7/21/2005

ESL

ESL Glossary: Definitions of common ESL/EFL terms: ESL

ESL 原是指在英語系國家學習英語的外籍人士(英語不是母語的人),例如在美國學英語,在加拿大學英語等,是和 EFL 相反的,EFL (English as a foreign language)是指英語為學習者的外國語言,就像指我們這些在臺灣學英語的學習者。

ESL是English as a second language的縮寫,對在英語系國家學英語的外籍人士或移民來說,他們的first language當然是自己的母語,而英語即成為他們第二個使用的語言,不過有人提出說也有可能英語是他們第三個或第四個使用的語言。假如一個移民到倫敦的外籍人士,他爸是荷蘭人,講荷蘭語,媽媽是波蘭人,講波蘭話,當然對他來說,英語可能就不是第二個日常使用的語言。

如今 ESL 已用來泛指任何一位在學英語的外籍人士(英語不為母語者),不論其居住或學習環境。

EFL 常用於歐洲地區,而 ESL 則常用於北美和亞洲地區。



Review Question:
It's nice to be able to offer your guests a liqueur you've made yourself. On top of that, you've saved money.

片語"on top of that"為何意?

7/18/2005

[Taiwan News]Typhoon Haitang lashes Taiwan





[CNN頭條]http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/07/18/typhoon.haitang/

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan's central weather bureau has urged residents to take precautions against strong winds and heavy rainfall as one of the strongest typhoons to hit the island in five years began lashing its northeast coast.


(1)Taiwan's central weather bureau has urged residents to take precautions against strong winds and heavy rainfall.
Taiwan's central weather bureau 臺灣中央氣象局
urge residents to 催促居民要…
take precautions against 對…做預防措施
strong winds and heavy rainfall 強風和豪雨

(2)One of the strongest typhoons to hit the island in five years began lashing its northest coast.
one of the strongest typhoons 強烈颱風之一
hit the island 襲擊該島
began lashing its (it指臺灣) northest coast 開始猛烈衝擊其東北海岸




[ABC News Online澳洲廣播網]

Winds of up to 184 kilometres an hour and gusts of 227 km/h have lashed the coast, while the powerful storm has dumped nearly one metre of rain on mountainous areas in the north-east, prompting the Taiwanese Government to warn of potentially deadly landslides and flash floods.
...............
................
................
"There were strong gusts of wind every five or six minutes, forcing me to stop my scooter when I was riding to work this morning," said David Lin, a security guard for an office building in Taipei.
................................
................................
"Every time I heard a loud noise, I was afraid I would be hit by debris."

Taiwan's disaster recovery centre says there have been no casualties so far, though some people have suffered minor injuries from being blown off roofs and motorcycles.

Officials say about 38,000 homes are without power.

-Reuters


http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200507/s1416697.htm




Review Question:
"behind the wheel"是什麼意思呢?

7/13/2005

Time expressions。英文時間表達方式



英文的時間表達方式著實複雜了些,網路翻譯家文法問題與解答第四篇第一集裡,有人問到有關時間表達的問題(8:15分如何講才正確),而在BBC Learning English,也有人問到時間表達方式的問題(為何不能在half前加a,而可在quater前加a)。

BBC Learning English的這個答案,網路翻譯家也解釋的很清楚。基本上,兩個解說的內容一致相同,同樣講到minute的用法、quater、half、英美介系詞的不同等。

理解之後,來做一做BBC給的小測驗吧。



Review Question

「你大學讀幾年級?」英文怎麼表達?

English Church accepts women bishops


Easier:

Before/when/after listening,you can go to this website to do some activities, such as TRUE / FALSE, SYNONYM MATCH, PHRASE MATCH, and more.

Listen to the easier lesson, click here.





Harder:

Before/when/after listening,you can go to this website to do some activities, such as TRUE / FALSE, SYNONYM MATCH, PHRASE MATCH, and more.

Listen to the harder lesson, click here.


From Breaking English News.com


Review Question

What does "word of mouth" mean?

