Grammar - wen2fa3
Sentence - ju4zi
Subject - zhu3ci2
Object - shou4ci2
Parts of Speech - ge4zhong3ci2lei4
Verb - dong4ci2
Main Verb - zhu3dong4ci2
Auxiliary Verb - zhu4dong4ci2
Be Verb - be dong4ci2
Simple Form of the Verb - yuen2xing2 dong4ci2
Noun - ming2ci2
Adjective - xing2rong2ci2
Adverb - fu4ci2
Preposition - jie4xi4ci2
Statement - chen2shu4ju4
Yes/No Question - dui4bu2dui4/shi4bu2shi4 wen4ti2
Or question - huo4shi4 yi2wen4ju4
Information Question - xun4xi2yi2wen4ju4
Information Question Words - yi2wen4ci2
Answer - hui2da2
Short answer - duan3 de hui2da2
Simple Present - xian4zai4shi2
Simple Past - guo4qu4shi2
Simple Future - wei4lai2shi2
Present Progressive - xian4zai4jin4xing2shi4
Past Progressive - guo4qu4jin4xing2shi4
Present Perfect - xian4zai4wan2chun2shi4
Present Perfect Progressive - xian4zai4wan2chun2jin4xing2shi4
Form - xing2shi4
Verb Tense - dong4ci2shi2tai4
Active - zhu3dong4
Passive - bei4dong4
Negative Answer/ sentence/ question - Fou3ding4 de hui2da2/ ju4zi/
yi2wen4ju4
Transitive Verb - ji2wu4 dong4ci2
Intransitive Verb - bu4ji2wu4 dong4ci2
Contraction - suo1xie3
Phrase - ci2zu3
Clause - zi3ju4
[quote=“Fox”][quote]There must be some other influences. Sorry, I just highly doubt it. Either they copied it or something. Even if they spend all day learning English from grade 1 to grade 6, it would be very difficult to achieve what I just read.
[/quote]
She has no other teacher. Neither of her parents speaks English. That’s why they want to leave. They believe she will get a better understanding of grammar elsewhere because she can get a translation of key grammatical terms. Of course, we have all this conversation in Chinese.
Her writing is good, but it is not exceptional.
This is exceptional. I discussed Orwell’s Animal Farm with one class and then gave them an assignment to write about themselves as if they were pigs leading a revolt on a farm. This starts off after two pigs had escaped from the farm and find themselves in a forest that surrounds it. It’s very Monty Python.
“I’m hungry,” said Henry, “and tired.”
We were walking in the forest. The lake and all the chaos were behind us, but we were not really happy. Through out the past several hours, we could see nothing but trees. We were discouraged and exhausted. Sigh! It was really hard to live outside the farm.
“Maybe we will find a place to rest tonight soon…,” I said. A shadow suddenly shot through the bushes.
“What’s that?” Henry shouted. Within a minute, those shadows surrounded us. They closed on us gradually. Now I was sure they were pigs like us, but they all wore red bands on their heads and pointed us with sticks.
“Who are you?” asked Henry.
“Ha. Ha. Ha! I can’t believe there are pigs that haven’t heard of us before!” laughed the biggest pig. “We are Forestrians, the pigs who can’t stand the farm and the humans. We are the hope of those poor pigs. We are the headache of the humans. We are shining stars in space. We are…”
The only thing I couldn’t believe was the number of nouns he thought of for them. What was the relationship between the pigs and the stars anyway?
I’ll leave that one up to the Twisted Sisters.[/quote]
I’m in utter awe of you. I hope to one day have this great an impact on a child’s writing ability. Well done!
Well that boy is pretty intelligent.
In fact, he’s a lot more intelligent than me. He is top of his class in a class especially streamed for gifted kids at Jian Guo Senior High School (the best boys’ school in Taiwan). So whilst I’ve also been his only English teacher outside of his regular school program, he, in fact, deserves the credit.
Thanks for the list there, bob. I’ve already printed it out.
