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FAQ for Susan Chyn's CornerÇØËÕɺ& FAQ
Q: What will "Susan Chyn's Corner" be about?
这论坛主要是关于什么啊？
A: This space is for you to ask questions about how to improve your English. Some of you will want to ask questions about the English Soap Opera, for example, why Scarlett chooses certain phrases. Others of you will have general questions about English. And still others of you may be interested in how to prepare for tests.
Q: How can one improve performance on speaking competitions?
A: David asked for suggestions on preparing for speech competitions. I will give all of you two "pointers." Maybe you will find them helpful.
- First, the best speakers in speech contests all have something interesting and COMPELLING to say. Even if your English is still at a very basic level, it is possible to find engaging content, and to organize that content in a way that will interest the judges and the audience. Who IS your audience? How can you treat the topic in an interesting way? That is a thinking task, that you need to spend a fair amount of time on.
- Second, the other way to improve on speech competitions is practice your delivery. Are you pronouncing your "th" sounds correctly? Are you enunciating the "ed" at the end of words like "walked" and "accomplished"? You want to practice in front of a mirror and look at your mouth, your teeth, your tongue. That sounds a little silly, but in fact, you will be able to see if you are not shaping your sounds correctly. How is your intonation and inflection? Tape yourself, and listen to it, or have your friends listen and give you feedback. Don't stop until you think your speech delivery is fluid and natural.
The combination of interesting and content and flawless delivery is hard to beat!
Q: How can I improve my oral English?
A: Learners often ask me this question. Sometimes it seems like we work very hard to improve, but can't observe any progress. We hit a "learning plateau" and seem to stay the same.
If you are feeling frustrated about the pace of your improvement, there are two things you can d
1) First, consider keeping an English diary. This can be a written diary, in a book or on a computer. Or this can be an oral diary, where you record your thoughts on tape. Your diary entries can be brief or long, but you should always try to communicate your thoughts and feelings as well as you can. As time passes, you can look pack at what you have written, and see the progress you have made.
2) Second, give yourself assignments in a new "domain." For example, if you usually read general English texts, set yourself reading assignments in a specific topic, for example French movies, Japanese kendo, the history of the telephone--- read two or three articles on the same topic. When you first read these, you will discover many new ideas and vocabulary words, but don't spend too much time looking up the meaning in the dictionary. Not at first. Try to guess the meaning based on the context. Later, you can look up words in a dictionary, and try to understand their usage.
By "exploring" these new domains you will find that you are highly motivated. And you will find that your oral English will also improve-- as your "English world" expands.
Q: On the TV program 揝urprise Wedding,?the wife often says that her husband is her 揵est friend.?What does this mean?
A: Most Chinese learners of English naturally think of social relationships in the Chinese way: Relationships with parents, relationships with cousins (and traditionally sisters and brothers), relationships with teachers and other members of the "older generation," etc.
Asians, including Chinese, also think of a special relationship for "friends" and for "classmates." One thing I have noticed is that often these "relationship categories" are mutually exclusive-- in other words, if the label you use for Wang Guoqiang is "classmate," then you won't call him your "friend."
In the West, these categories can overlap. So that I would call my very close classmate from college my "friend." If I were introducing her to someone, I might say, "This is my old friend, Elene. She was my classmate in graduate school."
Similarly, in the West, it is not uncommon for a wife (of any age-- from 20 to 90 years old) to say about her husband something like: "Michael is my best friend." Or to have a husband say the same thing about his wife. In the United States, this is considered a very sincere way of saying that you have a warm relationship with your spouse. By saying that the spouse is the "best friend," you are saying that you would rather spend time with that person than with any other person.
Chinese people are often shocked the first time they hear this English usage for a spouse. Once I was at a party with Chinese and Americans, in the United States. An American man said that the woman he was with (=his wife) was "his best friend." Later, the Chinese man who was listening asked me privately if the woman was the man's mistress. I had to laugh. I explained to him that the lady was his wife, and that he was being very sweet to say something like that. Believe me, it's high praise in the West for someone to say that. But the incident emphasized to me how these categories for "relationships" in East and West differ. 中国人都说?#32769;夫老妻?#12290;。。
Q: How can I improve my performance on an impromptu speech, especially when time is limited?
A: Some people are brilliant at making impromptu speeches. It doesn't matter what language they are speaking-- Chinese or English. They seem to be able to "think on their feet" and make remarks that are both substantive and witty.
I must confess that I am not one of those naturally-born speech makers. But there are some strategies that those of us who aren't "born orators" can use:
1) Even in public, it is possible to think and talk at the same time. You have to train yourself to think and talk in a very linear manner; in other words, you say one sentence. Pause. Smile. Then in the pause, quickly think of what you will say next.
2) One trick I use in my extemporaneous remarks is to limit my remarks to 3 main points. Many times, I have zero time to prepare-- not even 5 minutes.
So, for example, if a TV reporter suddenly asked me, "Susan, what do you think about the 2005 Oscar Academy Awards?and I had not prepared, I would first say something positive or neutral to begin with. For example, "This year's Academy Awards are particularly interesting." Then I would say, "There are 3 aspects, really, that I think merit discussion." Then I would quickly try and think of point one, just one point. I would say, "First, it's important to understand that there is more competition than usual this year, so that the competition is very rigorous." Pause. Then quickly think of point 2. "Second, I think it's safe to say that because Ray Charles passed away last year, that the Academy will vote for the movie "Ray" over others, simply to commemorate him." Pause, pause. Smile, smile. Then quickly think of a third point. And the third point has to be funny or witty or important.
"Finally, I think that, like many other competitions, it's important to remember that the films that were nominated were the favorites of the Hollywood crowd-- their political and social preferences. Thus the films that were nominated don't necessarily represent the best artistic values or the best social values. But certainly they are all excellent films, especially in terms of their technical performance."
Are these the points I would have made if I had time to prepare? Probably not. But it doesn't matter. In impromptu speeches, you just need to keep talking, smiling, and tie your points together.
3) For a speech competition, you are usually given 5 or more minutes to prepare. Any extra time you get makes the speaking task a little easier. You can think about your points in advance. In this situation, your challenge is mainly to find an interesting way to link your points together. That is also a matter of practice and poise.
Watch how people talk and what they say on TV when they are interviewed. How they link thoughts together. Who sounds coherent, who sounds silly. You can learn a lot about impromptu communication, pros and cons, from media figures.
4) Finally, when speaking in a second language in any public forum, it's best to keep your sentences simple. Don't force yourself to use fancy proverbs or search for intellectual allusions. Pretend that you are talking to a friend, not to 5 judges and 500 students. Keep it simple, cite examples that have personal meaning, and speak from the heart.
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发表于 2005-2-19 21:33:00
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