make a sentence and understand not just the meaning but also every word it is made up form. As the students’ vocabulary increases so does his ability to cerate sentence. As only six words per week can be taught it is a slow process at the beginning.

       Students that have been here for 8months are now starting to build sentences in their own. To the point where they are making jokes at my expense. I like this.  To me it shows that they understand the words and sentences that I have taught them and are now not just speaking in English but are thinking in English and are trying to build on what they have learned.

       Parents also need to understand that everything is connected. To write in English you need to be add to read in English. So read is to speak I will not do the one without the other. In some classes the parents have asked me not to do writing and so I do not do reading. In English there are rules for writing and reading. The one cannot go without the other. This is the main reason why pronunciation is such big problem in china. They learn the word like a bird. The teacher has learned to say it that way and the students learn form him. It is a circle that never ends. And it is wrong.

      The students in my classes might learn slower, but they learn it right the first time. And more important they understand what they learn. Not just repeat and repeat and remember.

      Another thing that parents need to remember is that the students need to review the word and the words at home. As they study only 2 hours a week with me, it is very important that they continue at home. This is mainly for primary students of 9 years and older. The younger classes do different work and there review every week. I continually repeat previous lessons to make sure all students remember and give other

students time to catch up, if they missed that lesson or forget.

      Every class I play games to give me time to check each and every students. This way I make sure they pronounce the word correctly and that they understand. But students do not come here just to play games. I use it as a means to check the students

and to let them have fun while learning.

 

Important fact parents need to remember:

    

      One: some students learn slower than others or do not remember everything. Other students do I notice each students ability and will not speak to parents about this. As long as the students remember the important parts of each lesson, I am satisfied. As mentioned earlier, I continue review previous lessons. But other parents need not fear. I do not let the other students suffer or be held lack. But everyone progresses the same. Some faster some slower but always in the same level.

      Two: no one person speaks the same and no one teaches the same. People use different words more often or use some sentences more often than others. For example: I use some simple sentences often in my class. Like ：give me…   I do not teach this as a lesson but after merely a month or so the students use it too and they understand it.

      A student get used to a teacher. The way he teaches. And the way he speaks. In addition there is always a plan. An end to every lesson. If I teach food today like: “hamburger” etc. and next month I teach verbs like: {eating} then the next month I will teach the students to use them together. I am eating a hamburger. So parents need to remember that my classes are not slow but it is just a stop or on road. I change a students school, because the parents think it is too slow is therefore a stupid thing to do. As the student will certainly either have to repeat the things he have already learned or will miss the lesson all together. Teaching and learning a second language is never easy but it is easier if the teacher understands what he is doing and more important if the student is comfortable where he is studying. And if the student is young, it takes time for them to adjust and should not be made to change too often as he will late stop learning and be discouraged.

      One-fact parents need to remember; I have studied a second language and a third and is now busy with my fourth.

      Two of them I can speak、read and write as my mother language. One I can only speak fluently and never learned to read or write it. And now I am studying my fourth—Chinese. Because of this I understand better than most foreign teachers, the difficulties the students face and I am better equipped to help them over come them.

 

                                                                                                                PETER .C.F.DE BEER

 

 

给 家 长 的 一 封 信

 

 开办这个英语学习班的初衷，是为了让孩子们有机会更好地接受英语教育，孩子们年龄都不大，因此他们有机会像国外的孩子们一样学习英语。就比如我自己就是在一个双语环境下成长的，而且我在很小的时候就开始接受双语教育了，因此，我也知道双语学习中的重要内容是什么。我们开办的这个英语学习班并非一个普通的英语培训中心，我们不会照本宣科，我也不会把每个班安排二、三十个学生，因为比起盈利来，孩子们学习的成效让我更加满足。家长和学员们都需要知道：班级在许多方面都是平衡的，而词汇就是次中第一环节。虽然孩子们可以通过句子来学习单词，但是他们还不能完全理解它的意思。

    孩子们用单词来造句，不仅仅是为了知道句子所表达的意思，而是要理解构成这个句子的每一个单词的意思，这对他们来说非常重要。在刚开始的时候，我每周教他们六个单词，而当孩子们的单词量积累得越来越多时，他们就能自己造句了，但这是一个非常缓慢的过程。

    有的孩子在这个英语学习班学习了八个月了，现在他们已经开始用学过词语自己造句了！更让人欣慰的是，孩子们会用英语和我对话、开玩笑，我喜欢他们这样，对我而言，这就预示着他们已经能理解我教给他们的单词和句子了。更重要的一点：他们会用英语来思考，而

