Hu Hailong
order
Taoist Wisdom and English Learning is a summary of my reading teaching experience for many years. This book is based on the Taoist thought of "doing nothing" and "being single-minded", and combines the academic experience of predecessors and contemporary scholars, trying to explain English learning methods from multiple angles and in simple terms. The content not only involves the training of English listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation, but also discusses the popular learning methods, intensive reading textbooks and teaching reform. Due to the nature of my work, some chapters in the book are directed at college English teaching. The deep purpose of this book is to appeal to the public to pay attention to and support traditional humanities education by talking about English learning methods.
"Good words are not beautiful, and no one believes them." "If you are smart, you will argue." I think there must be a way to learn English well, but there is no shortcut. Those ideas of quick success and instant benefit are unrealistic. Learning English to a deeper level is not only a matter of learning language, but also a matter of learning culture. We should not only learn British and American culture and western culture, but also learn our profound traditional culture. Although Laozi and Confucius did not directly discuss the methods of language learning, their extraordinary wisdom can inspire people to learn English or other foreign languages in all directions. In the study of mother tongue, ancient China people left incisive and systematic insights and experiences, which can be used to guide our foreign language learning today. In contrast, in recent years, some popular English learning methods in the society are mostly advertised as "pioneering" and "exclusive", which have not surpassed the insights of predecessors or contemporary scholars in essence. In order to dazzle people, the founders of some learning methods often pretend sophistry, advocate simple and rapid progress, and even put forward strange theories such as "listening and speaking is everything", which seriously mislead the majority of learners. Laozi said, "My words are easier said than done. The world can't know and can't do it. " He added, "When the scholars heard the word, they worked hard; The sergeant heard that living is death; The corporal smiled. If you don't laugh, that's not enough. " It is not difficult to learn English well. Whether we can abandon utilitarian thinking, not be eager for quick success, and study as easily as possible depends on the choice of each learner.
As early as 1992, my basic ideas about English learning methods have been formed. In recent years, some friends have been advising me to write articles about my experiences, but I feel that I am too ignorant and have insufficient knowledge, so I didn't start writing for fear of making mistakes. Mr. Nan Huai Jin said: "Killing people with his bare hands is tantamount to death. If you mislead others with knowledge, it will be a wise life, and it is not surprising to die. Therefore, in China's inherent cultural tradition, literati are reluctant to write books all their lives, or their academic ability is poor all their lives, and they are only willing to write a few articles that can be passed down from generation to generation with great rigor. This is the sincerity of China cultural people. Of course, it is not as good as our modern style. " ("Mencius detour? In August 2000, encouraged and urged by two college friends, I began to write the article "Taoist Wisdom and English Learning". After more than five revisions, it was finalized in June of 10. This article is widely circulated among friends and students. From the winter of 2002 to the summer of 2003, I wrote eight groups of questions and answers as a deepening and supplement to the specific content of this paper. Just before the pen was sealed, it happened that Mr. He Zudao sent someone to send his latest work-humorous sketch "Aspects of Popular English Learning Method". Smile when you are reading. Mr. Wang's writing style is different from mine. What he said in his article is just pointing out some unfinished business of mine. Today, I thank Mr. He for combining this article and my two manuscripts into a book, with Mr. Mi's article at the beginning; The title is Taoist Wisdom and English Learning.
This is a very small booklet. I have been writing it off and on for three years. Therefore, due to the limited level of books, I can't say "time is in a hurry". Nowadays, everyone is eager to get the cake in the English learning market. In this era, I wrote such a thankless little book, not because I forgot the old adage that "words are better than words" and "don't be the first in the world", but as Han Yu said, "Everything that comes from his mouth has a fair voice?" English learning methods, humanities education, even small articles need to be done with great fanfare. If my little book can play a little role in attracting jade, I will be satisfied. I sincerely hope that authoritative experts in the English field can pay more attention to traditional humanities education for the public, English teaching in universities, primary and secondary schools and the situation of self-taught English learners in society. Experts can no longer turn a blind eye to the popular English learning methods that confuse people by selling dog meat.
