Frances：
In today’s world, many things can be achieved through technology which were not even dreamed of when I was a child. For example, when I was a girl, if someone wanted to call overseas, they would first send a letter, and the person in the other country would sit next to the telephone at the appointed time. In many cases, the call could not be made directly. We had to use overseas telephone operators to connect the call.
当今社会，许多事情都可以通过我小时候难以想象得到的科技得以实现。比如说，当我还是个小女孩的时候，如果有人想打国际长途的话，他们首先要寄出一封信，然后在另一个国家的那个人要在约定的时间坐在电话旁。在许多情况下，这次通话不能直接打通。我们需要用国际通讯员来连接这次通话。
Now, I find myself sitting in my home office, talking to students all over the world. Some people may find this to be a commonplace event, but it is still a marvel to me. I am watching the sun rise, and saying good night to my students, who are getting ready for bed. It’s always an amazing thing to me.
现在，我坐在自己家里就可以和全世界的学生交流。许多人认为这是司空见惯的事情，但是我仍就感到很惊奇。我在美国看到太阳升起的同时对我的那些准备睡觉的学生说晚安。这对我来说总是奇妙的事情。
Despite the advances in technology, however, there are some things that never change. When it comes to teaching and learning, there is no substitute for good instruction, study, practice, and revision. Good writing never changes. A well-written essay shows the ideas, personality, intelligence, skills and talents of the writer. Above all, it conveys a strong and clear message, and shows the reader that the author has perfected not only the language, but the organization and structure of the academic essay.
尽管科技有许多好处，但是仍然有许多东西是永远不变的。当教导和学习的时候，好的指导，学习，练习和复习是无法替代的。好的写作是永远不变的。所有优秀的文章都表现了作者的想法，性格，理解力，技巧和天赋。综上所述，文章传递着一种强烈而清晰的信息，并告诉读者作者并不只是能够熟练的运用语言那，还能很好的组织架构学术文章。
Students from China already have great academic skills. They know how to study, and they have great habits. They have the concentration and the diligence needed to conquer any task. We, as writing teachers, are like coaches. We take our excellent academic athletes and train them in the moves they need to be successful in the international arena of English writing.
中国的学生已经拥有了很好的学术技巧. 他们知道怎么学习,并且拥有非常好的习惯. 他们的专注和勤奋能够征服任何学习任务. 我们写作老师就像教练一样. 我们训练我们杰出的学习队员把他们引领到正确的道路上，从而让他们能够在英语写作的国际赛场上成功。
When I teach writing to a student in China, I already know what their experiences are, and I must also be aware of their weaknesses. In this way, I can turn the weakness into strength. For example, I know that most Chinese students haven’t spoken with foreign teachers very much. This means that they have to stretch their English speaking skills because they cannot fall back on their Chinese. This helps them to improve their speaking at the same time they are learning to write, turning a weakness into a strength.
在我教一个中国学生写作的时候，我已经知道了他们的经验是什么，而且我必须清楚他们的弱点。这样，我就可以把他们的弱点转变为优势。 例如， 我知道大部分中国学生很少和外国老师说话。 这意味着他们不得不锻炼他们的英语口语能力因为他们不能落后于其他中国学生。 这可以帮助他们在学习写作的时候提高口语水平，将弱势转变为优势。
In a similar way, Chinese students have been taught to use a certain structure when they write in their native language. We have to teach them a new structure, and along with that goes a different logic and a new way of looking at information. A student could write an essay on the same subject in Chinese and in English, and they would be two totally different essays. Learning a new structure helps the student to take information and skills acquired in one language, and transfer that to another framework. This is a way to build critical thinking skills while teaching writing.
类似的，中国学生在用中文写作的时候被教用一种特定的结构。我们不得不教会他们一种新的结构，并教他们利用一种不同的逻辑和全新的方法来看待问题。一个学生可以分别用中文和英文来写同一个话题，并且这两篇文章可以是完全不同的2篇文章。学习新结构帮助学生在一种语言中获得信息和技巧，然后转到另一种架构。 在教写作时这是一种建立批判式思维的方法。
Although I have taught grammar (starting out as a grammar teacher), reading, conversation, American culture, business English, and writing, most of my recent experience is in writing. Specifically, I have been teaching writing for academic purposes, preparing students for standardized tests such as the TOEFL, the SAT, and the GRE.