不仅仅是单纯地去读。有时，他们甚至会用学到的东西自己组织语言了！

    家长们也需要认识到：所有东西都是相互关联的，用英语来写，就必须用英语来读，我不会只教其中一个环节，而是要把两者都联系起来。有些家长认为孩子还小，不用教他们单词，但假如我不教孩子们写，那我也不会教孩子们读单词和句子了。学英语是有规则的：读和写，两者缺一不可。为什么在中国用英语来交流是一个大问题呢？没有把两者联系在一起，这就是最主要的原因。学生们像鹦鹉学舌一样读单词，但是却不知道为什么这样发音，而老师只是告诉他们用那样的方法去学，学生们也就跟着他学。这便成了一个不会停下来的循环，只不过这样是错的。

    孩子们在我这里学习英语可能是会慢一点，但他们第一时间就能学到英文单词的正确发音和拼写。更重要的是他们能理解、懂的他们所学的东西，而不仅仅是重复记忆，重复地写单词。另一点，要长要记住：孩子们在家也需要复习他们以前所学的单词和句子。这是因为孩子们每周和我在一起学习的时间仅仅只有两个小时，所以在家继续巩固也是非常重要的。以上主要是针对九岁以及年龄更大一些的孩子。而我们的幼儿班以及年龄更小一些的孩子则和他们有所不同，我每一周都会给幼儿班的孩子们复习以前我们所学过的课程。复习学过的课程，是为了确保所有的孩子都记住了我以前教他们的东西，而且还需要时间让有的孩子能跟上整个班的进度。如果他们有谁缺了课或者是忘记了上节课所学的东西，我会用做游戏的方式来检查其中一个，或者是全部的孩子。通过做游戏，我能检查并确保他们的单词发音是否正确，以及他们是否能理解这些单词。但是，孩子们来这不仅仅是做游戏的，我是用做游戏的方法来检查孩子们的学习情况，这也会使孩子们觉得在这里学习英语是件很快乐，很愉快的事情。

 

家长们也需要知道以下两点：

 

1、有的孩子学习的进度要比其他孩子慢一点，或者是他们不能第一时间记住他们所学的课程，这都是可以理解的。我注意到了每个学生的能力，但是我不会告诉他们的父母。长此以往地学下去，孩子们就会牢记每节课所讲的重点的东西。这样的话，我就非常满意了。就和我上面所提到的那样，我会不断复习以往学过的课程，使孩子们印象深刻。家长也不用担心，我不会让有的孩子落后的。但是每个孩子进步的速度都不一样，有的快，有的慢，但是他们始终是处于同一水平线上。

2、没有一个人的说话方式和其他人是一样的，也就是说，不同的老师都有不同的教育学方法。就比如，在上课的时候我时常会用一些简单的句子来和孩子们对话，就像“给我…” 大约一个月后，孩子们就会习惯我说的句子，并且还能记住这句话是什么意思。而且我也不会全部都按照课本上的东西来教他们。

    孩子们总是习惯一个老师的教学方法、说话的方式。而在每次课程结束后，我总会有一个对孩子们的教学计划。如果我今天教他们的单词是hamburger（汉堡包），那么下个月我就会教他们动词（吃）eat，再下个月我就会教他们用这两个单词来造句：I am eating hamburger.（我在吃汉堡包）。所以家长们需要理解，我的课程进度不算慢，而只是相当于中途停顿了一下。而有的家长认为课时进度太慢，就把孩子调到另外一个班去，这种做法是不妥当的。这样的话，又要复习孩子以前所学过的课程，或者是落下别人所学的全部课程。

    教授和学习第二门语言都不是一件简单的事情。如果老师知道自己应该教给孩子们什么东西，更为重要的是让孩子们喜欢自己所学的东西，并且有一个有利于他们的学习环境。这样的话，学习英语就会变得简单一些。如果是相对于年龄较小的孩子们来说，他们需要时间

来自己调整、适应英语的学习。

    家长们也可能知道，我已经学习了第二和第三种语言，现在也正忙于第四种语言的学习。其中的两种，我能听能说能写，就像我的母语一样，还有一种我经常用它来交流，但从来不学怎么样读和写。现在我正在学习我的第四种语言—中文。在学习的过程中，我也能比其他外教老师更能体会到孩子们在学习英语时所面临的问题，而我也会尽自己最大的努力来帮助孩子们学好英语！

                                                          

 

 

 

 

        

                                                                                                                           PETER.C.F.DE BEER