A week ago I was flying high, listening to lectures on Chinese history and struggling through a children’s history text in Chinese. But this week I’ve got nothing. Not sure what’s wiped me out.
At school we started the next textbook in our series:
杨寄洲 （2003）。汉语教程（第三册）上，一年级教材。北京：北京语言文化大学出版社。
It already feels a little denser than the previous book. And our teacher keeps telling us that it’s really hard and she doesn’t know how to teach it. Great. Of course, I’m not sure what she means by “teach” it, because all she does is drag us through the book. Here’s our standard operating procedure for getting through a chapter, spanning 3-4 days:
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Read the new words, 生词: repeat each word after her and then a couple of students students read through the list aloud.
Discuss the new words: lecture style, sometimes she gives examples, might ask us to make a sentence.
Discuss grammar points, 语法: lecture style, gives examples, might ask us to try make a few sentences on our own.
Read the text, 课文: phrase-by-phrase repeat after her and then a few students read it aloud.
Discuss the text for comprehension: unless you ask questions, nothing really happens.
Do exercises in the book, 做练习: she calls on students to read aloud the speaking portion, then the other sections she usually reads the questions and then accepts murmured responses from the class.
I know this is an improvement from what Chinese kids get in their University classes, but I find it unbearable. Sigh.
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5 comments ↓
Hmmm. I hear it’s nice in Michigan! You should move there!
I love you! Hope next week sends you soaring again!
Man o man. I am sorry. But at least you’re in China and you are learning the language. It’s not encouraging to know that there is so much bad teaching in the world. Everywhere I turn there is some real incompetency about learning. It’s a wonder anybody learns anything. Last night, Gwen Ifil interviewed Al Gore about his new book. I was so disappointed in her questions. Gore’s book is about the loss of the needed level of coherent public discourse and reasoning in order to have a society that works. At least that’s what I get out of it. And I believe the level of reasoning and coherence does not need to be terribly high for democracy to work. But when perception invades our understanding of reality to the point that it successfully contradicts our reason processes, it really feels like we are living in a time when civilization is on the wane. How’s that for cheery from Dad?
On an up note, I made a recording today AND I managed to get one of the zillions of windows on our porch to open. Also took a bunch of photographs. It’s a secret project for the library. I’ll email you a link. Isn’t that mysterious?
I love you.
Ouch. My workload has eased up a bit and I’ve been thinking of the future, specifically if I should enroll for Chinese language classes in the Fall, or just continue on with my tutor as I have been.
I’m leaning towards the tutor at this point. :)
Elizabeth,
I’m an avid reader of your site. I’m writing for the first time. Just to let you know, the routine is exactly the same here in Dali. If my Chinese improves it will be despite the teachers and the program. I think they start out with the assumption that westerners are just too stupid to learn Mandarin which affects their attitude. I could be wrong, maybe it’s just a reflection of the lack of creativity and low productivity that plagues the Chinese. My teachers don’t even know what a syllabus is. I tried to describe it once and I got the usual, “everything will be OK shit-eating grin”.
The things is I would gladly pay three times what I’m paying just to study under a sharp teacher with a real (planned) teaching program. Let me know if you hear of any.
Nice comments on the teaching in YNU. I’m at Shaanxi Normal University in Xi’an and it’s exactly the same as you described. Despite loving living here, the laziness, stupidity and inability to use the thing between the ears is constantly of interest to me.
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