Professor He Qixin: What does Mr. Xu Guozhang rely on to learn English well?

Without a tape recorder, without an original film, what did our older generation of English experts rely on to learn English well? Although Shakespeare is so widely spread around the world, in fact in all countries Shakespeare is only appreciated by a small number of people. Even though it is difficult to read or appreciate, at least in the United States, Shakespeare has become an indispensable part of higher education.

If you still have some questions, why do we still emphasize the importance of literature classes today, especially for English learners, I think we can look at the path they have traveled by a group of seniors in the English community in our country, such as Mr. Wang Zuoliang, Mr. Xu Guozhang, Mr. Zhou Jueliang, like Mr. Li Funing of Peking University, who are all in the late 30s and early 40s, they are in the English of Southwest United University, in fact, at their time, They didn't have any tape recorders at all, they didn't have these original movies, they didn't have the Internet that we were all familiar with now, and we now think that they are all essential and have become part of our lives, but in their time, these modern, that is, we talk about audio-video, that is, these audio-visual equipment do not exist, and these old gentlemen how can they have such a good foundation in English, that is, we often talk about a good command Of the English language, what do they rely on mainly? It depends on reading, that is, reading these works of literature. And it is not contemporary literature that is read, but often the literature of the 19th century. So I think these old predecessors, they have such a strong Foundation in English, and they have acquired English knowledge through reading, which should be said to set a good example for our modern, contemporary English learners, and also illustrate the close relationship between literature and language learning.

It should be said that in the United States this issue is also debated in schools, in 1992, the American philips frankin he was the executive director of modern language association, the United States has a modern language society. The Modern Language Association is one of the most well-known academic institutions in the Humanities in the United States. At that time they conducted a national census. Phillis Frankin, a director of the society at the time, published a paper based on the survey in '92.

In this paper, he summarizes six aspects that professors at American universities mentioned in their responses to his questionnaire, which are their main purposes when teaching literature classes to American students.

The first is to help students to learn the intellectual, historical and biographical backgrounds needed to understand the literature of the period, that is, to help students to grasp, this is called ideological, historical, or personal life related to such a background knowledge, What is the purpose? It is to let students understand this literary work, the literary work of this stage.

Second, to derive pleasure from the wisdom and artistry displayed in literary works, is to take some pleasure from the wisdom and artistry displayed in literary works.

The third is to understand literary genres, forms and conventions, the third is to understand the form of literature, the word genre is a French word, that is, different forms of literature, we are talking about the poolry, drama, fiction, which belong to different genres. Forms, it means different things, for example under the pool, under the poetry you may have narrative poetry--- narrative poetry, you may have some sonnets --- is the sonnet, which is the different forms. Conventions refer to this different demand of each literary form of its own.

and no. 4, to read closely an explicit text, read closely means to read carefully, to peruse literary works, and to analyze them carefully.

Five, to understand human character actions and motivation, to understand the human character, some of his actions and some of his purposes.

No. 6, to understand the enduring ideas and values of western civilization, the sixth is to understand some of the traditional ideas and some of their values in Western civilization, the history of Western civilization, this is the United States in 1992 when the American Institute of Modern Languages conducted this survey, American scholars they came to this conclusion. They often take these six or several of these purposes as the goals of their teaching when teaching literature.

I think that after referring to the ideas of American professors, we should also return to our Chinese teaching literature class, I think our center is not to get a kind of literary enjoyment or to deepen the understanding of Western civilization, for us Chinese students, especially for our majority of English students, the most important thing is to be able to read literary works to help improve the ability of language, especially the reading ability of our language. So no matter how long we teach literature classes, which writers we study or what kind of class format we choose, I think we should not forget that our ultimate goal is to improve students' reading ability by reading literary works.

Professor Ho taught freshman in the United States for several years, teaching English classes to their first-year students. In class, you have to read Shakespeare's works. These students, American students, had also read Romeo and Juliet or macbeth in their high school classes. In American universities, Shakespeare should have become an indispensable part of higher education. Every undergraduate student is required to take English 1 and English 2, especially English 2 will include 1 or 2 Shakespeare plays, so american students will definitely read his works when he is in college, whether he likes it or not.

In addition to reading Shakespeare's works, Professor Ho also recommends that you check out "gulliver's travels" (author: jonathan swift).