In the process of writing this book, teachers, friends and college students have always given enthusiastic guidance and attention. My colleague, Mr. Yu Liou, reviewed some chapters and made valuable suggestions on the popularity of words and the use of humorous language. I would like to express my deep gratitude here.
Taoist Wisdom and English Learning
Today's topic is "Taoist wisdom and English learning". As we all know, Lao Tzu, a Taoist master, like Confucius, was honored as a "saint" by later generations and was enshrined in a temple to enjoy incense. Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism are also called the three pillars of China traditional culture. Taoism is "comprehensive, broad and implicit", and its popularity has had a far-reaching impact on all aspects of China's history and culture. Modern people also admire the wisdom of Taoism. Tao Te Ching, the representative work of Taoism, has been published in more than 100 versions in European and American countries that believe in western cultural centralism since modern times. Modern people have made a lot of use of Taoist thoughts, such as "Taoism and modern physics", "Taoism and environmental protection", "Taoism and biological holography" and "Taoism and enterprise management", and some people have even successfully applied them to stock market operations. Today, I also join in the fun, focusing on Laozi's thoughts and combining my personal learning experience, to talk about the guidance of Taoist wisdom on English learning. Please listen to me.
Mainly talk about "inaction" and "single-minded". "Inaction" is the core idea of Taoism, which runs through the book Tao Te Ching. "inaction" means doing nothing. Of course not. Otherwise, what are people doing alive? In fact, I teach people to do things everywhere in the book. Politicians, military strategists, economists, artists, people of all ages and all walks of life have learned the skills of doing things from Laozi. Laozi's "inaction" is actually a great achievement and success, and his "inaction" is incomparable. For example, in Chapter 27 of Tao Te Ching, it is said that "Tao always does nothing", and Tao is invisible and intangible. It seems to do nothing, but it breeds everything. The thriving life phenomena on the earth seem to have no power to plan and arrange, but they have existed endlessly since ancient times. Another example is our body, whose structure is so complex and precise that we don't care about it subjectively, but its physiological functions can work in an orderly way to keep us healthy. These are all "inaction". Only this "inaction" can do anything. The book Tao Te Ching expounds the purpose of "inaction" quite thoroughly. For example, Chapter 48: "Learning is getting worse every day, and Tao is getting worse every day, so that nothing can be done." Chapter 66: "If a saint wants to serve the people, he must keep his word. If you want to be an ancestor, you must be behind you. It is based on the position of saints and the fact that people are not important and people are not harmful. This is the music of the world, and I never tire of it. Because it is indisputable that the world cannot compete with it. " Chapter 81: "All saints don't accumulate. I think the more people there are, the more people there are. " Chapter 25: "People everywhere, the land follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature." Chapter 8: "Goodness is like water, and water is good for all things, and there is no dispute. Being in the evil of everyone is just a few words. " Chapter 64: "If there is nothing, it will be ruled, and if there is nothing, it will be chaotic." If you don't quite understand the meaning of the above quotation, you can find a comment. From these quotations, we can see that Laozi's "inaction" is to conform to the principle of nature, not to do it deliberately, to let nature take its course, and not to do it when it is unnecessary, so that the best effect can often be achieved. Another important work of Taoism, Yin Fu Jing, takes "the way of observing heaven, the journey of heaven is exhausted!" That's what I'm saying.
There are many examples of "inaction" used in life. For example, insomniacs know that we are in a hurry, try our best to count, take a deep breath and listen to music, but the more we want to fall asleep, the more we can't sleep. I finally fell asleep, mostly when I unconsciously gave up the idea of "I want to fall asleep". Everyone who practices meditation has experience. When they sit down, they often have a sports meeting in their minds, and they are thinking about it. The more they think about it, the more restless they become. Relax, put aside the idea of "I want to be quiet" and leave it alone. Maybe I'll get into shape gradually.
