Tutoring English to Chinese students -- need work materials recommendation(s)

Question

Hi folks,I'm not sure if this is the most appropriate group in which to ask this, but there seems to be a lot of traffic here so hopefully somebody can help. There is a Chinese woman at work that just fired her son's English tutor for being inept, and asked if I'd be willing to give it a try. Her son is 13 and has lived in the States since he was three, so he's fluent and conversational, yet has trouble with some of the finer aspects of grammar, usage, etc.

I have done and still do a great deal of teaching, but just not English up to this point. I am wondering if anybody can recommend a good book or two, or any work materials I could use to pull lessons/exercises from that would be appropriate for this student. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Nate

Usenet · Accepted Answer

Nate C. wrote on 22 Apr 2005:
[nq:1]Hi folks, I'm not sure if this is the most appropriate group in which to ask this, but there seems to be a lot of traffic here so hopefully somebody can help. There is a Chinese woman at work that[/nq]
"who" if you expect to be able to help her son pass formal English tests like the English part of the SAT.
[nq:1]just fired her son's English tutor for being inept, and asked if I'd be willing to give it a try. ... etc. I have done and still do a great deal of teaching, but just not English up to this point.[/nq]
If you're not exceptionally well-informed about English grammar and do not love teaching grammar (I hate it because it seems useless except when trying to explain difficult TOEFL grammar questions to people preparing to take that test) and looking up grammatical "rules" in grammar books, then I'd avoid this assignment like the plague.
[nq:1]I am wondering if anybody can recommend a good book or two, or any work materials I could use to pull lessons/exercises from that would be appropriate for this student. Any help will be appreciated.[/nq]
Thirteen-year-olds are not, as a rule, terribly interested in the fine points of grammar, and certainly not any more interested than most adults. I don't blame them.
You might want to look at Micael Swan's Practical English Usage (Oxford University Press), Garner's "A Dictionary of Modern American Usage (Oxford), and Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage.

Also look at high school handbooks for writers.
Good luck.

Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor
For email, replace numbers with English alphabet.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Nate C. wrote on 22 Apr 2005:[/nq]
[nq:2]Hi folks, I'm not sure if this is the most ... can help. There is a Chinese woman at work that[/nq]
[nq:1]"who" if you expect to be able to help her son pass formal English tests like the English part of the SAT.[/nq]
"That" if you expect to be able to help her son speak proper TCE.

Usenet · Answer

Areff wrote on 22 Apr 2005:
[nq:2]Nate C. wrote on 22 Apr 2005: "who" if you ... formal English tests like the English part of the SAT.[/nq]
[nq:1]"That" if you expect to be able to help her son speak proper TCE.[/nq]
Yes, well Turgid Colloquial English is one of the major dialects spoken in many parts of the USA, it's true. Some people even dare to write it, but, to quote an apt line from a Diana Krall song(1), "only the fools know what it means".
Have you listened to very interesting accent, Areff? Some way out pronunciations.
(1) "Temptation" from the The Girl in the Other Room CD.

Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor
For email, replace numbers with English alphabet.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Nate C. wrote on 22 Apr 2005:[/nq]
[nq:2]Hi folks, I'm not sure if this is the most ... can help. There is a Chinese woman at work that[/nq]
[nq:1]"who" if you expect to be able to help her son pass formal English tests like the English part of the SAT.[/nq]
Like I said, I haven't done this before so my "proper" English is a probably a bit rusty. That's why I want to teach from a book, not from my own (obviously lacking) didactic knowledge of the rules.
[nq:2]just fired her son's English tutor for being inept, and ... of teaching, but just not English up to this point.[/nq]
[nq:1]If you're not exceptionally well-informed about English grammar and do not love teaching grammar (I hate it because it seems ... to take that test) and looking up grammatical "rules" in grammar books, then I'd avoid this assignment like the plague.[/nq]
He's a nice kid and I will be paid very well. Besides, as a neuroscientist, I've become accustomed to teaching pedantic minutiae.
[nq:1]You might want to look at Micael Swan's Practical English Usage (Oxford University Press), Garner's "A Dictionary of Modern American Usage (Oxford), and Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. Also look at high school handbooks for writers. Good luck.[/nq]
Thank you for the recommendations. I'll check into these.

