Today is the second day of Chinese New Year but instead of going out with friends and visiting relatives, I stay at home and enjoy myself in my own way. Although the SOP for family reunion dinners for Chinese New Year now allowed up to 15 close family members, I don't even dare to sit at the same table with my brothers and would rather eat my meals alone. It doesn't matter how many people are there at the same table - if one of them is infected with the Covid-19 virus, the others will get it too. This is also the first time I celebrate Chinese New Year without buying any new clothes and new shoes but since I have bought so many clothes and shoes in the past, it does not matter to me. I certainly won't risk my life going to the shops to buy non-essential items. It seems that the Coronavirus Pandemic has changed the way I celebrate Chinese New Year but it is not a bad thing because I can relax at home in a peaceful and calm environment. Since change is inevitable, we have to find positive ways to deal with it.
Covid-19 has not only changed the way we live but also the way we educate our future generations. In many countries, schools remain closed due to the pandemic and many children receive no education because they cannot access online learning. We do not know how long this situation will last but we certainly cannot allow our future generations to hang around each day doing and learning nothing. What if the pandemic could last seven more years (according to the Bloomberg Report)? Surely we cannot let the children waste seven years of their lives just like that! Although some parents are thankful that their children can help them at the stalls, this should not be the way they educate their children. In this article, I would like to share how one can be educated without going to school and without access to the internet with special reference to the teaching and learning of English as a second language.
I am sure many of us can still remember how Abraham Lincoln educated himself even though he had a turbulent childhood and grew up in abject poverty. Although he had only attended school less than twelve months throughout his entire life and his formal schooling ended when he was fifteen, that did not deter him from acquiring knowledge. He had walked to borrow every book within fifty miles of his home and read all the books he could lay his hands on. He worked on his father's farm in the day and read by the light of the fireplace in the night. He also carried a book with him and read whenever he had the time. According to Professor Emerton, "He was no longer at school, but was simply educating himself by the only pedagogical method which ever yet produced any results anywhere, namely, by the method of his own tireless energy in continuous study and practice" (Carnegie, p. 237). Lincoln had always considered his education to be defective as there was little inspiration that he could get from his mentors and daily environment. However, his remarkable struggle to overcome adversities and stunning work of self-education had brought him great success. The inspiring story of Abraham Lincoln, an entirely self-taught man, has thus proven that self-education is possible as long as one is ready to put his mind and heart to it. I have followed his example and found that it worked very well for me. But of course this would mean that we must learn and master the art of self-discipline and self-control.
Children's Britannica Volume 11 & Volume 12
When did I begin learning English and how long did it take me to learn the language from scratch? Frankly speaking, I have never attended kindergarten and my formal schooling only started when I was seven. I lived with my grandmother in Ipoh and returned to Kuala Lumpur just before I entered primary school. At the age of seven, I couldn't speak a word of English or Malay and on the first day of school, I spoke to my Malay class teacher in Chinese. But one year later, I was able to converse very fluently with my teachers and friends in English and Malay. At the age of eight, I loved to read English picture books and had always looked forward to go to the bookshops to choose my favorite stories. When I was 9 years old, I received the first English letter from my 11-year-old cousin brother and since then we have been writing to each other. It seemed that writing just came naturally to me and I have never considered it to be a problem at all. I didn't read picture books anymore when I got my 16 Volume Set of The Young Children's Encyclopedia on my 10th birthday because these books really kept me busy. I have read and re-read this encyclopedia set several times. When I was eleven, I started reading Enid Blyton's works and the Hardy Boys novels - something which many of our present day graduates cannot afford to do. At thirteen, I was already reading the complete and unabridged works of Louisa M. Alcott (Little Women, Good Wives, Jo's Boys) and R.D. Blackmore (Lorna Doone). However, that was only the beginning of my interest in classic literature books. I went on to read the complete and unabridged novels of Jane Austen and Pearl S. Buck the following year. This was followed by the works of Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, Daphne du Maurier, Charles Dickens, D.H. Lawrence, etc. By the time I completed secondary school, I have already read most of the classic books and my 20 Volume Set of Children's Britannica. I was also an avid letter writer (since I entered secondary school) and the letters I wrote to my friends could sometimes be as long as 7 or 8 pages. But how did I master the English language when I couldn't speak a word of English at the age of seven? Who were my mentors?
Mouse-deer and the Swordfish
During my early primary school days, my mom and dad used to teach me to read. Apart from the English Readers, they also bought lots of picture books for me. During those days, these picture books were my prized possessions. Among my favorite picture books were Mouse-deer and the Swordfish, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp and The Emperor's New Clothes. My parents did not read to me but I had the habit of reading my favorite picture books over and over again to myself until the words, phrases, and sentences in them become a part of my speech and writing.
