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怎么给孩子报名学英语

最近一位6岁孩子的家长留言,说自己正在为孩子的英语学习发愁:

之前的线下班没有剩下几节课了,不打算再续费了。一来是外教的流动性比较大,不稳定;二来假期想带孩子出去走走,但又耽误课程;三来已经上了两年多了,但效不明显。

所以打算给孩子转到线上,但是线上课程五花八门,不知道怎么选……

我们也一直在关注着,但市面上并没有适合所有孩子的机构,最好的办法是:试听,多对比。

刚好我有个朋友,是北京理工男程序员,也是一枚对教育很上心的爸爸。平时喜欢研究科学实用的育儿方法,也经常分享干货。

为了给儿子选英语机构,把3家提及最多的机构翻了个底朝天,比较了欧美1对1、菲律宾1对1、欧美1对4这三类主要英语网课的区别。我觉得挺靠谱的,特地转来他的文章供大家参考!


01
为什么我舍弃了线下机构?

我儿子是从快5岁的时候开始上英语网课的,现在8岁多了,仍然在上。上国际学校之前是每周上两三次课,上国际学校之后,改成了假期时每周上五六次课。

前后上过3家,3家恰好是不同类型的教学方式,确实是有比较明显的差异。

当初决定送儿子去英语机构时,我同时考察了线上和线下的课程。也去一些线下机构上了体验课。后来没有选择线下课程的主要原因如下:

启蒙阶段的孩子(甚至任何年龄的零基础学生)在刚学外语的相当一段时间内,首要目标是培养听和说的能力,尤其是听。相应地,也就要求老师说的能力较高。

这里我没有任何歧视中国英语老师的意思,但首要目标如果是听,那么母语为英语的外籍老师,确实会有很大的优势。

我们去考察过某线下英语培训机构,其老师全部由拿到英语八级证书的中国老师担任。水平确实是不低的,但口音真的不够地道。

举一个典型的例子:中国人说英语总是把每个单词都说得非常清楚,但欧美人会在很多情况下把相邻两个单词连起来发音。比如 I'd like another one. 其中 like 和 another 就会连起来发音。类似的音变规律还有不少。

并不是说中国老师就一定不会,但确实说得很地道的概率比较小。

而在中国教英语的外籍老师,在市场如此蓬勃的前提下,数量就显得很少了。物以稀为贵,线下纯外教的课程,价格相对就会比较昂贵。

但线上英语培训就不一样了。

多数线上培训机构都是纯外教的,他们直接到美国英国加拿大等地招募老师,老师也不用来中国。这样,一来突破了外籍老师数量的瓶颈,二来因为没有教室租赁等费用,学费相对线下纯外教的课程会显著便宜。

比如同样的外教一对一,北京线下的价格换算成1小时,大约300~600,线上的价格换算成1小时,我目前知道价格高的在250上下。

另外,线上还有一个显著优点,就是节约时间。

线下课程,接送的时间一算上,一节课的时间成本是蛮高的。而线上课程却不需如此。只要带着iPad,到任何有网的地方,都可以上的。我儿子在家里、咖啡店、餐厅、酒店、茶楼都上过课,确实是非常方便!

所以,我们当时综合考虑,觉得线上课程外教老师的口语水平普遍比较高,价格又比线下便宜,性价比明显胜出。

当然了,也不是说线下课程就没有优点。线下课程可以从更低龄的宝宝开始启蒙,拥有更多的交互手段,老师和孩子们可以玩出更多的花样,而且交流更为顺畅;前提是你得找到好机构、好老师!


02
3种线上课程的差异对比

再说说网课。

我儿子先后上过3种线上课程,可以简单地分为欧美外教1对1、菲律宾外教1对1、欧美外教1对4

首先,我说一下3种课程的共同点。老实说,我觉得比较明显的共同点是课程内容和设置都差不多。

有经验的家长一定有共鸣,大多数网课的模式也就那点——

  • 从零基础到高难度分了很多的级别,孩子经过能力评估进入对应的级别。
  • 课前预习、上课、课后作业的流程都是一样的;
  • 一节课25分钟也是一样的;
  • 课程内容本身都是专门的团队开发的;
  • 每节课会有一个小小的主题,老师会围绕这个主题和孩子交流,知识点贯穿其中。

不要看广告,其实这么多牌子的网课实质基本都是一样的!