Take care,
Nate

Usenet · Answer

Nate C. wrote on 23 Apr 2005:
[nq:2]Nate C. wrote on 22 Apr 2005: "who" if you ... formal English tests like the English part of the SAT.[/nq]
[nq:1]Like I said, I haven't done this before so my "proper" English is a probably a bit rusty.[/nq]
The irony here is that the so-called rule about "who" and "that" doesn't exist in reality. Both are used and both are correct. It's merely that one is preferred (it's a social value judgement and not based on the reality of English grammar) by pedants like me and the writers of SAT questions, and the other is what a great many (I have no idea what the percentage might be, though) well-educated native speakers of English write and say. I suspect that the pedantic minutiae of neuroscience are almost universally agreed upon by all competent neuroscientists.
[nq:1]That's why I want to teach from a book, not from my own (obviously lacking) didactic knowledge of the rules.[/nq]
[nq:2]If you're not exceptionally well-informed about English grammar and do ... grammar books, then I'd avoid this assignment like the plague.[/nq]
[nq:1]He's a nice kid and I will be paid very well.[/nq]
I'm sure you will. Far East Asian "education mamas" want only the best possible education for their men-children, and they are willing to pay through the nose for it if they can.
[nq:1]Besides, as a neuroscientist, I've become accustomed to teaching pedantic minutiae.[/nq]
As a medical editor, I understand that kind of pedantic minutiae. It's on the same level as the pedantic minutiae that computer programmers, medical clinicians, and medical basic scientists must operate if they are to get it right.
What I would worry about is having to tell the student that you have to look up the answers to his questions, and that some of the answers to his questions are simply "because that's the way we say/write it in English". I would have to do and say the same thing. As much as I love all the pedantic minutiae of English grammar, I don't spend much time studying it anymore except when I look for answers to some of the more pedantic questions people might ask here.

Your new employer might feel that saying "just because that's the way we say it in English" and not being able to provide an immediate and detailed explanation of why X is correct and W, Y, and Z are incorrect constitute ineptitude. Sometimes she will be right, of course, but other times she will be quite wrong. If she were able to distinguish between right and wrong here, she would teach her boy herself.
There are many ESL grammar texts out there. I don't use them these days, but I imagine that Azar's 3-volume set is still around and useful, as are a number of other good grammar texts and workbooks. You'll have to look at them yourself to see which seem most reasonable to use and teach. I think that's a personal preference.

The Internet can provide you with almost all the grammar rules you will need to know. There are countless grammar sites out there. But they, like grammar books, don't always agree on some of the minutiae.

Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor
For email, replace numbers with English alphabet.

Usenet · Answer

CyberCypher wrote in a message to Areff:
C> Yes, well Turgid Colloquial English is one of the major dialects C> spoken in many parts of the USA, it's true. Some people even dare to C> write it, but, to quote an apt line from a Diana Krall song(1), C> "only the fools know what it means".
Presumably Tumescent Colloquial English is one of the preliminary stages of the full-blown turgid variety.

Steve Hayes
WWW: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm E-mail: (Email Removed) - If it doesn't work, see webpage.

WtrGate v0.93.p9 Unreg
* Origin: Khanya BBS, Tshwane, South Africa (012) 333-0004 (8:7903/10)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]CyberCypher wrote in a message to Areff:[/nq]
[nq:2]Yes, well Turgid Colloquial English is one of the major ... Diana Krall song(1), "only the fools know what it means".[/nq]
[nq:1]Presumably Tumescent Colloquial English is one of the preliminary stages of the full-blown turgid variety.[/nq]
And presumably, Tumescent Colloquial English is abbreviated TCE...

No?
Maria "Tootsie" Conlon, a speaker of TootsE, I think, not TCE.

Usenet · Answer

Maria Conlon wrote in a message to (Email Removed):

MC> From: "Maria Conlon" (Email Removed)
[nq:1]CyberCypher wrote in a message to Areff:[/nq]
[nq:2]Yes, well Turgid Colloquial English is one of the major ... Diana Krall song(1), "only the fools know what it means".[/nq]
[nq:1]Presumably Tumescent Colloquial English is one of the preliminary stages of the full-blown turgid variety.[/nq]
MC> And presumably, Tumescent Colloquial English is abbreviated TCE...

I suppose so, and even in its fully turgid state as well.

Steve Hayes
WWW: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm E-mail: (Email Removed) - If it doesn't work, see webpage.

WtrGate v0.93.p9 Unreg
* Origin: Khanya BBS, Tshwane, South Africa (012) 333-0004 (8:7903/10)

Tutoring English to Chinese students -- need work materials recommendation(s)

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