More Classroom Experiences Experiences Learning English Home Page

Learning English Through Baseball Xiao Wei Nong from China Photo: Thomas Peters In yesterday's class, the teacher, said we need to know that many expressions from the game of baseball are used to talk about life. Photo: Thomas Peters I was eager to learn something about baseball, so after the class, I got out a big dictionary and asked a friend who has been in the U.S. for several years for help. It is the second week we have been studying English at the university, and it is a brand new feeling for me. With the different language and the strange surroundings, I wonder how I can adapt to school life in the U.S. after graduating. In yesterday's class, the teacher Mr. Peters talked about baseball. He said, "Baseball is one of the most popular sports in the U.S. If you hope to speak English well, you must understand baseball. First you need to know the rules, then you need to try to find how it is associated with the daily life". He gave us some examples and let us guess the meanings. Unfortunately, I have never seen a baseball game before, so I couldn't make any sense of it at all. But I realized that it is very useful for me to study here and melt into American society, so I was eager to learn something about baseball. So, after the class, I got out a big dictionary and asked one of my friends who has been in the U.S. for several years for help. First he tried to teach me the baseball rules. I learned that baseball is a game between two teams of nine players. Each team wins by scoring more runs than the opponent. The field must be laid out according to the instructions below: The defensive team players are a pitcher, a catcher, the first base man, the second base man, the third base man, a short stop, and three out-fielders (a right fielder, a center fielder, a left fielder). On the offensive side, only one player comes out to bat the ball at first. My friend told me more rules of the game, but the more he told me, the more confused I felt! Maybe one day I need to watch a real game to understand better! Photos: Thomas Peters Editor's note: It looks like Xiao is starting to get the hang of baseball now. She is catching on fast and mastering the rules of the game, as well as mastering English. Return to: More Classroom Experiences | Experiences Learning English | Home Page TOPICS Online Magazine ©1997-2008 - Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics.mag@gmail.com