For example, the doctor warned us that illness comes like a mountain, and illness goes like reeling. When you are recovering from illness, you should be calm, let nature take its course, and let go of your desire to recover as soon as possible. It might be better if you weren't worried. The more anxious, the better.
Kenya in East Africa has produced many excellent long-distance runners and won gold medals in the Olympic Games. In Kenya, a friend who has been there said that he was "as poor as a church mouse". It is reasonable to say that they can't afford to go to an advanced sports school. Then how do their athletes train? It is said that it was practiced while hunting. No matter how fast the wild sheep run, they can't drive out if their legs and feet are not good, and they can't eat if they can't hit their prey. These "country people" make a living by hunting, instead of practicing long-distance running to participate in the Olympic Games, they become masters of track and field unintentionally.
Tell another joke. Not long ago, a little girl went to visit her sister in other places and bought things in a small shop. The shopkeeper didn't have enough change, so she found a lottery ticket. As a result, I won the lottery and won 5 million at once. The lady's luck is envied by everyone, but she didn't expect that winning the grand prize would make people find the lottery ticket for her. These are the principles of inaction. Doing nothing is also great!
Everyone wants to learn English well. Why do many people fail to learn English well after six years of high school and two or even four years of college? One of the sticking points is that you are too "promising", eager for quick success and instant success, and you don't study with a calm mind and a rational mind. This way of learning is short-sighted, violates the basic laws of learning, and cannot be fundamentally and comprehensively improved. At the same time, this way of learning is also lacking in fun. I have a friend who applied for a postgraduate degree in a famous university when he graduated from college. His professional achievements are considerable, but he was not admitted because he was two points short of English. After work, he asked me, I want to take the exam again. How can I learn English well? I know his situation better. Most of my energy in college English learning is spent on doing problems and coping with exams, memorizing words and lists, with limited listening, speaking, reading and writing skills and a poor sense of language. He can't do the objective test paper well, nor can he do the writing and translation well. No wonder he failed miserably. I told him that it should not be a big problem to take the postgraduate entrance examination first, do fewer questions, study hard for one year according to my method, and then take the exam again. He said no, he must take the exam this time, and there are still three months to review, so let's do more questions. Sure enough, "this time" he lost for a while, but his English was still lacking. In the second year, I didn't change my old habits. I did a few simulation questions, but I still didn't get in. I have met many English learners like my friends, who study for exams and want to be fast, so that they are exhausted and have little effect. So is the teacher, very bitter! I know a very dedicated teacher who once circled the words that did not appear in the syllabus of CET-4 from the vocabulary list of intensive reading textbooks one by one, as if remembering "super words" would be thunderstruck. According to this method, of course, some students have achieved temporary success in the exam, but I think that if they can abandon the mindset of quick success and quick success and study with a "inaction" mentality, I believe they will not fail in the exam and their listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation level will be greatly improved. Cultivating such a good attitude is not necessarily less valuable in work and life than a CET-4 or CET-6 certificate. When I work in the future, I will accompany my boss to negotiate abroad. Will he find some documents to teach you to do? Chapter 22 of the Tao Te Ching says: "A man's talent does not dispute, and the world cannot compete with him." The reasons are as follows.
