程慕胜 女，广东中山人，美国归侨。1937年生于纽约，1950年回国。1955年—1957年在上海外国语学院俄语系学习，1957年夏转入北京外国语学院英语系学习，1959年毕业。1959年—1972年在北京广播学院外语系任教。1972年至今在清华大学外语系任教，教授英语阅读、英语写作、普通语言学、英语史等课程。1984年—1985年在加拿大多伦多大学语言学系和英语系进修。1988年被评为教授，1993年—1999年任清华大学外语系主任。1993年—2001年任北京高教学会大学英语研究会理事长，现任顾问。主要作品有：《英汉科学技术词典》和“英语单词读音的规律性及其在教学中的应用”、“学英语，不用国际音标行不行？”等论文。

I grew up in the U.S. and English is my mother tongue, so I have no first-hand experience to pass on as regards learning English as a second/foreign language. After graduating from the Beijing Foreign Languages Institute, I was assigned to teach English. Frankly speaking, I didn't want to be a teacher. Besides, I hadn't
the faintest idea how to teach.

Contrary to my expectations, I came to love teaching, love being with young people. It is a constant challenge, but I enjoy it. Now I have been teaching for more than 40 years, during which time I have become familiar with the difficulties of Chinese students in learning English, and tried to find ways to overcome these difficulties. In this process I have deepened my understanding of the English language itself, and of its history.

Young students often ask me for advice on how to learn English. All I can say is:
　　1. Practice, practice, practice, whether your main aim is reading, writing, speaking, or listening.
　　2.Try to find the method of learning most suitable for yourself. Since people are different, what might be a good method for one person might not work for someone else, so everyone must find his/her own method.

Young teachers of English also ask me for advice about teaching. On this point I do have some first-hand experience:

As a teacher, I am always a pragmatist? bearing in mind that my first responsibility is to do a good job of teaching my students so that they will derive maximum benefit from their efforts. Sometimes I need to “think outside the box"---- if the previously accepted way doesn't work well, look for a better way. Use the "trial and error"method---keep what is effective, and don't hesitate to change what isn't. Timely feedback from the students helps me modify my teaching to strive for optimal results.

For example, the first big problem I discovered was that the students had difficulty connecting the pronunciation of English words with their spelling. At that time all the available textbooks used the International Phonetic Alphabet to teach English phonetics and to show the pronunciation of English words. Confronted with the students?nbsp;difficulties, I thought,"There must be a better method." I experi mented with ways to connect the spelling directly with the pronunciation of the words without using the IPA, and found the results to be much improved. I wrote an article on the subject, and was fortunate enough to have it printed in the Foreign Languages Teaching and Research journal in 1966 No. 1, the very last academic issue before the cultural revolution. Later I heard that in 1970 Premier Zhou Enlai, in a talk with several English teachers at Peking University, questioned the advisability of using the IPA, saying that it made learning more complicated. This confirmed my belief that I was on the right track. In 1978, the光明日报carried my article “学英语，不用国际音标行不行?”, which further explained my views on the subject.

In other areas of English teaching, for example, English writing and history of the English language, I also adopt a pragmatic approach, ceaselessly gathering materials, and exploring for better ways to teach and learn. I am never satisfied with what has already been achieved.

Now I am getting on in years, and must leave the field to the younger generation. In conclusion, I would like to wish all the students of English and the younger generation of English teachers the greatest success in their work and study!