7/11/2005

中式英文常見錯誤

這篇是第一次提及English Daily網站,除了conversation之外,還有:Common mistakes in English, TOEFL vocabulary, learn American idioms, ancient Chinese stories, English grammar, high school vocabulary, proverbs for daily conversation, learn American slang expressions, movie reviews, movie lines, common sentences used by native speakers, glossary of correct usage, questions and answers, songs, words differentiation, advertisements, common errors等,多不勝收的英文知識。

本週的焦點英文學習網站就是它吧。

Common mistakes in English裡面有針對中式英文做修正,目前有二十幾頁,全部看完其實不會花很多時間,而且收穫頗豐,若將正確的句子大聲唸出來個幾次,更讚。以下皆取自於該網頁1至4頁。


Chinese Style
Would you mind posting this letter for me ? Yes, certainly.
American Style
Would you mind mailing this letter for me ? Of course not. OR ( Not at all )


Chinese Style
It was still bright outside.
American Style
It was still light outside.


Chinese Style
Who cooked this salad ?
American Style
Who made this salad ?


Chinese Style
Different from me, she is proficient in English.
American Style
Unlike me, she is proficient in English.


Chinese Style
Don't step on the grass.
American Style
Keep off the grass.


Chinese Style
I know his face.
American Style
I know him by sight.


Chinese Style
The sun rises from the East.
American Style
The sun rises in the East.


Chinese Style
The thief got in from the window.
American Style
The thief got in through the window.


Chinese Style
Let's begin from page 10.
American Style
Let's begin at ( on ) page 10.


Chinese Style
Give me money, if you have.
American Style
Give me money, if you have any.


Chinese Style
The head office is in Taipei.
American Style
The main office is in Taipei.


截至目前為止,已有超過一百個posts,從現在開始也來用個review question,讓我們來溫故知新。

Q:neither/either 這個字有兩個發音,是哪兩個?

7/08/2005

Mea culpa.我認錯~

大概在二年前,我常在我加入的yahoo group勤寫英文posts,裡面有兩到三個英語人士會糾正我們大家的英文。一位來自美國的德州人對我的其中之一的post給了一些要改正的地方,我發現有一個地方有錯後,回覆並告訴他,後來他再Re我的時候,劈頭就寫道:


Mea culpa. That's Latin for I'm guilty or I'm to blame.


對我而言,看文章不一定會把一些生字過目不忘,然而,只要讀別人寫的信和郵件之類的,通常我是更容易學到東西呢。學語言,還是實用好。


以下是來自ESL Monkeys本週的English Lesson裡選出的幾則新聞之一

將游標移至綠色字體可得其中文的字義。網頁裡的任何英文單字按兩下,皆可連至『the free dictionary』,取得英文字義和聽該單字的發音。

The good thief

Berlin — A remorseful thief sent $600 (23,400 baht) worth of stolen goods to the police and asked they be returned to their rightful owners, German authorities said on Thursday.

Police in the southern town of Darmstadt said the thief sent them a letter signed " mea culpa ", listing the return address as Ehrlichstrasse (Honest street) in apologising for the theft of $608 worth of CDs, cosmetics and other goods. A police spokesman said the contrite perpetrator had supplied the addresses of the shops plundered and enclosed personal letters of apology to the respective managers. — Reuters

>Remorseful/contrite: feeling very sorry for something bad that you have done
>mea culpa: a formal admission that you have done something wrong
>perpetrator: a person who does something wrong or evil
>plunder: to steal

mea culpa聽發音!

Ilha Formosa 美麗島



剛才到The free dictionary要查一個字時,看到他們今日文章(Artcile of the day)講到的是介紹臺灣獨立的歷史和一些林林總總很多的事情。想了解的人,可以上去看看。

我們都知道福爾摩莎(Formosa)指的是台灣,意為美麗的島嶼,但其實原意的葡萄牙語是指「美麗的」的意思。葡萄牙人當初看到臺灣時就說「La Ilha Formosa」,但有人說其實他們只要在海上看到漂亮的島嶼都會大喊「La Ilha Formosa」,ilha才是island的意思,所以ilha formosa是美麗的島嶼。la為冠詞,that的意思。

7/07/2005

英文水準低 究竟誰之過

據104教育資訊網與ETS (Educational Test Service美國教育測驗服務社)報告,台灣大學生乃至英文系及應用英文系學生的英文程度甚差,在亞洲甚至不及韓國。另一項學界研究調查亦發現,台灣大學生非外語系的多益TOIC成績平均僅三百九十七點零一,英語科系者亦只有四百九十二點三九分,與企業需求之五百八十分有極大差距。台灣近十年孩童學英文風氣甚盛,英文水準理應提升,但卻不見績效,淪落至此地步,補習班、家長、學生、老師、社會均難辭其咎,而輕中文更是一大錯。

