2018年2月8日 星期四

不要放棄雅思閱讀!!!

留學考試對於要出國的學生來說,也許是個麻煩~
但對於我來說,每個考試都有它核心的價值。
因為其實學生會因為準備考試,
而充分學到他們本來就應該具備的能力和素養。

我教考試這些年來,發現大部分的台灣考生都會覺得自己的閱讀比較強,
誤以為比較不需要多花功夫練習閱讀,尤其是雅思。
(不過~我還是有遇過幾個真的是閱讀特別強的學生,但終究是極少數。)
來台北後,我也常常覺得大部分的考生~雅思閱讀分數真的是太低了。

雅思閱讀是最好拉分的,考生應該要用它來彌補其它的分數。

去年~我把雅思閱讀和寫作合併教。
過程中,我發現其實這樣子會不夠重視閱讀,寫作也會上得太快。
這樣學生就會缺乏可以吸收的時間。
因為我自己教學的方式是用"體驗式學習法"(Experiential learning)

絕不是填鴨式...老實說~我之前的背景知識科學課就是填鴨式!
即便學生覺得我教得很好,但我自己很不喜歡......
因為填鴨式教學,會讓我無法看到學生有沒有真的吸收到。
所以~我每次上完背景知識科學課都很不快樂。
會覺得這樣上課是在浪費時間,我根本沒有讓學生學到什麼!
而那時~我也注意自己是真的不適合在一般的補習班教書。

填鴨式的教學法不是絕對的不好,但學生需要有非常強大的自律能力。
基本上~沒有哪個教學法是絕對的好或不好,
完全是要看是哪種老師在教~看是哪種類型的學生在學。

但是我知道自己不適合那種把上課時數壓縮,整堂課讓學生坐在那邊一直被塞東西,
而學生也沒有實際在課堂上練習到~我也看不到到底學生有沒有學會。

學生在課堂上聽老師上課,只會得到某種層次的理解~而且這樣的理解是很淺薄的。
如果學生沒有立刻去做,其實是沒有吸收的。
他們可能會覺得自己上課有聽懂了,但他們沒有真的懂。
因為他們沒有去做~沒有去應用。語言是要應用的,才算真的學到了! 

像外面的雅思課教閱讀還蠻快的,大概6~8週左右就可以把閱讀搞定。
但是這個問題是真的有搞定了嗎?
通常沒有搞定啊~所以學生又要再去找過一家補習。

我設計的課程宗旨是學生來上課,會學到~也會練到。
不只要真正的學會怎麼解題,也要熟悉解題的技巧。
在練習的過程中,讓學生有真正的實力, 這樣子他們不需要再去補習。 
因為補來補去,只是一直在浪費時間~也浪費錢,分數也沒多高。

像雅思閱讀,我以前教全科的時候,閱讀都是學生最高的分數,幾乎沒有例外。
但是我來台北教口說後,大部分的學生都是口說和聽力最高的。
他們的閱讀分數很低,也是我一直認為很不可思議的事情。

所以體驗式的教法,就是學生來上課,我會一步一步的帶。
我教的閱讀方式是針對雅思,不會有掃讀~也不會有略讀。
因為一般的閱讀法是非常不適合雅思的。

從雅思閱讀的第一堂課開始,學生會被訓練做完每個一整篇的閱讀。
因為如果單純把題型完全分開來教,學生只會一直練到同一個題型,
可是偏偏雅思閱讀是一個整體,它不像托福~也不像GRE或其他考試的構造~
雅思是每一個題型來融為一個整體的,所以你把它們分開來練,效果就會不好。
你需要的是一整篇~一整篇的練。

所以~我的閱讀教法是把幾篇有一樣的題型一起練,同時練到題型~也練到整篇閱讀。
然後第一遍就是慢慢教,回答學生的問題。
讓學生練會整個完整的閱讀解題流程,他們會比較熟悉要怎麼辦。
這樣~他們回家就有辦法用我教的方式自己繼續練。 

