An Integrated English Course Book 3

An Integrated English Course Book 3

Unit NineOn Becoming a Better

Student (abridged)

Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives

• By the end of this unit, you are supposed to

• understand the main idea, structure of the text and the author’s writing style

• master the key language points and grammatical structures in the text

• use the new words and expressions in conversations and writings

Teaching ProcedureTeaching Procedure

Pre-reading QuestionsText I. On Becoming a Better

Student (abridged)● Passage● Structure analysis● Main idea of the passage● Language points ● sentence studies ● vocabulary studiesText II. The Art of Acknowledgement

Pre-readingPre-reading

1. As a student, what is your expectation of teachers? Do you expect them to be omniscient and omnipotent, or as human as you are?

2. What do you think are the personality traits of a fine student?

Text I. On Becoming a Better Student (abridged)Text I. On Becoming a Better Student (abridged)

As students we expect a great deal from our teachers. We expect them to be enthusiastic. We expect them reliable. We may even have expectations that they be endless repositories of skill and knowledge from which we may partake at will.

As a teacher I have come to feel weighted by these expectations and have begun to see that it is really not possible to teach. All the words and theories and techniques are of no use to students who have yet to open themselves with receptivity and to take it upon themselves to practice. So in a sense I have given up trying to “teach,” for I’ve come to believe that the greatest thing I can offer my students is to help them learn how to find themselves through their own investigation.

Many factors come together to make a fine student. Find someone you think is extraordinary, and you will find many, if not all, of the following qualities. People who learn a great deal in what seems like a very short time embody these qualities.

Curiosity Such people are tremendously curious. The whole world is of interest to learn, and they observe what others do not. Nobel Prize-winning physician Albert Szent –Gyorgyi put it well when he said, “Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.” With this curiosity comes an “investigative spirit;” the learning is not so much the acquisition of information as it is an investigation--- a questioning, a turning over of the object of study to see all sides and facets. It is not knowing in the sense of having a rigid opinion, but the ability to look again at another time, in a different light, as Szent-Gyorgyi suggests, and to form a new understanding based on the observation.

Discipline Any discipline---but especially those with great subtlety ans complexity, like yoga or t’ai chi---can be a lifelong pursuit. Persistence, consistency, and discipline are required. Without these, our learning is but froth without substance. There are no shortcuts. The fruits of these seemingly dry qualities (which we prefer to admire in others) is the satisfaction of having tasted the fullness of completion, or the thrill of meeting a difficult challenge with success. Perhaps, though, our culture is in need of redefining what it means to study. If we can look at our chosen discipline or craft as an ongoing process rather than as a discrete accomplishment, the potential for learning can be infinite. With this attitude we may find ourselves treating even the most

Mundane discovery with wide-eyed wonder and joy.Risk-taking Why is it, then, that so few people live up to their true potential? Beyond

the well-paved roads and secure structures we usually build for ourselves lie demons, unsure footing --- anf unfelt pleasures. To be a student is to take risks. Yet most education discourages people from venturing far enough to take risks. Yet most education discourages people from venturing far enough to take risks to make mistakes. “Children enter school as question marks and leave as periods,” observes educator Neil Postman. What kind of punctuation mark do you represent? Do you find yourself looking for tidy answers that give you a feeling of security? By learning to find the one right answer, we may have relinquished our ability to find other answers and solutions. We learn, then, not to put ourselves into situations where we might fail, because failure has tremendous social stigma. When we try different approaches and do things that have no precedence in our experience, we will surely make mistakes. A creative person uses these “failures” as stepping stones.

Initiative Can we begin, then, to see that our teachers are guides on our journey, but that the journey itself is our own responsibility? There is nothing quite so satisfying as undergoing a difficult process and after long hard work discovering the true nature of that process. It could be as simple as throwing a perfect pot, or as complex as formulating a new theory of physics. The satisfaction we fell will be directly proportional to amount of work we do by ourselves to achieve our goal. Successful students do not expect to be spoon-fed,

But take their own initiative. Wanting answers from my teachers has often been a way for me to avoid taking the initiative to discover my own answers through my own practice.

Enthusiasm To learn, then, is to open oneself. Jim Spira, director of the Institute for Educational Therapy in Berkeley, California,asks his students to prepare themselves to learn in this way: “Drop your prior knowledge…[and] attempt to grasp the new framework in its own context.” The student complains, “But I know what is important.” If what you know is important, then it should be there when you finish the course. If you continually “hold on to it,” then you’ll only see what is presented in terms of the old knowledge/framework and never really grow in new ways.

Finally, as we each advance on our own unique journey, let us live each day as beginners. Being “advanced” has its own pitfall--- among them complacency and pushing or forcing. To go deeper may mean to go still, to progress more patiently, or to devote more time to other areas of our lives as yet green and immature. As F.M Alexander, of the Alexander technique, once aid to his students as they strained and labored, “Give up trying too hard, but never give up.”

