鄧永鏘（DavidTang）中國會、上海灘創辦人
Badteachersmaketheirsubjectsboring.Goodteachersmaketheirsgripping.ForEnglishteachinginHongKong,goodonesarefarandfewbetween;badones,sadly,inabundance.Howcanyouexpectsomeonetolearntospeakfluentlyiftheyweretaughtonlymeaningsofwordsandphrases?YetthisisoftenhowEnglishistaughthere.Icanlearnanewwordorphraseaday,and,theoretically,Iwouldlearn365newnounsorphrasesayear.ButwouldIrememberthem?Muchmoretothepoint,wouldIknowhowtousethem?Theanswerisno!Learningalanguageisnotaboutthemeaningofwords,buttheUSEofwords.That'spreciselyhowchildrenlearntospeak.Theyhearwordsusedincontextandrelatetotheusesofwords.Theydon'tcarryonpointingatateatandcry"teat".Theymightdosoinitially,butparentswouldbealarmedifthatisalltheywoulddo.Babiessoonsay,"Iwantmyteat".Thepointisthatyoucan'tteachpredicatesbypointing!
It'sthesamewith,say,learningthepiano.Iusedtothink,wishfully,thatifIlearnedjust2barsadayofRachmaninoff'sThirdPianoConcerto,theninaboutayear,Iwouldbeabletoplaytheentirepiece.Isoonfoundoutitdidn'tworklikethat.UnlessIknewhowtoSTRINGTOGETHERallthebars,Iwouldneverlearntheconcerto.Istillcan'tplaythedamnthing!
Itissimilareveninsports.Ifyouwanttobegoodintennis,youdon'tlearnyourstrokesfromjusttheoryandsingleshotpractices.Youlearntheminarealgame,fromgameaftergame-spontaneously,subliminallyandimmediately.Languageislikethat.
Soremember:USE,USEandUSE.Youneedtousethelanguagetolearnthelanguage.Reading,speaking,talking,writing,arguing,swearing-anywayinwhichyoucanusethelanguage.WhenItaughtEnglishatPekingUniversity,ImademystudentswritetomembersoftheRoyalFamilyinBritain-becauseIknewallofthemwillberepliedto.Asitturnedout,eachofthestudentsgotareplyback,onstiffandgrandlyembossedPalacenotepaper.Okay,theydidn'tcomefromtheQueenherselforPrincePhilip,buttheirprivatesecretarieswrotebackanditwasfuntogetareplyfrompeopleyouwroteto.Youfeltasenseofsatisfaction-thesatisfactionofhavingusedthelanguage.
IalsoaskedmystudentstotelephonenativespeakersofEnglishbecauseinatelephoneconversation,itispointlesstryingtouseyourhandstohelpexpressyourself.Yousoonrealizedyouhadtousewordsalone.Andthat'sgoodpractice.
MysuggestionisthatweshouldtryusingEnglishinafunway.Bringitalive.Makeourselveslaugh.It'smucheasiertorememberajokeorsomethingwittyorhumorous.
Forme,thefunnestwayoflearningEnglishisbywayofhumour.Iwanttolaughandenjoymyselfwhenlearningsomething.IwanttoseehowEnglishwordsbecomewittyandwhentheyarefun.YoucandothisbyreadingP.G.Wodehouse.Wodehouseisagreatheroofmine.IammemberoftheP.G.WodehouseSociety.Iadorehiswritings.HewasaclerkattheHongkongandShanghaiBank.LordknowshowhebecameoneofthegreatestEnglishwritersofhumour.Onadesertisland,ifIweretobeallowedonlyoneauthor,IwouldchooseWodehouse.Thoseofyouwhodonotknowhisworldmuststartimmediately."RightHo,Jeeves"wouldbeagoodonetostart.YouwillmeetBertieWoosterandhisunflappablebutler,Jeeves;youwillmeetthenewt-lovingteetotaller,GussieFink-Nottle,andaconstellationofotherlaughablecharacters.
TheonlytimeImightnotmindsomeonelearningsinglewordsorphrasesiswhenit'sfun:forexamplewithwordacrobaticssuchaspalindromes.Apalindromeisawordorphrasethatreadsthesamebackwardsasforwards."Rotor"isapalindrome.FamousonesincludewhatNapoleonwassupposedtohavesaid:"AblewasIereIsawElba".(Mindyou,IratherthinkhespokeinFrench!).Or"Aman,aplan,acanal-Panama!".OrintheGardenofEden,thefirstmanmighthavesaidtothefirstwoman:"Madam,I'mAdam".ButIlikebesttheonewhichImightuseinarestaurant:"Wonton,notnow!"