英语默写1-15资料

1.CanWeMakeFriends

Todaywe'lllearnhowtomakeaproperintroduction.Ifound

therearemanystudentsknowhowtospeak.Manystudentsarevery

fluentintheEnglishaftertheconversationstarts.Butmanyofthem

don'tknowhowtoactuallystartaconversation.Sowearegoingto

talkabouthowtogiveaproperintroduction.Andtherearetwokinds

ofintroductions.Oneishowtointroducetwootherpeopletoeach

other.Andtheotherishowtointroduceyourselftoaperson.There

areactuallytwowaysthatweintroduceourselves.Sometimesit'sin

averynaturesituation.Forexample,inabusinessmeeting,achurch,

aclassoreveninsomeone'shomeyoufeelnaturaltointroduce

yourself.ButalotofstudentsespeciallyinChinatheywantto

practiceEnglishwithforeigners.Andwhentheygoouttheyarenot

inanaturalstartingforaconversation.Andtheyreallywanttoknow

ifIseeaforeignerandIdon'tknowthatpersonhowcanIintroduce

myselftothatperson.Sowearegoingtotalkaboutthattoday.Most

importantthingisdonenaturally.Youhavetolearnhowtoapproach

sb.Andyouleantoknowhowtobeginaconversionwithoutscaring

themaway.Andsometimethathappens.TvemetalotofChinese

Peoplecomeupwanttotalktome.Andfrankly,itdidscaremeaway.

Insomecasesandsomeonewillgoodthinkwearetalkaboutthat?

MostStudentsmaybemostpeopleinChinaknowhowtosayhello.In

facteverywhereIgoIhearpeoplesay"hello!hello!hello!".Ifyou

haveachancetowalkwithmeonthestreetofChinayouwouldhere

fromthebackgroundthepeoplesay:"hello."Andit'sverystrange.

