SET給學生的一封信 by Martin

Dear
students,

    After tutoring Taiwanese students for almost one year, we've encountered some
difficulties dealing and/or tutoring certain students, especially those who had
previous "training lessons" at "cram schools". I am not
saying that buxibans in Taiwan are bad, but they somehow guide ESL students in
the wrong direction and thus influence them in a negative way. It is true that
buxibans provide tons of materials for students to use in either speaking or
writing; however, do the students really understand WHEN and, most importantly,
HOW to use those materials?

     Students rarely ask me, but let me tell you a little bit of my experience. Of
all the schools, institutions, teachers, and tutors that I attended or hired
during my English learning process, I've never had the luxury of having
someone to provide me with materials that I could use in writing or speaking.
What I got from my English teachers/tutors were lots of grammar lessons, tons
of homework, the opportunity to practice in class, and most importantly, the
freedom to develop my own writing and speaking techniques. Just like I did and
do with my previous and current students, my English teachers/tutors would
constantly give me advice and suggestions to improve my English, and not just correcting
all the mistakes I made. In other words, I not only had to do my own homework
of searching for the correct ways of using certain English words and/or
expressions, but also expand my general knowledge by watching and reading
English news, articles, TV programs, or even movies in a daily basis.

    So, going back to the issue of the teaching style at buxibans, Martina and I
have realized that cram school teachers tend to encourage students to use (or
“overuse”) the provided materials without thoroughly explaining the adequate
usage of each one of them. As a result, we see lots of "unclear" and
"awkward" wordings in students' essays, meaning that they are not
properly used or expressed within the context of the essays. I am sure that the
materials buxibans give are great, but using them incorrectly or
improperly can easily make your sentence, paragraph, or even the entire
essay, look naive, dumb, and ridiculous.

    All in all, please be careful when using materials given by cram school
teachers. Before you apply them in your essays, you really must do your own
homework and I would personally suggest you to practice by making proper
sentences with ALL those "wonderful/academic" vocabularies and
expressions. The truth is that all the hard work must come from you (the
students), otherwise you will never understand how to write and speak proper
English. Oh, and in case you still haven't noticed yet, SET is not a cram
school... Martina and I are here to point out your mistakes and give you the
proper advice and guidance to a successful and enjoyable English learning
experience.

  Finally, thank you for taking the time to read this long posting, and I hope I
was able to give you some extra hints to help you become a better English
writer and speaker.

 

Cheers,

SET-Martin