Unit One

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Unit One

• Ways of Learning
• Text A
• Learning, Chinese Style

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• Pre-text thinking Chinese or American?
• Suppose you were a parent, what would you do on
  following occasions?
• When you saw a 2-year-old baby falling before you
  and crying.
• When you found at table that a child would not
  want to eat.
• At bedtime when a child refused to go to his/her
  own room and sleep alone.
• When your child said he would not go to
  university after middle school and would rather
  work first then return to school.

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• Discussion
• As far as you are concerned, what is the
  so-called Chinese style of teaching?
• As far as you are concerned, what is the
  so-called Chinese style of learning?

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Organization of a Text Beginning--where the topic
is introduced Ways using an anecdote or
incident posing a question, etc. Body
part--where the topic is elaborated
on Conclusion Ways restatement of the main
points previously mentioned a prediction of
future developments a suggestion for further
study, etc.
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• Text Analysis
• Beginning--where the topic is introduced
• In the text An incident taking place in Nanjing,
  China
• Body part --where the topic is elaborated on
• In the text
• Thoughts on an incident
• Comparisons and contrast between the American and
  Chinese extremes.
• Conclusion
• In the text A suggestion in the form of a
  question is left at the end of the text.

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Beginning Paragraph 1-Paragraph 5 The incident
put the key into the slot Benjamin love to
carry, shake, try to place, fail, not bothered,
got pleasure, exploratory Ellen and I
allow Chinese staff came over and watch, noting
his lack, attempt to assist, hold his hand,
guide, reposition, help. Transitional
sentence This incident was directly relevant to
our assigned tasks in China.
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Body Two different ways to learn (compared one
side at a time) Paragraphs 6-7 Chinese
Way EducatorsWhy not show him( the learners)
what to do? Learners happylearn how to
accomplish the task soonerproceed to more
complex activities. American Way Educators Not
much care whether he (learners) succeeded and try
to teach him that one can solveby
himself. Learners Have a good time and
exploreself-reliancelearn to think for
oneself-solve problems on ones owndiscover new
problems
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• Teaching by holding his hand
• (Paragraph 8-paragraph 10)
• Questions
• Do Chinese people help the learners exactly and
  directly how to do and what to do?
• What is the authors attitude towards the Chinese
  way of teaching?

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Comparison (Paragraph 11- Paragraph 12) compared
point by point A reversal of priorities Westerner
make departures first and then gradually master
the tradition. Chinese inseparable from the
tradition, over time, evolving to a point equally
original. Chinese teachers fear that if the
skill is not acquired early, they may never be
acquired. American educators fear that unless
creativity has been acquired early, it may never
emerge.
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(No Transcript)
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Ending paragraph 13-paragraph 14 Paragraph 13
Comparison Chinese teaching creativity can be
found American teaching danger to exaggerate
creative breakthroughs Paragraph 14
Suggestion-to strike a balance
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• telling
• --1. having a great or important effect
• Synonym significant
• telling argument
• --2. showing the true character or nature of
  someone or something, often without being
  intended
• telling comment/example/detail etc

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• attach
• 1.transitive--to fasten or connect one object
  to another (synonymfix)
• attach something to something
• Attach a recent photograph to your application
  form.
• a small battery attached to a little loudspeaker
• 2. be attached to somebody/something
• --to like someone or something very much, because
  you have known them or had them for a long time
• It's easy to become attached to the children you
  work with.
• 3. attach importance/significance etc to
  something
• to believe that something is important
• People attach too much importance to economic
  forecasts.

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• Benjamin was not bothered in the least.
• --Benjamin was not upset with the failure at all.
• not the least/not in the least/not the least bit
• --none at all, or not at all
• I tried to convince them, but they weren't the
  least interested.
• I'm not in the least afraid of you any more.
• His voice was alert, not the least bit sleepy.

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• and to throw light on Chinese attitudes toward
  creativity
• ---and to make the Chinese attitudes easier to
  understand.
• throw light on something
• --to make something easier to understand by
  providing new information
• Recent investigations have thrown new light on
  how the two men died.
• throw/shed/cast light on something
• --to provide new information that makes a
  difficult subject or problem easier to understand
• Melanie was able to shed some light on the
  situation.
• These discoveries may throw new light on the
  origins of the universe.

