Native English Speakers Explaining the Language

Well, personally I find it all going rather tickety-boo, in a formal English diatribial sort of way.

Mind you, I have always been good at clear and concise communication, both keybordial AND vocular.

Every man is a hero in his own ocular.

I'm ascribing to an elemental sort of conciseness, thereby claiming my independant effluent.

Keep your effluent where it belongs--that's why we have sewers . . . and Lord E . . .

I know exactly what Phoenix is on about. I find that i have to be very careful about how i explain a term, and sometimes, although i have no doubt about the meaning of an idiomatic expression in context, i will go look for an online definition, because i want to be certain not to steer them wrong. I may know the meaning of the expression in context, but i may actually not know the proper explanation of the term, or its true derivation.

The other problem i run into is making a clear and correct explanation which is not as obscure as the expression itself. I will use examples of the correct usage to help along the explanation. It profits them little for one of us to provide an explanation, if the terms of the explanation are as obscure to them as the expression they have asked about. It sharpens one's knowledge of one's own language to make the effort to explain an idiom or a complex word or phrase in simple terms which they can understand readily by resort to an English-Chinese dictionary.

Setanta- I agree. I find that by assisting the students with their English, I am beginning to be more careful with my explanations, and attempting to be more precise with my answers.

Seriously, I know exactly what you mean.

I'll read a question, thinking, that's easy to explain, until I have to put it done in proper words.

It's a learning experience for me, in how lazy I am.

I'm always torn between explaining things by reference to grammatical rules or by reference to conventional, "intuitive" usage. I think the latter is a more practical way to learn the language, but I'm guessing most of these students, like most people who learn new languages, are doing it through the former. I'm not sure I'm striking the right balance between the two when I answer these posts.

We have no way of knowing how much these kids know about "Western Culture"--some of them seem convinced that Australia, England and the U.S. are all pretty much the same.

THEY ARE!
Except for the weather and the language, of course.