Is there any nice way to stop the students from sticking with bad english names?

Best one I had this semester was a female student called "Swallow"  hehe great one that..

I have a freshman student who picked the name 'Johnson'. According to an American I'm acquainted with, this is a term for a certain part of a gentleman's body. However, I figure it will be too embarrassing to explain this to the student

Explain that JOHNSON is a Family name like Li or Chang not usually used as a given name  Suggest that he just go with JOHN

Best one I had this semester was a female student called "Swallow"  hehe great one that..

That's actually a pretty common name. Many girls have the charater 燕 yàn  in their given name which translates to swallow （the bird）. Sometimes when their grammar is poor they forget to use the word 'am' and their introductions can be 'Nice to meet you, I swallow'. These girls seem to make friends easily.

If someone named their children after outboard motors, then Johnson is a good name. If any additional issue, then names like Mercury and Evinrude might follow.

Sorry for resurrecting this but I had something interesting to add.

My mum works for a big business in the UK that deals with Chinese manufacturing. She is high up in the company and deals directly with the heads of two major factories.

Their names are "Bug" and "Potato" these men deal with Millions of of pounds worth of produce and are excellent at their jobs, therefore nobody gives a damn what they choose to call themselves. Mum says when she first got introduced it was strange but after a few hours a name is just a name.

Whilst extreme examples like "Titty" should be informed that their name's have connotations I don't think that it's our place to rename the kids.

I insist that everyone has an English name and give them a list with different suggestions but so far have never told a student not to choose the name they want. Even when one insisted on choosing Obama!

Well the girl I am dating at the moment is called Tomato and to be honest I find it quite sweet. She recognises that it is weird name but in her own words "nobody is Tomato so I am special." Infallible logic!

Quote from: Kangaroo on November 26, 2010, 08:14:17 PM

I have a freshman student who picked the name 'Johnson'. According to an American I'm acquainted with, this is a term for a certain part of a gentleman's body. However, I figure it will be too embarrassing to explain this to the student

Explain that JOHNSON is a Family name like Li or Chang not usually used as a given name  Suggest that he just go with JOHN

And then he'll need a family name to go with "John".  There's an excellent name that can be personal or family for this.  Tell him his English name should be John Thomas.

I am a newbie here so am utterly ignorant about the process of English acquisition as it goes on in China... but, why do Chinese students have to pick a western name? I know some of the names in Chinese are difficult to pronounce and rather complicated tone-wise but there are also some cases like Lin, Hui, Xiao etc that can be kept in its original form. Is it a matter of commercial consideration or a mere caprice of the language school?

I don't know where the English name thing started, but I think most of the students like having them and will generally choose a name on their own without anyone making them do it. When I took Spanish in high school our Spanish teacher gave us Spanish names, and I think there's something about taking on a new native speaking identity that is supposed to be helpful for language learners.

Some students don't choose English names, and that's fine. One of my students is called Ma Xin and his English name is Maxin, pronounced with a short "a," sort of like the men's magazine but with an "n." Whatever they want to be called, it's up to them!

awesome!
so that means that i need to adopt a Chinese name to start thinking like one. 

You should ask your students to do it. We made a lesson of it in every class discussing different meanings and possible names.

Eventually we decided on Chao Ren (possibly spelt wrong) which is Superman, because I always wear a superman belt (and am awesome)   

awesome!
so that means that i need to adopt a Chinese name to start thinking like one. 

That, and drink a lot of baijiu. 

I just tested a woman named Wesley. I let it go.
Then I tested a man named Cecilia.    I asked if I could call him Cecil, and explained why.  He was cool with it.

For businesspeople I think it's imporant not to have a dumbassed name like Sparkle for a man, or Double Oh Seven, or Weenie.

Male names that are also penis references?  Come on.  Peter, Dick, Willy, Johnson, etc. are ehre to stay.

If they're still students, then so what if their name is Simba, Candle, U.K., Beckham, Neo or Rainbow?  Let them have their creativity.  They picked it, they own it, and that's more than we can say about our given names.

So why did you shoot down Cecillia's chance to get in touch with his feminine side?

i guess we are quickly to judge. of course a business man or woman will want to consider a name which will be easier for westerns to digest...
but in general what seems silly or phallus related to us has a completely different meaning to them- they got a whole different world of reference to relate to and pick from... i guess its part of a good teachers job to give more than just grammatical rules and reading comprehension but also some cultural reference and orientation.