Unit NineUnit NineUnit NineUnit NineOn Becoming a Better On Becoming a Better Student (abridged)Student (abridged)

Teaching ObjectivesPre-reading QuestionsGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingOral Activities

Teaching Objectives

• Practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

• Get a better understanding of how to become a fine student.

• Clarify the different roles of a teacher and a student.

Pre-reading Questions• As a student, what is your

expectation of teachers?

• What do you think are the personality traits of a fine student?

Global Reading

• Is this text a piece of narration, argumentation, description, or explanation?

• What do you think education would be like in the future?

Detailed Reading

Paragraph 1-2Paragraph 3-9Paragraphs 10

Paragraph 1-2Questions:

• What do students expect from their teachers?

• What does the author mean by saying “it is really not possible to teach”?

• What does the writer expect from her students?

Language work: • repository: a place where things are stored (eg) The Foreign Office was regarded as the repositor

y of all relevant information.

• yet: (eg) I have yet to meet a man I can trust. A just society without a bureaucracy has yet to be est

ablished.

• take upon: to do something even though it isn’t one’s duty or job

(eg) Mrs Kaul took it upon herself to turn round and say ‘sh’.

Paragraph 3-9Questions:• What does the author mean by an

“investigative spirit”?

• How important is discipline for studies?

• What kind of punctuation mark do you represent? Why?

• How do you understand the statement that “To learn … is to open oneself’?

• Why does F. M. Alexander say to his students that “Give up trying too hard, but never give up”?

Language work• make: to have the qualities of (esp. something goo

d)(eg) She would make a good wife.

Do flowers make good gifts?

• if not:(eg) They have hundreds of thousands if not millions of pounds of investment. I’d like to see you tonight, if not sooner. Her voice was, if not perfect, at least nearly so.

• embody: to serve as a symbol or expression of an idea,

quality, etc. (eg) These institutions embody traditional values. These proposals were embodied in the Industrial

Relations Act.

• put: to express (an idea or remark) in a particular way (eg) I cannot put my feelings into words. To put it briefly, the man is mad and may become

dangerous.

• not so much … as:(eg) It was not so much an argument as a monologue.

• turn over: to think carefully(eg) Going hoe that night, Dr. Renshaw turned

over the facts of the case.

• rigid: firm or fixed in behaviour, view, or methods; difficult to change or unwilling to change

(eg) Some mothers resented the rigid controls. I sat upright, rigid with nervousness.• > rigidity (n.)

• light: the way in which something or someone appears or is regarded(eg) He appeared that day in the worst possible light.

see sth. in a particular light (= to think about it in that way)

cf. in the light of(= considering or taking sth. into account)(eg) This development is significant in the light of what happened late.

• but: only(eg) Low cost and high speed are but two of the advantages of electronic data handling. When I first met her, she had but recently divorced.

• seemingly:(eg) their seemingly limited resourcesSeemingly they don’t have any problem.

• craft: any activity or job that involves doing sth. skillfully(eg) He was still learning his journalistic craft.

• live up to: to keep to the high standards of(eg) She succeeded in living up to her extraordinary reputation.

• footing:1. a firm placing of the feet (eg) He lost his footing, and stumbled to the

floor. (= slip)2. a particular (stated) position or base (eg) We’ve had to get this on a more official

footing. (= going on in a particular way) The school’s constitution puts parents on an

equal footing with staff. (= relationship)

• relinquish: to give up (power, position, a claim, etc.) (eg) She relinquished the editorship of the

newspaper.

• stigma: a feeling of shame or dishonor (eg) Some of the stigma attached to mental

illness will be removed in future years.

• precedence: the condition of being dealt with before other things or being considered more important than other things

(eg) The peaceful ordering of society takes precedence over every other consideration. > precede (v.)

preceding (adj.)

• initiative: the ability to make decisions or take actions without asking for the help or advice of others

(eg) In Sweden employers have taken the initiative in promoting health insurance schemes.

In special circumstances we have to use our own

initiative. In 1912 he had gone to Berlin on his own initi

ative.

• undergo: to experience (esp. something unpleasant, unwelcome, or difficult) (eg) The United States will have to undergo radical changes.Her mother was about to undergo a major operation.

• formulate: to invent or prepare (a plan, suggestion, theory, etc.)(eg) to formulate a plan/proposal/strategiesto formulate a thought/opinion (= express in words)

• proportional: corresponding in size, amount, or degree (to something)(eg) As a rule the suicide rate is proportional to the size of the city.

• prior: coming or planned before(eg) I have a prior engagement.He feels a prior obligation to his job as a journalist.> priority (n.)

• hold onto: to keep possession of(eg) He has to hold onto something to steady himself.Politicians want to hold onto power at all costs.

• pitfall: a mistake that may easily be made(eg) the pitfalls of pursuing such a drastic policyWe must bear in mind the pitfalls and try to avoid them.

• complacency (n.)(eg) No one had any cause for complacency.> complacent: pleased or satisfied with oneself or with a situation, often unreasonably(eg) We cannot afford to be complacent about the energy problem.

• strain: to try (too) hard(eg) The oil-price increases have strained the resources of the power countries.He strained his eyes to catch a glimpse of the President.

Paragraph 10

Questions:• What do you think the author means by

saying “Listen with your whole body”?

• What do you think of these tips?

Language work • commitment: a responsibility or promise to follow ce

rtain beliefs or a certain course of actions(eg) He gave a clear commitment to reopen disarmament talks.

• cumulative: increasing steadily in amount or degree by one addition after another(eg) It was an accelerating, cumulative progress.

• livelihood: the way one earns money to live on(eg) their fear of losing their livelihoodTheir principal livelihood was in the sea.

• pertinent: relevant, to the point(eg) I asked him a lot of pertinent questio

ns about the original production.

• break through: to force a way through(eg) I broke though the bushes. Sometimes these impulses break through

in your work.

The sun managed to break through the clouds

for a while.

• restrictive: tending to restrict, limiting(eg) Teenagers are eager to escape restrictive home environments.

• badger: to repeatedly tell (somebody) to do something or ask (somebody) questions(eg) The little girl badgered her father into buying her a pony.The reporters were requested to stop badgering the chairman with questions.

Oral activities

• You may disagree with some of the author’s views in the text, for example, you may think it sounds too idealistic for the teacher to encourage students to take risks in academic studies, or that teacher should take a main role in the learning process. Express your views and discuss them in groups.

• Some people think children of different abilities should be educated together because it benefits everyone. Others hold that intelligent children should be taught separately and given special treatment. What is your opinion?