Tag Archives: linguistics

Does dubbing TV harm language learning?

Posted on 18/05/2013 by haonowshaokao

As anyone who’s attended my “pet hates” English corner will know, I’m not a fan of dubbed TV and films. As an example of a pet hate it works well – it’s accepted by society at large, but annoys me … Continue reading →

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False friends in English and Mandarin.

Posted on 03/09/2012 by haonowshaokao

“False friends” are words in different languages that are similar but have different meanings. From wikipedia: False friends (French: faux amis) are pairs of words or phrases in two languages or dialects (or letters in two alphabets) that look or … Continue reading →

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English in China: Accent

Posted on 06/05/2011 by haonowshaokao

One of the most disheartening things about English teaching in China is the way that gut instincts and what we call “first language interference” are allowed to interfere with education almost completely unfettered by awareness of what English actually is. … Continue reading →

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Rude English

Posted on 07/07/2010 by haonowshaokao

I’ve always been perhaps too entertained by foreign language words and products name which are rude in English, but the joke is getting a bit weak now. What I really want to hear are some English words which are unintentionally … Continue reading →

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No why

Posted on 08/06/2010 by haonowshaokao

One of the responsibilities I have in my new job is to interview applicants for our TEFL course. The point is mainly to test their English proficiency, but I also want to find out if they are motivated enough to … Continue reading →

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‘Theft’ and stealing

Posted on 20/05/2010 by haonowshaokao

It’s not exactly becoming for an English teacher to start whining about correct usage of English, and it’s something I try to avoid completely these days. Aside from being fundamentally annoying and probably pointless it also counts as “taking my … Continue reading →

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Applied Linguistics As A Foreign Language – English Education in China

Posted on 24/03/2010 by haonowshaokao

This is an article I wrote for the BCALS Newsletter. If you are not an applied linguist your mileage may vary. To an outsider the more practical theories of SLA may seem obscure and parochial, but their influence lives on in a … Continue reading →

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My MA Dissertation – The full, unexpurgated version

Posted on 18/11/2009 by haonowshaokao

In the interests of posting everything I do on a single blog, here’s something which will be unreadable for most people; my MA dissertation, finished a month-and-a-half ago, and now handed in, marked and returned (I passed, by the way). … Continue reading →

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