鄧永鏘（DavidTang）
中國會、上海灘創辦人
Inmylastcolumn,Ipromisedtoofferafewhintsfrommyexperienceonhowtolearnandimproveone'sEnglish.
1.Asoftenaspossible,engageinEnglish,ifnotinspeech,thenatleastinthought.Thereisnoshort-cuttobecomingfluentunlessonepractises.English,likeotherlanguages,isnotlearnedintheclassroom,butoutsideofit.
2.ReadinginEnglishisperhapsthemosteffectivewayoflearning.Likeplayingthepianoortennis,theprocessissubliminal.Themorepracticethereis,themoreautomaticourbrainreacts.Inaddition,Englishisaveryidiomaticlanguage,andthemoreonereads,themoreconversantonebecomeswithidiomsandthecontextsinwhichtheyareused.
3.Whenreading,choosecarefully.Alwaystrytofinishabook,andwhenreadingthrough,avoidusingthedictionaryandlookingupeachwordthatonedoesn'tunderstand.Tryreadingshortstoriesorshortnovels.RoaldDahlIhavealwaysfoundtobeveryuseful.Hewrotemanyshortstories("TalesoftheUnexpected"),andhisEnglishisfluentandtheplotshighlyamusingandinteresting.Evenhischildrenstories,forwhichheismostfamous,areeminentlyreadablebyadults.Hismostfamousone"CharlieandtheChocolateFactory"ItranslatedintoChinesewhenteachingatPekingUniversityinl984.Forothers,SomersetMaughamwrotesomefineshortstories.V.S.Naipul,whowontheNobelPrizerecently,alsowrotesomefairlyshortpieces("InaFreeState"),andhisEnglishproseismostelegant.NotsograndiosewouldbelikesofAgathaChristieandthelessfashionableNevilleShute.Theformerwrotemarvellousdetectivestorieswhichoffertheincentivesofmakingonereadtotheendtofindouttheculprit.(Anymysteriesinvolvingherfamousdetective,HerculePoirot,isoneIwouldstronglyrecommend.)ForShute,try"OntheBeach".IthinkGregoryPeckstarredinafilmversion.It'sratherpoignant.ButnooneshouldevenmissAustin'sPrideandPrejudice,andScottFitzgerald'sTheGreatGatsby.Bothofthesearemasterpiecesandneithertoolong.Forpoetry,tryRupertBrooke,andofcourseasmuchShakespeareaspossible.Thelatter'ssonnets(justl4lines)areatreasure.
4.IfyoucannotfindsomeonetoconversewithinEnglish,thenatleastreadoutloudinEnglish.WenativeChinesespeakersneedtousedifferentmusclesinourjawswhenutteringChineseandEnglish.Awonderfulwayofpractisingistomemorizepoetryaloud.
5.Don'tworryaboutaccentatall.Onthecontrary,itisquitequainttospeakEnglishwithaChineseaccent.Ifyoucannotgetaccentsorinflexionsright,thendon'tbother.It'snotworththetimetolearntospeakinprecisenativesounds.Indeed,it'sawfulwhenonehasacontrivedaccent.It'sridiculousforpeople,especiallythemiddleclassofHongKong,tothinkotherwise.
6.Don'tlearnbybits,especiallywithindividualwordsandphrases.Learningalanguageisnotsomuchaboutmeaningasuse.It'salmostpointlessknowingthemeaningsofhundredsofwordsandphrasesandyetnotknowhowtheyareused.
ForanyonewhoisinterestedinHongKong'sonlyfreeEnglishLanguageCentrewhichIsetupsomeseveralyearsago,contactC.E.L.L.(*seebelow).ItisafinecentreofEnglishlearning.IthasafineEnglishpedigree.PrinceCharlesopeneditonthelastdayofcolonialruleon30thJuneinl997,andafterthat,bothLadyThatcherandChrisPattenhavevisiteditandgivenspeechesat.Inbetween,tensofthousandsofstudentshavebenefitedfromourteaching(thankslargelytoSwireswhoarenowourprincipalsponsors),anditisalmostanunsungheroinHongKong.ButnogovernmentbodyoranyfundingbodiesconcernedwithEnglishpayanyattentiontoit.IhavetriedgettinggrantsfromtheEnglishLanguageFundseveraltimes.Noneofthemhaseverbotheredtocometoseewhatwearetryingtodo,stilllessgiveusanymoneytoopenmoresimilarcentres.WhatashamethatsuchawonderfulfreebieshouldbeignoredinthefaceofpitifulEnglishstandardinHongKong.
*C.E.L.L.(CommunityEnglishLanguageLab):ShopP20-2l,LoongShanMansion,TaiKooShing(Tel:2872-6808).