词汇大师(Wordmaster)--English Teachers Convention, Part 2

AA: I'm Avi Arditti, and this week on WORDMASTER -- what's it like to be an English teacher in America today? I put that question to an expert at the recent convention of the National Council of Teachers of English, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Meet Carol Jago. Not only has she been teaching English at Santa Monica High School in Southern California for almost thirty years ... she also directs the California Literature and Reading Project at the University of California at Los Angeles, which trains English teachers to help them continue to grow professionally.

TAPE: CUT ONE -- CAROL JAGO

"I think the job of an English teacher is first and foremost to help students to be truly literate¹, both students who can read and [who] do read. And not just for functional² purposes, but because within books are the important and lasting³ ideals of our society. And I really see English teachers as keepers of that American and that worldwide treasure."

AA: Carol Jago teaches the classics of English literature, like the epic⁴ Anglo-Saxon poem "Beowulf." She tries to make the stories relevant to students who these days may have other ideas of what constitutes a "classic."

TAPE: CUT TWO -- JAGO/ARDITTI

JAGO: "I think the importance of what we do, let's say with a study of literature, is that it helps -- it's like a window to the world, instead of thinking your whole world is your neighborhood. It's the job of an artful teacher to help them see through that window. It's not just lecturing but having them do things with the books, enact⁵ characters."

AA: "Well, I've got to ask you a question about Harry⁶ Potter."

JAGO: "Absolutely. I had a girl yesterday, while I'm trying to teach, she's reading 'Harry Potter'! I didn't interrupt her for a minute. I love those books! And why are they great books? Because they build on archetypal characters. To me, it fits right in to everything I'm trying to do by teaching the classics. Harry Potter has a scar, just like all heroes have a scar. He has a Merlin-like character in his life, he's got sidekicks. That's why these books work for everyone. I think the fourth Harry Potter, the 800-page book, has done more than anything I know to demonstrate to students that long books don't mean boring books."

AA: At the same time, though, as an English teacher, Carol Jago has to teach students whose native language is Spanish or any of the other languages spoken in ethnically⁷ diverse Southern California.

TAPE: CUT THREE -- JAGO/ARDITTI

JAGO: "I think learning English as a second language is a huge, huge challenge. For me, the more contact with native English speakers that one could have, the more easily that transition is made. That's what we see in Los Angeles. We have so many students trying to learn English as a second language. Those who live in linguistically⁹ isolated¹⁰ communities have a much more difficult time than those students who have more English spoken in their lives. I personally have a challenge ahead of me, because my husband wants to move to France. So it's been very interesting to me as a teacher to think about that and to think of my fears when I'm in France, my reluctance¹¹ to talk. It's helped me be a better teacher of English language learners by confronting my own terror."

AA: Carol Jago, an English teacher at Santa Monica High School ... which happens to be where I went to school.

TAPE: CUT FOUR -- ARDITTI/JAGO

AA: "You remember me!

JAGO: "I do!"

AA: Also at the National Council of Teachers of English convention were all the big school book publishers, including Scholastic¹².

I talked to Scholastic's Carole Levine about the growing trend in America toward standards-based education. That translates to teaching geared to what state or local officials decide all students must know.

TAPE: CUT FIVE -- CAROLE LEVINE

LEVINE: "Teachers are complaining vehemently¹³ that everything is driven by the standards, because they are accountable all the way through."

AA: And has that changed your industry?

LEVINE: "It's changed in the way that we need to be so much more aware of testing, the way to test, what you can do to get ready, what the various elements are for this kind of learning, and trying to give it to the teachers."

AA: So how do publishers keep up? Julie Kreiss of Scholastic says that sometimes it's just a matter of linguistic⁸ adjustments -- keeping up with new terms for existing materials.

TAPE: CUT SIX -- JULIE KREISS

"So people call us and say 'do you have informational texts,' and if you're not aware that 'informational texts' in many cases means non-fiction ... you have to stay on your toes in that sense."

AA: That's all for WORDMASTER this week. If you're trying to keep up on American English, and have a question, send it along to [email protected] or VOA Wordmaster, Washington DC two-zero-two-three-seven USA. I'm Avi Arditti.

MUSIC: "An English Teacher"/Bye-Bye Birdie

1 literate   

n.学者；adj.精通文学的，受过教育的

参考例句：

• Only a few of the nation's peasants are literate.这个国家的农民中只有少数人能识字。
• A literate person can get knowledge through reading many books.一个受过教育的人可以通过读书而获得知识。

2 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

3 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

4 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

5 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

6 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

7 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

8 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

9 linguistically   

adv. 语言的, 语言学的

参考例句：

• But this group is linguistically, culturally, and even genetically diverse. 但这个人群在语言上，文化上，甚至在遗传上都是多样化的。
• Like the EU, Belgium is linguistically and culturally divided. 与欧盟一样，比利时是个多语言、多文化的地区。

10 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

11 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

12 scholastic   

adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的

参考例句：

• There was a careful avoidance of the sensitive topic in the scholastic circles.学术界小心地避开那个敏感的话题。
• This would do harm to students' scholastic performance in the long run.这将对学生未来的学习成绩有害。

13 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。