Archiv für Juli, 2007
The Effortless English Blog
The Effortless English Blog
Don’t Translate
Yuriko is an excellent student. She has the best English skills in my class.
Yuriko is an excellent writer. She writes very well in English. I have always been impressed by the skill of her writing.
So I was very surprised today when she gave me an essay. The writing was not so good. I was confused. Normally her sentences are very clear– very easy to understand. But this time, I had a lot of trouble understanding what she was trying to communicate.
I kept thinking, „Why is this essay different than her others? Why is this one so much worse?“
Finally, I had an idea. I asked her, „Did you write this first in Japanese, and then translate it?“
She said, „Yes“. Yuriko wanted this essay to be good. So she wrote it first in Japanese and then translated it. She probably thought this would make it better. Instead, it made it much worse.
By translating, Yuriko stopped thinking in English. She lost her natural „Feel“ for English.
Improving Reading Skills – Four Reading Skills for ESL Learners
Improving Reading Skills – Four Reading Skills for ESL Learners
Improve Reading Skills
From Kenneth Beare,
Your Guide to English as 2nd Language.
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Ask yourself this question: Do I read every word in your own language when I am reading a schedule, summary, or other outlining document?
The answer is most definitely: No! Reading in English is like reading in your native language. This means that it is not always necessary to read and understand each and every word in English. Remember that reading skills in your native language and English are basically the same.
DaF-Blog » Kummerkasten
Kummerkasten
16. Juni 2007
Das Schreiben im DaF-Unterricht krankt oft daran, dass der Adressat fehlt oder unklar ist. Das macht es schwieriger, einen guten Text zu schreiben. Oft heisst es auch, dass das Publikum für den Text fehlt (beziehungsweise nur aus der Lehrperson besteht), was für die Schreibmotivation (und indirekt auch für die Textqualität) eher nachteilig ist. Weil es nicht möglich (und auch nicht wünschbar) ist, nur Texte zu schreiben, die einen direkten praktischen Alltagsbezug haben (wie zum Beispiel Briefe an Behöreden oder Anfragen), muss man das Publikum zuweilen schaffen. Gut geht das mit zweiteiligen Übungsformen, bei denen die Lernenden je einmal in der Adressaten- und in der Schreiberrolle sind.
