Funny Translations from Chinese to English

The hardest thing to convey to students, especially lower level ESL students, is not to use a translating dictionary to write in English. Here are some very funny examples of signs (you may need to click on the replay button for Gallery after you get to the first photo) that obviously don't say what was meant. Most (all?) of them are apparently mistranslations or literal translations from Chinese to English. We hope that no one was injured by following some of the directions.

Even though there may be some pretty good translating programs online, creating signs are a challenge even to native speakers. To avoid this kind of comedic representation of English, it is essential to have a native speaker of English or a bilingual bi-cultural speaker of Chinese and English verify the spelling and meanings of signs before they go up in public. I have no doubt that Americans translate to other languages in the same fashion as the Chinese. As I pointed out here, we don't even make signs very comprehensible to our own people.

I hope that we can, however, all enjoy the many colorful Englishes used around the world and appreciate the effort that non-native speakers of English (who far outnumber us native speakers of English!) make to apply or master our tongue.

Reviving "Picturing English"

My sister blog "Picturing English" is being updated to another format, using photographs instead of original cartoons. The concept of the blog is the same as before. That is, for me, "a picture (any kind of picture) is (still) worth a thousand words." However, there is a twist on this notion as my photographs will very often be of signs or written objects.

This past year, I've taken a renewed interest in signs, advertisements, and headlines as a way to learn vocabulary. I love picture dictionaries, but not all vocabulary can be illustrated in such texts. Not all vocabulary can be mimed or acted out or easily drawn. Signs can be photographed, and in that way, they can be viewed as illustrations. The color, shape, font, background scenery or backdrop, and any accompanying drawings or designs provide context. All of those go to illustrate important meanings. I hope the readers of Many Englishes will find Picturing English to be a useful supplement to learning and mastering English.

More Signs for Building Vocabulary

As you know from previous posts, I enjoy signs in English.  Not only can they be funny, but they contain a lot of useful vocabulary for non-native English speakers.  Recently, while surfing the web, I found this great link at ManyThings.  It has an extensive set of photos of signs in English. Please do have a look.

I've also included a list of some of my previous posts about signs (1, 2, 3, 4).  Enjoy!

P.S.  This is an amusing one which works best if you know who Johnny Cash, Bob Hope, and Steve Jobs were, and who Kevin Bacon is.

Using Voicethread for Writing

Hi Students/Teachers/English Language Learners:
This is an example of a homework exercise using Voicethread.  Read, look at the photo, and listen to the description of the speaker's car drive through Los Angeles on Highway 101.Write a response, or record a voice response to the quotation: "Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it."  What are your thoughts?

Using Voicethread, you can write your answer, or you can write your response and read it aloud while recording it.  It's fun and easy to do.  To leave your answer, sign-in with your e-mail address.  Your e-mail address will not be public.  After that, you can leave a comment.  You can use your real first name for your response, or you can make up a name.

Also, if you have trouble leaving your comment on Voicethread, you can type your answer in the comment section below this blog post.  You have three ways to respond.  It's your choice!

Have fun!  This is another way students can "write" or speak and express themselves.

**NOTE TO TEACHERS:  I assumed that most students could do this activity on their own, but in fact, several of my low-intermediate level students were unable to follow the directions and figure out how to record themselves.  It may be best to use the computer lab for a half-hour and demonstrate exactly how students can record themselves by voice or in writing.

Read Signs to Build Vocabulary

There are many ways to continually add to your knowledge of English.  Noticing and reading signs wherever you go is an easy way to do it.  Not only do you expand your vocabulary, but you also learn something about local culture and values.  These are some photos I took while roaming around Dana Point in Southern California.  Yes, there were a lot of dog-walkers!  

Pictures definitely help a                            Again the simple drawing of
person figure out the meaning of                   the bird (a pigeon) with the hand

a word like "leashed" (leash =                      and red line drawn through the

a verb and a noun).  The dog in                    image signal to the reader, this is

the picture is leashed by a leash.                  a no-no.  DO NOT FEED THEM!

                                                                     I guess "feed" is what the hand is
                                                                     doing.

"Fine" doesn't mean it's a fine day.  This is a verb meaning to charge 
someone to pay for a rule/law that was broken.  You don't want to be fined 
in Orange County, so be sure to "pick up (the poop!) after your dog." 

Japanglish in Kyoto

I did mind my step (British English). In addition, the sign warns, 'When crossing [Japanese script], be careful of the footing sufficiently. Understand beforehand because the responsibility cannot be assumed about the accident in case and so on.'

I did take my time following the stone pathway in Ginkakuji's garden in Kyoto. Fortunately, I didn't have 'the' accident. Since I was by myself, I don't have a picture to prove it, but here's one of a fellow tourist who successfully crossed the large pond as I did. ;-)

Winter 2010 CAErs

Halloween 2009

Halloween Festivities! First, you've got to do a little work - it IS still CAE exam preparation. Onward with student presentations! Then, off to the Shores for pizza and fun! Even though we didn't win a prize, WE know whose pumpkin was the real winner, don't we?

TOEFL Students August '09

Spring 2009 Cambridge 'Graduates'

Class of funny rules :-) January 2009

CAE - Fall 2008

From pain to gain!

