近日肯特咨询一直在尝试新的英语教学方法。这种新教学法的首要目标是帮助学生取得高分，这也是家长的典型要求。第二个目标是帮助学生学会使用英语表达，培养用英语思考，沟通和写作的能力，这也是我们认为更为重要的目标。基于肯特咨询的观察和顾客的反馈，现将这一新方法实践情况小结如下。

为了引导学生培养英语思维、锻炼英语口语，要求学生用英语而不是中文解释单词是新教学方案常用的教学活动之一。在起步阶段，学生不愿意尝试这种方法因为他们不知道如何应对,有时候会他们会转而说中文，甚至产生抵触情绪。随着课程的开展，学生积累了一些经验，并能通过运用同义词、肢体语言和举例造句等方法解释课本上大部分的单词。

演讲是展现口语能力的重要方式，也是新方法下英语课堂中另一个重要的教学活动。经过几次课的实践，在老师逐步引导下，学生可以针对课文话题做简短的演讲。对于新话题，只要老师给出一些关键词，学生便可以开口交谈，分享自己的想法，甚至编成小故事。虽然他们仍然不能避免语法错误，而且也常常需要外界帮助，但是我们欣喜地看到他们已经小有成绩，因为时间并不充裕，而且这项练习即便对于大学生来说也是比较高的要求。总体来说，同学们在不断进步中，若他们能坚持用英语思考、用英语表达并将其养成习惯，他们会取得更多、更大的进步。

KCG has been trying new approach to teaching English with two goals recently. One is to improve students’ academic performance on English at school which is typically expected by parents from this type of course. The second goal, which is more important from our perspective, is to help students actually express themselves and develop the ability to think, speak and write in English. On the basis of our observation and feedback from customers, we've came up the following reflection.

Asking students to explain English words in English instead of in Chinese is one of the activities we often conduct in the class to guide students to think and speak in English. Initially, the students were unwilling to comply and were unsure how to deal with this new approach to learning; sometimes, they even showed slight resistance and automatically switched to Chinese for help. As they accumulated experience from the lessons, the students could explain most words listed on the textbook by using synonyms or body language, making sentences with the words etc.

Giving a presentation or speech is the vital demonstration of speaking skills and it is another important activity of this method. After step-by-step guidance, the students can address a short speech on the textbook topics after gaining insights from the textbook on structure and contents. For a new topic, they can talk, share their ideas, and even make a story by just looking at given key words. Even thought they made grammar mistakes and still needed outside help, they did a good job in such a short time because this activity is a high-level requirement even for college students. In general, the students are making progress and going to make more substantive improvements if they insist on thinking and speaking in English and nurse it as a habit.

为帮助学生更好地学习英语，肯特咨询于不久前推出了英语教学新方法，这一教学新方法自推出以来进展顺利。肯特咨询总经理徐展先生日前约见了一些对这一方法感兴趣的朋友。这些朋友均是来自深圳和广州重点高中和培训机构的专业教育学者及负责人。

在交谈中，徐展先生就“在校英语课程教学新方法”分享了更多信息和观点。随后，徐展先生跟这些来自教育界的朋友认真讨论了肯特咨询与上述高中和培训机构的合作计划。在中国的初高中学校，师生比率通常为1：30。而在一些偏远地区，师生比率甚至会更高。这意味着老师与每个学生都有效地交流互动几乎是不可能的。这一情况对于语言教学来讲是非常不利的。为了避免这样的情况，肯特咨询计划使用新教学方法，开展每班不超过10名学生的语言课程。这样做一方面保证能运用新方法顺利开展教学，另一方面确保每个学生都能得到足够多的机会与老师沟通，从而达到练习和提高英语的目的。

肯特咨询与当地教育机构的洽谈使得这一计划向实施阶段迈进了一步。这一举措使学生可以更加系统而有效地学习英语。从商业角度来讲，肯特咨询相信这是一个亟待开发的大规模市场，会吸引更多的公众关注且在多方共同努力下会发展地更加成熟。

The new teaching approach employed by KCG to help students learn English has been doing well. Mr. Kent Xu, the General Manager, recently met with several professional educators and administration managers who were interested in this new teaching approach. In particular, those educators and managers are all from top-tier public high schools and training firms from Shenzhen and Guangzhou. They were interested in this new teaching approach.

During the meeting, Mr. Kent Xu shared more information about the new approach and concepts on the textbook teaching. Serious discussions on cooperation plan between KCG and those high schools and training firms were then carried out. Normally, the teacher-student ratio is around 1:30 in middle school and high school in China. Moreover, the ratio gets even higher in the rural area. This means that it is almost impossible for teacher to have effective interaction with each student in the class, which, to a great extent, is unfavorable for the language teaching. To address this issue, KCG planned to conduct language courses with no more than 10 students in each class. On one hand, it can make sure that the new approach is delivered smoothly and each student has sufficient chances to communicate with teacher.

This plan is coming closer to realization considering that KCG and local educational institutes and school had serious discussions. This movement is beneficial for students as they can learn effectively in a more systematic way; from a business point of view, KCG believes that it is a mass market to explore and it will attract more public attention and get well-developed under the joint effort of different parties.