The ultimate goal of Chinese students reading foreign masterpieces is to be able to further improve their language reading ability and English reading ability by reading literary works, especially to improve the ability to read literary works written by The British and Americans in this language that are very beautiful. the final aim of teaching chinese students english and american literature is to further improve their language skills, especially reading skills, through the reading of some authentic literary works in highly polished language.

　One.

　　

　　In the 1950s and 1960s, China edited and published many good basic textbooks and teaching reference materials. It is still widely known to people, such as Wang Li's "Ancient Chinese" and "Xu Guozhang English", which can be called "Double Bi" in Chinese and English.

　　 Published in 1963, "Xu Guozhang English" was a kind of "college liberal arts textbook" in that year, which was organized and compiled as the basic textbook for college English majors. Xu Guozhang edited volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4; Yu Daqi edited volumes 5 and 6; Xu Yanmou edited volumes 7 and 8, supporting Jackie Chan, as an intensive reading textbook for English majors for four academic years, which is widely used by sister colleges and universities across the country.

　　How was this set of textbooks organized and written in that year? Three gentlemen, how to "editor-in-chief"? I don't know anything. Only from the reader's point of view, books 1, 2, 3 and 4 lay a good language foundation for students, books 5 and 6 gradually transition from language to literature, and books 7 and 8 guide the study of original literature. I feel that the whole book is obvious step by step and then advanced, and the cooperation is seamless.

　　Looking back at the environment in the 1950s and 1960s, the "boundary conditions" for compiling "college liberal arts textbooks" were naturally harsh. "Ancient Chinese" seems to be relatively better, in the face of "feudalism" that has been considered to have been overthrown, after all, there are so many ancient texts, as well as the "famous articles" recognized by generations can be regarded as a shield. English textbooks may face the capitalism of the "paper tiger", and the taboo may be much more. Whether choosing texts or practicing translated Chinese materials, one must be very "proletarian". There is no way around it. However, the biggest feature of my book is the "practice" at the end of each lesson. Through chinese-English translation, students can fully digest and absorb the vocabulary and expressions learned in the text. For example, an example: the word escape appears in the fifth text, and the Chinese-English translation exercise requires the translation of the sentence: "I forgot his name" - his name escaped my memory. Through such exercises, students' sense of the English word escape goes far beyond the main definition of "escape" in the dictionary, and they learn to "learn to use it". At the end of each lesson, there is also the "passage" Chinese-english translation exercise, and the length and difficulty of the "passage" are gradually lengthened and deepened, and it has a considerable relationship with the text. My personal feeling is that it is really necessary to learn English well, especially "literate" reading and writing, rather than "taking the exam", this set of books is really tailor-made for Chinese students.

　　Decades have passed, and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th volumes of "Xu Guozhang's English" seem to have flourished for a long time, and the "second half" of the whole book has become "the favorite". There are many reasons to think of, such as the first four books are basic English, which is suitable for many people; for example, the last few books are quite "difficult", "Yangchun White Snow", not suitable for self-study; the content of texts and exercises is too colorful... Wait a minute. In short, everyone who wants to learn English knows Xu Guozhang, just like everyone who wants to work in Dongguan does not know, only the "Bible" and the "Holy Land" are different.

　　Two.

　　Mr. Xu Guozhang is a fellow villager of Xu Zhimo, graduated from the Department of Foreign Languages of Southwest United University in 1939, and was taught by the British poets and literary commentators Yan Busun (Williamempson), Qian Zhongshu and others. He enjoyed reading 18th-century English essays, and later went to England in 1947 to study 17th and 18th century English literature at the University of London and Oxford University. He fell in love with Shelley and won the nickname "Shelley". In the 1960s, Xu Guozhang's research tentacles completely shifted from English literature to modern linguistics. At that time, the basic part of the "English textbook" was edited by Xu Guozhang, which should be said to be very reasonable.

　　In the mid-1980s, an interesting story spread throughout China: a cobbler master who set up a stall at the gate of Beiwai School for many years asked a teacher of the English Department to bring a message to Xu Lao, saying that you are a famous professor known to everyone, but your monthly salary is less than my income of two or three days. After hearing this, Elder Xu asked the teacher to reply that there was no difference between the two of us who relied on our own labor to maintain our lives. If there is any difference, it is that the aesthetic objects are different. As soon as you hammer down, you hit it accurately, you hit it firmly, and you get a sense of beauty. I read and write articles, get a good sentence, and I can be happy for several days. When you're truly engrossed in your work, you and I are pursuing the aesthetic pleasures that come with success.

