(1) Video lesson continue: Encounters in the UK
We'll complete Activities 3, 4 and 5 of this lesson. In Activity 5, three questions will be discussed. Students can answer questions 2 and 3 in their comment to this lesson. I repeat the questions here:
1. What is "complete immersion"?
2. Why is it seen as such a good way to learn a language?
3. Is it possible to get some of the benefits of "complete immersion" without going to an English-speaking country? If so, how? If not, why not?
(2) Activity 6: Role plays:Role plays in pairs: Student A is planning to study abroad in the UK and stay with a host family. Student B works for the company that organizes homestays. B will interview A in order to get all the information needed to place the applicant with a suitable host family. A answers the questions and explains what their requirements for their ideal host family would be like.
Replies
It sounds like you are very adaptable, Katherine; so, I think you would be able to do a homestay one day! There is the saying, "where there is a will, there is a way", and that's why you and me can fit in anywhere because we make that choice! But the English weather is quite different from here (and much different from that of Liu Panshui!) ... Here we still see the son regularly, but I understand that London, for example, only have a total of four months sunshine! ;-)
Tiffany! You surprised me again! Thank you.
Thank you, Song Guangxia.
Thank you, Luo Yuanyuan.
I understand now what the meaning is (as you mentioned in the class). Just refer to movies with binary subtitles, or dual subtitles, or double subtitles; or movies with both Chinese and English subtitles - as easy as that! Btw, the clever people say one can use those kind of movies in the beginning, but a time will come that you have to move on and start watching the movies without subtitles ..! But don't despair; some actors don't speak good English, or don't have good pronunciation (and Hollywood doesn't care), or just don't speak clearly, and even I can't always follow every word!
Thank you, Li Xinlan.
Your understanding may be correct, Zhu Qianfeng, but only if you understand that it can only take place in the country whose language you'd like to learn! If that is not what you understand, then pse read my reply to Zheng Chunyu above as I can then actually write you the identical reply! :)
I agree, Men Yaqiong, that the host parents play a crucial role in the success of a homestay (which is another format of "complete immersion", maybe even the most effective way). If they are kind and always let you feel at home, language learning, and life in general would become a pleasure. So, they are probably playing the most important role, as you mentioned.
Aha, you have overcome the problems, Zheng Chunyu! Good to see you back! Your reference to "complete immersion" may be correct, but when we talk about language learning, it is quite far from the correct meaning! If you want to learn a language through the method of "complete immersion", it can only work when you live in the country whose language you want to learn where you are completely surrounded by the culture and the target language. However, I can see from your explanation in your second paragraph that your understanding of "complete immersion" is correct, BUT, from your third point, I am not so sure anymore! If I jump into a deep lake, while under the water, I am completely immersed. So, only water around me, and I will become like the water, completely wet! Maybe your artificial atmosphere in the bedroom would work for a few minutes, but you can't live in the bedroom for the whole duration of your studies! What happens the moment you stick your head out by the door (to start living!)? Yes, every Chinese person you meet will talk Chinese to you! It can only work as it is designed to be when in an English-speaking country. ;-)
Liu Weifang, it looks like you understand the meaning of "complete immersion", but then I can't understand how you can say it can work in a non-English speaking country?! Yes, there may be many foreigners around you, but what language would you speak when addressing your own countrymen? Of course, your mother tongue! So, then it is not "complete immersion" any longer. About the role play, I guess a Japanese student would not have the same requirement as a Chinese student as they are not so full of hatred as the Chinese, right? A wise attorney once said this to a friend: "If you hate somebody, you will become just like him" ... ;-)
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