Youdon'tstartwiththat.Sowhatweneedtoknowiswhenwe

shouldsayhelloandwhatsituationsshouldwesayhelloandwhen

shouldweuseotherthings.Whenyouseesomebody,youwantto

talktothem.Don'tjustshouthello.Thatmakessomeonevery

uncomfortable.Anddon'twalkthroughastrangerandgrabthemand

say:"canwemakefriends?"I'veactuallyhadthishappentome

beforeinChina.Anditdoesn'tmakeyoufeellikeyouwanttomake

friends.Sowhenyousaysomebodyyouwanttohaveaconversation

withthem.Oneofthefirstthingsyouneedtodoislookatthemand

seesiftheyappearbusy.Likeheiswalkingreallyfastorsomething

likethatdon'tmakethemstop.Ifyouwanttointroduceyourselftoa

completestrangerit'smuchbetterinanaturalsituationortheyare

not,whentheydon'thaveanythingelsetodo.Forexamplestanding

inalineofMcDonald's,sittingonasubway,oronthepublicbusthey

don'thaveanythingelsetodo.Anditsreallyagoodopportunityto

talktosomebody.Butagainifhelooksbusytheyarecaringabrief

caseinahurrytheylookliketheyarelate,don'tstopthem.Don't

evenbotherthem.NowoneofthethingsyouwillencounterinChina

issomeoftheforeignerscomeherehavecometostudyChinese.And

theyprefertalkingtoyouinChinese.WhenyouseethemyousayHi,

theymaysay“nihao”.Andtheymaycontinuetheconversionin

Chinese.Ifthathappens,don'tbotherthemwithEnglish.Don'tforce

sometodothat.OK.WhenyouspeaktotheminChineseyouare

helpingthem.Andtheywanttojointhat.Whoknows?Thatcould

developyourfriendship.AndlateryoumaybewouldpracticeEnglish

withthem.TveactuallyhadthishappentomewhenIfirstcameto

ChinaandIwaswalkinasmallschool.Iremembermanymanytimes

IwanttostudyIwanttoreadmyChinesetextbooks.AndInmy

schoolIwastheonlyforeignteacher.Soasyoucanimagine,

everybodywanttopracticeEnglishwithme.SotheonlywayIcould

practiceChinesewastotakemytextbookandgetinabusandgointo

thecity.ButalmosteverytimethathappenIwillsitinthebus,

studyingmyChinesebookandsomeonewouldsitbesidemeand

say:nExcuseme,canIpracticeEnglishwithyou?”andIt'snotagood

waytostartafriendships.SoiftheywanttopracticeChinesewith

you,youcanletthemdothat.OK?Itagoodstartwithanatural

reasonfortheconversation.WhenyouspeaksomeoneinChinese

youdon'tjustwalkuptoeverystrangertostarttalking.Inlotsagood

reason,youmayscarethemawayifyousuddenlyinfrontoftheir

face.Sothebestwayyouhaveareasoniftheylookliketheyneed

help.Youseesomepeoplelookatamaportheyarelookaroundthat

theylookliketheyarelost.Itsreallyagoodopportunitytogoupand

simplysays:IsthereanythingIcanhelpyouwithorcanIhelpyou

findsomething.Andevenmorenaturalsituationiswhenyouneed

help.TvehadChinesepeoplewhowerenotfromBeijingorIlivenow,

comeuptomeandaskmehowdoyougettothesubwaystation?

Howdoyougettothezoo?SometimesuseChinese,sometimesuse

English.Andmaybeyoucanaskthemaquestion.SothatwillbeOK

too.Butjustmakesureanaturalsituationthatworksmuchbetter.

Don'tstart.AndIheardChinesetodothis.Itsreallynotgoodastart

withsimplysayingmayIhaveyourname.Thatwouldscarethem

away.Theywouldprobablythinkit'snoneofyourbusiness.You

can'tstartwiththis:whereareyoufrom?AlotofChineseStudents

askme.TheysayMichael,whenyoumeetsomebodywhatdoyousay

first?Vilsayhelloorhi.Itsbesttostartwitheyecontract,lookat

them.Andiftheydon'tlookbacktheyareprobablytoobusytotalk.

Sobeginwitheyecontractandsmile,iftheylookbackatyou,they

willcontractyouwitheyecontractandsmile.Thedoorisopen.And

youcancontinue.Ifnot,don'tcontinue.Butwhatofthefirstthing

youcanaskabout.LetmestartwithsomethingIpreferyoudon't

startwith.AndthatiswhydidyoucometoChina?Ihavehad

complexstrangerssimplywalkuptomeandsay:hello,ifIsayhello

back.Theywouldsay:WhydidyoucometoChina?Thatmakesus

feellikeweshouldnotbeinChina.Sodon'tstartaskingthemwhy

theyareinChina.Nowwhenyougettothenamepart,thebestpart

thingistogiveyournamefirst.Youcansay:hi,mynameisMichael,

MynameisJohn,MynameisMary.Andtheniftheyofferedtoget

theirnameback,thensomethinggetstarted.Iftheydonl,justdropit.

Don'tcontinue.OneofthefirstquestionsIaskpeople,becauseeven

thoughIamaforeigner,whenIseeforeignersinChina.Iliketoknow,

youknow,wheretheyarefromorthingslikethat.Somyfirst

questionisjustsomesimply:wherearefrom?Afterofcoursehello,

thesmileandtheeyecontract.ButIliketosaywhereareyoufrom

isanaturalquestion.Itsanormalquestion.Itdoesn'tmakethemfeel

uncomfortable.AndwhatIlikeaboutthesequestionsisitcanlead

intoalongerconversation.ForexampleifIsaywherearefromand

someonesaysI'mfromGermany.Icansay:OhIheardthat'sa

beautifulcountry.CanyoutellmeaboutGermany?Orsomeonesays

I'mfromChicago.Youcansay:ohareyouafanoftheChicagobulls?

OrtheChicagobullsisdoingwellthisseason.Alotofthingslikethat.

Soifyouplantomeetpeoplefromothercountries,itllreallybegood

foryoutostudyalittlebitGeography.Orsomethingyouhavein

common.IfoundthatIcanstartconversionveryeasilywithpeople.

IfwecanthinksomethingwehaveincommonorsomethingIknow

aboutthemortheirplace.SothemomentthatIsaytotheChicago

person,"areyouaChicago?Chicagobullsfan?”theyareopenfor

conversation.Shecan'twithtotellmeabouttheChicagobulls.So,

sometimesconversationstartswiththat.I'veactuallystart

conversationsjustbyseeingsomething.Forexample,aT-shirt.AndI

havethenameofuniversity.AndImayknowsomeonewho....there.