TIPS FOR THE ASPIRING STUDENTThe information that follows is designed as guide. The author welcomes corresp

ondence from those who can add to it. ●Be attentive. Teachers will usually go out of their way to help a self- motiv

ated an interested student. ● BE seen. If you want the teacher to know that you are serious, sit or stand i

n the front of the class. Make eye contact and introduce yourself, either before or after class.

●Be on time. Consistent lateness is a sign of disrespect. If you take your teacher’s skill so lightly, why should he or she take you seriously? Missing the beginning of class can be physically dangerous if you have missed explanations and work meant to prepare you for more difficult movement.

●Be consistent. The quality of any class improves when there is a collective commitment to regular attendance. In this way you can gain a cumulative knowledge and progress at more rapid pace. On a more practical level, your attendance may be your teacher’s livelihood.

●Listen with your whole body. We have come to treat words like the background noise of a radio. Plant words in the pertinent area of your body so that information can be “embodied.”

● Appreciate constructive criticism. Remember why you’re there---to break through restrictive habit patterns and to change. Teachers usually reserve the most scathing criticism for their most promising students!

●Questions can help clarify and enrich both teacher and student if the student’s questions are pertinent. If, on the contrary, the student is asking questions because he or she is late or inattentive, the student is being disrespectful to the teacher and fellow classmates and is consequently lowering to the subject at hand are best asked after class.

●You have the right to disagree---but you do not always have the right to express it. Sometimes it is appropriate to challenge a teacher. If is unethical, however, to argue with

a teacher or badger a teacher in public. If thoroughly object to what is being taught, you are free to leave and learn elsewhere.

● Let your teacher know how much you appreciate him or her. Teachers need encouragement like everyone else. Giving them feedback when something has proved particularly beneficial or injurious to you can help them improve the quality of their teaching.

1,318 words

Structural analysisStructural analysis

• The text can be divided into three parts.

• Part One: (Paragraphs 1-2) The two paragraphs serve as an

introductory part in which the author states what he expected from the students--- learn how to learn by themselves./The writer attempts to explain what teaching and learning is meant to be.

• Part Two: (Paragraphs 3-9)

• This is the main body of the essay. The writer discusses the qualities good students have./The writer discusses various factors that will make a good student.

Part Three: (Para. 10):

In paragraphs 10, the author gives more tips / advice for the aspiring student.

Main Idea of the passage

In this essay, the writer attempts to explain what teaching and learning is meant to be and discusses various factors that make a good student. In the end, the author gives some advice to the aspiring students.

Language pointsLanguage points

• Partake (often humorous)• To eat or drink, especially something

offered• E.g. “Would you care to partake of a

little wine with us?”• “No, thank you. I don’t partake ”

(=don’t drink alcohol)• In the passage “partake” is

figuratively used to mean “to draw on or use as one wishes (the teachers’ repositories of skill and knowledge).”

Back to the text

•

at will• (formal) as one wishes• E.g. you can use my car at will

(=at any time you want to).• Cf. with a will: energetically; with

eager interest• E.g. They worked with a will and

had cleared a path by 9:00a.m.• Back to the text

• To feel weighted• To fell unhappy an anxious• Put: to say; to express… in words• E.g. She wanted to tell her parents

that she was planning to live on her own, but she didn’t know how to put it.

• Everyone should have a chance to put their point of view.

• Back to the text

• discipline• (1) training, especially of the mind and character, aimed at

producing self-control, obedience, etc.• E.g. Any discipline--- but especially those with great subtlet

y controlled and complexity, like yoga or t’ai chi--- can be a lifelong pursuit.

• (2) the quality of being able to behave in a strictly controlled way which involves obeying particular rules or standards

• E.g. Persistence, consistency, and discipline are required.• The test-takers showed perfect discipline during the exami

nation• (3) A branch of knowledge; a subject of study• E.g.I am working for people from a wide range of scientific

disciplines.• back to the text

• Compare discrete with discreet• The two words are frequently confused due to

their similarity in pronunciation and spelling.• E.g. These small companies now have their

own discrete (= independent, separate) identity.

• We must be extremely discreet (= careful in what we do and say); the police suspect something.

• Back to the text

• approach• n. way of dealing with a thing or person• E.g. Kelly has grasped an effective approach in

learning English.• v. to begin to consider or deal with• E.g. There are quite a few ways of approaching

the problem.

• Back to the text

• precedence• The condition of being dealt with before other or o

f being considered more important than other things

• E.g. Business people often think that fluency and communication take/have precedence over grammar when speaking.

• Let’s deal with the question in order of precedence (= the important ones first).

• Related words are: precede v. precedent n. precedented a, unprecedented a.

• Back to the text

• Precede: to come or go before something in time, order, rank, etc.

• E.g. Bill Clinton preceded George w.Bush as President of the United States.