College students made a painful mistake! When I was teaching in a university and giving my first class to freshmen, many people asked me: Teacher, when can we take the CET-4? How can I pass Band 4 as soon as possible? I told them that the purpose of learning English is not to pass the exam, but to learn happily and leisurely, and to be able to cope with any exam at a certain stage. I majored in English at the university. At that time, some students with good grades didn't want to get high marks and study for scholarships, but they didn't hesitate to take any exams. Someone talked to me about English learning. What comes to my mind is the dialogue in classic movies such as Tess, which is a pleasant scene when a beautiful foreign teacher talks with us. But for many people, it may only be associated with a few boring textbooks, simulated test papers and ABCD multiple-choice questions. They may have some ability to cope with exams, but when it comes to practical application, they are often "at their wits' end" and at their wits' end. The problem is very serious! Many students are confused and look "practical". What is useful to learn and what is useful to learn? He may not be useful to you; Doing this job is useful, but doing that job is not necessarily useful; It's useless now, but it may be of great use in the future. As you can see, the so-called hot majors in universities have taken a turn for the better in recent years. Some freshmen are regarded as hot as soon as they enter school, and students are inseparable after graduation. Back in 1989, everyone who took the postgraduate entrance examination was considered a fool. People who don't have a high degree now don't recognize you. Of course, this trend may have new changes in the future. It is not difficult for us to find that such people may be abandoned by the trend and fashion, no matter what they have learned from the new trend and what they pursue in fashion. They live without self. In the face of reality, psychological quality, artistic accomplishment, pure friendship, etc. Often appear pale and weak, but these are exactly what we need in life. Happiness comes from Sri Lanka and happiness depends on Sri Lanka. The same is true of English learning. The line between "useful" and "useless" cannot be so clear. The second chapter of the Tao Te Ching says: "So, whether there is mutual strength, difficulty to complement each other, length in phase, height in phase, sound in phase, and front and back in phase. "Everything is mutually utilized, mutually causal and mutually transformed, and there is no absolute boundary. Let's look at the big picture.
The exam itself has good intentions. But there are too many things linked to the exam now. For the exam, the students race against time. The ultimate victim is the students themselves, and English teaching is also a mess. The third chapter of the Tao Te Ching says: "Without Shang Xian, the people do not dispute; Expensive and rare goods, so that people do not steal; If you can't see what you want, you won't be chaotic. " Nowadays, many people are used to pursuing superficial achievements and immediate interests, taking cleverness as their pleasure. I'll pay you a dollar for learning real kung fu and skills like this.
Everyone wants to master English quickly and well. Some foreign language classes boast that they can master it in one and a half months and in a few weeks. At this rate, it is no problem to learn twenty or thirty foreign languages in four years. After graduation, they will all be sent to work in the United Nations, with simultaneous interpretation in all countries. The buddies who run classes are not only amateurs, but also cater to people's profit-seeking psychology. The purpose is of course to make money. Maybe someone will teach with me in a crash course. My level, "water" is very good, and I can't even say that I have mastered English. In a few weeks, I will make the students "shine on you is better than blue". Dream on. When the students get the class fee after graduation, I will be "oily" and then say that I have been cheated. You deserve it. Can learning be accelerated? I can't. Learning is a gradual and cumulative process. Some people can recite tens of thousands of words in two months, but they can never develop a good sense of language. They can speak fluent English and write fluent English, and most of the words are forgotten soon after they are recited. Chapter 24 of the Tao Te Ching says, "If you don't stand, you can't cross." Standing on tiptoe and striding, you will soon be exhausted. Chapter 15 also says, "Who can be quiet and calm, and who can move calmly?" What I am talking about here is the truth of keeping in good health and practicing martial arts, and it is also the law of being a man and doing things. Look at those who play Tai Ji Chuan and practice Qigong. Their movements and breathing are slow. What about doing things? Don't be anxious, don't be confused, don't be muddy. Everything should be "smart", take your time, be calm and carefree. (The above is also said by Mr. nan huaijin. People who are eager to do things well are often at a loss and make a mess. Everything is done in accordance with the laws of heaven, and it is possible to be really fast without seeking quick success and instant benefit. Chinese college students have studied English for eight years, and more than half of them can't pass Band 4. If they learn correctly, how did they get to such a field?