The Young Children's Encyclopedia Volume 11 & Volume 12
As I became more and more familiar with the language, I began to read The Young Children's Encyclopedia. At that time, I somehow felt uneasy repeating the sentences after my parents and preferred to read on my own. I only sought their help when I didn't know how to pronounce certain words. I did not ask my parents to tell me the meanings of the words anymore as I preferred to refer to the dictionary. I am the kind of person who cannot go on reading whenever I come across a word that I do not understand and I can never feel at peace until I have written the new word and its meaning in my vocabulary book. I used to bring along my vocabulary book everywhere and checked whether I could still remember the words in it from time to time.
Anytime Tales & Mr. Pink-Whistle Interferes
The Naughtiest Girl is the Monitor & Five Go Down to the Sea
Those Dreadful Children & The Secret Seven
When I was eleven, I already had sufficient vocabulary to become an independent reader and need not trouble my parents anymore. I suddenly craved for Enid Blyton's books and spent the next two years of my life reading her works. My first Enid Blyton books were Anytime Tales, Toyland Tales, Mr Pink Whistle Collection, and The Amelia Jane Collection. Some of my favorite Enid Blyton books include The Secret Island, Those Dreadful Children, The Circus of Adventure, The Adventurous Four Collection, The Naughtiest Girl Collection, The Famous Five Collection, The Secret Seven Collection and Malory Towers Collection. I was also a great fan of The Hardy Boys Series. It was at this stage of learning that I discovered I had finally mastered the English language. Although it was my mom who first taught me to read, my English language skills had already surpassed hers. To summarize my entire experience - my parents helped me to build my foundation in English and with this foundation, I taught myself to master the language. It was just as simple as that! But, of course, learning did not just stop there. Thanks to my father and his timeless literature classics, I fell in love with English literature at the tender age of thirteen. While my schoolmates were busy reading Mills & Boons (romantic fiction books), I was busy reading classic literature books. I also read the Children's Britannica and studied the New American Bible (You may also like to read Growing Up with English Literature, an article about learning English through literature).
The Hardy Boys: Hunting for Hidden Gold by Franklin W. Dixon
But what did I do at school? During those days, our teachers used to ask the whole class to read the entire chapter together followed by group and individual reading. Reading in groups does have its disadvantages - some of us read too slowly while others read too fast. I did not like reading in groups and had to pretend to read - moving my lips without making a sound (Since I had already read the whole book at home, I thought it did not matter). After reading, the teachers would discuss the comprehension questions with us and we had to write the questions and answers in our comprehension books. And I was always the first one to hand in my schoolwork.
Since grammar is the foundation for language learning, I will now share how I "acquired" my English grammar. The word "acquired" is used here because I have never learnt English grammar during my school days. It just came to me naturally. At the age of twenty, I didn't know the meaning of definite & indefinite articles, subject-verb agreement, present continuous tense, past continuous tense, present perfect tense and past perfect tense even though I was able to construct my sentences correctly. How did I get to know about all these tenses? After my Form Six Examination (STPM), I started giving tuition and that was when I came across some grammar notes at the back of one of my dictionaries. It was like a new discovery for me and I was really excited about it. So, I decided to read more and find out more about English grammar - it was indeed an eye-opening experience. If only I had known about grammar earlier, that could have prevented the confusion that I went through in learning the language during my early primary school days. Looking back, I couldn't help feeling that my students are luckier than me because I always make sure that they know their grammar rules. I have the habit of going through their essays with them and telling them where they have gone wrong. But, who taught me English grammar? Nobody. I had to discover it myself. My parents only taught me to read - they have never mentioned anything about grammar!
Fundamentals of English Grammar Workbook (by Betty Schrampfer Azar and Donald A. Azar), Longman & Grammar Builder Book 1, (by Farida J Ibrahim, Adibah Amin and Rosemary Eravelly), Cambridge Unversity Press
Grammar Builder Book 2 & Book 3, Cambridge University Press
Conscious learning of grammar rules and error correction are a great way to learn a new language. As an English teacher, I have always emphasized on the importance of learning English grammar because I believe that those who do not know basic grammar rules will often find it difficult to construct grammatically correct sentences. The natural approach to learning a second language does not apply to all as it may take years for the learners to decipher the correct usage of grammar rules. This will not only confuse them but also make learning more difficult for them. They may even end up not knowing any grammar rules at all despite years of learning English. That is why it is necessary for beginners to get some English grammar reference books (above) and improve their grammar skills by doing the exercises given in these books. Parents who feel that their children are not learning anything at home during the Movement Control Order (MCO) can always get some grammar reference books for them. If the children can complete the exercises in one of the books recommended above, they have made a quantum leap in learning English. Since answers are provided at the back of the books, they can easily check their answers themselves.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
So how are you going to learn English effectively on your own? Can everyone follow my style? If not, there are still many other ways to learn on your own. Those who have no knowledge of English at all can begin their language learning journey with an audio course and learn some essential words, phrases and conversations for every day life. These CDs can easily be found in the bookshops. After learning some basic English words, phrases, and sentences, you can consider expanding your vocabulary using a picture dictionary. Also get a copy of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English as its pronunciation table can help you with the pronunciations. Read lots of picture books. Singing English songs helps so do get some CDs with lyrics and practise singing yourself. Buy movies with English subtitles because you will learn lots of new English words, sentences, and conversations from them. Try watching the same movie several times and you will soon get used to the way the language is spoken. When you come across any new words in the movies, do remember to look for the meanings of these words in the dictionary. To improve your English speaking skills, you can practice your speech in front of a mirror. I used to do that with Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Winston Churchill's Great War Speeches.