Activating English in 'The Dating Game'

Several years ago, another teacher (Sara Jensen) and I would collaborate to put on the Dating Game with two or three classroomsful of students participating. It was always very successful, thanks to Sara's planning. For a summertime activity in my advanced conversation class, I decided to put together my own Dating Game Show.

I asked two other instructors (Mai and Siobhan) with advanced conversation classes to help me re-enact the once popular game show program. We had a large audience and 12 participants, including a last round with the three female teachers playing the 'bachelorettes,' competing for a date with a student bachelor. The object of the game is for the contestant (male or female) to ask a number of questions of the three candidates for a date. Based on the candidates' responses, the contestant chooses one of the three for the special date. The audience also votes for their preferred match, and the contestant can either stay with his/her choice or change based on the audience feedback.

To carry out this production successfully requires a relatively large space (20x30 feet minimum - we had more), four chairs, and some kind of space divider to prevent the contestant from seeing the three candidates for the date. Strips of questions (about 40 total) are given to the contestants (I compiled the list from student-generated questions and others that I got from my daughter which had been passed on to her from another college student) so that the contestant doesn't have to invent the questions on the spot. The audience can sit on the floor or on chairs, if available, facing the candidates. The audience contributes to the activity with their emotional reactions (e.g., sound effects) to the answers given by the candidates and by their votes. From all accounts, they had as much fun observing and listening to English as the candidates and contestants had acting!

Before my students actually participated in the game show, I showed them a couple of samples of the 1970's TV program. Click on the names to see footage of some familiar celebrities on YouTube: Arnold Schwarznegger and a teenage Michael Jackson.

Here is a video clip of our class version.
Tanita got everything off to a great start (thanks, Tanita!):
Great performance y'all!

English in Action

As a teacher, one of the most rewarding experiences is seeing your students use their English in a situation that they might never experience in their own countries. For example, most students would have no opportunity to speak in an American courtroom.

To give students a flavor of how our legal system works, a fellow teacher and I worked together to prepare our students to perform a mock trial of a real case (this is a great lesson idea from A Different Angle by Michelle Buehring, JAG Publications, 1998, Ch. 15 "Given Half a Chance," pp. 82-94) involving the shooting death of Yoshihiro Hattori, a high school foreign exchange student from Japan.

In preparation for the trial, two advanced ESL classes watched the film 'Philadelphia,' starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, both of whom played lawyers. Although the movie covers the weighty topic of discrimination against gays and all the ramifications of society's fear, abhorrence, and misunderstanding of homosexuality, it also gives students a chance to see some of what can take place in an American courtroom. In addition, students read about the case of Yoshihiro Hattori (see above reference).

The two classes were divided into jury members, judge, witnesses to the shooting, a defendant, and two legal teams, one for the prosecution and another for the defense. The two instructors who were present observed, and only at the end, after the jury made its decision, did the teachers intervene by informing the students of the outcome of the real court case.

Below is a video excerpt of the trial and a photo of both participating classes and their instructors. All the students gave outstanding performances and took their roles seriously, and there was a sense of suspense as we awaited the jury's verdict. Bravo! Encore!

Beginning ESL Students - Summer '08

This was a fun mix of beginners from very different parts of the globe, Algeria and Japan.

Spring 2008 CAErs

A CAE class with a flair for drama! Our silly and serious sides! Keep smiling!

Spring iBTOEFLers

The fun part about teaching this iBT preparation class is the multi-cultural composition of our group and the fact that we cover four language skills. It means that Monday/Wednesday/Friday afternoons are devoted to a mix of reading, listening, speaking and writing activities. Though at least one student suggested that I follow a schedule, such as 'Fridays are for writing practice,' I purposely don't follow such a fixed routine. Because we do not give grades at our school, one way that I can ensure that I get writing or speaking samples from every student is to spring it on them. In the past, when students knew that on Fridays, they would have to write for a half-hour online, they would often be absent.

Currently, I'm experimenting between online writing and paper/pencil writing to see if fewer spelling errors are generated this way. I've discovered that several students are not skilled typists. Thus, it is hard to tell if their errors are primarily an outcome of typing mistakes or if they need help learning how to spell words correctly.

I am a strong typist, so I think it's a great idea to have an internet-based TOEFL. However, I now understand why some students feel handicapped having to do the TOEFL test online, especially the hour-long writing component. I've queried Cambridge students about the idea of doing Paper 2 (Writing) online, and many of them also said they'd be at a disadvantage because of their poor typing skills.

Awesome Cambridge Students, Winter 2008!

The ten-week winter Cambridge preparation course went very fast, and soon I'll start training another group of students for the June exams. What was impressive about these last two groups of Swiss students was their determination and dedication to speaking English inside and outside the classrooms. A few will stay on to do the CAE and CPE exams in June, and I'll be delighted to have them in any of my classes again.

The few reports I've heard through the grapevine were that there were no surprises on the March exams. I trust that this means good outcomes for everyone. Everyone learned a lot of English, and you all impressed the heck out of me! Best wishes, Martina, Nick, David, Jonas, Moritz, Alex, Patrick, Ruben, Joas, Philipp, Marcel, Daniel, and Pascal!

After the 'Golden Compass' with CAE Students and Cambridge Co-Teacher - December 2007

Farewell iBT TOEFLers, December 2007

Thanks to Alicia for this souvenir of our class. Wherever you all are, I hope this brings back happy memories. We had some great discussions in between practicing for the test. With luck, we'll meet again.