我个人觉得,至少我儿子上过的这三家机构,在课程内容开发上都是非常厉害的。这三家机构都有一定年头了,在课程内容开发上都是有实力的。可能另外一些小机构在课程内容开发上,会有力不从心的情况吧。

然后就要进入差异了。


1.欧美外教一对一

我们最早是上的欧美外教一对一,一节课算下来大约120元,一周上两三次。

一对一的特点是孩子独享了这节课和老师的交流时间,所以老师会一直跟孩子互动,效果肯定是有的。

不过,孩子进步速度其实比我预期得要慢这我觉得不能赖机构,而是因为我们一周就上两三次,时间还是少。

客服跟我说,有的孩子一周上5次,而且一次连上两节,效果不错。但我计算了一下,这个方式一周需要1200元,一个月需要4800元坦率地说,我有点心疼钱。

2.菲律宾外教一对一

所以,后来当我听说另外一家亚洲外教一对一的机构,价格非常便宜时,不禁为之所动。一节课价格约60元,仅为欧美外教一对一的一半,我们同样的费用可以一周上六次。那么我儿子就几乎每天都有纯英文语言交流的机会了。这对我很有吸引力!

于是我们购买了少量课程,想小试一段时间,看看效果。

结果怎么说呢?

可能我个人还是对口音的宽容度不是太高。老师是菲律宾等东南亚国家的,那个口音确实还是比较明显然后,尽管老师们都说得比较流利,但流利程度和词汇量还是和英美老师没法比。

我个人觉得,单纯考虑学习效果来说(不考虑价格等因素),找亚洲外教还不如找中国老师。中国老师的口音听着至少非常亲切,流利程度也相当,词汇量说不定还大一点。

3.欧美外教一对四

去年,我接触到了一家做欧美外教一对四的机构。也就是每节课是4个孩子同时上的。显然,这分摊了成本,所以价格大约是50-60元一节换句话说,其既满足了我对老师地道英语的期望,又带来了价格的优势,让几乎每天上课成为了可能。

上之前,我也有一些担忧,主要就是1对1课程,孩子独享了老师的时间,而1对4课程,孩子课堂上就享受不到那么多时间了啊!

现在上了一段时间之后,我感觉这个问题是这样的。

首先,孩子听的时间1对4和1对1没有本质区别,甚至可能还多一点,多那一点是在听其他同学说。

其次,孩子说的时间肯定是会少一些,但并不是只有1对1的四分之一,因为孩子们会抢答会热烈交流,常出现几个小朋友同时说话的情况。

这里要提到一件很关键的事情,就是课堂氛围!

1对1课程只有一个老师和一个孩子,所以孩子往往不太兴奋,经常出现冷场的情况。比如老师问了一个问题,孩子也许走了一下神,或者因为不兴奋而导致思维不够活跃,总之就是孩子没有立即回答问题。然后,老师会等一等孩子。这样一来,常常会有几秒或者十几秒的冷场时间,是无人说话的。

我儿子上课时,经常出现这一现象。一节课来几次,甚至十几次都是有的,累积起来也是一段不短的时间。

而1对4课程,孩子们互相之间会有互动,会有一种你追我赶的氛围,所以往往孩子们都很兴奋,会抢答,会互相点评,聊几句之类的,课堂氛围相当热烈,几乎没有冷场的时候,所以上课时间是没有浪费的。

综上,我个人感觉1对4和1对1相比,孩子听的时间大致相当,说的时间1对4大致为1对1的70%。而孩子思维的活跃程度 1对4 明显胜出。综合看,效果还是很不错的,我可以接受。

我个人并不介意他上英语课是冲着好玩去的。想多玩玩,思维自然就活跃。思维一活跃,自然就听得多,说得多了。

所以,未来我们家会转到欧美外教1对4课程上来。


 

Today we're going to go over my top 5 tips for learning English with movies and TV. Many people successfully learn English this way, and the great thing about it is that you're learning something in context, not isolated like in a vocabulary list. 

今天我想跟大家分享看电视电影学英语的5个绝佳妙招。很多人通过这种方法熟练掌握英语,这样学习的好处在于,你可以结合语境,而不是单纯照着词表背单词。

 

And this will really help you remember it. In addition, you're learning from a native speaker, so your pronunciation should be much more accurate than if you're learning from a book if you do it right.

这样学习记得更牢。而且你还可以直接跟母语者学习,只要方法得当,这样你学到的发音会精确很多,远远胜过光靠书本默读。

 

But learning English from movies and TV does NOT happen automatically. Unless you're using the tips I'm about to teach you, you won't be learning as much English as you could.