Great War Speeches by Sir Winston Churchill
Once you have mastered English grammar and learnt enough words, phrases, sentences, and conversations for you to get along in your daily life, then it is time to start reading some children's books - I would recommend Enid Blyton's books because the stories are interesting and the language used is simple and easy to understand. When you come across any words that you don't understand in these books, do not skip these words but find their meanings in a dictionary. You can consider keeping a pocket vocabulary book where you can write these words and their meanings in it. If you feel that you have forgotten the meanings of some of these words, you can always refer to your pocket vocabulary book again. The good news is - when you find that you can read a few of Enid Blyton's books without any problems and you can understand the meanings of all the words in it, you have succeeded! But don't become complacent yet. You can always do better than others so let's continue reading and become lifelong readers. Remember, the moment you stop learning, you are going backward rather than forward.
This is how your vocabulary book should look like
Apart from Enid Blyton's books, there are many classic children's literature books that are worth reading. Reading carefully selected stories from the children's world of classics are beneficial for English learners as this is an excellent way to increase their language proficiency. Here are some of the must-read children's classic novels that I like to share with my students.
If you wish to improve your essay writing skills, you can also buy some essay writing books as these are must have references if you want to write well. Reading these sample essays can give you some ideas in essay writing that will be helpful during an examination. Concerned parents should get some of these books for their children so that they can brush up on their writing skills during the MCO instead of idling away their time.
Essay Writing Books
Once you have mastered the English language, you will need a better dictionary if you intend to become a lifelong reader. My favorite dictionary is The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language published by Houghton Mifflin Company. It has more than 350,000 entries and meanings illustrated by over 34,000 written examples and by nearly 4000 photographs and drawings. It is one of my most prized possessions and has been keeping me company for many years.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
If you wish to expand your vocabulary and improve your writing, you can get a thesaurus. It is a great reference tool to locate synonyms and vary your choice of words. I would recommend The Everyman Roget's Thesaurus of English Words & Phrases, Webster's New World Dictionary and Thesaurus, and Webster's New Roget's A-Z Thesaurus.
Webster's New Roget's A-Z Thesaurus
Self-education gives us a lot freedom and flexibility as we can choose when, what, how, and where to learn. Most of all, it helps us become more resilient and independent and this a good thing because students who are overly dependent on their teachers cannot go very far. If I have been dependent on my teachers, my knowledge of the English language may just be limited to what is in the textbooks. How many teachers will actually tell you about the works of Louisa May Alcott, Pearl S. Buck, Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, Daphne du Maurier, Charles Dickens, D.H. Lawrence, Joseph Conrad, Thomas Hardy, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, John Milton, and most of all, William Shakespeare? Many teachers don't like to read and they have never read anything by Pearl S. Buck, Jane Austen, or Thomas Hardy. They only read what they have to teach and, normally, one chapter ahead of their students. How can they talk about books they haven't read? The use of mother tongue in English language classrooms is also not uncommon. Since children should be exposed to the English language as much as possible during English lessons, too much mother tongue can hinder learning. To gain mastery over the English language, we have to go beyond textbook / classroom learning which can be achieved through self-education. This is particularly true during the coronavirus pandemic when many children are staying home from school. Let's not waste anymore time but adapt to change and master the art of self-education.
Parents need not worry that they may not be good enough to teach their children English at home. They only need to help their children build a strong foundation in the language and the little ones will do the rest. My mom had limited English proficiency but she helped me to build a very strong foundation in English and the rest is history. Do you know who were Abraham Lincoln's mentors? Caleb Hazel and Zachariah Birney in the forests of Kentucky, Andrew Crawford and Azel Dorsey along Little Pigeon Creek in Indiana. They were scarcely educated teachers who eked out a meager existence traveling from one place to another, teaching those who could afford to pay in cash or in commodities. But, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is known to be the greatest speech in the world. Remember the parable of the silver pieces? As what Jesus says, 'Those who have will get more until they grow rich, while those who have not will lose even the little they have (Matthew 25:29). In other words, those who manage their lives well and know how to make the most of what has been given to them will be greatly rewarded. On the other hand, those who do nothing will lose everything. Stay safe and motivated!
You may also like to read HOW TO LEARN FRENCH EFFICIENTLY ON YOUR OWN; TEACHING & LEARNING FRENCH BY ASSOCIATION; and How Abraham Lincoln Inspired Me to Pursue My Ph.D.? To view the content page of this blog, please click here.
References:
1. How to Develop Self-Confidence and Influence People by Public Speaking. Dale Carnegie.
2.. The New American Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers.
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