• Unprecedented: without precedent; never having happened, been done or been known before

• E.g. The twentieth century witnessed environmental destruction on an unprecedented scale.

• Prior: coming or planned before• E.g.She was unable to attend the rece

ption because of a prior engagement.• Prior to: (formal) before• The contract will be signed prior to the

ceremony.• There are plenty of arrangements to m

ake prior to departure.• Back to the text

• Complacency: (disapproving) a feeling of calm satisfaction with one’s own abilities or situation that prevents one from trying harder

• E.g. What worries the principal about the students is their complacency--- they seem to have no desire to expand their horizons.

• I see no reason for the government’s complacency.

• Complacent a.• I dislike his complacent attitude/smile.• Complacently ad.• I dislike it when he smiles complacently.

• Back to the text

• correspondence• To take/do a correspondence course (= a course of

lessons in which information and work are exchanged by post)

• E.g. The authoress seldom mentions her renowned husband in her correspondence.

• correspondent• (1) a person with whom another person exchanges

letters regularly• (2) a newspaper or television reporter, especially one

who specializes in a particular type of news• A war/ diplomatic/health/environment correspondence

• Back to the text

Go out of one’s ways (to do sth)To take the trouble to do something; to make a

special effort, especially in spite of difficultiesE.g. She was very kind to us and seemed to go o

ut of her way to help us.They made out of their way to make things diffi

cult for their rivals.Cumulative (also accumulative) increasing stea

dily in amount or degree by one addition after another

E.g. The cumulative effect of using so many chemicals on the land could be disastrous.

back to the text

Badger: to repeatedly tell (somebody) to do sth or ask sb questions

E.g. The little girl badgered her father into buying her a pony.

The reporters were requested to stop badgering the chairman with questions.

Text II. The Art of Acknowledgement Jean Houston

Text II. The Art of Acknowledgement Jean Houston

Questions for discussion1.Why does the author say that when hubris rises, nemesis falls?2. Why was DR. Jacob Taubes considered as the most brilliant a

nd exciting teacher the author had ever experienced?3. What is the major difference between a bright show-off and a

serious student?4. How is it described when one is acknowledged by another in

time of confusion, loss, disorientation and disheartenment?

5. Why is acknowledgement an art form?

About the author of Text II Dr. Jean Houston (1941-)Is a scholar and researcher in human capacities,

and for the past 30 years has co-directed, with her husband Dr. Robert Masters, the Foundation for Mind Research, first in New York city and now in Pomona, New York. Their work has focused on the understanding of latent human abilities. She is the founder of the Mystery School--- a program of cross-cultural mythic and spiritual studies--- dedicated to many dimensions of human potential.

Back to the text

Words and Expressions for Text Irepository n. a place where things are storedpartake v.to ear or drink, especially sth offerdreceptivity n. ability or willingness to receive new ideas, suggestions,etc.acquisition n. action of acquiring, gainingrigid a. firm or fixed in behavior, views, or methods; difficult to change or un

willing to changeyoga n. a Hindu philosophy which teaches control of the mind, senses, and b

ody in order to reach union with God; a system of exercises for the body and control of breathing for those practicing yoga or wanting to become fitter

ongoing a. continuing, or continuing to developdiscrete a. separate; having a clear independent shape or formmundane a. ordinary and uninteresting, with nothing exciting or unusual in itlive up to to achieve ( what is expected, especially high standard)

Back to the text

demon n. an evil spiritPunctuation mark any of the signs (e.g., full stop, comma, question mark, etc.)

used in written or printed text to separate sentences, phrases, etc. and to make the meaning clear

relinquish v. to give up ( power, position, a claim, etc.)stigma n. a feeling of shame or dishonorapproach n. way of dealing with a person or thingprecedence n. the condition of being dealt with before other things or of being

considered more important than other thingsinitiative n. the ability to make decisions and take actions without asking for

help or advice of othersformulate v. to invent and prepare ( a plan, suggestion, theory, etc.)proportional a. in the correct relation (to other things); corresponding in size,

amount, or degree (to something) Back to the text

therapy n. the treatment of illnesses of the mind or body, especially drugs or operations

prior a. coming or planned beforepitfall n. a mistake that may easily be madecomplacency a feeling of calm satisfaction with one’s own abilities or

situation that prevents one from trying harderstrain v. to try (too) hard; to make (too) great effortscorrespondence n. the act of exchanging letters; the letters

exchanged between peopleGo out of one’s way ( to do something) to take particular care and

trouble to do somethingcumulative a. increasing steadily in amount or degree by one

addition after anotherlivelihood n. the way one earns money to live onpertinent a. coming or planned beforepitfall a. relevant; to the pointscathing a (of speech or writing) bitterly cruel in judgment

…unethical a. wrong and unacceptable according to a society’s rules or people’s beliefs

badger v. to repeatedly tell (somebody) to do something or ask (somebody) questions