Since it is not advisable to "study hard" for quick success and instant benefit, it is necessary to "study happily" and study with interest and fun. Didn't you say "interest is the best teacher"? Confucius pointed out: "Knowing is not as good as being kind, and being kind is not as good as being happy." Knowledgeable people learn English because they know English is very important. They study for exams and to cope with the pressure of employment, so the learning effect is naturally not as good as that of good people. So how to have fun? Teachers' personal charm and classroom organization are very important, and adjusting utilitarian mentality is another aspect. We also have articles to do in the selection of teaching materials. A famous scholar, L.G.Alexander, once said that English textbooks should be short, concise and entertaining. His masterpiece New Concept English perfectly embodies this principle. Especially in the third volume, most of the 60 texts are witty and humorous stories, with humorous writing and accurate words, which can be described as exquisite and beautiful. A set of tapes with British accent released in the early days is lively, radiant and full of charm. Comparatively speaking, our current textbooks are generally long and less interesting, which makes it difficult for students to get interested. Many words in some textbooks are quite rough, and their literary talent and conception are not satisfactory. In some articles, new words are printed several pages at a time, and students are scared before they start. The styles and themes of several textbooks cover too many fields, including science and technology, culture, education, literature, society, etc., and it is difficult to arouse the full interest of all students. Personally, I think it is not necessary for beginners and intermediate learners to master articles with different themes and genres and various professional vocabulary at the basic stage. There are so many basic vocabulary and grammar phenomena in English that textbooks with different selection criteria can cover most of them. Therefore, the textbooks used in different countries vary widely, but they can all take TOEFL and GRE；; The textbooks for English majors in domestic universities have different emphases, and there are still unified CET-4 and CET-8. Let students learn articles that they may not be interested in from the beginning, and it is difficult to mobilize their enthusiasm. I have mastered the basic vocabulary, gained a sense of language, and gained interest. The rest, for example, liberal arts students should read more popular science articles, read more words, and find more materials to "read extensively". There is also a class of students who plan ahead for their future work. They never let go of hotel English, travel English, news English and mahjong English from the beginning. It's not necessary. There is actually only one kind of English, and they can cope with all kinds of special English by remembering more words in the future.
A friend asked me, after learning a certain degree, what teaching materials should I use to improve my level? Don't use textbooks, just find some good articles. First of all, you should be interested in the content of the article. For example, I like geography. At the beginning, I copied one or two long articles from National Geographic magazine, and I had to look up every new word and write it down. Later, I learned almost all the articles by heart. If it's an article that I'm not interested in, such as law and economics, I won't have the energy to learn it. It's interesting to read such an article, and you can find "feeling". The first gain is the pleasure of reading and the intake of information. As for memorizing words, it is a "wonderful hand" inadvertently.
Language is alive, don't learn to die. Besides written textbooks, audio-visual materials can be used more. The latter is more lively and closer to life. We watched the cross talk. Ma Yan and Feng Gong Niu Niu laughed so hard that we virtually memorized the lines. I'm not that moved just by reading the script. Watching Peking Opera performances, watching opera tapes, influenced by the singing art of the masters, naturally remembered the opera. At this time, artistic enjoyment is the first, and remembering lines and operas is an unintentional gain. I personally like watching cartoons. I have watched Snow White and the Wizard of Oz for 30 times, and I can recite all the lines. I have gained a lot invisibly. In fact, there is no deliberate study, just a relaxed and simple "inaction" mentality.
Another example is to meet foreign friends, make friends and communicate first, and improve your English at the same time.
The problem of memorizing words is mentioned above. I don't often recite words. Many words are recorded by listening to tapes and radios. Compared with written words, listening materials are more distinctive, "interesting" and easy to remember. Moreover, English is the language of the phonetic system. Generally, you can write down the words by knowing the pronunciation, and there will be no spelling mistakes or omissions. Some people can say that about half of English words are pronounced irregularly, but in fact irregularity contains rules. When the "feeling" comes out, it will be written naturally. Another thing to remember words is to remember them in context. I worked hard in middle school. Twenty or thirty years later, many texts in junior high school and senior high school can still recite a few paragraphs, and I still remember which lesson many words appeared in. The meaning of a word may not be remembered at the moment, but the general idea of the lesson in which it appeared can be remembered, and then the impression will come out. About 1989 Reader's Digest magazine, now called Reader, published an article about memory methods, which said that if you want to remember a large list of irrelevant words, you can make up a plot to string them together. Our text is full of plot and content, and all the new words are strung in. However, I found that many students prefer to recite directly according to the word list, which is fragmentary and easy to forget, and it may not be useful to remember.