尽管我曾经教过语法（开始是语法老师），阅读，对话，美国文化，金融英语和写作，但是我最近主要在教写作。具体的，我一直在教学术写作，培养学生参加标准化考试，例如TOEFL,SAT和GRE。
The TOEFL test has two kinds of essays, the Independent Task and the Integrated Task. In the Independent Task, students are given a topic to write about. Although there are several kinds of topics, they require a similar analysis and presentation. I begin by teaching the building blocks of the essay, breaking it down into its simplest parts and practicing with the student until he or she has mastered this process to the point where they can automatically analyze the topic, and their essay, by themselves.
TOEFL 考试有2类写作，独立写作和综合写作。在独立写作部分，学生会针对一个话题来写作。尽管有好几类话题，但是学生需要相似的分析方法和表达方式。我从教学生建立文章模块开始，把文章分为几个最简单的部分然后和学生一起练习直到学生已经掌握了方法，即他们可以自己分析话题和文章。
Then, we go on to the more complicated Integrated Task, where the student must read a passage and listen to a lecture, taking notes at the same time. Students must analyse these passages for their similarities and differences, and then write about them. In this case, several things are going on at one time. Many teachers just take published examples of the Integrated Task and make students practice, but I believe in giving different but related listening exercises to help the student build their listening and writing skills. I like to take short clips from American websites and expose students to a variety of topics as well as different accents. I have the students take notes and analyze these clips, and then write about them. Sometimes, I prepare gap fill exercises to help hone listening skills.
然后,我们接着进行更加复杂的综合性写作, 在综合性写作中学生必须阅读一篇文章然后听一段讲座,同时记笔记.学生必须分析文章和讲座的相似点和不同点,然后写作.这样,要同时做几件事.很多老师仅仅给学生出版过的样题,然后让学生练习,但是我相信给学生不同但有相关性的听力训练来帮学生训练听力和写作能力.我喜欢从美国网站取一些短文章然后给学生不同的话题和不同口音的听力材料.我让学生记笔记并分析这些文章,然后写作.有时候,我提供填空题来帮助学生训练听力能力.
When it comes to the SAT, the writing is similar to the TOEFL Independent task, and there is a similar approach to preparing that essay.
SAT的写作和TOEFL独立写作相似,并且训练方法也相似.
In the GRE, there are two kinds of essays: the “Issue” topic and the “argument” topic. When exploring these, I find it’s important to get the student to thoroughly analyze the topic and decide on the best way to answer the question. Without proper practice and training, students tend to get lost in the topic and jump around from point to point, sometimes producing wandering answers that do not result in strong essays. Even though these essays might present good points, they won’t get a good mark because their writing was rambling. I teach students to focus on the best answers to the questions, and to do this quickly enough, with any material, so they can produce the best possible essay in the time allowed on the test.
GRE有2类写作: Issue 和 argument. 探索着两个话题时,我发现让学生完整分析话题然后决定回答问题的最好方法很重要. 没有正确的练习和训练,学生可能会迷失在话题中然后从一个点跳到另一个点,有时候写出毫无紧要成为好文章的答案.即使这类文章展示了好的想法也不会得到高分因为他们写得很散漫.我教学生关注问题最好的答案,然后利用任何材料来展开写.所以他们可以在考试有限的时间内写出最好的文章.
Another point I focus on when teaching writing is choosing the proper word to use. Chinese students have very large English vocabularies, but often they do not have the same understanding of subtle meanings and usages that a native speaker has. Writing practice helps them to learn the gradations of meaning that will help them to distinguish the differences between similar words. This is something that can only be achieved through exposure and practice.
Good writing is like a game of chess. It takes a relatively short time to learn the moves, but through practice, one becomes more and more of a master. All the greatest masters have great coaches. As a writing teacher who is also a working writer, I feel that I have the experience and insight that helps students realize their potential.
我教写作时关注的另一点是选择合适的写作词汇.中国学生的英语词汇量很大,但是他们没有以英语为母语人那种对词汇微妙意思的理解和用法.写作练习帮助他们学习词义的逐渐变化,这可以帮助他们分辨出相似词汇的不同点.这只有通过接触和训练来达到.好的写作像象棋游戏.仅仅需要相对较短的时间来学会方法,但是想要成为大师,就需要不断的练习.所有最伟大的大师都拥有伟大的教练.作为一名写作老师同时也是一名作者,我觉得自己有经验和深刻的理解来帮助学生意识到他们的潜力.
I am always available to answer any question or concern of my students, so I hope you will feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
我总是十分乐意回答我学生们的然和问题和担忧,所以我希望你们有任何问题的话请联系我。