　　In late May 1993, Xu Lao returned to Beijing from a Lecture in Europe, fell ill due to years of overloaded work, and died at home on September 11 of the following year due to myocardial infarction at the age of 79.

　　Mr. Yu Daqi is the great-granddaughter of Zeng Guofan, the cousin of Mr. Chen Yinke, and the wife of Mr. Zeng Zhaoxuan, a famous chemist and educator in China. Yu Is known for his English major in Peking University's Spanish Major. She guards the threshold of learning in the basic stage of English, on the one hand, consolidating and deepening students' language foundation, and at the same time, she is good at guiding students to gradually transition from language learning to English and American literature (poetry, drama, novels, prose essays and other different genres). At the same time, Mr. Yu Daqi formulated a refresher's training plan and reading list for the young teachers of English majors at Peking University, gave lectures for them, organized class discussions, individually corrected homework, and provided tutoring and inspection. Her enthusiastic, serious, meticulous and strict and follow-the-norm attitude and method has created and cultivated an excellent team of English teachers for the English major of Peking University.

　　On August 24, 1966, Professor Yu Daqiu committed suicide in his home after being raided and beaten and insulted.

　　Mr. Xu Yanmou (1906~1986) was a native of Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, and Mr. Qian Zhongshu was a close poet friend of Mr. Qian Zhongshu. Mr. Xu's old-style poetry collection "Xu Yanmou Poetry Grass" is also a preface written by Mr. Qian.

　　Mr. Xu Yanmou went to Fudan in August 1954 as a professor of foreign languages. He is extremely knowledgeable, and has deep roots in Both Chinese and English studies, far more than just an ordinary English professor. He hugged and retreated, never arguing about different opinions, just smiling.

　　It is said that Mr. Xu Yanmou is quite active in the classroom, he shaves his head, walks around the class during the lecture, sometimes pats the shoulder of a student, the explanation in the class is in-depth and simple, and the students are required to learn grammar, write short essays, and memorize the world's short masterpieces after class.

　　Nevertheless, he is extremely demanding of his students. He believes that as a Chinese, only Chinese can learn foreign languages well.

　　In 1986, Mr. Xu Yanmou committed suicide by throwing himself into a well.

　　I suddenly had a very strange idea: "Xu Guozhang English" is a commoner talent; "Yu Daqi English" is an aristocratic style; "Xu Yanmou English" is a celebrity style.

　　Three.

　　The era of "Xu Guozhang English" writing and using is long gone. At that time, this set of textbooks emphasized English language and literature, and the passage of time is easy, and there are too many reasons to think that it has "long been out of tune": it is already the era of Han Lide's functional grammar rule, what is the old grammar-translation teaching method? Opening to the outside world, economic development, English teaching should go to economic and trade and practical, so that students are familiar with and appreciate various styles, so "Advanced English" is compiled into the popular science Einstein theory of relativity; the English Department of the Comprehensive University is established as a foreign language college; the foreign language college is run as a practical oral vocational school. "Jianghu English" surrounds "Temple English", just like the countryside surrounds the city, and students are tired and collapsed when they go to college English classes, but when they go to New Oriental for classes, they are full of life. After all, English is a tool: what used to be used to learn from advanced foreign experiences is now used for various interests. Listening to the radio broadcast the other day, I said that there are more than twenty people in the whole country who can make ten thousand dollars a day. In general, I have also heard that every hour can be thousands of dollars, where the benefits are, it is a good driving force, and the profit is natural, absolutely beyond reproach.

　　However, purely from the perspective of learning and mastering English, the "Xu Guozhang English" set of teaching materials emphasizes laying a good foundation in English language and literature, and I privately believe that it is not outdated. People who are really good at language will not worry about reading popular science books, reading foreign economic and trade correspondence and telegrams, and various contracts and credits. With relevant expertise, there will be no problem with writing.

　　 "Students should not only be parrots with tongues, but should be thinking eagles." "Today's foreign language education lacks humanistic thinking and cultivation", "Utilitarian factors may push a person for a period of time, but interest is the best driving force." Professor Lu Gusun, a student of Xu Yanmou, said so.

【This article is taken from the network, speak for the classics, share the classics!】 】