There is another meaning of "inaction", that is, doing things according to heaven and justice, according to the true colors and objective laws of things. English is a language, and language is mainly used for communication, but many of us learn dumb English, can't speak it, and even are out of breath when reading the text. Of course, our Chinese level is better than English. Let's recall how we learned Chinese when we were young. Listen to others first, then imitate, then speak. I didn't learn to read until I went to primary school. Learning English should also focus on listening and speaking, and training in listening, speaking, reading and writing can be carried out at the same time. Don't always focus on exams and cross-checks. Now everyone is talking about quality education and accusing exam-oriented education, but where is the root of exam-oriented education? Some people say that it is a legacy of the imperial examination system, and all the bad debts are recorded on the ancestors' heads, which is a sin. The fundamental reason of exam-oriented education lies in utility. There are hooks everywhere, and everything has to be hooked. Senior one students began to circle multiple-choice questions A, B, C and D without learning 200 words, which is a serious distortion of thinking. I made an analogy. Everyone began to learn to speak at about one year old. Your father taught you the names of family members. Did he give you a multiple-choice question: Son, you should call me like this: A. Grandpa; B. grandma; C. dopted mother; D. Dad's correct answer is D. Don't laugh. How many people are repeating such jokes from teachers to students?
Learning a language, like learning art, requires a lot of simple and repetitive boring exercises to cultivate a sense of language and improve skills. When you are a beginner, you must have good pronunciation, practice repeatedly, lip-synch, imitate intonation and strive for perfection. If a word can't be pronounced correctly, say it a thousand times. The Doctrine of the Mean says, "A person can have a hundred abilities, and a person can have a thousand abilities. If you can do this, you will know if you are stupid, but if you are soft, you will be strong. " That's the reason. Over time, there will be gains. Those students with poor imitation ability and strong local accent should at least remember their pronunciation, so they should listen and read more. I have a friend who has studied English for more than 20 years and has a large vocabulary-memorized by GRE, but his listening has always been a headache. Once, he asked me how to improve my listening. I found that many of his basic notes were mispronounced. When I read the words, I thought they were African. The accent of the foreigner on the tape was different from his impression. How can he understand them? Pronunciation is a basic skill, which can never be ignored. So I suggest that university teachers should concentrate on correcting pronunciation when teaching freshmen.
The "inaction" of Taoist philosophy is to grasp the whole, and does not advocate cutting the whole into unrelated pieces. English is a whole. Listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation are all connected, even integrated. After listening and reading, you will naturally speak and write. But now college English textbooks and teaching are artificially divided. For example, in college English, in addition to intensive reading and listening, there are extensive reading, speed reading and grammar practice manuals. Students are tired of coping and lack of energy, so the latter three have to be perfunctory. For English majors, teachers teach intensive reading, translation, writing, listening and interpretation ..... They are not related to each other, and everyone is guarding their own small piece of teaching. Perhaps few people tell students how to learn English as a whole. Even if there are teachers, they are often piecemeal and unsystematic. Learn English with a holistic view! It's like cutting a dress according to the division of labor, and starting work alone without overall design. When finished, the size does not match. Maybe one sleeve is missing and one button is added. How can you wear such clothes? I think intensive reading, extensive reading, listening, speaking, writing, interpretation and translation can be improved together, and even a set of teaching materials can be used. At this point, some English majors want to ask, I mean, do you tear down all the existing courses and reintegrate them? Not exactly. I mean, it is entirely possible for teachers and students to improve several language abilities at the same time in a class. Of course, the styles of spoken and written language are different, and the language selection of listening materials and intensive reading articles often has its own characteristics and emphasis, but it is not absolutely opposite. Intensive reading should be accompanied by a good reading tape so that students can listen more. New Concept English is a reading textbook, which is also used by some teachers in listening class. The first book can be regarded as an oral textbook. The language in volume two or three is easy to understand, and the style of the articles is generally the same, which can be used as a good example for learning to write. Many students say that their teachers often run fast in listening classes. When the tape is played two or three times, students can finish the exercise and