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• in due course--at some time in the future when it
  is the right time, but not before
• Further details will be announced in due course.
• 2. -- formal proper or suitable
• He was banned for six months for driving without
  due care and attention.
• due regard/consideration
• We want the best for each individual child with
  due regard for the interests of the other
  children.
• 3.with (all) due respect
• due--spoken used when you disagree with someone
  or criticize them in a polite way
• Dad, with all due respect, was not a very good
  husband.

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• rear
• 1. --to look after a person or animal until they
  are fully grown
• It's a good place to rear young children.
• The birds have been successfully reared in
  captivity.
• 2. rear up -- if an animal rears, it rises up to
  stand on its back legs
• The horse reared and threw me off.
• 3. rear up-- if something rears up, it appears in
  front of you and often seems to be leaning over
  you in a threatening way
• A large rock, almost 200 feet high, reared up in
  front of them.
• 4.--if a problem or difficult situation rears its
  ugly head, it appears and is impossible to ignore
• The problem of drug-taking in sport has reared
  its ugly head again.

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• facility--singulara natural ability to do
  something easily and well (synonym talent)
• facility for
• She has an amazing facility for languages.
• All rooms have private facilities (private
  bathroom and toilet) .
• The hotel has its own pool and leisure
  facilities.
• toilet facilities childcare facilities
• Is there a call-back facility on this phone?
• a bank account with an overdraft facility
• a top-secret research facility
• the finest indoor sports facility in the US
• Excuse me, I have to use the facilities.

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• mold1.transitive to shape a soft substance by
  pressing or rolling it or by putting it into a
  mould
• Mould the sausage meat into little balls.
• 2.--transitive to influence the way someone's
  character or attitudes develop
• mould something/somebody into something
• I try to take young athletes and mold them into
  team players.
• an attempt to mold public opinion
• 3. --intransitive and transitive to fit closely
  to the shape of something, or to make something
  fit closely
• mould (something) to something
• The lining of the boot molds itself to the shape
  of your foot.
• Her wet dress was moulded to her body.
• shape--to influence something such as a belief,
  opinion etc and make it develop in a particular
  way
• People's political beliefs are shaped by what
  they see in the papers.

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• originality
• when something is completely new and different
  from anything that anyone has thought of before
• originality of
• I was impressed by the originality of the plan.
• Her earlier work shows a lot of originality .
• A lot of his designs lack originality.
• a young writer of great originality

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• The contrast between our two cultures can also be
  seen in terms of the fears we both harbor.
• --The contrast between our two cultures can also
  be found in that we both have fears.
• harbor--1. to keep bad thoughts, fears, or hopes
  in your mind for a long time
• I think he's harboring some sort of grudge
  against me.
• She began to harbor doubts over the wisdom of
  their journey.
• 2. -- to contain something, especially something
  hidden and dangerous
• Sinks and draining boards can harbor germs.
• 3. --to protect and hide criminals that the
  police are searching for

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• foster
• --to help a skill, feeling, idea etc develop over
  a period of time (synonym encourage, promote)
• The bishop helped foster the sense of a community
  embracing all classes.
• 2. -- to take someone else's child into your
  family for a period of time but without becoming
  their legal parent
• The couple wanted to adopt a black child they had
  been fostering.

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Paraphrases 1.But one of the most telling
lessons Ellen and I got in the difference between
Chinese and American ideas of education came not
in the classroom but in the lobby of the Jinling
Hotel where we stayed in Nanjing. 2. Because of
his tender age and incomplete understanding of
the need to position the key just so, he would
usually fail. 3. He probably got as much
pleasure out of the sounds the key made as he did
those few times when the key actually found its
way into the slot.
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• 4. and on occasion would frown slightly, as if
  considering us to be neglecting our parental
  duties.
• 5. and since the child is neither old enough nor
  clever enough to realize the desired action on
  his own, what possible gain is achieved by having
  him struggle?
• 6. So long as the child is shown exactly how to
  do somethingwhether it be placing a key in a key
  slot, drawing a hen or making up for a misdeedhe
  is less likely to figure out himself how to
  accomplish such a task.
• 7. When our well-intentioned Chinese observers
  came to Benjamins rescue, they did not simply
  push his hand down clumsily or uncertainly, as I
  might have done.

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• 8. The idea that learning should take place by
  continual careful shaping and molding applies
  equally to the arts.
• 9. In terms of attitudes to creativity there
  seems to be a reversal of priorities young
  Westerners making their boldest departures first
  and gradually mastering the tradition.