Dumb ESL Assignments

[Richard & Li]

My wife came home today and showed me an in-class reading assignment taken from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

 

In case you haven't read it: This was written about 200 years ago. The English is very antiquated and sentences are structured quite differently than we are used to in modern English.

 

She was, expectedly, quite confused and frustrated that she could not understand the text well enough to answer questions about it. (I had to read it three times before I could answer the questions.)

 

The only thing that came into my mind was: WHAT was the teacher thinking??? Her students are trying to become conversant - not trying to get a degree in English Lit.

 

Next they will probably be learning Shakespeare, when what they really need is to speak well enough to function in everyday life.

[A Mafan]

My wife came home today and showed me an in-class reading assignment taken from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

 

In case you haven't read it: This was written about 200 years ago. The English is very antiquated and sentences are structured quite differently than we are used to in modern English.

 

She was, expectedly, quite confused and frustrated that she could not understand the text well enough to answer questions about it. (I had to read it three times before I could answer the questions.)

 

The only thing that came into my mind was: WHAT was the teacher thinking??? Her students are trying to become conversant - not trying to get a degree in English Lit.

 

Next they will probably be learning Shakespeare, when what they really need is to speak well enough to function in everyday life.

That is pretty stupid.

I'm excellent in Chinese, and I feel stupid and frustrated every time I try to read one of the Four Great Chinese Novels.

 

I'm thoroughly convinced that pre-teen books are the level they should be shooting for in teaching ESL, or in teaching Chinese.

 

If you can read and understand pretty much all the words in a pre-teen book (like Goosebumps, or Judy Blume), you are functionally fluent in that language.

 

Edited to correct mis-spelling

Edited September 9, 2009 by A Mafan (see edit history)

[chengdu4me]

Either this is a very advanced ESL course or the teacher was confused about what class she was teaching.

 

Just for fun, it might be interesting to see the look on the teachers face if your wife asks her to read and paraphrase the writing in one of Four Great Chinese Novels. I have no idea what they are, but I would guess they are on the same level of literacy as Jane Austin. A Mafan is right in that ESL course are usually taught at a elementary, pre-teen level. This actually covers a lot of words and a lot of phrases that you use everyday...and that is supposed to be the point of ESL.

[lostinblue]

How about make a list of all the "old " english words she does not understand and ask the teacher to review them for the class.

[weiaijiayou]

My wife came home today and showed me an in-class reading assignment taken from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

 

In case you haven't read it: This was written about 200 years ago. The English is very antiquated and sentences are structured quite differently than we are used to in modern English.

 

She was, expectedly, quite confused and frustrated that she could not understand the text well enough to answer questions about it. (I had to read it three times before I could answer the questions.)

 

The only thing that came into my mind was: WHAT was the teacher thinking??? Her students are trying to become conversant - not trying to get a degree in English Lit.

 

Next they will probably be learning Shakespeare, when what they really need is to speak well enough to function in everyday life.

my wife also just started ESL classes. hers seem pretty useful so far, but she has been "cheating" a little. for one exercise they were supposed to scan a menu from "panera bread" and then make inferences in order to answer a bunch of questions about it. instead she went to the local panera bread and asked them the questions

[Batmaniac]

What if it was this version of Pride And Prejudice? That might really confuse some of our wives!

 

http://theotheradamford.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/ppz.jpg

 

This fall, Ying placed out of most of the ESL classes and is in two advanced classes. Their lit book is basically a smaller version of my High School Junior Year Lit Book with stories by Edgar Allen Poe, Eudora Welty and others. There is also a supplemental lit book with short stories by immigrant American writers like Amy Tan. She is also responsible for writing journals on the stories. Pride and Prejudice would be a bit much. I remember hating all that type of stuff in HS. Tess of the D'urbervilles especially . . .

 

"Don't ever take any class that makes you read Beowulf!" - Woody Allen in Annie Hall

[Stepbrow]

As an ESL teacher, I totally agree that this was a bad assignment. You should talk with the teacher about this. She needs to know.

[David&Wendy]

Antiquated English? LOL

I know many Americans with English as a first language who would run away from reading books written by Jane Austen, Shakespeare and the rest of the books from high school and college.

 

I would ask the teacher why this is even part of a ESL class to learn to speak American English.

[Jaseball]

That really makes no sense and the teacher really should know better. I believe we were assigned that book in sophomore high school English.

 

 

Note: This was my 200'th post and just noticed I'm a sophomore member now. Quite coincidental, considering my 200'th post was the above comment.

Edited September 10, 2009 by Jaseball (see edit history)

[Richard & Li]

The repercussions of this are snowballing...

 

Now, she wants to quit ESL. This led her to think, since she won't be going to school, she can make more money than she gets working a few hours in the evenings. She wants to quit an ideal job (my opinion - her hours at work fit perfectly into our schedule, the job is easy, and she must speak English there) and take a job working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, with other Chinese women (no English spoken there). So, I think she would eventually forget most of what she's learned about English.

 

BTW: We don't need the extra money: There is no reason for her to work at all, except that she wants to. Additionally, for the probable loss of her progress in English and the amount of time she would be away from home: I don't want the extra money.

 

Talk to this teacher? Other husbands I know and some of the students have tried to talk to her and the program administrators; unsuccessfully. I think this teacher is more interested in demonstrating how smart she is than in providing quality instruction.

 

I'm going to try and get my wife enrolled at a different school.

 

Right now, I could post in the "I would love to kick the Living SH*T out of ..." thread.

[chengdu4me]

Note to self...do not try to teach the Chinese kids to say..."Where for art thou my car keys? Doth I beseech thee! Let me thine eyes for a proper quest!"

[Richard & Li]

Note to self...do not try to teach the Chinese kids to say..."Where for art thou my car keys? Doth I beseech thee! Let me thine eyes for a proper quest!"

 

Exactly!

[Jaseball]

Who knows. Perhaps the instructor knows the book and assignment are BS and is hoping for a large number of people to give up and quit. Less work for her.