補習班:急功近利、淺碟經營。只應家長及市場需求,不顧孩童吸收能力;不打基礎,重會話、背單字;填鴨教育,只教考試方法及答卷;教材商業掛帥,捨適孩童之專業書而就老師好用、好賣之教本。

以貌取師禍害學生

家長:以貌取人、立竿見影。要求教師是白種人、年輕,最好還是金髮碧眼,因為「白種人的英語一定道地,而年輕才會教、才教得動」。若無白種人,只好退而求其次,找華裔不會說中文者,再下者為中籍,完全未考量對方學、經歷。又求好心切,要速見成效,希望看到子弟能馬上講英文,最後只是英文單字交差。基礎打不好,後患遺終身,完全反映到聽說讀寫的語文能力測驗結果。

教師:非專業、流動大。台灣之外國人多觀光客,少技術人才,學中文者屈指可數,有專業能教英文者更是鳳毛麟角,但想體驗異國生活又知台灣靠「臉」吃飯錢好賺,就到補習班「打工」,只是無法也不願久居,於是常換人而影響教學品質。此外,既是過客,又以賺錢為目的,自不願費時備課,省下的時間還能至他處或私人授「講話」課。白臉人或ABC說英語但非專業,黃膚者主修英文但會話不成。

學生:受逼、學習不快樂。語言是種習慣,不能當學問來研究,否則會讓人失去興趣。學生補習全為家長所逼,上課要背單字,回家又受父母「考」問,原本的歡喜學習反倒成了痛苦負擔,完全喪失童年歡樂。再者,只對白臉老師以單字回答,黃膚老師則只願講中文,因循苟且文法、會話兩缺,成效有限。

環境:欠英語環境、缺合格外師。在台灣,一般人學英文只能靠上課或教科書,下了課則因少外籍人士對談練習機會,錯誤未能遭及時糾正而永遠錯下去;日常生活亦用不到英文,日久生疏,必然忘光。也有英文教師空有學位但能力不足,更有不敬業或鄉愿者,不嚴格把關。此外,學生不願苦讀及校方態度不夠積極亦是阻力。有學生入學前因在國外旅遊大受激勵,返台立即報考應外系,但發現本地用英文機會不多也就怠惰下來。校內則有他系主管說英文雖重要,但不必加強,到了工地台語最重要。而《蘋果》電腦語音民調則顯示,四百名受訪民眾有四成四說工作會接觸英文,亦即表示六成六用不到英文,所以大環境遠比不上菲律賓、新加坡和香港。

母語不行影響思維

中文:母語不行推理差。語言學家霍爾夫(Benjamin Whorf)說,語言影響思維模式。生活中演繹或歸納過程都靠語言執行,所以語言即思想。文字與思想實為一體之兩面,而母語能加強邏輯推理與思維組織能力。中文不扎實,就無法分析推理及批判思考,因此要轉換成英文也只能在字面打轉,其他科目更是霧裡看花。我教英文,但若無中文底子,恐也是言不及義,行文不遠。

據研究,小學教英語的效果很差,對將來完全沒幫助,而ETS十五個國家十種職務的英語測試成績則顯示,台灣客服、管理、作業員及技師的能力低於國際標準,換言之,即表示國家競爭力不足。菲為天主教國,星、港為國際大城,自以英文為主,無可厚非,唯排第三名的卻有共產國家北韓及悍將南韓,台灣為政者是否該重新檢討心態及政策了。



潘穎薇
作者為雲林科技大學英文副教授


英文程度下滑 輸北韓 亞洲排第8

社會新鮮人英文程度 只聽懂How are you?

大學生英文好壞差距大 有人背不全26字母

大學生英文僅夠看菜單
1分鐘自我介紹 10有7人不過關


我英語能力四小龍墊底

7/04/2005

I'll sleep on it.


一天學一個單字和成語(俚語)方法當然有很多,其中之一就是每天來「我在學英文,首頁左下角類似聯播的「每日更新 Reading/Listening/Watching/Learning」有ESL Monkeys每日一字/一詞每日成語/俚語,以下要分享的詞語就是今天和過去幾天的Daily Word/Phrase/Idiom/Slang -English Learning- ESL Monkeys


The best advice is found on the pillow

The best advice is found on the pillow: If someone says, "The best advice is found on the pillow," he/she means that it might not be good to worry about your problem now. You may be able to solve the problem after a good night's sleep. People often say "I'll sleep on it" to express the same idea.

