Awkward English Saved From Films And Soap Opera Learning

出自香港新聞網 - 樹仁新傳系學生實習習作

James Yiu criticizes that using English proficiency among Hong Kong people is declining due to the inappropriate ways in learning English.

There is a common saying, watching foreign movies can help people to improve English. James Yiu, the pioneer of teaching modern English, proved that right again suggesting students in Hong Kong Shue Yan University to do so.

James made use of dialogues in some well-known movies such as “Titanic” and “Spiderman” in order to introduce the usage of colloquial English. For example, they use “gotta”, “wanna” and “gonna” instead of “I have got to go”. And, they use “Do you have the time” instead of “what time is it now?”

He also taught students to learn English from foreign soap opera, like Sex and City. “Stand somebody up” means someone doesn’t go to keep an appointment.

James, besides, explained that there are many commonly used English sentences but most of the people even don’t understand those meanings. For example, “you can say that again” means “I absolutely agree with you” instead of “You may say once more”. Another example, if a friend said “Break a leg” to you before your performance, he is actually blessing you instead of cursing you.

A Japanese student didn’t understand the meaning of “freeze” and was eventually shot. Roast chicken, a famous Chinese cuisine in mainland, is translated into “Chicken without sexual life” causes the foreigners do not dare to eat. James took these instances in order to encourage the students to put more efforts in learning colloquial English. Besides, James indicated that “self-confidence” is the most essential element in enhancing English skills.