OrIknowaprofessorthere.AndIcansay:Ohdoyouknowprofessor

soandso.OrOKthatuniversityisaverywarmplace.Soyoumustbe

verycoldforyoubehereinBeijingorsomethinglikethat.Solookfor

opportunitiesandtheyarethererightfrontofyou.Afteryougive

yournameandtheotherpersongivesyoutheirname,youcould

simplysay:nicetomeetyou,orsomethinglikethat.Nowweare

goingtotalkaboutintroducingtwopeopletoeachothertheydon't

knoweachother.Hello,Michael.Hi,Bill,thisismyfriend

Crystal.Crystal.thisisBill.Nicetomeetyou.Nicetomeetyoutoo.So

whenweintroducetwopeople,therearemanydifferentthingswe

cansay.Itdependsonourrelationshiptothem.Forexample,youcan

say:John,thisismyfriendMary.Mary,thisismyco-worker,John.If

youwantoneofthefriendyourco-worker.Sometimesyoumaybe

introducingaforeignertoafriend.Forexample,youmaysay,hi,Bill,

thisismyclassmateLily,SusanandChris.Thisismyfriendfrom

Australia,Bill,ormyAustraliafriendBill.Whateveryoudo,ifyou

introduceaforeignfriend,don'tsaythisismyforeignfriend.It

soundsalittlebitrudeinourcultures.Itbetteryoujustsayheismy

friendorheismyfriendfromAustraliaorwherehehappenstobe.

Wheneveryoumakeanintroductionofyourselforoftwoother

people,themostimportantthingistojustbenaturalandbeyourself.

Andwhoknows,afterthat,arealfriendshipwilldevelop.Inthenext

lecture,welltalkaboutchattingwithfriends.

2.Chattingwithfriends

Todaywelltalkaboutchattingwithfriends.Manystudentsask

methisquestion:whatdoAmericanstalkaboutwiththeirfriends?

That'sahardquestionbecauseitssobroad.Whatdowetalk?We

talkaboutmany,many,manydifferentthings.AsIlistentoChinese

conversationtherearemanytopicstoo.Butthereseemstobea

broadernumbersoftopicswetalkabout.Partofunderstandingour

cultureisaworlddifference.Sonaturalourconversationiswhatall

thedifferencetoo.Sowhatdowetalkabouteverythingandanything?

Wetalkaboutallkindsofthings.Sowhenmystudentssometimes

evensay:whatdoyougenerallytalkaboutandIhavetosay:well,

generallywetalkaboutdifferentthings.Wereallycan'tnarrowdown

tooneortwoorafewthingswetalkabout.Tilgiveyouafew

examplesthough.Somepeopleliketotalkaboutthenews.Some

peoplethinkthenewsisveryboring.Somepeopleliketotakeatalk

aboutsportsortheirfavoritesports.Whethertheyaretalkingabout

playingfootballorwatchingonTV,weliketotalkaboutsports.Some

peopletalkaboutwork.Otherpeoplewhentheyarenotworking

theyprefertojustforgetaboutthework.Somepeopletalkabout

boyfriends,girlfriends,husbands,wives,kids,thingslikethatisa

verycommontopic.Itsdifferenceinthereallifethantheclass

becauseinclassteacherwillsay:OK,talkaboutthistopic.Butinreal

lifeweneverdothat.Wedon'tjustgettogetherwithourfriendsand

say:OK,letsbeen30minutestalkingaboutsports.Thafllbestrange

andyoudon'tdothatinChineseeither.So,it'llbealittlestrangein

reallife.InclassitsOKtodothatbecauseyoucanpracticethetopic.

