Thai Blog
Learning English in New Zealand
Thursday, 18 December 2008
Sue Wilde teaches the advanced English-as-a-second-language course at Whitireia Community Polytechnic's Wellington campus. Her students joined her course for a variety of reasons, such as wanting to go to university, or they need English for their careers, "and some of them just do it for their self-confidence." Sue says.
(via Whitireia) Sue Wilde says at the beginning of the course, every student has a different level of speaking English and she tries to advance them individually.
"The students of the lowest level are able to have conversations in English when they join class, but they have to stop a few times and think about words or have to describe something," she says.
Her students not only want to learn English but also understand Kiwi jargon and they often ask for the meaning of a word or an expression.
"The other day, one of them asked: 'What does the word "wicked" mean?'
"I answered: 'Evil'. But then they said: 'Oh, but when these guys were talking about something and used that word, it sounded as if they liked it.'
"And then I explained that in another context, wicked is also some kind of slang for something you like."
Questions like that enrich the lessons. Often, a student asks a question and somebody else is able to answer, so Sue does not even have to explain words or expressions.
She wants her students, who all come from different cultures and countries, to enjoy learning English together: "We're having fun and we're studying what the students want to learn."
In the mornings, students have theoretical lessons in class where they talk about their plans for the afternoon. After lunch-break, Sue and her students leave the classroom to practise their English outside.
She points out that the media, especially TV and internet, have a huge impact on the learning process of immigrants from countries of other languages: "They are more exposed to English when they get here."
Although it may sometimes be difficult for the students to remember the vocabulary and the grammar, it helps that they hear native speakers every day.
Many more difficulties appear when people learn English in a multi-cultural melting pot where ethnicities and cultures from all over the world clash.
Journalism student William Liando learned English in the middle of Singapore where a mix of English and several Asian languages and dialects is spoken.
"The spoken English in Singapore is not very proper. You hear many different dialects, but you are not used to hearing proper English like you hear it in a native speaking-country like New Zealand."
He wants to improve his language skills here in New Zealand, where he is surrounded by native speakers.
"I want to prove that even as a non-native speaker I can still become a journalist who is reporting in English."
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