English drilling kills the fun

• Source: Global Times
• [23:08 February 02 2010]
• Comments

By Patrick Mattimore 
 
The other day I heard some Chinese school children greet the people collecting recyclables in our Haidian neighborhood: "Good Morning, how are you?" The kids asked in English. If hadn't seen they were Chinese, I would have thought they were Americans, since they had no trace of an accent.
 
In China, all students take English as one of their core subjects. To get into the best schools, children must do well in English exams, all the way through to high schools and universities. During this winter holiday period, training schools in Beijing are reporting that, along with math, the most requested subject is English.
 
Thousands of Beijing kids are striving to learn English during the holidays despite the fact that education authorities have requested that parents skip the extra courses and allow their children to relax.
 
America is beginning to return the favor. There are over five times as many Chinese programs in US schools as there were a decade ago.
 
In one sense, it's a good thing that America and China are swapping languages, a soft cultural diplomacy that can lead to better relations between the two countries. But sending city kids to vacation boot camps to learn English in preparation for exams is likely to have an unintended consequence – many students will end up disliking, rather than embracing English. A sure way to destroy a love for learning language and is to impose strict regimens upon kids with enforced grammatical drills, culminating in exam competitions.
 
If kids have to go to camps during vacation periods, at least they should be given the chance to do some fun things like learning how to cook hot dogs, playing baseball, or dancing to American music. Language instruction should be integrated into larger lessons about culture.
 
As a student, my parents forced me to attend a remedial French language course one summer. I resented it, and later dropped French as soon as it was no longer mandatory.
 
When I later lived in France, I studied French because it was something I wanted to learn, not something that was being shoved down my throat. Obviously, the best way to develop fluency in language is to study while living where the language is spoken. When that's not possible, the best way to help students understand a foreign language is to bring that country's culture to students at home.
 
Foreign language instruction should help us build bridges to one another's cultures. It should not be an obstacle course to a grade.