词汇大师-- To Be a Good Teacher

　　AA:    I'm Avi Arditti, and this week on WORDMASTER: an update on an Iranian listener. Rosanne Skirble and I spoke¹ to her by phone early in 2005.
RS: "Well, what do you like about studying English? What is it, is it a ... "
ATEFEH: "Oh, no, actually I love the language. I love studying anything in English, actually any program on TV that is in English I watch it and I love it."
AA:   At that time, Atefeh was studying English literature at a university in Iran. Now, she tells us, she is studying for a master's degree in teaching² English as a foreign language.
ATEFEH: "I really enjoyed studying literature and literary³ works⁴ and different things like that. But, you know, as a matter of fact, when you think about working after studying, you will see that the only thing you're going to do after studying literature is just teaching, right? That's why -- because I was teaching also at that time I had an interview with you, so I just thought it might be a good idea to know how teaching English is.
That's why I chose T.E.F.L."
AA: "Well, very good. So how do you enjoy teaching English as a foreign language?"
ATEFEH: "I really enjoy teaching because I like it and I like students. I like teaching them how to speak. And I really enjoy seeing them learn and improve. I've been teaching for five years now, and I've got good experience from my classes and I try to be creative by doing different stuff⁵."
AA: "How old are your students?"
ATEFEH: "Most of them are adults, maybe older than me. I'm just twenty-three, but most of them are more than twenty-five."
AA: "What kind of school do you teach in?"
ATEFEH: "Well, I teach in institutes and also university, and they're a bit different because people who come to institutes are highly⁶ motivated because they come 'with their own legs,' as they say, as we say, and they're quite interested. They like their classes and they try to be active. But the students at university, because they have to pass some courses, they might not be interested enough most of the time."
AA: "Well, you say in your e-mail to us that recently you've been trying to be a creative teacher, to stimulate⁷ students --"
ATEFEH: "Yeah, exactly!"
AA: " -- and motivate them. So tell me about that, what are you doing to be creative and to stimulate your students to learn English?"
ATEFEH: "Well, most of the time I try to make them motivated by just making the class more fun and interesting. Like, in every term they memorize a song and that's quite fun, because at the beginning, every session⁸ we sing that and that's enjoyable. They like it very much. And sometimes I put some meetings online. We meet online in Yahoo and then we have a conference in Messenger⁹."
AA: "And then you ... "
ATEFEH: "OK, we choose a topic beforehand¹⁰ and we talk about the topic, we give our ideas, different things, and I just lead the class and correct them."
AA: "What would be like a typical topic that you suggest?"
ATEFEH: "For example, one of them was friendship. Most of the students liked it. We choose it together and everybody agrees upon that, and then we talk about it. It's fun for them because it's extra activity. It's not included in the class activity, you see. This is outside, and they like it."
AA: "So now I remember when we talked to you back in two thousand five you had a -- "
ATEFEH: "Yes."
AA: " -- I think a sheet of paper on your wall, maybe, where you told us how -- "
ATEFEH: "Yes!"
AA: " -- and you even sent us a picture of how, every time you would learn a new word in English, you
would write it on this sheet on your wall. Do you still have that?"
ATEFEH: "Oh, no. I should say that I have just removed the paper from my wall, but I have kept it and I have it now. And sometimes I just look at it to see if there is a new word for me to learn. But you know, because I have become very busy, there is no time for me to do that."
AA: "What do you find is the hardest part of being a teacher?"
ATEFEH: "Well, the hardest part for most of the people -- of course, it's not for me, it's not difficult for me, I have gotten used to it -- but the hardest part is that a teacher has to forget everything in his life, in his or her life, OK, before going to a class."
AA: "Why do you say -- what do you mean by that?"
ATEFEH: "You see, if you are sad, if you have a lot of ups and downs in your life, when you enter a class, you have to be a teacher full of energy, very happy. You have to forget about all your problems. If you just take your problems to the class, you won't be a good teacher."
AA:    Atefeh is an English teacher in Iran and a global member of the TESOL association¹¹. And that's WORDMASTER for this week. I'm Avi Arditti.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

3 literary   

adj.文学（上）的

参考例句：

• Literary works of this kind are well received by the masses.这样的文学作品很受群众欢迎。
• The book was favourably noticed in literary magazines.这本书在文学杂志上得到好评。

4 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

5 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

6 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

7 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

8 session   

n.会议，开庭期，市盘，学期；adj.短期的

参考例句：

• This matter will go over until the next session.这件事将留待下次会议讨论。
• Congress is now in session.国会现在正在开会。

9 messenger   

n.报信者，先驱

参考例句：

• By the time the messenger reached him,the damage had been done.送信人赶到他那儿时，损失已经造成了。
• I'll order a special messenger to deliver the document.我会派专人把文件送去。

10 beforehand   

adj.事先，预先，提前地，超前地

参考例句：

• If I'd known this beforehand,I would not have gone back.早知如此，我就不回去了。
• They proposed to make arrangement beforehand.他们提议事先做好安排。

11 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。