Somepeopleliketotalkaboutverydeeptopics.Forexample,

personalPhilosophy,Religion,politics,worldpeace,howcanwehave

worldpeace,howcanwesolvealloftheworldproblems.Somelike

tothesetopics,somepeopleareverygoodatthesetopics.Ifyoutalk

aboutthatmanyEnglishitwillbearealchallengebecauseit'svery

deep.Youhavetoexpresspeoplemeaning.Butsomepeopleenjoy

talkingaboutthesethings.Otherpeoplepreferlifetopics.Italso

dependsonwhoweretalkingwith.WhenItalkwithmywifeand

childrenImaytalkaboutwhathappenedinmyworkandworkthat

dayinmyclasswithsomethingtodowithmystudents.Mywifewill

talkaboutwhatmysundidthatday.ButwhenItalktofriends

outside,Imaytalkaboutmyfamily.Sowhowetalktoalsohasalot

todowithwhatwetalkabout.Somepeoplewhentheytalkitare

verycommoninmycountrytotalkaboutproblemsolving.For

example,marriageproblems,moneyproblems.Howtorepair

something.Computerproblemsareverycommonthing.My

computerworkstooslow.WhatcanIdo.Iknowyouknowmore

aboutcomputerthanIdo.Andsoalotoftimeitcomesdownto

askingforadviceorgivingadvice.Whateverwetalkaboutthemost

importantthingisthatithastobenatural.Whenwetalktofriends

andwetalktonewfriends.Sometimestalkingtoanewfriendis

different.Talkingtooldfriendisveryeasybecausewe,vebeen

talkingforalongtimeformanyyears.Weknoweachother.But

knowsuddenlyyouareintroducedtoanewfriendandsometimes

youjustlookateachotherandsaywhatshouldwesay?Butthereare

normally,thereare,iftheyarerealfriendship,therewillbesome

topicsthatwillnaturalforyou.Ifyouwanttomakefriendswithnew

People,onethingismoreimportantisyoudon'tspendallofyourlife

justinabookorwatchingTV.Andthat'shardforstudentsbecause

youhavetospendalotoftimeinbooks.Inourculture,sometimes

wesay“gettlelife","gettlelife"meansyoureallybasicallywithyour

boringperson.Itmeansyoudon'tdoanything.Reallygooutanddo

anything.Itdoesn'tmeanthatyougooutfordrinkinganddancing

butdosomethingwithyourlifewhenyoumeetpeople.Somepeople

thatI'vemettheysayIdon'thavemanyfriends.Tdliketohavemore

friends.ThenIsaywhatdoyoudo.Well,Iworkinmyofficealone.I

gohome;IwatchTVandthedothesamethingeveryday.Andthat

explainswhatwedon'thavealotoffriends.Friendshipsusuallydon't

happenwhenwelookingforfriends.Youcanjoinlikeasinglegroup

orgotoaclubandtrytobefriends.SometimesIfoundthatinmylife

mostofmyfriendsarejustpeopleImet.Igettoknowthemnaturally

innaturalsituations.Forexample,ItookaclassinKeraidy.Itwas

severalyears.Ireallyenjoythat.AndbecausesomethingIenjoyed

andtheotherstudentsenjoyed.Itwasnatural.Wedidn'tjustcome

togetherandsaylet'smakefriends.Oryouknowwhatwecantalk

aboutorwhatyourtopicistoday.Whenwegottogetheritwas

naturalbecauseit'saKalaDiclass.Wewilltalkabouthowtopunch.

Howtoblock.Howtokick.Intheclasssincewelearntheclass.And

wepracticetogether.Andnobodywaslookingforfriends.Butitjust

naturallyhappenedwebecamefriendsbecausesomethingwehave

incommon.Othercommonplacetomakefriendsisinthechurch.

Youhavecommonbelief.Maybeyoulistentothesermonthatday

andyoutalkaboutorsomeactivityrelatetothechurch.Soalotof

friendshipsdevelopinthechurchbecauseyouhavesomethingin

commonthere.WhenIwastakingaChineseclassintheany

university,Iwasn'tlookingforfriendsinfactIwasaverybusy

person.Iwasworkingfulltimeandgoingtoschoolparttime.AndI

wasn'tlookingfornewfriends.IjustwanttostudyChinese.AndIn

theclasswehaveonethingincommon.WeallwanttolearnChinese.

Sowheninabreakorafterclasswewillgettogetherandsayhowdo

youpronouncethatwordorIdidn'tunderstandtheteacher.What

didshemeanwhenshesaidthat.Orsomethinglikethatandbecause

wehadthatincommonseveralfriendshipsjustnaturallyhappen.

Thattheresultofthat.Workisaverycommonplacetomakefriends.

Againwedon'tgotoworkforthepurposeofmeetingfriends.Wego

totherebecauseweneedtomakealiving.Butwespentatleast8

hoursthereeveryday,workingwithotherpeople.Unlessyouwork,

youknow,isolatedintheofficesomeplace.Eventhatpeopleworkin

theofficetheyoftenhavebreaks.Andyougotoabreakroomand

youmeettogether.Andyouhavesomethingincommon.Itsvery

easytoformfriendships.Itdependingonwhatkindofworkyoudo.