不过看电视电影学英语也不是无师自通的,除非你运用了我教的小技巧,学习英语的效果会更好。

 

But if you DO make these tips a part of your regular movie and TV watching habits, you'll have a powerful new learning tool that's always available to you! Now, this is not about relaxing and unwinding watching TV or a movie, this is about learning. It's an active experience, part of your studies.

如果你能将这些小技巧融汇到日常观影习惯中,就掌握了一项语言学习的新利器。请注意,你不能抱着放松身心,舒缓精神的心态来观影。这是在学英语,要付出努力,这是学习过程的一部分。

 

Let's get started. Tip 1:  Work at your level. If listening comprehension is a big challenge for you, and you want to work on that specifically, start with a simple scene involving just a few people in a quiet environment.

我们开始吧!第一个小技巧: 量力而行,如果听力对你来说比较困难,你想重点锻炼一下,那就从人物较少,相对安静的场景开始。

 

I really like dramas because I think in general the pace of speaking is a little slower. HER is a great movie for this: slow pace, clear speech. "What's the rush?" That was relatively easy to understand.

我很喜欢剧情类影片,因为相对来讲语速较慢《她》这部电影非常合适,语速慢、发音清晰。"着什么急?"比较容易听懂吧。

 

If your listening comprehension is very good and you're just looking to pick up new vocabulary or phrases, or you want to challenge your listening comprehension, you can do this by trying a scene in a noisy room, or a scene where people are speaking with a non-standard accent.

如果你的听力已经很好,想学习新的词汇和表达。或者进一步提升难度,挑战自我,可以选择环境嘈杂的场景,或者角色讲话带口音的影视作品。

 

"It's that or we both better go do something else, pal." That was likely much harder to understand. So, work at a level that's right for you. One that's not so challenging that you understand almost nothing.

"就得这样,不然咱们只能改行了,哥们儿"这样大概比较难懂。总之,要根据自己的水平量力而为,不要选几乎完全听不懂的素材。

 

Tip 2:  Use a video player that has the right tools: a toggle for subtitles and a way to easily skip back in the video. Both Netflix and HBO Go have these features, and no they did not pay me to say this. 

第二个小技巧: 选择合适的播放工具,可以通过控制栏调出字幕快进快退那种。Netflix和HBO Go的界面都有这种功能,我不是在帮他们打广告啦!

 

On YouTube, you can do a search on a topic that interests you, and filter it. so you'll only see videos with a closed captioning file.

你也可以在YouTube上搜索自己感兴趣的话题,运用过滤器筛选,这样你就可以看到带官方字幕的视频。

 

But the YouTube player doesn't have a way to easily jump back a few seconds like Netflix or HBO Go, they have a skip back 10 seconds button and I think if you can afford a subscription to one of those services, it's really useful.

不过YouTube视频播放器不太容易快退,不能像Netflix或HBO Go那样退后几秒,那两家有后退十秒的按钮,所以我觉得经济条件允许的话下可以考虑订阅一下,很有帮助。

 

Let's go on to tip 3 to see why. Tip 3:  Use subtitles and the following method to learn. Step 1 is to listen without the subtitles. When you hear something you don't understand, or a word you don't know and it's okay if that's pretty frequent, pause the player.

我们再来看第三个小技巧告诉你原因,第三个小技巧:善用字幕。跟随以下方法学习,第一步不看字幕裸听。当你听到一 些不懂的内容,或者某个不懂的单词,经常碰到也没关系, 先暂停播放。

 

Go back 10 seconds and listen again, pause it. Can you figure it out? Write down as much of the sentence as you can in a notebook that you have just for this purpose. Use an app if you like, but I prefer writing by hand.

后退十秒的继续听,再暂停。这回听出来了吗?把听出来的全部记下来,专门准备一个笔记本记录这些,手机应用当然也行,我比较喜欢手写。

 

Then, turn on the English subtitles and go back and listen again. Listen and watch with the subtitles on. Now, maybe the part you didn't get is a brand new word that you've never seen or heard before. Great, this is an awesome way to learn new vocabulary.

之后打开字幕,倒回去再听一遍,带字幕重新看一遍,或许你没听懂的是个生词,之前没有碰到过。这很好,这样积累词汇也不错。

 

Write the word down, look up the definition, and write down the sentence you heard it in. Even write down the show or the movie and the scene. Remembering this context will absolutely help you remember the word. But maybe when you go back and watch with the subtitles you realize you know all those words.

