? ?
Opinion / Raymond Zhou
A learning fad that's truly crazy
By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-22 06:52
English as a second language (ESL) is all the rage in China. Gazillions
of people are learning it. Unfortunately, the experience is quite
unpleasant for many. Long hours and endless repetition of dry lessons
yields little tangible result in terms of ability to use the language. No
wonder the "I hate English" club is growing in leaps and bounds.
Into this chorus of grumbling stepped Li Yang, an entrepreneur who has
invented his own pedagogy called "Crazy English".
Simply put, he has his students stand in large formations and shout at
the top of their lungs. It is designed to overcome the innate shyness of
most Chinese in verbalizing what they have learned in the classroom or by
themselves.
All this sounds innocent enough. But is it?
In recent weeks, Li Yang has incurred the wrath of the public after
encouraging his students to kneel "in gratitude" towards him. Photos of a
huge crowd in kowtow positions, first published by Li himself on his
blog, raised the question: What's wrong with this person and his tactics?
The answer, in my opinion, is everything.
Li Yang is a demagogue, to say the least. He wants you to believe that he
has come up with an effective way of learning a foreign language. But
actually it is an excuse for mind control, intended to maximize his
commercial interests. In addition to the exorbitant tuition fees, his
overpriced books and tapes - many lifted from copyrighted materials -
form the basis of his business empire.
Many students and their parents are deceived by him because they gain new
confidence when they hear him preach. Like all demagogues, Li correctly
identified a problem plaguing most ESL students in China.
The traditional method of learning words and grammar rules by rote has
produced an army of students whose approach to the language is with a
scalpel in hand. Many tend to use the language as if it were a dead one
like Latin. One gets the feeling that it is a strange echo of the real
language, sapped of any vitality.
But saying the old way is wrong does not make the new way necessarily
right. What the tongue-in-cheek "Crazy English" offers is truly crazy.
The teaching sessions are like cult meetings; the shouting matches are
reminiscent of the slogan fests during the cultural revolution (1966-76).
If shouting can improve one's linguistic skills, we would have all turned
into Confucius after that mass movement.
Indeed, shouting breaks down psychological barriers and helps strengthen
bonding. The question is: Is the new camaraderie used to inspire and
learn, or to submit and be obedient? Can you question authority? Can you
conduct a rational discourse?
Many reported a feeling of liberation at the "Crazy English" hollered
gatherings. That is not unique. The catch is, Li Yang liberates students
in order to enslave them even further, very much like most agitators,
political or commercial.
Even though our traditional methodology is fraught with rituals of
submission, it has not stooped as low as asking hundreds of students to
kneel as if they were being received by a feudal emperor. That is not a
manifestation of a student's gratitude towards a teacher; rather, it
strips a person of individuality and pounds him into obsequiousness.
Just imagine if Li had called his language education a "pyramid scheme"
or "cult meeting" - what would have become of it? He is clever because he
engages in these activities but adroitly avoids the label, of which many
"regular" teachers of English have long accused him, at least in private.
After the kneeling incident, Li encouraged his female students to shave
their heads. So far nobody has complied. But his true colors are now
clear: he is crazy.
Email: raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 09/22/2007 page4)
Hot Talks
* What's your take of this piece of opinion about China?
* Should Beida recruit more recommended students?
* Nude women and Peking Opera: pornography or art?
* War in Iraq lost?
* Costa Rica cut ties with Taiwan: Who's next?
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese, Chinese School, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
No comments:
Post a Comment