Say No to Chinglish! 4ModuleRelationships

UnitEast meets West

Programme outlineIn a yes/no question game, Susan has to guess the name of a famous person by asking Tommy six short questions. With the pictures of some celebrities and the short answers given by Tommy, can Susan get the name right? As Mr Jones says, most Chinese English learners tend to always respond with a “yes” to negative questions such as “Don’t’ you”, “Didn’t you”, “Haven’t you” even when they mean “no” to those questions. How could we avoid making such mistakes?

Key Stage 2 Learning TargetsTo develop an ever-improving capability to use English~ to obtain and provide information in classroom situations and through activities

such as interactive games (IS.e)~ to interpret and use given information through processes or activities such as

predicting and drawing conclusions (KS.b)

Communicative functions1. Understand the use of interrogative sentences in asking questions, e.g., Will you

marry me? Are you coming to my wedding? Didn’t you bring it?2. Learn about the formation of affirmative and negative short answers, e.g., Yes, I

did. No, I won’t. Yes, I am.3. Learn how to respond to affirmative and negative sentences such as Didn’t you get

my invitation card? Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.4. Identify names of popular celebrities worldwide

Suggested activities1. Introduce the programme and the main characters: Mr Jones the presenter, Tommy

and Susan.2. Ask the class with a negative question like “Didn’t you have spaghetti for lunch

yesterday?” to elicit their responses. In Cantonese, if the answer is no, then we would say “係呀！昨日午餐我無食意粉！”. For most Chinese English learners who like to translate their meaning into English word by word would always reply

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with a “yes” first. Look at this incorrect answer in English: Yes, I didn’t have spaghetti for lunch yesterday. This is not how the English language works. In order not to be confused by the two language systems, here comes the golden rule- a “yes’ means yes and a “no’ really means no. The correct answer in English is “No, I didn’t.” (冇，尋日午餐我冇食意粉！) or “Yes, I did.” (有！尋日午餐我食意粉！).

3. Watch the programme together. Draw pupils’ attention to the yes/no question game in which they learn about the names and occupations of some celebrities. Also, they can play the game themselves using the pictures in COPYMASTER 1.

4. The second part of the programme is the romance story told by Mr Jones. Pupils will see the structure and word order of general questions and negative questions. The focus is on how to respond to negative questions in a grammatically correct way. For example:

Mr Jones: Will you marry me? Jenny: Yes, I will. Mr Jones: Don’t you think we should get married? Jenny: Yes, I think we should get married. Mr Jones: Didn’t you get my invitation card, Tommy? Tommy:No, I didn’t. Mr Jones: Did you get my invitation card, Susan? Susan: Yes, I did. Susan: Are you excited too? You: Yes, I am. / No, I’m not.

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COPYMASTER 1Say No to Chinglish! 4

Do you know them?David Beckham (a retired football player)

Andy Lau Tak-wah (an actor)Taylor Swift (a singer-songwriter)

Pope Francis (Bishop of Rome)Lee Wai- sze (an Olympic bronze medalist in cycling)

Harry Potter (the main character in a series of novels)Yo-Yo Ma (a cellist)

Novak Djokovic (a tennis player)

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Wayne Rooney (a football player)Lee Lai- shan (an Olympic gold medalist in windsurfing)

Joseph J.Y. Sung (the Vice-Chancellor and President of a local university)

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COPYMASTER 1Say No to Chinglish! 4

Complete the answers.

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a. Mr Jones: Will you marry me?

Jenny: Yes, ___________________.

b. Mr Jones: Don’t you think we should get married?

Jenny: Yes, _________________we should get married. (or) No, _________________we should get married too soon.

c. Mr Jones: Didn’t you get my invitation card, Tommy?

Tommy: No, _________________

d. Mr Jones: Did you get my invitation card, Susan?

Susan: Yes, _________________

e. Susan: Are you excited too?

You: Yes, _________________ (or)

No, _________________

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