Youmaybetalkingabouttheworldprojectevenwhenyouare

working.Andoutofthatthefriendshipmaydevelop.Ifthekindof

workwerelikemanagementorsomethingyouareveryinvolvework,

youmayevenmeetafterworktotalkmoreaboutthework.Andthen

itjustbecomenatural.Somepeoplemaybetheydon'tliketheirwork.

Buttherearesomethingincommon.Peoplefindjobsorpeople

saying:arethatboss?Heisterrible.Whatdoyouthinktheboss?We

needanewboss.Orheisunfair.Justnotfair.Buttheytalkabout

thosethingstogether.And,so,commontopicsnormallyjusthappen.

Friendshipsusuallydon'thappenwhenyouarelookforfriendships.

Itusuallyhappenwhenwejustdoingsomethingnatural.Oneofthe

thingshappensnaturallywithfriends,afterwehavebecomefriends

usually.Sometimesitbeginningisaskingforadviceorcomplaining.

Sometimespeoplemaysaythingslike.Maybetwoladiesaresaying:

Myhusbandneverlistenedtomeorastudentsay:Ican'tmemorize

somanyEnglishwords.Whatcan1do.Andtheyarecomplainingbut

atthesametimetheircomplainislookingforadvice.Acomplainhas

arespondtoit.Againit'snotconversionwhensomebodysays:lets

talkaboutthistopic.Itsjustnatural.Soforexample,somebodysays:

myjobissounfair.MybossmakesmeworkeveryweekendandI

don'tmakeenoughmoneytofeedmyfamily.Andyouknowwhen

yourfriendssaythat,youknowthenaturalresponseissomething

like:Oh,thafsterrible,Ifeelsorryforyou.OrohIknowsanother

company,andtheyarehiringrightnowmaybeyoucantrythere.And

itsjustrightnatural.Sowetalkaboutthingslikethat.Someonesays

Ican'tmemorysomanyvocabularywordslikewhenIwasina

Chineseclass.Thatsomethingwetalkabout.Andthensomeoneelse

willsay:ohImemorize20wordsyesterday.Really?Howdidyoudo

that?Andthentheysharetheirmessageandtheysharewhatthey

did.Itsgetnatural.Sometimesweaskforadvice.Forexample,two

mothersistalkingtogether.Amothermaysaysomethinglike:mykid

don'tlistentome.Iseethatyourkidsalwayslistentoyou.Howdid

youdothat?HowcanImakemykidslistenlikeyoudo?Andthen

therewillbesomeresponseforthat.Maybesomebodywillsay:two

girlsaretalkingandtheysay:thatwanttobemyboyfriendbutI

don'tlikehim.WhatcanIdo?HowcanIgetridofhim?Andthenthey

talktogether.Itsverynatural.Thesamethingyoutalkaboutin

Chinese,right?It'sthesame.Soitsverynatural.Nowwhenwetalk

tofriendshowdowesayhellotofriends?Toacomplexstranger.And

wesay"hi,hello,(introduceourselves.Nicetomeetyou,right?Now,if

youseesomebodyyouarere-know,forexample,Tmworkinga

campusandastudentseesme.Whatdotheysay?WhatshouldIsay?

Weknoweachother.Maybewearegoodfriends.OnethingthatI

heardafewstudentssayasamistakeistheysay:nicetomeetyou.

Nicetomeetyouisonlyforthefirsttimeintroductions.Soifyou

knoweachother,friendsneversaynicetomeetyou.Theysayniceto

seeyou.Theycansayhi.Howareyoudoing?What'sup?Howhave

youbeen?Ok?Thingslikethat.NowbecarefulbecauseIhavemany

timesIsaidtostudents:Howareyoudoing?Andtheysay:Oh,I'm

goingtotheLibrary.Theymisunderstoodmyquestion.Howareyou

doingdoesn'tmeanwhatareyoudoing?Whatareyoudoing

naturallywillbearesponselikeI'mgoingtothelibrary.Howareyou

doingwillbearesponselike:fine.TmOK.I'mwell.Tmdoingfine.

NowonethingthatIhavenoticedChinesecultureisverypolite.

