Comments on: China: Has Crazy English gone crazy?

By: Shuanglin You

Shuanglin You — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:50:49 +0000

Dear all,

Who you are begins with what you do.

Show the scientific merit of the teaching/learning method. Show the core human value of treating the teacher/student as an agent in studying a foreign language.

English should be an effective/efficient educational tool open to every citizen, who are pursuing their individual/collective goals in the context of equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from globalization, in which China is an emerging major player.

Science and harmony are meant to help people address such issues.

What are the relevant scientific findings concerning pedagogy?

1. Cognition instead of behavior explains the nature of “language faculty” (or ability) since 1950s. Being in a state of non-rational is counterproductive in such a profound human endeavor.
2. One can only “blurt out single words” but “not sentences”, which have to be generated through “syntactic processes”.
3. Each and every person is born with a language faculty. Learning of a foreign language occurs only “internally, intentionally with the learner as the agent”. No amount of interactions and fun activities can replace the mechanisms occurring at the language/cognition, or language/mind interface. No amount of immersion (including intermarriage) can touch upon the innermost mechanism, the black-box if we teach without some scientific merit. Only a cognitive theory can directly re-shape the cognitive processes for an L-2 learner. Nothing else is critical to any science-based pedagogy (teaching method). Tinkering a teaching method about the trivial will lead the learners to nowhere. Immediate, long-term effects should be the goals for both the learner and the nation.

By: 被风吹走的内裤

被风吹走的内裤 — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 07:55:09 +0000

古人云可跪天地君亲师
但是李阳，他配吗，耳提面命方可为师，三千多个学生恐怕他连名字都叫不全。

By: Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:21:15 +0000

Mr Li has a large following. Every where I go as an English teacher in Zhongshan I hear students swearing by his method. My personal impression is that Mr Li is simply teaching by repetition as it seems all teachers do in China. He just does it louder. His use of sports slogans and other nowadays meaningless phrases promises to make fools of his disciples(sorry, I meant students)should they use them in the English speaking world. I will admit, however, that I am planning to try his technique on a couple extremely shy students. I’ll try anything to reach my students and if it works, well then, Thanks Mr Li!

By: Grant

Grant — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 09:28:30 +0000

I fear for the safety of all Christians in china now even more than before. With this sudden relaxation of the 50 years of persecution by appointing a Catholic Bishop, many Christians will feel it is their duty to stand for their beliefs. True as this is, they should be aware that this ploy by the present regine may be nothing more than an attempt to identify as many Christians as possible in order to irradicate a threat that would not go away. Their Faith is about to be tested to its reward

By: Kika St.L.

Kika St.L. — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 06:16:41 +0000

Most teachers miss the point that second to their families( maybe), they spend most of their time with students. This should pave the way for empathy and platonic love (a thing I, a teacher myself, am often tempted to call friendship). Those who require their frieds to kneel to them for appreciation to be recognised are asking nothing but worship_ which shouldn’t exist amongst friends. Teachers(humans) are not to be worshiped_ except perhaps Appreciation is a CRAZY euphemism for Worship.

By: Adam

Adam — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:00:09 +0000

I’ve met some Chinese gents who learnt English the Crazy English way, and it seemed to work well for them. So the method seems to be sound. However, success has brought Li Yang fame and influence, and he must be very careful not to misuse that.

By: Gina Wu

Gina Wu — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:45:54 +0000

People should only kneel to God not another person. Chinese has mixed the two for over thousands of years, from emperors to Mr. Li Yang. Mr. Li, as a new generation educator should at minimum understand the difference, and stop ruining kid’s life. Kneeling is not the way to showing respect, kneeling is submission to “Super Natural Power” only.

English is a language, with effort, anybody can get it. Mr. li is running a business for profit. He should tell his customers the truth, kneeling is a way of him doing the marketing for his business, rather then kneeling is for respecting teacher.

人应该只给神(如果你相信神的话)下跪,不给人下跪。中国人在过去的几千年，从皇帝到李阳先生，这个概念都是混淆的。李先生做为新一代的教育者应该最起码明白这个道理，停止残害下一代。

英语是一个语言工具，每个人通过努力均可以掌握。李先生是为了赚钱而做生意的，应该让你的客人知道真实的情况，“下跪”是李先生做市场促销的一种方式，而不时尊敬老师的方法。

By: kim

kim — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:10:09 +0000

One of Li Yangs slogans is, “Make the voice of China be heard widely throughout the world.” Looks like he is doing just that. This event is certainly being talked about and discussed in all corners. Maybe this is not what he meant, but…