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1
Before typing out my TDF
notes, I decided to read the NYT and ran into this article. As I read it, I
got homesick for the nuanced phrase, inference and meaning rather than mere
comprehension.
The night after our meeting, I
taught my brightest class and asked them how many of them read for pleasure.
I wasn't sure what to expect but I did suspect that few were active readers.
The three, out of 24 who were, did not surprise me. There is something
different about them in terms of comprehension and organization. Even though
they don't read English for pleasure, all of the readers were more meticulous
in their responses, more reaching in both vocabulary and structure, more aware
of my visual responses.
One student, very bright but
very pragmatic replied that his parents discouraged reading for pleasure as
being lazy. The rest of the students agreed and one of the readers said that
she learned reading from her grandmother. It was something they never spoke
about in front of her parents.
Wow. Have any of you asked your
students?
It might be interesting to ask
co-workers and students. The Chinese gov't has taken on a Herculean task. I
can see why the emphasis is on the very young.
Cheers,
Georgia
2
Regarding
the comment:
“Chinese parents actually
discourage reading for pleasure. Their view is that time is better spent
memorizing and reading for facts needed to pass school exams”.
An
interesting book that I just read – many may already be familiar with it – is
called “My Country and My People”. Written quite a few years ago (many
years ago), the seventh chapter talks specifically about the history of
literary life in China.
In
that section, the writer talks about Chinese literature having two parts – literature that instructs and literature that pleases. The reading
has several comments that can confirm the above statement that reading for
pleasure may take second place.
Read
it and find your own understanding of it.
Richard
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