近期，美国私立高中的同学们正在考虑下一学年的课程选择。由于高中课程对于大学的申请非常关键，同学们应当审慎对待这个问题。尤其是对于即将升入11年级的同学们来说，该学年的学业表现将是大学招生办公室关注的重点。因此，选择能够取得理想成绩的课程是选课的底线。同学们应当选择自己有兴趣的科目，并努力争取一个好的GPA成绩。

然而，好的成绩仅仅是大学申请的必要条件之一。大学招生委员会还会去了解学生所选的课程是否足以挑战自己。因此，课程的难度也是相当重要的一个考虑因素。例如，在学习能力的范围内，同学们宜选一些难度较大的AP及荣誉课程，以证明他们的学习实力，同时展示他们挑战自我的决心。

同学们的兴趣也是选课的考虑因素之一。一般来说，同学们选择的课程应当尽量与将来的目标专业挂钩。比方说，对于计划在大学就读理工科专业的同学，应当在高中多修一些数理方面的课程（微积分、物理、化学、计算机科学等）；对于文科倾向的学生，应当相应的多修一些博雅教育课程。

此外，第二外语的要求也是同学们需要关注的问题。一般来说，选取一门第二外语并且完成两学年的要求，是高中毕业的硬性指标。如果同学们由于某些原因没能在毕业前修满学分，那么暑期学校可以是一个不错的补修机会。不过，这一要求对国际学生也许不太适合。在少数学校，国际学生可以免掉这样的学分要求，因为学校承认他们已经熟练掌握了一门除英语以外的第二外语。

Students from various high schools in the U.S are currently facing course selection for the coming academic year. As course work in high school is crucial for college application, students should take this issue seriously. It is extremely important for the rising junior year students, because admission committees usually concentrate on students' performance in Grade 11 when reviewing transcripts. Consequently, achieving decent grades is the bottom line. Students should be comfortable to take their selected courses, and confident to strive for a distinctive Grade Point Average (GPA) for this year.

However, merely decent grades are inadequate for college application. Admission committees also want to see if the applicants are sufficiently challenged in high school. Therefore, the rigor of school record (level of difficulty) should be taken into consideration when selecting courses. For example, to prove their academic strength, students should take Advanced Placement (AP) courses and honor courses. On one hand, students can demonstrate their capability of learning; on the other hand, it reflects that students are bold to challenge themselves.

Another important factor is students’ level of interest. Normally, selected courses should be consistent with the intended majors in college education. For instance, if a student intends to study sciences or engineering in college, she / he will definitely take more quantitative disciplines such as Calculus, Physics, and Computer Science in high school. If a student prefers a major of arts, she / he should learn more about liberal arts courses accordingly.

In addition, students should also watch out for the graduation requirements of their current school. Completion of a Foreign Language course (through Level Two) is mandatory in most cases. Students should choose a foreign language and fulfill two years of learning. If students unfortunately cannot go through the two years requirement, they can earn credits in summer school in order to make it up. Exceptions exist for international students. In a few schools, students can waive the requirement of Foreign Language because they have already been fluent in another language.

对于错过了大学入学申请而仍然想去美国大学留学的同学，申请转学是一个不错的机会。转学申请有两个选择：大二转入和大三转入。

一般来说，美国的大学鼓励学生大二转入。因为一旦录取，转学生将在目标学校学习更多的必修课程。这些必修课程是升入大三，开始专业课程学习的核心和基础。大多数顶级高校要求大二转入的学生提交SAT的成绩。

对于打算大三转入的同学，SAT成绩通常可以免掉，因为学生已经有了两年在大学里学习的经历。然而，专业课预备课程的要求将是另外一个申请障碍。很多知名的大学（例如南加州大学）都明确表明，大三转入的学生必须申报一个就读专业，并且满足该专业的预备课程要求。举例来说，如果一个学生打算在大三转入纽约大学的商科专业，那么他必须修过了以下课程：1学期微积分，1学期英文写作，1学期微观经济学，1学期统计学，以及1学期金融会计。这样的要求对于中国学生来说会更加的苛刻，因为他们在国内大学所学的课程未必能够满足这样的预备课程条件。

总的来说，考虑转学的同学们一定要注意在目前学校所修的课程，并尽早着手准备工作。

For the students who missed the chance of college application in Grade 12 but still intend to study in a college in the U.S, transfer admission could be another possibility. Transfer applicants have two options: Sophomore Transfer and Junior Transfer.

Normally, applying as a sophomore transfer is encouraged by colleges, because once admitted, students will take more courses in their target school. These courses are usually the General Required Courses or so called “Core Curriculum”, serving as the prerequisites of the Major Required Courses in junior and senior years. But for most top tier universities, SAT score is still mandatory for sophomore applicants.

With more than two years of college education, junior transfer applicants are usually lucky to waive the requirement of SAT score. However, the requirement of prerequisite course work is an obstacle. Some decent schools like the University of Southern California clearly stated that junior transfer applicants should declare a major, with all the prerequisite course work fulfilled and completed. For example, junior transfer applicants who apply for the finance program in the Stern School of Business of the New York University should finish at least five courses with decent grades: 1 semester of Calculus I, 1 semester of Writing / Composition, 1 semester of intermediate-level Microeconomics, 1 semester of Statistics, and 1 semester of Financial Accounting. It is even tougher for Chinese applicants, as there is no guarantee that the course work taken in a Chinese university can meet the prerequisites.

Anyway, transfer applicants should pay attention to their course selection in current colleges, and start with preparation as early as possible.