有點像Mentoring Program~
就是這樣的教學並不是一個人在教你怎麼做,卻不管你有沒有做到。
而是像師傅一步一步的帶你,帶完之後~他會教你,他會看著你做~然後問你問題。
會讓你真的體會到~悟到這個方式要怎麼去用。

我的閱讀教法就是這樣子~
這也是為什麼以前我在新竹教過的學生,雅思閱讀分數都是最高的。
所以~不要太輕看閱讀了,其實它反而可以救你的分數。
好好重視閱讀,你是可以拿到比其他三項更多分數的。

聽力也可以拿很高的~只是閱讀是可以拿8~9分的。
如果你的口說要考7分或是你可以考到7分,
那你的閱讀最起碼要拿8或9分才算符合你的本事。
我之前在新竹有蠻多學生都可以做到~你們一定也可以!
要相信自己!

加油!  不要放棄雅思閱讀啊!


2018年2月4日 星期日

【雅思策略&實力深化】雅思聽力口說班介紹

Intro to my IELTS Speaking and Listening class:

I’m really short on time, so I’ve procrastinated on writing the article about it.

In the past, have taught Speaking & Listening together, separately, short classes, long classes, etc.

This time, I’ve combined Speaking and Listening into one class because of the intimate relationship between speaking and listening. Basically, our grammar and vocabulary for listening is directly related to speaking. Think about it – you’ve probably read words or phrases hundreds of times, but you never say them until you hear somebody say them. Then you can finally say them too. This has happened to me hundreds of times in Chinese.

As students need much more help with their speaking than listening, I will focus 60-80% of the class time on speaking. This also suits my style of teaching. It may not be the best way for others to teach, though. Listening can break the monotony of always speaking (sometimes students feel stressed in a 3-hour speaking class), and the skills are related, so they help each other.

Not only that, IELTS listening is great for training our pronunciation and our understanding of linking sounds.
Students who come to this class can expect to be VERY active - there will not be very much teacher talk time (TTT). I am not the focus of these classes - you are.

At my previous school, there were only 6 speaking classes, which simply does not allow enough time for students to practice all the techniques. This will be 12 classes, and students will have LOTS of practice time, so they can internalize the techniques, rather than simply understand them. Everybody knows that techniques must be practiced several times (with guidance) as soon as they are taught, otherwise they will not be learned properly.

The listening component will also relax students between heavy sessions of speaking. Changing focus helps with learning. Think about it: when you’re reading one kind of book for a while, you start to lose focus. If you switch to another kind of book, you regain focus. Later, you switch back, and you can get more done overall. Speaking is so intense for most Taiwanese students, that they need regular breaks. The great thing about relaxing with the listening is that they’re still learning techniques and practicing answering questions while they rest.

I like teaching both the listening and reading parts holistically. That means that techniques and question types are taught in the context of complete passages. There’s a certain continuity to the listening and reading passages, and I feel it’s better to not break that continuity.

There will be minimal study of the scripts during class time, but there will be quite a lot of homework, for both the listening and speaking parts. Be prepared! Do not come to this class if you are not prepared to do tons of practice every single day. Any day that you do not practice speaking is a lost opportunity. If you don’t speak English for 2 days, you’ll start to go rusty. Then you’ll need to spend even more time getting it back!

Before and after each class, I’ll set aside 30 minutes for 1-on-1 mini speaking tests with students. These are critical to your success! For many students, talking to examiners is scary! Being tested by me is also scary! The ONLY way to overcome a fear is to do the thing you fear until you don’t find it scary anymore. That’s why I force everybody to do a mini mock test every single class. That’s also why I’ve kept the classes small. First, I’ll ask a few questions, then I’ll give a few comments and sometimes I’ll give a score. But not always! The score is not the most important thing - facing your fear and learning how to improve are the most important things.
So, if you’re prepared to practice speaking for at least 30 minutes a day, don’t miss this opportunity.










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