ignore it. I would rather not complete the teaching task in listening class, but also choose several paragraphs for key training, so that students can understand the key details and even do pronunciation exercises. I hope they will improve in an all-round way. I experienced the benefits of doing so personally when I was a student. The listening textbook used in our university is Step by Step published by East China Normal University. I personally think this set of books is excellent. In particular, the dialogue on the tape is very distinctive, personalized and vivid, and it is easy to remember when you are familiar with it. At first, some students can recite several tapes. This kind of rote learning is not a simple memorization of written materials, but a vivid imitation of the protagonist's voice, intonation and even emotions, just like learning to sing and sing opera. A classmate is quite talented in language. He doesn't even let go of the dog barking on the tape, and screams in the dormitory every night. Over time, I learned a "feeling" of English. What I blurted out was no longer Chinglish, and the foreign flavor of the articles I wrote gradually became stronger. You will naturally write sentences after listening more! There won't be such a wonderful pen as my poor English. Use a red ball instead of a blue ball. After learning "step by step", not only the listening ability is improved, but also the oral and writing ability and vocabulary are improved by leaps and bounds. In addition, we have a better understanding of the culture, history, literature, society and daily life of English-speaking countries. Why do you have to wait until you take a professional course such as an overview of Britain and the United States? We can improve all kinds of skills in a course, so why not?
The training of spoken English has been paid more and more attention in recent years. Some newly published textbooks have increased the content of students' discussion. Many universities have places to practice oral English, such as English corner and English bridge, with a large number of participants. I don't think it is necessary to overemphasize the "boldness" of opening your mouth while listening more and reading less. There are not many foreign language sentences in my mind, so my expressive ability is bound to be limited, and I can't make mistakes when I export them. So I think the main focus of oral English training should be on practicing pronunciation and imitating recitation. There should be a lot of input in listening and reading, and it is not too late to communicate with people.
Taoism emphasizes simplicity, less selfish desires, returning to nature and returning things to their true colors. This is also one of the essentials of "inaction". However, in our English learning, many people attach great importance to the acquired things such as grammar and linguistic theory, which makes the original simple problems so complicated. I found that some valuable teaching materials and insightful learning methods were attacked by professors and scholars. What linguistic theory do you rely on for guidance? This is why! Junior and intermediate level students don't have to talk too much about theory. From the course of language development, language first appeared, then a written record of language was created, and then grammar and linguistic theories came into being. As far as students are concerned, they don't have to be grammarians or linguists, just teach them to learn and use the language itself well, no matter what path others take. Mr. Xiao Gan is a master of English. He didn't go to college formally. In those days, all he relied on was a Bible. At that time, he was too poor to buy grammar books and theory books. Everyone has seen martial arts fighting in movies. Whoever is good at kung fu wins, no matter what genre they belong to, what theory is used to guide them? There is no need for each of them to hand in an academic paper to determine the level.
Now, since junior high school, teachers have been inculcating grammar repeatedly. In junior high school, senior high school and university, often in the middle of a sentence, the teacher copied the usage of certain words and corresponding example sentences on the blackboard, which was very boring. Students' heads are not filled with living language and expressive articles, but with fragmentary rules and regulations. When we were in college, we passed the CET-4 and TEM-8 exams quite easily, but our teacher never taught us grammar-of course, we learned it in middle school, and we paid attention to the training of skills and the practical application of language in class.
English is a language, language is an aspect of human culture, and it is not a science in itself. There are rules in grammar and usage, but these rules are all made by people, which may not have any scientific basis or cover all language phenomena. Therefore, when learning a language, there is no need to mix too much rational thinking, and sometimes it is a feeling problem. "Tao is natural", just do what you should do. Find "feeling", find feeling in artistic creation, and practice "feeling" when learning English. Yue Fei's theory of fighting: "The cleverness of strategizing lies in one heart", and the same is true of learning English.
There is no such thing as grammar in our history. The establishment of Chinese grammar system began with Ma Shiwen published by Mr. Ma Jianzhong at the end of19th century.