Ex.
I don't think we can come up with any more answers tonight because we're all tired. Let's sleep on it. The best advice is found on the pillow.

Don't worry about it too much today. Go to bed now. The best advice is found on the pillow.



well up

well up: when a liquid comes to the surface quickly.

When she heard the bad news, tears welled up in her eyes.

There was a pool where the water was welling up from an underground water source.

This phrasal verb can't be separated.
[V+ADV]


tap in

tap in: to press a series of keys in order to give information to a machine.

He went to the ATM, put his card in, and tapped in his PIN.

It's so easy to tap in a SMS on my new Motorola mobile phone! I love it!

This phrasal verb can be separated.

[V+ADV+N, V+N+ADV, V+PRON+ADV]

Expressions in English about dancing

這篇一樣,這個也是english-at-home寄的newsletter裡的quiz。

There are a lot of expressions in English about dancing. Choose the correct word from list A to complete the phrase in list B.
英文裡有很多和跳舞有關的措詞,從表A選出正確的字套入表B的------裡。


表A
cheek
have
floor
night
shoes
slow
song
stuff
two
waltz

表B
a ------- dance
burn up the dance -------
dance the ------- away
dance ------- to cheek
------- a boogie
it takes ------- to tango
make a ------- and dance about something
put on your dancing -------
strut your -------
------- off


Answers to the quiz (請把空白的地方反白看答案)

a slow dance = a romantic dance to slow music, so you can dance slowly with your partner. Traditionally, discos end with a slow dance: "I hate slow dances because I never have a partner!"

burn up the dance floor = to dance so well and energetically that people notice you: "John Travolta really burnt up the dance floor in Saturday Night Fever."

dance the night away = to dance all night long: "They danced the night away at the wedding."

dance cheek to cheek = have a slow, romantic dance where you put your face next to your partner's: "The happy couple danced cheek to cheek."

have a boogie = informal way of saying "have a dance": "Do you fancy a boogie at the weekend?"

it takes two to tango = expression meaning that it takes two people to do something: "Don't blame me for the mix-up. It takes two to tango, you know!"

make a song and dance about something = expression meaning that you make a big, often unnecessary fuss over something: "He made a real song and dance about choosing where to go for a day out. It's only a day, after all!"

put on your dancing shoes = to get ready to go dancing: "Come on! Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to boogie!"

strut your stuff = dance in a way that shows you to be a good dancer: "He just loves strutting his stuff down the disco!"

waltz off = to walk off somewhere as if you don't care: "When she accused him of not caring about her, he just waltzed off and left her in tears. He's completely heartless."

7/02/2005

[MSNBC / Health] 五彩繽紛的彩色米

可先讀中文有個概念,再來看這一則。

將游標移至綠色字體可得其中文的字義。網頁裡的任何英文單字按兩下,皆可連至『the free dictionary』,取得英文字義和聽該單字的發音。


我覺得除非有些句子結構上和用法真的難懂之外,新聞和一般文章勤勞一點查單字就會懂了,基本上是說不要急著查單字,後來真猜不出來再查。別說英文不好,單字查一查再套進去,整句話的意思總猜得到六七成了吧。


Researchers make colorful rice
Colors come from healthy foods — not dyes

The Associated Press
Updated: 9:06 p.m. ET June 29, 2005


TAIPEI, Taiwan - With Taiwanese youngsters increasingly drawn to Western hamburgers and fries, government researchers are trying to lure them back with something more traditional — sort of: rainbow-colored rice.

The ancient Asian staple will soon be available here in pink, green, yellow and purple, each with its own nutritional boost, said scientist Lo Tze-yen of the Hualien Agricultural Improvement Station in eastern Taiwan.

The colors come from healthful foods — not dyes — Lo said.

"It's killing two birds with one stone; you eat the rice, plus fruits and vegetables," he said.

Yellow rice gets its hue from curcumin, an herb that's a spice in curries and is believed by some to be an antioxidant that may help prevent cancer.

Green rice comes from the nutritious bitter gourd, often used in Asian soups and stir-fried dishes. Pink comes from tomato, and purple from a mixture of vegetables.

"We hope to develop up to 14 colors so people can have a different color of rice every day for two weeks," Lo said.

The Taiwanese government's council of Agriculture started trying to develop the product a year ago, noting that many children on this wealthy, industrialized island prefer Western fast food to a bowl of rice.

The colored rice is expected to be in stores by the middle of next year, and will likely cost about twice as much as plain rice, Lo said.