Pong Ken-hung ("Forget what you've learned," Oct. 24, page 8) states that language acquisition occurs when we understand what we read and hear, but faults today's English students for not creating a suitable English environment for themselves.
But it isn't easy for students to do this. One of the English teacher's main tasks is to help students create this environment by exposing them to a wide variety of potentially interesting reading material in English, and getting them excited about reading, through read-alouds and discussion.
A little information on useful reading strategies is also a big help. For example, you don't have to understand every word, and if the book isn't interesting or isn't comprehensible, feel free to choose a different one.
Also, teachers can help students by introducing them to sources of interesting, comprehensible listening material, such as www.eslpod.com, mentioned by Beniko Mason in her letter ("English woes in Japan," Oct. 23, page 8). Yes, some students are indeed lazy. But many are not, and will appreciate the help teachers can provide in creating a suitable English environment.
Lee Sy-ying
Sansia, Taipei County
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