[color=#4000BF]Mod’s note–this was split from this thread.[/color]
Shame, that looked to be developing into a grammar scrap.
Of course, languages don’t evolve for the benefit of non-native speakers. There’s so much stupidity I have to drill into my students, 3rd person s has to come close to the top of my list, and the subtleties of some aspects of the language are hardly worth teaching as a non-native speaker is never going to get them. I guess English could easily be simplified but where do you stop? We might as well just speak Chinese.
On the plus side - it keeps us lot in work.
As someone noted earlier, it’s pointless to try and teach this stuff to L1 Chinese students who haven’t even mastered adding an -s for 3rd person.
Yes. Grammar scrap. Had to happen eventually.
Now, if students could tell me a story using correct pronouns I might bother teaching them this shite. Although even if you teach it really well people won’t be able to use it correctly. How could anyone?
[quote=“tomthorne”]Yes. Grammar scrap. Had to happen eventually.
Now, if students could tell me a story using correct pronouns I might bother teaching them this shite. Although even if you teach it really well people won’t be able to use it correctly. How could anyone?[/quote]
TomHill ain’t teachering in Taiwan, though.
Fair point, but most of the posters on here are and they really should have realised by now…
Well, if you teach outside Taiwan, you have to be able to teach better than intermediate EFL grammar because you’ll probably have Polish and Swiss students in your class and you’ll look like a retard and get swiftly replaced if you start talking as above about something as basic as perfect tenses.
Lucky I don’t teach outside Taiwan then.
[quote=“tomthorne”]Yes. Grammar scrap. Had to happen eventually.
Now, if students could tell me a story using correct pronouns I might bother teaching them this shite. Although even if you teach it really well people won’t be able to use it correctly. How could anyone?[/quote]
You’re right, you can’t.
That means it’s not worth discussing then?
OK, I’m sorry. Please discuss away, but for the love of Christ don’t try to teach it.
Well, it’s more stimulating, and better paid. It’s also more rewarding because in general, the kind of kids who make it to the UK to study are the more interesting ones and they also tend to make a lot more progress because they are in an English-speaking environment. They also tend to have a better attitude towards learning; none of the ‘so teach me then’ attitude you get in Taiwan.
You do have to work harder though for the payoff, though: they’ve paid a lot more and have made a lot more sacrifices (some kids do really nasty illegal jobs, for example) to be in your class and they simply don’t accept it if you know less about grammar, in an explicit way, than they do. A native speaker with no knowledge of this stuff will find it tough to bullshit their way through. ‘Well in English we say X because that’s just naturally how we say it’ will make you look a dick.
Yes, that’s a pretty spot on description.