Hi there, Vladimir here with another video about how to learn English
This will probably be my last video on the subject of
Native vs Non-native language teachers
In the movie The Usual Suspects
Kevin Spacey's character at one point says:
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist
The greatest trick
I don't know who ever pulled
was convincing the world, native speakers are the best language teachers
How did we get to believe that native speakers are the best language teachers?
Yes, I said we, I used to hold that belief myself
used to, not anymore obviously
How did it come about?
it is not a trick, there is actually a very simple reason.
In the very distant past
foreigners visiting our country were the sole source of information about the outside world
culture, customs and of course language
And this went on for a long time until very recently I suppose
until literacy levels improved and and books were more readily available
But still, foreigners were the main source of language
Then the TV came along and there was much more information about
foreign cultures, customs and of course foreign languages
but native speakers were still important for all that
cool stuff you couldn't really see on TV couldn't ask the TV
And then, about 20 years ago the Internet came along
10 years later Apple company put the Internet in our pocket and
it changed everything
Foreigners visiting our country are no longer the only window to the outside world
we can now learn about culture, customs and other things on the internet
and of course, learn a foreign language
Now we have access to all kinds of reading materials as well as native speech
through movies, TV shows, podcasts
you name it
and of course dictionaries, free online dictionaries with pronunciation
Every question you might have about English grammar and vocabulary, customs and culture
has been answered a hundred times over on the internet, available for free.
I used to say:
Teaching is so much more than just being a human dictionary
Now I say:
Teaching is NOT about being a human dictionary
If all your teacher does is give you vocabulary and definitions
then he or she is not a teacher
that person is just a speaker.
So what is language teaching about, what is the language teacher supposed to do?
Taking into account the limitations you might have as a language learner
the teacher is supposed to give you a method of using all that free information
and study tools on the Internet
a systematic and logical approach to learning so you don't get lost, or waste time
Learning a foreign language is a very complex thing
plus, there is a jungle of information out there, it is so easy to get lost
therefore, you need a map, you need a system of learning
a sequential and logical approach to learning English, so you stay on course
The big question the 1 million dollar question is:
who is better suited to give you that approach, the best method of learning
Native or Non-native language teachers?
Suppose you had to move to a foreign country
a Japanese moving to Germany for instance
who would you go for advice on
finding a kindergarten for you son, or an international school for your daughter
or a nice Japanese restaurant or a supermarket selling Japanese food
which areas are safe and which to avoid
the cheapest way to send money to Japan and so on and so forth
Who would you ask for advice,
a Japanese expat who had already gone through all that and
successfully settled down in Germany or ask a local person, a native German?
If you wanted to start your own business
who would you go to for advice on how to go about doing it?
Steve Jobs or Tim Cook
Elon Musk or Akio Toyoda
If you wanted to change gender transition from male to female
who would you go to for advice?
Kris Jenner or Caitlyn Jenner
Evangeline Lilly or Lilly Wachowski
google them if you don't know who they are
If you wanted to learn how to dunk
who would you go to for advice?
Allen Iverson
or Shaquille O'Neal
If you wanted to break into show business
who would you go to for advice on how to
find a manager, market your music, book your first gig
Michael Jackson or Madonna
Michael entered show business at 6 years of age, Madonna at 20
Imagine you wanted to learn to compose music
You, not your child
if you wanted to learn to compose music who would you go to for advice
Mozart or John Lennon
Mozart once wrote: I write music the way cows piss
Let us finish with something crazier even more hypothetical
we started this video with a movie and will finish it with a movie
Imagine you wanted to become a crime fighter
a superhero type of person
like the guy in the movie Kick-Ass
Who would you go to for advice on how to become a superhero
Batman or Superman?
How can Superman teach you how to fly for instance?
just hold your arms up above your head
Ridiculous right?
How can he teach you something he never learned
flying comes naturally to him he was born with it
Can he teach you how to shoot laser from your eyes?
enter Batman, one of us
He had to learn everything by himself,
he can also fly, not as fast as Superman, but still, fly
he can also shoot stuff
well not from his eyes but still with enough precision
you, as a member of homo sapiens
a thinking, rational person
who are you going to go to for advice on how to become a superhero?
Who is more likely to give you a tried-and-tested method
the most practical and realistic piece of advice
The one who was born a superhero, or the one who had to learn to become one
a very effective and efficient language speaker
Only a person who has mastered a foreign languag as an adult
can teach you how to learn one
I have mastered a foreign language, the English language as an adult
and I've written a book
about my experience as a learner and teacher of English
My book Virtually Native is available on Amazon and virtuallynative.com
For more infomation >> Durian Icecream & Boat rides l Vlog - Duration: 3:58. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét