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朱元晨在“英语学习点滴谈”一文内用非常朴实的语言讲述了为什么他英文学习的进步速度会这样快的道理。请各位读者要注意到: 朱元晨是1996从上海市的小学五年级毕业升入上海市的初中中预班的（相当于其它省市的小学6年级）, 距今已有十年之久。而这十年来计算机技术和互联网技术又经历了新一轮激动人心的迅猛发展。对所有人都毫无疑问的是: 现时各级在校学生学英语时所具备的技术条件和技术环境又要大大优于朱元晨的当时。这就意味着英语学习过程中, 朱元晨当时还不得不采用人工进行的那部分现在还可以进一步被计算机化, 由此学生英语学习的效率可以进一步改善, 英语学习的速度可以进一步加快。这是互联网时代赋予每一位中国学生的巨大机会。朱元晨抓住了这个机会, 你也一定能抓住。
实际上我的英语学习并不是在兴趣的引导下开始的。当时作为一个儿童，我还根本不知道学好英语的重要性以及会带来的种种好处，当然也不太爱学英语。我记得在我收到上外附中录取通知书后的不久，父亲曾很认真地同我谈过一次话。他对我说英语已慢慢变成了当今国际上最通用的“普通话”，现在是我下功夫学好英语的最好时机。如果现在不想花苦功来把英语真正学好，那还不如继续苦练书法，将来也有可能成为一名很好的书法家。如果有了一技之长，长大了就是不上大学亦可以不依靠父母去自谋生计了。当时我已有三年书法练习的经历，毛笔大字已经写得很好，钢笔字也写得不错。但是从我内心来讲，我并不喜欢每天都要用好几个小时来练习书法的生活，很多时候有点像是我父母在逼迫我不断练习似的。这就像很多练习弹钢琴的同学一样，练琴花了很多时间，但这并不是他们自己非常喜欢做的事情，而是在父母的严格要求下不得不去做的功课。我当时只是简单地比较了一下，想象如果我选择多花时间去学习英语的话，那肯定就可以少花时间去练习书法了，就这样我开始了最初的英语学习。
刚开始学习英语时，父母为我选用的英语教材是上海外国语大学夜大学的《 基础英语》，共有四册，每册都配有课文的录音磁带。很多人都问过我为什么要选用这样一套再普通不过的教材？因为这套教材主要是用来提供给上外夜大学生使用的，所以每一篇课文后面都有很详尽的英文生词表和对应课文的英语语法注解，同时还配有课文重点语法点的练习和练习答案的详解，非常便利于初学者的自学。
进入上外附中后，英文老师在最初几个学期给我们上英文课时选用的教材是英国语言专家L.G . Alexander 编写的3L ( Look , Listen , Learn ）教材。这套教材共有四本书并配有很多盒课文录音磁带。3L 教材中配有很多常用口语句型练习和基础语法练习的内容。3L 教材所提供的系统课堂训练，为我后来进一步的英语学习打下了一个很扎实的基础。
我接下来重点使用的英语教材是《 新概念英语》 的第一册到第四册和配套的十一盒课文录音磁带。这套教材同样是由英国语言专家L. G. Alexander 编写的，课文的质量很高，每篇课文后都有很好的课文语法讲解和语法练习题，同时还配有很多适合各个不同学习阶段学生的英文写作训练材料。
在英语的初学阶段，我除了选用以上讲到的三套教材外，与此同时我父母还为我借来了很多套并行的各类高中和大学的统编英语教材和与教材相配套的英语磁带，将它们作为我泛读和泛听的练习材料。这种方法好像很少有人采用。
我父亲告诉我，他之所以选用大量正式的中学和大学的统编教材作为训练我英语的泛读和泛听材料，除了书的质量能够得到保证外，另外一个很大的好处是这些教材的每一篇课文后面都有完整的生词表和课文语法难点的详细注释。这样我在阅读和听磁带的过程中，遇到不认识的英文单词就不用去翻很厚的英文词典，只要翻到课文后面的生词表就能以最快的速度找到所需要的东西。
初学阶段你的识字量很小，而英语词典中对一个英文单词往往会列出它的许多不同的词义解释和用法举例，要初学者在词典中从一个英文单词的很多种不同词义中找出最最合适的那一个，需要花一定的时间，这样就会使你阅读的暂停时间变长，一定程度上影响了阅读的连贯性。而在英语统编教材中，这项工作教材的编写老师已经事先在课文的单词表中为你做好了，利用好它不但可以帮助你节约大量宝贵的学习时间，更重要的是能帮助你在阅读的过程中缩短暂停的时间来保证英文阅读的连贯性。
在阅读过程中当你很少花时间去翻词典寻找合适的词义时，单位时间内你真正阅读的英文句子大大增多了，你的英文阅读速度相对地大大加快了。阅读速度加快了，英语生词在阅读过程中重复出现的时间间隔自然就缩短了，英语生词的见面率由此就提高了。按照人脑的记忆规律，其结果必然是英文单词的记忆难度相对而言就下降了。
这种学习方法还有一个很大的好处，就是在阅读过程中如果遇到了语法困难和难点，一般也都可以马上在课文后面找到对应语法难点的详解。快速地解决了语法问题后，就进一步保证了阅读的顺利进行。我想这种做法可能对自学的同学会很有用。
我正式开始集中投入很多时间来学习英语是在我考入上外附中后不久。当时，我父母突然发现考入上外附中的很多同学的英文基础都比我要好很多，非常担心开学后我会跟不上上外附中的英语学习进度。在初中预备班开学前的整个暑假，我父亲开始下功夫对我进行了专门的“英语强化训练”。我的英语能力就是从那个时候开始突飞猛进的。
我的英语学习方法与传统的英语学习方法有很大的不同。除了大量使用计算机和互联网作为有效的学习辅助工具外，还有一个根本不同点是我父亲认真总结了自己学习英语的经验和体会，科学分析了非母语环境下学习英语的特点和难点，大胆改革了传统的英语训练原则，有针对性地创新了传统的英语学习方法。
传统的英语训练讲究的是“听说读写”齐头并进，同时训练，缺一不可，或者是“听说”领先，“读写”跟上。效果是现在大家都能看到的现状。其中除了一小部分学生通过勤奋用功，经过了很多年的苦学后学好了英语，而绝大部分学生都感到英语很难学，直到大学毕业仍无法真正掌握好英语这一有用的工具。上外有一个很著名英语专家曾讲过：“在中国，英语学习者的完整成功率只有百分之五。”
我父亲在训练我时，将“听说读写”的训练方法改成了“读听写说”的训练方法。这当然不是一个简单的换字游戏。实际上他把英语的学习划分成了输入（读和听）训练和输出（写和说）训练两个部分，认为一个学生在中文环境下学习英语时不可能在这两者上均衡花力气，也不必均衡花力气。正确的方法应该把训练的重点先放在前者，即学生英语输入能力的训练，强化先输入后输出的语言学习原则，从而使得整个的英语学习过程更符合人类语言学习的规律。
至今我还清晰地记得，刚开始对我进行英语强化训练之前的连续好几天，父亲让我去上海市虹口区第三中心小学二年级的一个班级仔细观察小学二年级的学生用自己的母语（中文）进行语言交谈的能力，并将他们之间的谈话录下来，回家后去仔细分析他们用自己的母语进行语言交谈时所用的中文词汇和句子的结构。最后发现一个小学二年级的学生在强大的中文学习环境下学习了六年多的中文口语后（大致从婴儿开口跟着父母学讲第一句话开始算起），其结果是中文的口头表达能力仍是非常有限的，他们日常能使用的句子和词汇极其简单，而且讲话的语速和中学生、成年人相比明显要慢很多。我们大家都有这样的经验：平时在打电话时大家都能从电话声中一下子就辨认出是不是一个小孩在与你讲话。相反任何一个低年级的小学生他听语言的能力却要比他们讲语言的能力强得多。如果你去进一步注意观察，你还能发现他们一天当中的绝大部分学习时间都是在听中文，而不是在讲中文，即在不断地进行语言输入的强化训练。
英语不是中国学生的母语，但很多学校在英语的教学过程中，往往是学生才开始学习英语不久，还没有来得及听到更多的英语声音，老师却已要求他们开口讲英语了。这是强人所难，事实上是要学生去做他们几乎做不到的事情，去完成几乎不可能完成的任务。
我父亲感到这种方法很不科学，是低效的办法，应该进行合理的改革。因此我刚开始学习英语时用的是“半开口”式的英语训练方法。我被要求能用完全正确的语音和语调跟读课文和独立朗读课文，但除了非常简单的课堂用语和日常用语以外，并不要求我去开口讲很多英语。初学英语时，我前三年的绝大部分时间都是用在学单词、学语法、学课文、练语法、练阅读和练听力上的。
我刚开始学认英语单词时主要是跟着录音机和计算机进行学习的。借助于现代化的教学辅助工具，这样从初学英语的一开始就能听到最纯正的英语发音。我学语法和练语法的方法与很多同学不太一样。父亲将我需要学的语法知识分成了“大语法”和“小语法”两个集合（在传统的英语语法书上是没有这两个术语的）。大语法是必须要掌握得非常扎实的，而小语法只要看到能正确理解就可以了。《新概念英语》第二册和第三册的所有课文中的每一个句子父亲都要求我做过语法分析，并还一句一句地检查我分析得对不对，所以基础语法我掌握得很扎实。当时练习的时候，父亲除了让我练习大量的各类课文句子的语法分析外，并没有要求我去做其他的语法练习。父亲认为第一步是要解决我对完全正确的书面英文材料的快速反应能力。
在掌握了最基本的英语单词和英语语法后我接下来被重点训练的是英语阅读能力。我在英语阅读上花过很大的力气，当时的阅读量很大，大大超过了一般同学。有人问我读了多少英语书，讲出来后大家都不相信：在短短的一年多时间内，千页厚的英文原版小说我从头到尾足足读了十多本！在大量的阅读过程中，我熟悉的英文单词越来越多，对英文复杂句子结构的反应越来越快，语感也越来越好，英语水平飞速提高。
练习英文听力时，我共听过六十多盒不同内容的英文磁带。为了保证听的质量，保证听得精准，我父亲还要求我大练听写。《新概念英语》第二册所有的课文我听写过三遍。《 新概念英语》第三册所有课文我听写过二遍。除此之外我还听了很多英语新闻广播。这些练习主要是为了解决我对英文声音材料的快速反应能力。很强的读与听的能力加起来就是很强的英语输入能力了。
在英语学习过程中，我并没有花很多时间来进行过专门的口语训练。由于我平时很少有多余的时间，所以从来也没有去参加过任何英语角的口语练习活动，也没有参加过任何的课外英语辅导班，也不刻意去找外国朋友交流。主要是我花不起这么多时间。如果有时间去英语角，去和外国朋友交流，我想我的口语肯定会有更多的进步。另外，我父亲感到在中文的环境下周围真正会讲地道纯正英语的人极少，要专门训练口语能力会很费时间，效率比较低下，所以还不如先将有限的时间大量投入到输入能力的训练上，使其强之更强。
虽然我的英语输入能力训练一直是训练中的重中之重，但实际情况是，我的英文输出能力也已经在无意之中被带了上去。可能这正是语言学习的规律。大量的英语语言的输入刺激，在我的大脑中保留下了很多最常用的英语词汇和英语句型，时间一长我自然而然地就能开口讲一些英语了。反复的输入刺激还保证了我在用英语交流时完全是用英语去思考问题，而且别人英语水平的高低我一听即能听出来，这可能就是所谓很好的语感在起作用吧！
你再想想，如果一个外国朋友同你讲英语，你什么都能听得明明白白，难道还不能应答几句，讲几句吗？你还会害怕讲英语吗？但如果外国朋友讲的话你听不懂，那你肚子里准备的句子再多，口头上练过的句子再多也没有用。我认为在与外国朋友交流时，他讲什么，用如何的词汇和句子结构来同你讲，用多快的语速同你讲，你是无法控制的。他讲了什么你首先要能听懂，这样对话才有可能顺利地进行下去。而在需要你作出反应时，让你讲话时，你可以少讲，用最简单的词汇和最简单的句子结构来讲，这是你自己可以人为地控制的。
2001 年5 月我第一次去美国参加国际大赛，这也是我第一次在正式场合开口大段大段地讲英语，并长时间地用英语与人讨论很深入的技术问题。我发现一切都很自然，我的口语在与大赛的国际评委交流时，在与美国的老师和学生交流时基本上没有什么问题，也没有什么障碍。回国后我父母亲听了都感到很吃惊、很意外。
在我的英语学习过程中，对于写作也和口语一样没有花很多时间来进行过专门的训练。但我撰写的两篇参赛英语论文，分别在两次国际大赛中，在与美国本土最优秀的学生的竞赛中获得了大奖。其中一篇参赛论文已在国际电气和电子工程师协会（IEEE）的一本顶级研究性专业期刊上正式公开发表。如果你对我撰写的这两篇参赛论文和对应的算法实现演示程序感兴趣的话，可以用以下网址来下载：
Intel ISEF 2001 论文和算法实现演示：
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~yzhu/
Intel ISEF 2004 论文和算法实现演示：
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~yzhu/
另外，在我学英文的过程中，除了学校课堂上老师规定要背的内容和期末口语考试规定要背的内容外，平时基本不背课文，更没有背过英文词典，而是将这些时间置换出来大量地训练对英文文章和声音的快速反应能力。背课文时要花费大量的时间来记住词与词之间的先后位置，时间一长往往会忘得精光。我感到如果背过后忘得精光与没有背过几乎等价，但却要耗费大量宝贵的时间，不如一开始就不背。
背词典更是一项似乎人人都不可能完成的工作。经常会听到有人对你讲要去背某本词典，背好一页后撕掉一页。殊不知词典中的很多词并不是常用的，背了也只是大大地浪费有限的脑力资源。再有如果背到第三十页时第一页就开始忘了又如何解决这个问题呢？
我在学习过程中深深体会到，只有大量的读和大量的听才是最有效的解决方案。在读听的过程中你很快就会真正了解到哪些才是最最有用的英文单词并很快地记住它们。
以下是我概括的英语学习的主要经验：
读 — 利用长假每天坚持读八小时以上;
听 — 开始时要选听各种英文教学电视节目和录音磁带（或MP3等网上可下载的录音），越清楚的越好;
说 — 要在有了大量的读和听的训练后再去练说见效最快;
写 — 开始少练，有了大量的读和听的训练后再去练写效果最好，进步最快;
语法 — 先要精通大语法，这是快速读懂各种复杂结构句子的最有效的跳板;
词汇 — 开始时不要去做近义词练习，要在大量的读听训练中扩大词汇量。
有一次放学回家的路上，我在书店里买了一本有关英语考试技巧的书带回家来看，我父亲看到后就给没收掉了。他对我说，学好英语是为了将来有真本事并能派上用场，而不是为了考试。有时间去看上百页厚的考试技巧，还不如再去看一本百页厚的英文小说。如果英文复杂结构的句子我看不懂，很多单词我不认识，任何技巧都是没有用的。相反如果我识字很多，对各种句子结构的反应很快，但什么考试技巧都不知道，这没有关系，我的英文考试成绩也绝对不会低到哪里去。等我的能力完全上去了，所谓英文考试的技巧他给我讲半小时我就能全明白了。以后的事实证明这是正确的。
学了三年多英语之后，父亲感到我的英文水平已经提高很多，要我准备去参加托福考试。当时要我去参加托福考试时还没有想到考试得到的托福成绩要用于以后申请去美国读书。只是因为我英语学习进步的速度大大超出了我父亲原先的预期。他对自己设计的训练方法的有效性和新技术的力量感到非常吃惊，希望通过托福这样成熟的权威考试来客观地评估我的英语能力已经达到了什么样的水平。
我在考托福之前没有参加过任何形式的课外英语训练班，但在备考时认真地做了一遍当时能买到的以往数年的标准托福全真试题。托福听力中的第一部分，试题与试题之间留有12秒钟时间让你从四个不同答案中找出一个正确答案，一般我用三秒钟即能选对。在语法结构部分共给出25分钟时间来完成，我一般用12分钟即能完成。阅读理解部分共给出55分钟时间来完成，我一般用30分钟时间即能做完。我记得在考试前的最后两天，父亲拿来了最后五份我还没有做过的标准托福全真试题让我练习，其中三份我是得了满分，另外两份分别错一题。父亲推测如果考试中我能正常发挥的话，成绩应该在“660到670分之间，如果低于660属于没发挥好，如果能一题都不错那是超常发挥了。结果我的实际成绩是670分。
父亲很满意我的成绩，主要因为我完全是靠下苦功夫再加科学的训练方法使英语能力真正提高上去的，而不是依赖一些考试技巧去碰运气，这将成为我未来人生中的一笔宝贵的财富；另一方面，他还感到自己摸索到了一套全面采用计算机技术在中文环境下高效学好英语的新方法，可以为其他学生提供有益的借鉴，因为如何在中文环境下有效地学好英语一直是中国学生面临着的难题。
我父母原来都是学通信的，并不是英语老师。只是父亲与专业老师相比多懂了一点英语，而与英语老师相比又多懂了一些计算机。可能正因为他不是科班出身的英文老师，所以受传统训练方法的约束很少，更容易萌生出创新的想法，由此在其他人还没有特别注意的英语和计算机的学科交叉点上首先做了一次很有价值的成功实验。
我从上初中预备班开始就很少有课余时间了。当时我已去上海市青少年科技教育中心参加业余的计算机奥林匹克编程训练。开始时我在计算机编程方面的基础为零，所以课余要花很多时间来练习课堂上老师布置的计算机编程题。同时在计算机编程的过程中要用到大量新的数学知识又需要自己花很多时间来自学。为了有效地利用好有限的课余时间，父亲为我找来了适合我当时英文程度的各种英文版的数学教材和计算机教材（大部分是从网上下载的），让我直接用英文教材来学习新的数学知识和计算机知识，以保证我有足够的时间来强化英文阅读，与此同时还能快速扩充必需的数学知识和计算机知识。由此可见我的办法是将原来要分开学习的专业知识和英语有机地结合起来同时学习，努力做到事半功倍。
我的另一个办法是利用乘车时间来听英语磁带，提高英语听力。我的学校离家很远，每天乘车的来回路上大致要耗费两个多小时。考入上外附中后的最初三个学期，我常常是利用上学来回路上的乘车时间来听英语磁带的，很多英文磁带我都利用在车上的时间反复听过五到六遍，这样我的英语听力在短时间内很快就上去了。英语阅读和听力能力上去以后，互联网上大量极有价值的免费学习资料、计算机技术资料以及最新发表的英文期刊文献我就能更有效地加以利用了。
语音关过了以后，对于一个英文初学者来讲，接下来最重要的任务和学中文是一样的，就是识字。开始时要多认识常用的英文单词，掌握好每个常用单词最常用的词义，而不要花太多的时间去记忆一个单词的多个词意，那是英语学习快达到中级和高级水平时才要做的事情，而不是在初级阶段要去做的事情。在初学阶段你要将记忆一词多义的时间置换出来，用来扩充最常用英文单词的识字量，把有限的学习时间最有效地利用好。快速识字的最好办法是大运动量的阅读。我看到很多学生初学英文时，必要的英文泛读材料选得不太合适。最常犯的错误往往是选得太难，生词一多，句子结构一复杂，阅读就被卡在那里，坚持不下来了，最后必然是读得越来越少，英文慢慢变成了一门似乎很难学的科目。其实对绝大部分人来讲都是一个方法问题。从语言学角度来讲英文比中文容易。所以中文学习没有记忆障碍的人方法对了一定都能将英语学得很好。
我个人感到从目前中学的状况来看，对很多学生来讲学好英语对中文教学环境下的其他课程的学习并没有很多非常直接的帮助。原因是英语阅读在中学就能真正过关的人极少，绝大部分学生还无法将英语作为工具来学习其他的科学文化知识。至于学好英语是不是对每一个人都很有用，都有很高的实用价值，我想这是因人而异的。用处的大小主要取决于你今后打算干什么。从目前的趋势来看英语正在成为全世界的“普通话”。如果你今后想要以某种方式融入世界，那么英语是你必须具备的技能之一。
如果你今后是想搞尖端的科学研究，那掌握了英文你就可以在互联网上方便地找到大量有用的科技文献资料，从入门级的到尖端级的应有尽有。可以毫无疑问地讲，一个科学研究者只有英文运用熟练自如了才有可能最有效地踩在“巨人”的肩膀上，快速深入专业，进入研究的最前沿。任何创新的研究都必须建筑在大量已有研究成果的基础上，重复“创新”会是一种严重的浪费。
我是从上海山阴路上一个很小的里弄幼儿园里山来的，当时那个幼儿园是没有任何学前文化教育内容的。那是真正的金色童年。每天在幼儿园需要完成的只有三件事情：玩耍、吃饭和睡觉。回家后父母也没有时间管我。我的学前教育就是每天回家后坐在电视机前看各个不同电视频道上的卡通节目（当然现在可以把它上升为最好的中文听力强化训练来认识了）或和其他小朋友一起玩各种变形金刚，打最早的任天堂电子游戏机。所以上小学之前我是一个彻彻底底的文盲，汉字一个都不认识，拼音字母也一个没有学过。
在虹口区三中心小学的一年级到三年级，我的绝大部分时间和精力是花在学习中文上：学认中文字，学写中文字和学读中文书。从四年级开始才每周一次在课外参加虹口区奥林匹克数学学校的奥数学习，但那个时候父母还没有将数学作为我的学习重点，我的学习重点还是中文。大概在五年级的下半学期，课外我参加了上外附中考前辅导班。我是插班进去的，那时老师的辅导课已上完了一大半，开始时我课堂练习的成绩都是不及格。正是这些不及格才让我父母从此开始对我的课外学习高度重视，由此我的学习驶入了全面加速的快通道。
我觉得人脑运行的好坏，和电脑运行的好坏一样，不仅仅取决于CPU的速度（反应快）和内存的大小（记性好），更取决于你装人了些什么软件（积累的知识和知识结构的合理性）。再好的电脑若装入的软件有问题照样会运行得很慢，甚至死机。大概在我大脑中被植入的软件还不错，所以往往会有比较好的表现吧。
从学习过程中的每一个最细小的环节抓起是提高学习质量的最好方法。这正好和最近一本畅销书的标题很一致：“细节决定成败。” 我敢肯定地讲，上外附中所有教过我英文的老师都会记得我是当时每堂英语课上听讲最认真、记课堂笔记最认真的学生之一。每天放学回家，父亲都要仔细检查我每堂英文课的英文笔记，稍有不整洁之处，甚至是行与行的第一列之间没有对齐之处都要撕掉重写。父亲对我学习过程中的每一个细小环节都会看得很重抓得很紧。他认为一个智力正常的学生在任何一门科目的学习过程中，一开始一般都不会出现大问题，要出现的都是点点滴滴的小问题。如果出现的小问题没有及时解决的话，累积起来马上就会变成一个难以处理的大问题。我以后取得的所有大大小小的成绩其实都是从这种严格的质量监控中得来的。
哈佛大学每年在全世界招收1650 名新生。据哈佛大学的网站报道，录取我的那年全世界共有20987名高中毕业生向哈佛大学提交了入学申请书，申请人数创了当时的历史之最。哈佛大学的申请条件很简单，只要你愿意填写完哈佛大学的入学申请表格，并支付60美元的申请费，但要被录取则是比较困难的。每年向哈佛大学寄去申请书的高中毕业生绝大多数都有非常优秀的高中学习纪录和课外活动记录，各项SAT（可理解为标准化的美国大学入学考试）的考分都是很高的。在这种情况下，有明显特色的学生被录取的可能性才会更大一些。从哈佛大学的招生代表在我被录取后的常规祝贺来信中的附言可看出，哈佛大学主要是对我课外在计算机图形学方面所进行的高水平的创新研究感兴趣。至于我所获得的全额奖学金则与我的优秀程度是没有关联的，只能说明我的家庭支付能力以美国的经济标准来衡量是很差的。哈佛大学招生办严格地执行这样一条政策：“录不录取只看学生的高中业绩；给奖多少只看学生的家庭条件。”在哈佛大学完全可能出现这样一种情况，即相比起来最最优秀的学生却仍需向学校支付一分不减的全额费用，而相比起来竞争力相对较弱的学生却享受着费用几乎全免的哈佛教育。
我的成功“秘诀”似乎在于：第一，我选对了一条“专才”的成长路线；第二，我有效地利用好了上外附中所具有的非常独特的学习氛围。平时除了学好规定的必修课外，我集中了大量的时间和精力来从事独立的课外科学研究，并得到了很好的结果，这是我能在激烈的哈佛大学的“入学竞赛”中胜出的重要原因。上外附中向来约束学生自由发展的条条框框比较少，这种环境非常适合像我这类学生的快速进步。考入上外附中后不久我就确立了长大后要当一名优秀的计算机科学领域的科学家的志向。以后我的学习重点和相关知识结构的建立都始终如一围绕着这个方向进行。我的大部分学习都是以未来的可能应用为导向的。各类能有效帮助我实现理想的科学文化知识我都学得很强、很深、很扎实，远远超过了学校的要求，而对那些我将来肯定不会经常用到的知识，则采用了点到为止的办法，达到学校教学大纲的规定要求即可。因为任何一个人的时间和精力都是有限的，你绝对无法做到面面俱到。举一个例子：英文我很强，但第二外语我只上过六节课就再也没有去听过课。再举一个例子：我用现代汉语写了两篇质量很高的得奖论文，但我的古文只有高二毕业的水平（因为我是教育部确认的免试高校保送生，所以没有再参加高三年级的语文跟班训练），课外也不再花时间去进一步深入研究古文，因为我非常清楚地看到，在我未来感兴趣的研究领域，绝对不会用古文去阅读、思考和写作。我的很多时间就是从这类选择中赢得的。我非常感谢学校为我们提供的自由选择的机会。
回顾自己学习和竞赛的经历，我深深感到平时在学校里学到的各种科学文化知识在科学研究中都会有直接或间接的应用。
首先以中学数学为例。虽然它不能直接应用于我的研究项目，但计算机图形学中经常要用到的一些数学知识，如线性代数、微积分、微分几何、拓扑学和泛函分析等都是以中学的代数和几何为基础的，因此学好中学里的数学为我在课外自学大学数学系的课程打下了必不可少的基础。
再以我们从课堂中学到的英语知识和语文写作知识为例。就我个人而言，我感到它们是最能直接应用于科学研究的。因为计算机图形学最新的研究成果目前主要集中在英语国家内，所以除了专业知识外你还必须具备很强的英语能力才能看懂该领域内最新的研究论文，真正了解该领域内最新的研究成果，由此才有可能进行真正有价值的研究工作。接下来，一旦你的研究工作有了很好的结果，良好的中英文写作能力则能帮助你有效地将你的最新研究成果拿出来与别人交流和分享。同时，在科学研究中，你最后撰写的研究论文才是同行对你的工作价值进行客观评估的依据，起着举足轻重的作用。因此如何将自己的思想用准确、简洁、明了的语言表述出来是我们必须具备的一项不可缺少的技能。
简而言之，学校课堂内所学到的理科类知识是进行科学研究所需的知识结构的根基，而学校课堂内所学到的文科类知识，则是帮助我们与外界进行快速和有效的信息交流所必不可少的工具。
总结近几年来比赛的经验，我主要有以下几点体会：
（1）无论是科学还是技术方面的创新都是需要知识和思想积累的。新颖的思想和创意并不是从天上掉下来的馅饼。只有一个已经做好知识上的准备，且一直在做相关方面思考的人，才最有可能萌发新的思想。
（2）有效的自学能力在科学研究过程中极为重要。有效的自学能力能使研究者快速地理解领域内的最新研究成果，从而为进一步的高起点的创新打下基础。
（3）在开始一项新的研究工作之前，对你所感兴趣的研究领域内业已完成的研究工作必须了解得非常清楚。一定要避免耗时耗力但毫无价值的重复“创新”― 没有人会因为你重新发明了指南针而肯定你的工作。
（4）一个好的新思想并不马上等价于一个好的研究项目。一粒种子只有在合适的外部环境下才能发芽、生长、结果。同样一个好的新思想只有在研究者的不懈努力下，采用正确的科学研究方法再配以合适的软硬件条件才能成为一个真正好的研究项目。
（5）互联网给了当代中国学生前所未有的机会。现在我们完全能同发达国家的学生一样在同一时间上共享人类的科学技术宝库。而英语已成为了你要进入这个宝库的第一张通行证。
朱元晨的整个英语学习过程有三个明显的特点：一是起步晚，二是方法新，三是进步快，而其中的方法新是关键。朱元晨的最幸运之处在于他进入中学学习阶段之时（1996年）正是计算机信息技术和互联网技术在全世界大力普及使用之时。中国的个人计算机价格和互联网的个人用户接入费用都已降到了普通用户均可承受的程度，这才使得像朱元晨这样一个普通的中学生有可能将计算机和互联网作为学习英语的有效辅助工具，由此大幅度提高了学习的效率和效果。讲一句大实话，只要朱元晨再早出生二三年，那大家就绝对看不到他今天所获得的这一系列创记录的好成绩。
用传统的方法在非母语环境下要培养出一名优秀的英语人才大致需要经过十年的时间，而且还要求学生本人在这十年当中自始至终保持旺盛的学习热情，学习非常勤奋刻苦。20世纪80年代日本有一位非常著名的英语专家曾专门写过一本书，详细地分析了为什么要用长达十年的时间才有可能在非母语环境下培养出一名优秀的英语人才。我曾花过很多时间仔细研读过这本书的中译本。另外，在我们身边也有很多例子：你可以分析一下一个英语专业毕业的本科生，已经用了多少年来学习英语，以及达到的实际英语水平。新技术和新方法帮助朱元晨只用了大致三年多的时间完成了原来要用十年才能完成的工作。大家一定会感到吃惊，其实我当时也感到很吃惊，因为这种结果大大超过了我事先的预期。我想这就是新技术的力量，这就是教育创新的力量。
英特尔公司的官员和技术专家以及网上的一些网友都讲：“朱元晨是网络时代中国学生最大限度地利用高科技来大幅度提高学习效率和学习效果的一个非常典型的成功范例。”我完全同意这种观点。朱元晨上中预班（6年级）时认识的英文单词不会多于300个，以后的快速进步都是在计算机和网络环境的帮助下取得的。如果没有新技术的帮助这种成绩是绝对不可能取得的，而且完全无法想象。事实上，像朱元晨这样的学生在中国有成千上万，新技术和新方法也同样应该适用于这些学生。
2002年在一家著名的教育机构的帮助下，我们曾在上海对部分六年级和七年级的普通在校生进行了一次规模实验，训练他们完全在计算机和互联网辅助下学习英语。当一年以后他们中的大部分人都能顺利阅读网上免费的《纽约时报》时，很多慕名前来参观的英语老师和学生家长都感到不可思议。我告诉他们，现在已有新的技术手段和新的教学方法可以让学生大大加快他们的英语学习。可惜至今还是有相当多的家长不知道如何利用新技术来帮助学生提高学习效率，有的甚至在家里是禁止学生使用计算机的，而很多英语老师还不知道计算机和互联网对学习英语有什么特别的作用。
教育的成功不在于训练出几个尖子生，而在于非常有效地培养出一大批优秀的学生，一大批有用人才。尽管在朱元晨的成长过程中家长发挥了相当大的作用，但对绝大部分学生来讲，他们的教育主要是要依靠学校，依靠社会。社会是有分工的。真正的教育主力军应该是各级各类学校。个别家长的方法再好也只能影响到个别学生，而学校如果采用了更科学和更有效的训练方法来训练学生，却能影响一大批学生，为社会造就一大批有用之才，从而帮助推动社会的快速进步。
最后我想提醒大家一下：朱元晨的英语学习方法是特指如何在中文环境下有效利用好新技术和新方法来学好英语。如果你有很好的英语环境，如果你是在接近英语母语的环境中学习英语，那你的方法应该有很大的不同。但对绝大部分中国本土的学生来讲，他们学习英语的实际环境应该与朱元晨的差不多，谨希望他们能从朱元晨谈的方法中得到有益的借鉴，从而找到更适合他们自己的最佳学习方法。
Something about Myself
My two-week Intel ISEF tour this May made me the first high school student from mainland China to win a Best of Category Award and a First Place Award at the Intel ISEF. It also seemed to have brought me fame overnight. Newspapers and television stations started to cover me with sensational headlines and reporters kept pressing for interviews. After learning that my project was about computer graphics, Shanghai TV crowned me with the title of “teenage computer genius”.
In reality, I am an ordinary boy born into an ordinary family. My parents didn’t have any big plans concerning my future when I was a little boy. I had a happy and carefree childhood. My only pursuit at that time was creating giant robots on paper. Showing off my latest creations to my kindergarten playmates became a daily delight. Those crayon-painted pictures could never be considered as art, but to me it was more than art. It was the place where I unleashed my wildest dreams.
After entering elementary school, I somehow managed to keep the first place in my class and this triggered my father’s imagination. I soon found myself spending most of my spare time practicing Chinese calligraphy and attending OM (Olympiads in Mathematics) classes.
When I became a sixth grader, my father enrolled me in an Olympiads in Informatics (computer science) training class. This probably marked the start of my quick academic growth. The class was for students with two years of programming experience, while I basically had no programming knowledge. My first lesson proved to be a failure, or rather, a blessing. All that I remembered after the class was that the teacher seemed to be writing semi-English lines on the blackboard and mumbling about sorting numbers using bubbles. During the practicing period, after a step-by-step tutoring session by a near-by student, I finally got my twelve-line program compiled by the grudging compiler. Yet, at the same time, something else clicked in my mind: standing before me was a new toy, a toy that could automatically execute my instructions! If only I could know how to manipulate it, I’d be able to do a million other fanciful things with it.
At the end of the semester, I was one of the best students in the class. Two years later I won the first place award in the National Olympiads in Informatics Contest. Meanwhile, accumulation of knowledge concerning computer science, admiration for Hollywood’s computer F/X filled sci-fi blockbusters, coupled with the childhood dreams of creating giant robots led me to an exciting new area: computer graphics. While blasting enemies to bits in a virtual 3D world was just too adrenalin pulling to be enjoyable, I marveled at the power of computer graphics. My classmates began to eye me suspiciously as I flipped through my brand-new seven-hundred-page “Computer Graphics”. This new passion became a driving force behind my linear algebra, calculus, discrete mathematics and computational geometry courses.
Now, my dream is to develop technologies for producing photo-realistic 3D interactive environments where the only limitation is our own imagination.
Language learning at the pre-intermediate level
General Traditional methods of learning a foreign language die hard. As long ago as 1921, Dr. Harold Palmer pointed out the important difference between understanding how a language works and learning how to use it. Since that time, a great many effective techniques have been developed to enable students to learn a foreign language. In the light of intensive modern research, no one would seriously question the basic principles that have evolved since Palmer's day, though there is considerable disagreement about how these principles can best be implemented. Despite the great progress that has been made,teachers in many parts of the world still cling to old-fashioned methods and to some extent perpetuate the systems by which they themselves learnt a foreign language. It may, therefore, not be out of place to restate some basic principles and to discuss briefly how they can best be put into effect in the classroom. Learning a language is not a matter of acquiring a set of rules and building up a large vocabulary. The teacher's efforts should not be directed at informing his students about a language, but at enabling them to use it. A student's mastery of a language is ultimately measured by how well he can use it, not by how much he knows about it. In this respect,learning a language has much in common with learning a musical instrument. The drills and exercises a student does have one end in sight:to enable him to become a skilled performer. A student who has learnt a lot of grammar but who cannot use a language is in the position of a pianist who has learnt a lot about harmony but cannot play the piano.The student's command of a language wiIl therefore be judged not by how much he knows, but how well he can perform in public. In order to become a skilled performer, the student must become proficient at using the units of a language. And the unit of a language is not, as was once commonly suppose, the word, but the sentence.Learning words irrespective of their function can be a waste of time,for not all words are equal. We must draw a distinction between structural words and lexical items. Words like I, you, he, etc. are structural. Their use can be closely defined; they are part of a grammatical system. Words like tree, plant, flower, etc. are purely lexical items and in no way part of a grammatical system. From the learner's point of view, skill in handling structural words is the key to mastering a language, for the meaning that is conveyed in sentence-patterns depends largely on the function of the structural words that hold them together. It is possible, though this has yet to be proved scientifically,that every student of a foreign language has what might be called a language ceiling', a point beyond which he cannot improve very much. If we accept this supposition, our aim must be to enable every student to learn as much as he is capable of learning in the most efficient way. The old-fashioned translation and grammar-rule methods are extremely wasteful and inefficient, for the student is actually encouraged to make mistakes:he is asked to perform skills before he is adequately prepared. Teachers who use such methods unwittingly create the very problems they seek to avoid. At some point in the course their students inevitably become incapable of going on: they have to go back. They have become remedial students and the teacher is faced with the problem of remedying what has been incorrectly learnt. No approach could be more ineffective,wasteful and inefficient. The student should be trained to learn by making as few mistakes as possible. He should never be required to do anything which is beyond his capacity. A well-designed course is one which takes into account what might be called the student's 'state of readiness': the point where he can proceed from easy to difficult. If the student is to make the most of his abilities, he must be trained to adopt correct learning habits.
What has to be The student must be trained adequately in all four basic language skills:learnt understanding,speaking, reading and writing. In many classroom courses the emphasis is wholly on the written language. The student is trained to use his eyes instead of his ears and his inability to achieve anything like correct pronunciation, stress and intonation must be attributed largely to the tyranny of the printed word. If the teacher is to train his students in all four skills, he must make efficient use of the time at his disposal. Efficiency presupposes the adoption of classroom procedures which will yield the best results in the quickest possible time. The following order of presentation must be taken as axiomatic: Nothing should be spoken before it has been heard. Nothing should be read before it has been spoken. Nothing should be written before it has been read. Speaking and writing are the most important of these skills, since to some extent they presuppose the other two.
Learning to The traditional 'conversation lesson' is of no value at all if the student speak is not ready for it. It is impossible for any student at the post-elementary level to take part in discussions on topics like 'The cinema today', for his ideas quite outstrip his capacity for expressing them. The student must first be trained to use patterns in carefully graded aural/oral drills.Only in this way will he finally learn to speak. Before considering how this can be done, it should be noted that the patterns in a language fall into two distinct categories: progressive and static.For instance, learning how to answer and to ask questions involves the use of progressive patterns. They are progressive because the student's skill in handling these complex forms must be developed over a long period, beginning with a simple response like 'Yes, it is' and culminating in complex responses like 'Yes, I should, shouldn't I'.A static pattern, on the other hand, like the comparison of adjectives can be taught in a limited number of lessons, not over a long period. Progressive patterns should be practised through comprehension exercises which require the student to answer and to ask questions which become increasingly complex as the course proceeds. The student should be trained to give tag answers; make negative and affirmative statements to answer double questions joined by or; answer general questions which begin with question-words like When, Where, How, etc.; and at each stage, the student should be trained to ask questions himself. It is obvious that these skills cannot be dealt with in one or two lessons: the student requires practice of this kind in every lesson. At the same time, static patterns should be practised by means of drills which make use of language-laboratory techniques. In each of these drills, the teacher seeks to elicit a particular kind of response.He provides the student with a stimulus to elicit the new pattern in a series of oral drills until the student is able to respond accurately and automatically. Students may also betrained to speak through oral composition exercises where they are required to reproduce orally a passage of English they are familiar with. At the outset,the student should practise reproducing narrative and descriptive pieces. At a much later stage, he will practise reproducing the substance of an argument. When he can do this well, he will be in a position to converse on set topics which deal with abstract ideas. By this time he will be able to express himself with confidence and will make relatively few mistakes. The techniques used in speech training at the pre-intermediate level may be summarized as follows: Drilling in progressive patterns. Drilling in static patterns. Practice in oral composition.
Learning to write The same sort of careful grading is required when we attempt to teach students to write. We must again begin with the simplest form of statement. Students are all too often plunged into composition work long before they are ready for it. At some point in a course, the teacher may decide that it is time his students attempted to write a composition,so he sets a short narrative or descriptive piece and hopes for the best.This is a random,hit-or-miss method which creates enormous remedial problems and produces disastrous results. If a student's sole experience of written English has been to fill in blank spaces in tailor-made sentences, it is wildly unreasonable to spring a composition subject on him and then expect him to produce correct and readable prose. As with premature discussions on set topics, all we are doing is to encourage him to make mistakes. And it is no good hoping that after a few years of this (involving massive correction on the part of the teacher) the student will somehow improve on his own. Very few students are sufficiently conscientious or highly motivated to examine in detail their own corrected written work. Even if they did, there is absolutely no guarantee that they will not go on making the same mistakes. Writing skill can best be developed through carefully controlled and graded comprehension/summary writing exercises. Summary writing is not a sterile academic exercise useful only for examination purposes. It can be used effectively to develop a student's writing ability. At the pre-intermediate stage, the student must learn how to write simple, compound, and complex sentences and to connect ideas from notes.Controlled summary writing will enable the student to master each of these difficulties and bring him to a point where he will be capable of writing a composition with a minimum of error. The main stages in training the student in the written language at the pre-intermediate level may be summarized as follows: Practice in writing simple sentences through controlled comprehension exercises. Practice in writing compound sentences through controlled comprehension exercises. Practice in writing complex sentences through controlled comprehension exercises. Practice in connecting ideas from notes that have been provided.
The teaching of In traditional textbooks, all information about sentence patterns is grammar presented in the form of 'rules' which the student applies in a series of disconnected sentences by filling in blank spaces, or by giving the corTect form of words in brackets. It has become abundantly clear that this approach to language-learning is highly ineffective. It encourages the teache to talk about the language, instead of training his students to use it. The emphasis is on written exercises. The greatest weakness in this approach is that the student cannot transfer what he has learnt from abstract exercises of this kind to other language skills like understanding,speaking and creative writing. A new pattern should not be presented as the exemplification of some abstract grammar-rule, but as a way of saying something. No further explanation or elucidation is necessary. The student is trained to uIse correct forms automatically, rather than by applying 'grammar logic'.Where explanation is necessary, it can be done by relating a new pattern to one that has already been learnt. If, for instance, the student has learnt the use of 'must', he can be taught the use of 'have to' by being made to see a meaningful relationship between the two. Students working at the pre-intermediate level may be given exercises in recall, that is, relating language difficulties to a particular context they know well. In this way they will be trained to use correct forms instinctively.The teacher is, incidentally, saved the trouble of correcting exercises, since, for the most part, the passages do this for him. Traditional filling-in-the-blank exercises still have a place in a modern course, but with one important difference: they should not be used as a means of teaching new patterns, but as a means of consolidating what has been learnt. They are an end, not a means to an end. In this respect, they are extremely useful in tests and can be employed for diagnostic purposes or to enable the teacher to assess terminal behaviour.
The multi- In order to do all the exercises outlined above, the student must work purpose text from specially-written texts. Each text must be used to train the student in the following skills: Listening comprehension. Oral practice (progressive and static patterns). Reading aloud. Oral composition. Dictation. Controlled comprehension, summary writing and composition practice (simple, compound and complex sentences). Written grammar exercises in recall. We might call these specially-written passages multi-purpose texts, since they are used as the basis for a variety of exercises which aim at developing a number of skills simultaneously. If these texts are to be suitable for so many purposes, they must be specially devised. The new patterns that are to be taught must be contextualized, that is, they must be built into each text. These reiterated patterns should be unobtrusive: their use should strike the listener as being inevitable rather than artificially superimposed. There is also another very important requirement: the texts must be interesting or amusing so that they wiIl entertain the student, hold his attention, and minimize the inevitable drudgery involved in drill work. If the texts are accompanied by illustrations, they will be even more appealing. At the beginner's level, illustrations are more functional than decorative. At this level, the reverse is true: the pre-intermediate stage marks a transition from audio-visual techniques to audio-lingual ones.
Speed and Traditional courses are often divided into 'lessons', but these 'lessons'intensity do not take into account what can be done in an average teaching period of forty-five minutes or an hour. They simply consist of 'an amount of information' and may run on for a great many pages. In the classroom,one of these 'lessons' might drag on for weeks because so much has to be done. A lesson must be precisely what the word implies: an amount of material that can reasonably be covered in a teaching period, possibly with additional material which can be done as homework. In other words,a lesson must be considered as a unit of instruction and no more. Now it is extremely difficult for the course designer to decide what can be done in an average period. Obviously a class of bright students will cover more ground than a class of less able ones. This problem can be overcome if the lesson contains material which can be omitted at the discretion of the teacher, providing that these omissions do not hamper the students'progress.
Levels For purely practical purposes, students attending language schools have to be classified in terms of knowledge and achievement. It might be worth noting that a full-scale course would resolve itself into three parts,each of which would consist of two stages: Stage 1: Pre-elementary level. Elementary level. Stage 2: Pre-intermediate level. Intermediate level. Stage 3: Pre-advanced level. Advanced level. About this course
From theory to This course attempts to put into practice all the theories about language practice:basic learning outlined above. Briefly, the aims may be stated as follows:aims 1 To provide a comprehensive course for post-elementary adult or secondary students. The course contains sufficient material for about one and a half academic years' work. It is assumed that the student will receive about four hours' instruction each week i.e. four one-hour lessons on four separate occasions, or two 'double periods' each consisting of two hours or ninety minutes. If we take the academic year to consist of thirty-six weeks, there will be sufficient material in this course for fifty-four weeks' work. The student will receive most of his training in the classroom and will be required to do a little extra work in his own time.2 To train the student in all four skills: understanding, speaking,reading,and writing-in that order. In this respect, the course sets out to do two things: to provide material which will be suitable for aural/oral practice and which can at the same time be used to train the student systematically to write English. 3 To provide the student with a book which will enable him to use the language. 4 To provide the teacher with well-co-ordinated and graded material which will enable him to conduct each lesson with a minimum of preparation. As many of the exercises are 'self-correcting',the teacher will, incidentally, be relieved of the arduous task of correcting a great many written exercises. 5 To enable the teacher and the student to work entirely from a single volume without the need for additional 'practice books'. 6 To prepare the ground'for students who might, at some future date,wish to sit for academic examinations like the Cambridge First Certificate. This aim must be regarded as coincidental to the main purpose of training students in the four language skills. 7 To provide the teacher and student with recorded material which can be used in the classroom and at home. It muist be emphasized,however, that this is in no way a ful-scale self-study course. It is essentially a classroom course, with taped material that can be used at home. The recorded drills supplement work done in the classroom.
For whom the This course should be found suitable for:course is intended 1 Adult or secondary students who have completed First Things First:an integrated course for beginners, or who have completed any other clemnentary course. 2 Students in need of remedial work: e.g. students who did English at school and now wish to take it up again; students who have begun English several times and never got beyond the point of no return. 3 Schools and Language Institutes where 'wastage' caused by irregular attendance and late starters is a problem. The course is so designed that it will enable hard-pressed or erratic students to catch up on work they have missed. 4 Post-elementary students who wish to study on their own. How much The material in First Things First, the beginners' course which precedes knowledge has this one, has been designed to 'overlap' this course. Students who have been assumed completed it will have no difficulty whatever in continuing where they left off. Students who have learnt English from other elementary courses and now wish to continue their studies with this course should have a fair working knowledge of the structures listed below. The list may look formidable, but close inspection will reveal that there is nothing in it that would not be found in the average elementary course. In any case,most of the knowledge that has been assumed is revised in the course itself. It should be noted that a distinction has been drawn in the list between active and passive knowledge. A student has active command of a pattern if he can use it in speech or writing. He has passive command of a pattern if he can understand it when he hears or reads it, but is, as yet,incapable of using it. In the list below, this distinction is drawn by the following designations: ability to recognize and to form (active knowledge); ability to recognize (passive knowledge).
Assumed 1 Elementary uses of the verbs be and have in the present and past. knowledge 2 The present continuous: ability to recognize and to form. 3 The simple present: ability to recognize; to form with -s,-es,or-ies in the third person. 4 The simple past: ability to recognize and to form with common regular and irregular verbs. 5 The past continuous: ability to recognize. 6 The present perfect (Simple): ability to recognize. 7 The past perfect: ability to recognize. 8 The future: ability to recognize and to form with going to, shall and will. 9 Auxiliary verbs: elementary uses of can, may and must. The ability to recognize the forms could, might and would. 10 The ability to form questions and negatives with auxiliary verbs including do/does and did. The use of interrogative pronouns and adverbs. 11 The ability to answer questions beginning with auxiliary verbs and question words. 12 Adverbs: ability to form with -ly and -ily. The ability to recognize exceptions like well, hard and fast. 13 Articles: definite and indefinite. Elementary uses of a/an and the The use of some, any, no, much, many, a lot of with countable and uncountable nouns. 14 Nouns: the ability to form the plural with -s,-es,-ves;common irregular plurals: men, women, children,teeth,etc. 15 Pronouns: personal, possessive, reflexive. Apostrophe 's' ('s). 16 Adjectives: elementary uses. Regular comparison; irregular comparison: good, bad, much/many and little. 17 Prepositions: the use of common prepositions of place, time and direction. 18 Relative pronouns: the ability to recognize and to use who/whom,which and that. Miscellaneous features 19 This/that;these/those. 20 Elided forms: it's, I'm, isn't, didn't, etc. 21 There is/it is; there are/they are. 22 The imperative. 23 The days of the week, dates, seasons, numbers, points of time (today,yesterday,tomorrow,etc.). 24 Telling the time.
The components The course consists of the following: of the course · One students' book (to be used by teachers and students in class, or by students working on their own). · One teacher's book (for use in the classroom by teachers). · A set of cassettes, on which the multi-purpose texts have been recorded. ·Another set of cassettes, on which 'Repetition drill' in the Teacher's Book has been recorded.
A description of General arrangement of material the course This course is divided into four Units each of which is preceded by a searching test. Each Unit consists of twenty-four passages which become longer and more complex as the course progresses.Detailed instructions to the student, together with worked examples, precede each Unit. The passage are multi-purposetexts. Each passage will be used to train the student in the following: aural comprehension; oral practice (progressive and static patterns); reading aloud; oral composition;dictation; controlled comprehension, summary writing and composition practice (simple, compound and complex sentences); written grammar exercises in recall.
Instrucions and worked examples These precede each Unit and should be read very carefully. The successful completion of this course depends entirely on the student's ability to carry out the instructions given.
Pre-unit tests A searching test, based on material already studied,precedes each Unit.This will make it possible for students to find their own level and enable them to begin at any point in the book. At the same time, the student who works through the course systematically from beginning to end is not expected to make too sudden a jump between Units. The tests should enable the teacher to assess how much the students have learnt. If they are found to be too long, they should be divided into manageable compartments.
The passages An attempt has been made to provide the student with passages which are as interesting and as varied in subject-matter as possible.Each passage contains examples of the language patterns the student is expected to master. It will also be used as the basis for all aural/oral and written work. The approximate length of the passages in each Unit is as follows: Unit 1: 100 words. Unit 2: 140 words. Unit 3: 160 wvords. Unit 4: 180 words.
Oral exercises Oral exercises are not included in the book itself and must be supplied by the teacher. They may be along the lines suggested in the section on How to use this course.
Summary writing The aim has been to train the student to make statements which are based directly on the passages he has read. The student is required to derive specific information from each passage (comprehension)which he will put together to form a paragraph (summary). The amount of help he is given to do this gradually diminishes. In these exercises,the student will incidentally gain a great deal of experience in coping with one of the biggest difficulties in English: word order. Here is a brief outline of what is required in each Unit: Unit 1: The passages contain mainly compound sentences. The comprehension questions have been designed to elicit simple statements which will be put together to form a summary and composition. Unit 2: The passages contain mainly complex sentences (though not necessarily difficult ones) and the comprehension questions are designed to elicit simple and compound statements. These will be put together to form a summary of the passage. Unit 3: The comprehension questions are designed to elicit simple,compound and complex statements. These will be put together to form a summary. Unit 4: The student will practise writing all three types of statement by using connecting words to join ideas. The ideas are derived from each passage and will be joined together to form a summary.
Composition Composition exercises, which are introduced in Unit 2, run closely parallel to work that is being done in summary writing. From Unit 3onwards,these exercises are based on ideas suggested by the passages.This will relieve the student of the added burden of having to find something to say when he is struggling to express himself.The arrangement is as follows: Unit 2: Exercises in writing compound statements. a Passages 25-36: selecting correct verbs and joining words. b Passages 37-48: joining simple statements to make compound statements. Unit 3: Alternating exercises. a Joining ideas to make compound or complex statements. b Joining simple statements to make compound or complex statements. Unit 4: Joining ideas to write two short paragraphs (a total of about 150 words).
Letter writing Work in letter writing is begun in Unit 2 and difficulties concerning layout and subject-matter are introduced gradually. This course deals with personal letters only. The exercises have been graded as follows: Unit 2: The Heading. Unit 3: The Salutation and the opening paragraph. Unit 4: The Body, the Subscription, the Signature and the Postscript.
Key structures and Special difficulties A distinction has been drawn between absolutely essential grammar (Key structures) and difficulties in usage (Special difficulties). No attempt has been made to deal with every aspect of grammar. All information about Key structures and Special difficulties is derived directly from each passage. Grammatical terminology has not been used at all. New items are presented in the form of sentence patterns. Where explanations are necessary,this has been done by relating a new pattern to one which the student already knows and by providing numerous examples,not by abstract description and 'grammar rules'. Filling-in-the-blank exercises are given to consolidate what the student has already learnt and practised orally. They cannot be used to teach new patterns. There arealso numerous exercises in recall where the student is required to relate language difficulties to a passage he knows well. These grammar exercises are presented as part of a real context, not in disconnected sentences. By referring to the passage, the student can find out immediately whether he has grasped the new patterns. The teacher is also saved the trouble of correcting exercises of this type, since, for the most part, the passages do this for him. The way the Key structures have been arranged is one of the most important features of this course. The Key structures have been presented in what might be called 'concentric cycles', the basic idea being that no new concept should be introduced without reference to what has been learnt so far. This concentric arrangement makes provision for constant revision of the most difficult sentence patterns. The following outline will make this clear:
Unit 1 (Passages 1-24): Key structures are dealt with at an elementary level. Unit 2 (Passages 25-48): Exactly the same ground is covered at a slightly more difficult level. Unit 3 (Passages 49-72): The same ground is covered yet again at a still more difficult level. Unit 4 (Passages 73-96): The Key structures are revised. Cross-references Cross-references have been included to enable the student to refer to material he has already learnt and to draw useful comparisons. In the text, cross-references are indicated in the following manners: 1KS(=KEY STRUCTURES). These letters are followed by a lesson number and somctimes a paragraph reference: e.g. KS 18b. 2 SD(=SPECIAL DIFFICULTIES). These letters are also followed by a lesson number and sometimes a paragraph reference: e.g. SD 20c. The tapes Two sets of tapes accompany the course for use in the classroom and for home study. 1 The first set of cassettes.
On these, the ninety-six multi-purpose texts have been recorded at slightly less than normal speed (120 words per minute). These cassettes are intended for use in the classroom when the teacher is working through the nine steps when presenting each text. However, students studying at home may also make use of these cassettes to improve their listening comprehension. 2 The second set of cassettes.
On these,selected drills have been recorded for use in the classroom or at home. There are ninety-six drills in all, each of which lasts approximately for three and a half minutes. They are intended for teachers to use in the classroom and for students who decide to do the drills on their own with the aid of a cassette player at home.
The drills are three-phase: stimulus/student response/correct response. They are based entirely on the Key structures and Special difficulties introduced in each lesson. The vocabulary used in the drills is drawn from the course itself. The tapescript of the drills is included in the Teacher's Book.
Vocabulary range Structures permitting, the vocabulary in Units 1 and 2 is based largely on the General Service List of English Words, compiled and edited by Dr. Michael West. From then on, the range is unrestricted-within,of course,reasonable limits, and gradually becomes more difficult. How to use this course
TEACHERS! PLEASE READ THIS INTRODUCTION CAREFULLY!
Allocation of time Ideally,two classroom lessons of approximately 50 minutes each should be spent on each text. The first lesson should be devoted to Guided Conversation; the second to Composition and Language Study.This means that there is enough material in this book for 200 lessons (including tests). However, you may choose to spend only one classroom lesson on each text-in which case, every lesson may be devoted to Guided Conversation and a selection of exercises may be set as homework. Your first task is to decide how much time you have in your programme in relation to the material available in the course. The suggestions given below outline the basic steps in each lesson.You may decide to follow them closely, adapt them to suit your style of teaching, or reject them altogether-BUT PLEASE READ THEM FIRST!
Lesson 1:Guided Books required: conversation Practice and Progress (for teachers and students)
The stages of the Lesson
1 Listening comprehension about 15 minutes 2 Comprehension questions about 5 minutes 3 Asking questions about 5 minutes 4 Pattern drill about 5 minutes 5 Tell the story about 10 minutes 6 Topics for discussion about 10 minutes
Let's see what each step involves:
1 Listening comprehension There are nine recommended steps for presenting each text which will train students to understand spoken English. The steps are as follows: a Introduce the story b Understand the situation c Listening objective d Play the tape or read the text e Answer the question f Intensive reading g Play the tape or read the text again h Repetition i Reading aloud Every one of these steps must be very brief:
a Introduce the story The teacher introduces the text with a few words, so the student clearly understands what's going on and is not obliged to guess. English should be used entirely as far as possible. For cxample (Text 1): Today we'll listen1 to a story about some people in a theatre. NCE Teacher's Book 2 always providesa brief introduction to each text. b Understanding the situation The students are asked to look at the cartoon to see if they can understand what is going on in the text. The teacher may ask a few questions in English to help the students to understand the picture. For example (Text 1): What do you think is happening in the picture? What is the man in front doing? Why? NCE Teacher's Book 2 always provides a few questions of this kind. c Listening objective The teacher gives the students 'a listening objective', by setting them a question they will try to find the answer to. This means, the students will listen to the text actively rather than passively. For example (Text 1): Listen to the story, then tell me: Why did the writer complain to the people behind him? NCE Teacher's Book 2 always provides a question of this kind. d Play the tape or read the text The teacher plays the tape or reads the text just once while the students simply listen without interruption. They should try to 'hear' the answer to the question given in c above. e Answer the question Now the teacher asks the question (c above) again and the students try to answer it: Now you've heard the story, why did the writer complain to the people behind him? Don't let students shout out the answer. Train them to raise their hands if they think they know the answer.Get one student to answer, then ask the others, How many of you agree with him/her? Put up your hands if you agree with him/her. You don't agree (to another student) so what do you think the answer is? How many of you agree with him/her? Put up your hands. This keeps the students guessing and involves the whole class. Students should be trained to listen right from the start without 'preparation' or 'translation'.They will soon get used to the sound of English and to understanding the meaning of what they hear.
f Intensive reading Now the teacher plays the tape or reads the text again, pausing after every sentence to check the students understand. This is an extremely important part of the lesson as the students must fully understand the text at the end of the presentation. Rather than give direct explanations,try to get as much information as possible from the students (think of it as 'a corkscrew operation'!). Explanations should be given entirely in English,but don't carry direct-method teaching to absurd lengths. Use gesture and mime where possible. If some of your students still don't understand,ask the best students in the class for a 'confirmatory translation' of a particular word or phrase for the benefit of other students who haven't grasped the meaning. Remember, if you don't translate a particular difficulty, then someone in the class will. However, translation should always be regarded as a last resort.
g Playihe tape or read the text again Play the tape or read the text again right through without interruption.This time, 'he students will understand it without difficulty because of the careful explanation you provided in fabove. h Repetition Repetition is an optional activity at this level, and in any case should be confined to (say) the first cycle of 24 lessons only. If you conduct repetition exercises, first ask the whole class to repeat the text after you. Next divide the class into three groups and repeat the text once more. Finally, ask individual students round the class to repeat the text.When conducting chorus and group repetition, make sure the students repeat all together after you give them a clear signal. You can give such a signal simply by nodding or with a pencil in your hand. Imagine you're conducting an orchestra! i Reading aloud Ask a few students to read the text aloud,taking turns round the class.You will be able to tell from this how well particular students can pronounce correctly the English they have already heard.
This presentation should not take more than about fifteen minutes.DON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON ANY ONE ACTIVITY!
Students working at home on their own should listen to the recording of each text as often as is necessary for them to become completely familiar with it.
2 Comprehension questions After presenting the text (the nine steps above), the teacher asks individual students questions rapidly round the class. Think of this as a bombardment phase! If a student fails to answer, move quickly on to another student, so that this part of the lesson has pace. The students are asked two kinds of questions which are presented in any order: yes/no questions and wh-questions. All the questions you will ask (with brief answers) are printed for you in NCE Teacher's Book 2. Of course,you can ask additional questions of your own if you want to. Note these observations about yes/no questions and wh-questions: a Yes/No questions It is generaly considered rude to answer a question with just 'Yes or 'No'. The student is trained to listen to the first word in the yes/no question and to use the same word in the answer: TEACHER : Did you have a good seat? (The first word in the question is Did) STUDENT : Yes, I did. (did forms part of the answer) TEACHER:Did you enjoy the play? STUDENT : No, I didn't. bWh-questions and questions with How The student is trained to answer questions beginning with When, Where,Which, How, etc. The student provides short natural answers. TEACHER : Where did you go last week? STUDENT : (To) the theatre,etc. In this way, the student is trained over a period to associate When? with time,Where? with place, Why? with reason, Who? with identity,Whose?with possession, Which? with choice, What? with choice, identity or activity,How? with manner,etc.
3 Asking questions In order to prevent incorrect forms like Where he went?, students are trained to ask two questions at a time. The first of these is a yes/no question and the second aWh-question. For example: TEACHER : Ask me if I went to the theatre last week. STUDENT : Did you go to the theatre last week? TEACHER: When⋯⋅? STUDENT : When did you go to the theatre? (Not When you went to the harOrhen you go to the theatre?) All the Asking questions exercises are printed for you in the Teacher's Book. You can add some of your own if you want to.
4 Pattern drill In addition to the exercise on tape (printed in the Teacher's Book under the heading 'Repetition drill'), there are pattern drills for each lesson.These are all 'stimulus-response' exercises. You provide a 'stimulus'and two students respond. Always give a clear example first with your best students, so students know exactly what to do before attempting each exercise. Here is a typical example. TEACHER: hear the radio STUDENT 1: I can hear the radio now. Can you? STUDENT 2: Of course, I can. I can hear it perfectly well. (Further prompts are listed in the Teacher's Book, so you can conduct the exercise round the class.) Remember, material recorded on tape is given for each lesson under the heading Repetition drill. See below in Lesson 2.
5 Tell the story Write a number of brief notes ('key words') on the blackboard summarizing the subject-matter of the text. Now invite individual students to reconstruct the text by referring to the notes. The students should be encouraged to speak without interruption for up to a minute at a time and should try to use as many as possible of the expressions,structures,etc. of the original story. Here, for instance, are some notes which relate to Text 4: (1) just-letter-brother-Tim (2) in Australia (3) there-six months (4) Tim-engineer (5) big firm-already-number-places (6) bought-Australian car-Alice Springs-small town-centre (7) soon-Darwin (8) From there-fly-Perth (9) never before-trip-exciting In the NCE Teacher's Book 2, you will find notes like this for every text.
6 Topics for discussion The final part of the guided conversation lessons should be devoted to free conversation. Where the text immediately suggests a subject or subjects for general discussion, individual students should be invited to speak impromptu. Here, for instance, are a few talking points suggested by Text 4: (1)Do you know anyone who lives or works abroad? Tell us about him/her. (2) Which country would you like to visit? Why? (3) Have you got a pen friend? Do you think pen friends are a good idea?Why?
Lesson 2: As has already been indicated, this entire lesson may be omitted and a selection of written exercises may, instead, be set as homework. If this approach is adopted, then the Summary and Composition exercises must always be set. Needless to say, more satisfactory results will be obtained where a complete classroom lesson can be devoted to written exercises.
Books required:
Practice and Progress (for teachers and students)
The stages of the Lesson
1 Summary writing/Composition/Letter writing 2 Key structures 3 Repetition drill 4 Exercises 5 Special difficulties 6 Exercises 7 Dictation 8 Multiple choice questions No specific suggestions are made regarding the amount of time to be spent on each part of the lesson as this will be found to vary greatly.
1 Summary writing/Composition/Letter writing These exercises must never be omitted as they are part of a carefully planned guided summary and composition programme which evolves progressively through Practice and Progress and Developing Skills. As the exercises are largely self-correcting, it will be sufficient to check that they have been done. Go round the class while the students are writing and help individuals.
2 Key structures This part of the lesson should be devoted to a briefexplanation of the main grammar points that were presented in the text. Grammatical information should be considered a means to an end, not an end in itself.Technical terms have been deliberately excluded: it has been left to the teacher to decide how to present the grammar. This, in turn, will depend wholly on the class. In the case of students who are familiar with the grammar of their own language, there is no reason why the teacher should not make use of technical terms. In the case of students who are wholly unfamiliar with grammatical concepts, no technical terms should be used at all. The aim behind all the explanation should be to reinforce theoretically what the student has already practised orally. It is best to avoid sweeping 'rules' and to confine the study of grammar to the points presented. Additional information can be obtained from any standard grammar practice book.
3 Repetition drill The students practise the taped drill. They may do this with the aid of a cassette player in the classroom, or at home if they are working on their own. Alternatively, the teacher may conduct the drill 'live' from thétapescript printed in the lesson.
4 Exercises (in grammatical structure) These should be tackled in writing. They will provide further reinforce-ment of the grammar that has just been presented.
5 Special difficulties A brief explanation regarding the special lexical/structural difficulties should now be given. This section concentrates on words and structures often misused and confused as a result of interference from the students'mother tongue. Where appropriate, you may draw a brief contrast between the problem presented in the text and a similar problem in the mother tongue.
6 Exercises (in special difficulties) These should be tackled in writing to reinforce what has just been presented. 7 Dictation Depending on the amount of time available, dictations should be given frequently. A few sentences taken from a passage the students have already studied may be dictated. The students may correct their own work by comparing their version with the passage. Dictation is an excellent exercise in syntax, spelling and listening comprehension.
8 Multiple choice exercises Multiple choice is a testing device, not a teaching device. Its purpose here is to train students for the kind of objective testing which is usual in public examinations. Multiple choice exercises cover the following:reading comprehension, structure and vocabulary. Multiple choice exercises are usually followed by an exercise in sentence structure.
Homework The written exercises become more demanding and time-consuming as the student progresses through the course. At a later stage, exercises which have not been completed in class may be set as homework.
Pre-unit tests These should always be set before the students move on to a new Unit.
Future work If the student wishes to proceed further, he may go on to the following books after completing this one. They are designed to 'overlap'each other so that the student can continue without difficulty: Developing Skills: An integrated course for intermediate students Fluency in English: An integrated course for advanced students