Dialectical Practice Approach & Reading

1. Dialectical Practice Approach & Reading 2012年4月

2. Warmest Greetings from Your Faithful Servant Chen Lin

3. What is Dialectical Practice Approach （辨证实践途径） This is my personal conception of what should be an ideal English (or any foreign language) Learning approach for Chinese students in a Chinese context.

4. Dialecticism The 16 dialectical relationships 1. Theory v. practice Practice is primary and theory is secondary. Theory comes from practice and in turn serves and directs further practice.

5. We learn grammar through language and not language through grammar. ——Johann Herdor German Philosopher & Linguist

6. 2. Humanistic nature v. instrumental nature of language learning 3. LAD (Language Acquisition Device) v. Stimulus-Response 4. Language Input v. Language output

7. 5. Listening-speaking v. Reading-writing 6. Language-learning v. Language-acquisition 7. Language v. Culture 8. Accuracy v. Fluency

8. 9. Mother tongue v. Target language 10. TBLL (Task-based language learning) v. Eclectic approach 11. Formative assessment v. Summative Assessment

9. 12. Intensive study v. Extensive study 13. Teacher teaching v. IT devices 14. Local teaching material v. Imported teaching material

10. 15. Autonomous learning v. Cooperative learning 16. Student v. Teacher (“Man as the Centre”)

11. Practice Primary Approach The Ten Points of Attention 1. Language itself is the product of practice. 2. Language remained only oral for a long time before written language was created, developed and formed. Naturally, languages should be learned orally first.

12. 3. Language input (reading & listening) before language output (speaking & writing)—— the former being the basis of the latter. 4. We should learn language itself first and then learn grammar from language by induction.

13. 5. In classroom teaching a good teacher should create every opportunity for the students to practice . 6. A good textbook should be full of meaningful activities and exercises for the students to practice language.

14. 7. Language learning (Classroom teaching) should always be supplemented with language acquisition (mainly outside reading). 8. The achievement of the students should be assessed by “CAN DO” —what the students CAN DO with the language (English) in and outside of the classroom.

15. 9. Students should be encouraged to use (mainly speak and write) English not only in class but also in their daily life outside of the classroom, because it is there that they are really using the language as a means of meaningful, real communication. All classroom activities, no matter how real the teachers try to make them, are artificial.

16. 10. The final evaluation or assessment of a man’s mastery of a foreign language is in their writing ability, which is connected with and based on their ample practice in reading, listening and speaking, of which READING is the main factor.

17. So, where does READING stand? Reading makes a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man. （阅读使人充实,交谈使人机敏,写记使人精确。） —— Francis Bacon （培根） British Educator, Essayist & Philosopher

18. How important is Reading? 1.“Reading makes a full man.”（腹有诗书气自华） 2. Reading is the main form of language input. 3. Reading is a stronger and more profound form of language stimulus than listening. 4. Reading and listening, both forms of language input, compliment each other.

19. 5. Reading is the main source of culture learning. 6. Reading material, for intensive or extensive reading, is the main form for the consolidation of grammar knowledge. 7. Both Intensive Reading and ExtensiveReading are necessary for the development of reading ability.

20. 8. Reading is the most convenient form for self-learning of a foreign language. 9. Reading is the main source of vocabulary building. • In classroom teaching and the use of the textbook, Reading, as well as listening, serves as the basis for all other language skill activities.

21. More Importance should be attached to Extensive Reading 10 points of attention： • For primary and middle school students, Simplified Versions, of different language levels, of famous books, novels mainly, should be the main material. 2. Materials for Extensive Reading (ER) should be of different topics and language styles——literature, newspapers, popular science, art, entertainment, sports, etc.

22. 3. Students should have a free choice of what they read, in accordance with the concept of Individualized Learning. 4. Easy but in great amount rather than difficult but in small amount.

23. 5. Develop such reading skills as scanning, skipping, etc. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. from On Studies by Francis Bacon

24. 书有可浅尝者,有可吞食者,少数则 须咀嚼消化。换言之,有只须读其部 分者,有只须大体涉猎者；少数则须全 读。读时须全神贯注,孜孜不倦。 ——王佐良教授译文

25. 6. Read for pleasure, information, knowledge and for feel of the language. 7. Read mainly silently. But for famous speeches, for instance, read aloud or even try to recite them. 8. Don’t have to look up all the new words in the dictionary, except when they are key words for understanding the main idea. Try to guess the meaning of words out of the context.

26. 9. The teacher should help the students choose the right reading material for ER and guide them in their reading. 10. Generally speaking, there should be no after-reading work, except when the students like to write down some kind of after-reading thoughts （读后感）.

27. One Last Word Many learners come to me and ask the same question: I’ve studied English for quite some time and I think I have learned it not too badly, but somehow I feel that I am at a standstill and cannot go further. Why is that and what should I do? And my answer is always:

28. Read More.

29. Thank you for your attention and questions are welcome.