把这个生词记下来,查字典,把整句都记下来。最好把剧集或电影还有相应场景也记下来,记录语境绝对有助于你牢记这个单词,不过当你带字幕回放之后也有可能发现所有单词都认识。

 

Why didn't you understand it? That's a very important question and answering it is the key to improving your listening comprehension. Perhaps the phrase was said very quickly and there were reductions in there that made it very hard to identify the word.

怎么就是没听懂?这个问题很重要,解决这个难题是提高听力的关键所在,是不是语速过快,或句中有略读的现象,使得某个单词很难辨析。

 

Or maybe a word has a pronunciation that's completely different than what you thought. Write down the full sentence now and circle the words you didn't understand. Then use the skip back button to listen many times... five, maybe even more.

又或者某个单词的发音与你预想的完全不一样,把整句都写下来圈出没听懂的单词,用快退键反复播放... 重听五次,甚至更多。

 

Something was pronounced in a way that you were not expecting. Study how the native speaker pronounces it. Importantly, say the phrase out loud yourself a few times, imitating the native speaker as precisely as you can.

看看哪些单词的读音出乎你的意料,仔细聆听母语者如何发音。更重要的是,要自己大声读几遍,尽量模仿母语者的发音。

 

Write down the correct pronunciation in your notebook. Maybe even take it a step further: Go to Youglish.com and type the word or phrase you didn't understand. Hear lots of other examples of native speakers using that word or phrase, and pay attention.

把正确的发音记在本子里,或者还可以更进一步,登陆Youglish.com网站,输入你没听懂的这个单词或表达,寻找别的范例,仔细听其他母语者如何发音。

 

Is it reduced? Why was it so hard for you to understand the first time? This kind of work will really pay off. Youglish is a search engine for YouTube videos with English subtitles and you can filter it to American English, and skip from clip to clip.

是略读了吗?一开始为什么没听出来?这样的努力肯定会有成效,Youglish网站可以搜索自带英文字幕的YouTube视频,还可以选择美式英语,多个视频换着听。

 

You can also move forward or backward within a clip to get the full context. It's a great way to supplement your learning. Just like in the movies, I did a quick costume change.

还能在同一视频中快进或快退,获得完整语境,对英语学习很有帮助,就像拍电影一样,我换了套戏服。

 

Tip 4:  Review it! If you've taken the time to do the work of watching, pausing, writing down sentences, vocab words, and the context you learned them in, then do yourself a favor and solidify that learning.

第四个小技巧: 复习! 既然你已经花了这么多功夫观看、暂停、做笔记、积累单词、记录语境了,一定要巩固学习成果才对得起自己的努力。

 

Keep your English in Movies notebook close by so if you have a bit of extra time, waiting for an appointment, or on your commute, or during your lunch break, you can remind yourself what you learned yesterday.

看电影学英语专用笔记本要随身携带,这样你一有空闲时间。比如等待约见、通勤或午休,就可以趁机复习前一天所学的知识。

 

If you learned a new vocabulary word, try to come up with your own sentences for it now. Practice speaking your new words and phrases out loud whenever possible.

如果学到新词汇,可以尝试用它造句,抓住一切机会放声使用这些词汇或表达。

 

And Tip 5:  Set manageable goals for yourself. Don't try to learn 100 new words or phrases a day. That's too many. Make it your goal to really learn 5 or 6. When you learn them in context and review them for seven days, that will get you good results.

第五个小技巧:切勿好高骛远。别妄想一天学会100个生词,那太多了,学5个、6个就够了。结合语境,复习七天,学习效果一定不错。

 

Trying to learn too many too often means very little being remembered and leads to burnout. This method I've given you is time-consuming, but it is concrete and you will really learn this way.

太过急功近利效果反而不好,最后记住的不多,而且会搞得自己精疲力尽。我教大家的这个方法非常耗时耗力,但也坚实可靠,保证你学有所获。

 

If you've gotten 5 or 10 good word or phrases in the first few minutes of a show or movie, reward yourself! Close your notebook and watch the rest for enjoyment and pleasure.

如果你刚看几分钟就学到了5到10个实用词汇或表达,就犒赏自己吧! 合上笔记本,尽情享受接下来的观影体验。

 

There is a wealth of TV shows and movies that you can use to help you learn English and speak like a native. 

海量的影视剧给我们提供了丰富多彩的学习素材,帮你学习英语,说起英语来像地道的母语者。



 



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