No worries. I needed an excuse to review that stuff anyway. Here it is again, but in something like alphabetical order, and with a few terms added…
Action Verb - xing2 dong4 dong4ci2
Active - zhu3dong4
Adjective - xing2rong2ci2
Adventure Journal - mao3xian3ri4ji4
Adverb - fu4ci2
Analyze -fen1xi1
Answer - hui2da2
Association - lian2jie2
Auxiliary Verb - zhu4dong4ci2
Be Verb - be dong4ci2
Capital letter - Da4 xie3
Category - zhong3lei4
Charades - bi3shou3hua4jiao4
Clause - zi3ju4
Collect - shou1ji2
Comma - dou4hao4
Command - ming4ling4
Complete Answer - wan2zhen3 de5 da2an4
Context - shang4xia4wen2
- yu3yan2 huan2jing4
Contraction - suo1xie3
Definition - ding4yi4
Deliberate - gu4yi4 de5
Describe - miao2shu4/xing2rong2
Determiner - ding4guan4ci2
Distinction - qu1bie2
Example Sentence - Li4ju4
Expansion Exercise - yen2chang2 lien4xi2
Explain - jie3shi4
Express - biao3shi4
Fixed gesture - gu4ding4 de shou3shi4
Fluent - liu2li4
Form - xing2shi4
Formal - zheng4shi4 de5
Future - jiang1lai2/ wei4lai2
Gerund - dong4 ming2 ci2
Gesture - shou3shi4
Goal - mu4biao3 (abstract)
mu4di4 (physical)
Grammar - wen2fa3
Harmony - he2xie2
Homonym - tong2yin1yi4yi4ci2
Idiom - pian4yu3
- xi2guan4yong4yu3
- pian4yu3
Infinitive - bu4 ding4 ci2
Information Question - xun4xi2yi2wen4ju4
Information Question Words - yi2wen4ci2
Informal - fei1zheng4shi4 de
ing form - I just use… “ing” xing2shi4
Intransitive Verb - bu4ji2wu4 dong4ci2
Linking Verb - lian2xi4 dong4ci2
Main Verb - zhu3dong4ci2
Memory - ji4yi4
(capacity)
Memory - hui2yi4
(of)
Memorize - ji4zhu4
Metaphorical Expression - bi3yu4 de5 shuo1fa5
Mnemonic - bang4zhu4 ji4yi4
Modal Verb - qing2tai4 dong4ci2
Negative Answer/ sentence/ question - Fou3ding4 de hui2da2/ ju4zi/
yi2wen4ju4
Noun - ming2ci2
Object - shou4ci2
Onomatopoeia - ni3sheng1ci2
Or question - huo4shi4 yi2wen4ju4
Parts of Speech - ge4zhong3ci2lei4
Passive - bei4dong4
Past - guo4qu4
Past Form - guo4qu4 xing2shi4
Past Participle - guo4qu4 fen1ci2
Past Progressive - guo4qu4jin4xing2shi4
Period - ju4hao4
Plan - ji4hua4
- da3suan4
Positive - ken3ding4
Phrase - ci2zu3
Prefix - zi4shou3
Preposition - jie4xi4ci2
Present Perfect - xian4zai4wan2chun2shi4
Present Perfect Progressive - xian4zai4wan2chun2jin4xing2shi4
Present Progressive - xian4zai4jin4xing2shi4
Preview - yu4gao4
Punctuation Mark - biao1dian3 fu2hao4
Read Silently - bu4 chu1 sheng1 de5 shou1
Recycle - chong2fu4shi3yong4
Rhyme - ya1yun4
Rock n Roll - yao2 gun3 yue4
Synonym - tong2 yi4 ci2
Question - yi2wen4ju4
Question Mark - wen4hao4
Script - zhu4ben3
Sentence - ju4zi
Short answer - duan3 de hui2da2
Simple Form of the Verb - yuen2xing2 dong4ci2 or jian3dan1 xing2shi4
Simple Future - wei4lai2shi2
Simple Past - guo4qu4shi2
Simple Present - xian4zai4shi2
Skill - ji4neng2
Spoken Sentence - ju4hua4
Statement - chen2shu4ju4
Structure - jie2gou4
Subconscious - qian2yi4shi4 de5
Subject - zhu3ci2
Take turns - lun4liu4
Tempo - pai1zi5
Test - kao3 (n.)
- kao3shi4 (v.)
Topic - zhu3ti2
Transitive Verb - ji2wu4 dong4ci2
Verb - dong4ci2
Verb Tense - dong4ci2shi2tai4
Yes/No Question - dui4bu2dui4/shi4bu2shi4/ hao3 bu4 hao3. yao4 bu2 yao4 etc. wen4ti2
Yes, spending that much time with one teacher certainly does help, but I have my doubts she can write that well just because of that exposure to you. There must be some other influences. Sorry, I just highly doubt it. [/quote]
Students like that are perhaps the exception, not the rule, but they do exist. One of my students has been in Canada since September - she just entered the ninth grade there. Her English was deemed good enough that she doesn’t have to take any supplementary ESL classes - they say her English is basically on par with her Canadian classmates. My wife and I have been the only English teachers she’s ever had. Right now her parents are pretty proud of her, and pretty damn pleased with us!
infinitive - bu2 ding4 ci2 (不定詞)
gerund - dong4 ming2 ci2 (動名詞) for the ‘ing’ form.
One of my old students is in an advanced placement grade 11 class in Canada now. She still sends me her essays for tips and recommendations. She doesn’t show the creativity that fox’s kids do, but her writing is more than adequate to keep up in her class. Her little sister is writing the SSAT test next week. That one’s difficult, but I know she will get in.
The point is, if these parents and kids are diligent enough, and take it seriously, they can sure accomplish a lot. Just keep the same reliable teacher for long enough and they do OK. If I could only get them to read for fun more.
infinitive - bu2 ding4 ci2 (不定詞)
gerund - dong4 ming2 ci2 (動名詞) for the ‘ing’ form.[/quote]
Thanks. I’ve added those words to the list above.
Just because a student you believe a student who has spent a few years under your tutelage would churn out shite doesn’t mean we are all relegated to chaobuduoistic teaching.
I’d love to have the same kids for more than one year. Right now I am fighting to keep them past two semesters due to “school policy”. The kids I have taught for more than a complete year are very good speakers, on par with your students’ writing (with a bit more Chinglish but otherwise highly fluent). These are students who run their own novel discussions independent of direct instruction.
No one here believes in looping. Then again, knowing what 70% of all buxiban teachers tend to be like, I don’t blame them for not wanting kids subjected to the same clown longer than need be.