Americanculturetriestobepolitebutsometimesitsalittlemore

arnistinthiskindofsituation.Ifsomeonesayshowareyoudoing?

AndI'mdoingterrible.Ijustfailtheexam.AndIhadtheargument

withmywife.Mychildrenwillnotobey.Thepolicestoppedmefor

drivingmycartoofast.Orsomethinglikethat.AndIsaidI'mfine.Tm

lying.Andinourcultureinclosefriendsit'soktosay:I'mnotdoing

verywell.Tmhavingaterribledaybecausethenfriendscouldcome

foryouandtheycansayit'sokormaybeyoushouldtrythis.You

shouldtrythat.Sowedon'thavetoalwayssayinthatway.One

commonresponsethatIheardinChina:whenpeoplesayhoware

youdoing?Theysay:fine,thankyou.Andyou?That'snotvery

natural.Sodon'tdothat.ThewordsareOKbutbecarefulhowyou

say?GenerallywewilljustsayI'mfine.TmOK.I'mallright.Things

likethat.Notbad.Grate.Tmverygood.Nowifweseeourfriends

afteraholiday,afteraweekendoraftersomething.Thewaywesay

helloisaffectedbythat.Forexample,onMondaymorningweseeour

friends.Wecouldnaturallysay:Hi,howwasyourweekend?Notjust

howareyoubuthowwasyourweekend?Ifyouseeyoufriendafter

classandtheycamefromaclassandyoucamefromaclass,youcan

say:howwasyourclass?Sowhateverjusthappened?Youcansay

howwassomething/anything?Evenamovie.Theyjustwatchthe

movie.Howwasthemovie?It'smuchmorenaturalandlessboring

theyjusthello,helloandhello,hello.Insomestudentsthatalltheydo.

Sothinkaboutwhatjusthappened.Inthemorningyoucouldsay

howwasyourbreakfast?AndsomeChinesesayhaveyoueaten?

Wecouldsaythatbutwedon'tusuallysayhaveyoueatenordidyou

eat?Butwecouldsayhowwasyourlunch?Wecouldsaythat.Or

howwasyourdinner?Youcanjustaskadate.Thedaybeforewitha

boyfriendorgirlfriend.Howwasyourdate?Orhowdiditgo?It's

verycommon.OrIfyoudidsomethinglikethat.Andalsowhenwe

saygoodbye,Wecansayseeyoulater.Takeiteasy.Takecare.But

alsothatdependsonwhat'sthenext.Forexample,Friday,youare

leavingyourfriend,youwillseeyourfrienduntilMonday.Havea

niceweekend.Seeyoulater.Haveaniceweekend.Orwhateverthe

next,beforetheholiday,haveaniceholiday.Evenbeforeaclass.

Youaregoingtooneclass,youfriendaregoingtoanotherclass.Have

aniceclass.Orifyou'llseeeachotherafterthat,seeyouafterclass.

Seeyoutomorrow.Seeyounextweek.Seeyouaftertheholiday.So

whateverthenextyoucandothat.Somyfriends,seeyoulater.

3.SharpeningYourListeningSkills

Todaywelltalkaboutsharpeningyourlisteningskills.Canyou

understandme?What?Isaid:canyouunderstandme?What?Does

thatsoundfamiliar?It'sverycommon.Tveheardmanymanytimes

inChinaandsomeotherplaceswhereIwereaskingsomebody

somethingorsayingsomething.Andtheysaywhatdidyousay?

Couldyoupleaserepeatit?Andsometimestheysaymanytimesand

thentheyjustgiveup.Andmaybeyou'vebeeninthissituation.You

aretalkingwiththenativeEnglishspeaker.Oryouarewatchingan

Englishmovie.Andyoujustgiveupbecauseyoucan'tunderstand.So

I'mgoingtogiveyousomesuggestionsforsharpeningyouEnglish

listeningskills.Thefirstandmostimportantthingyouhavetodois

tocreateanEnglishenvironment.Andthatmeansyouhavetogetrid

ofanythinginChinesewhenyouarepracticingEnglish.Forexample,

movies.Englishmoviesaregoodtool.Andalotofstudentsusethem.

ButifyouusetheEnglishmoviesit'sveryimportanttoturnoffthe

Chinesesubtitles.Andyouaremaybethinking:Oh,ifIdon'thavethe

ChinesesubtitlesIdon'tunderstandwhatthemovieisabout?I

understandwhenIwatchingChinesemovie.IfIhavetheEnglish

subtitlesIcanunderstandthemoviemuchbetter.ButmyChinese

doesn'timprove.TheonlywaymyChinesecanimproveisthe

subtitleisalsoinChineseornosubtitles.ButifIhaveChinese

subtitles,IwatchChinese.Thatsgoodforme.Sowhenyouwatchthe

Englishmovie,besuretoturnofftheChinesesubtitle.Youmaynot

understandthewholemovieandthat'sOK.Butlittlebylittle,you'll

improveifyoudothis.Sodon'thaveanythinginChinese.Some

peoplesaymyEnglishispoorbecauseIhavenoEnglishenvironment.

AndthentheygohomeandwatchtheChinesesubtitles.Itsnotthey

don'thave.Itsthere.Itsjustyoudon'tuseit.SouseEnglishsubtitle

freely.HoweverbecarefulbecausesomeofthepiratedDVDthatyou

canbuyverycheapinChina.SomeofthoseeventheEnglishsubtitles

arenotcorrect.Andsoyouhavetobecarefultomakesurethe

subtitlesarecorrectinEnglish.Andyoucanusethem.Wegetridof

everythingthatisChineseinfrontofyou.Ifyouareinclassandyou

haveanEnglishteacher.WhethersheisaforeignteacherorChinese,

mostoftheChineseteachersorEnglishteachers,whentheyteacher

ChinesetheywouldsayonlyspeakEnglish.Andyouhaveachoice.

Youcandothatasmanystudentsdo.OryoucanspeakChinesewhen

theteachersareawayfromyou.Andwhatyoudowiththisitsgoing

toresultinyourEnglishimprovingornotimproving.Nowifyouare

inaEnglishClassandyouarespeakinginChineseandtheteacher

comesoverandhearsandsays:youarespeakinginChinese.Don't

saytotheteacher:Tmsorrybecauseyouhaven'theardtheteacher.

Youheardyourselfandyouheardyouclassmate.Soifyousaysorry,

yousayittoyourself,yousayittoyourclassmate.Whenmystudents

saymesorryIsayitdoesn'tme.Thisisachancetomakeapracticeof

Chineselistening.Butit'snothelptoyourEnglishlistening.Sothe

bestthingyoucandoistogetridofanythingChinesethatmesses

withyourEnglishenvironment.Soletmeaskyouaquestion.Doyou

agreetothisthatthebestwaytoimproveyourEnglishistogo

abroad.Wouldyouagree?Yes.Andthebestwayfrommeto

improvemyChineseistoberighthereinChina.OK.But

unfortunatelymostpeopleinChinadon'thavetheopportunity.Some

ofthemdohavetheopportunitydon'tevenapprovebecausewhen

theygoabroadtheygototherewithChineseFriends.AndItsbeen

alltheirtimejustpracticingChinesewhichtheydon'tneedtodo.

Right?ButsomeChinesewhentheygoabroad,TheirEnglish

listeningimproves.TvemetwithChinesepeopleinmyowncountry

whohavebeenthereforalongtime.Someofthemtheirspeakingis

stillpoor.Buttheirlisteningisverysharpbecausetheyareinthat

kindofenvironment.SoyouliveinChina.Howcanyoucreatean

EnglishenvironmentinChina?That'simportanttoyou,right?Now

thefirstthingyouhavetodoistoshutouttheChineseworld.How

canyoudothatinChina?Well,thereareseveralthingsyoucando.

Youcanfindatimewhenyourroommatesarenotthereandyouare

theonlyonethere.Gointothedormandclosethedoor.Oncethe

doorisclosed,whatyoulistentoisyourchoice.Andyoucanlistento,

forexample,VOAradioorsomeotherEnglishradioprogram.You

canwatchamovie,anEnglishmovieonyourcomputer.Youcancalla

friendandtalkinthephone.Youcanspeak.Youcanread.Youcanbe

inanEnglishenvironment.Nowthatshavetobeonlyashorttime

forsomepeoplebecauseroommatesalwaysinandout.Sometimes

theyarealwaysthere.AndIknowBeijingisaverycrowdedplace.If

youareinabigcitylikeBeijinginsomeotherplaceofChina,itshard

tofindaplac