| Comment | 'I knew the right answer, so I raised my hand.'
I agree with laalaa. The normal phrase in English is 'raise one's hand.' Adding 'voluntarily' would be wrong because it would be redundant: raising one's hand is always a voluntary action (unless you have a neurological disorder and can't control your muscles).
'Answer voluntarily' would be correct and understandable; it's just that it's not a very typical English expression, whereas 'raise one's hand' is.
To my ears, 'pipe up' isn't right, because it would mean that you just blurted out the answer without waiting for the teacher to call on you, which (at least in most US schools) would be a no-no. Even when it's okay, for example, in the context of a discussion, 'pipe up' would be more colloquial than the German; something like 'volunteer an answer' would be better.
In a broader context, for example in determining grades for a report card at the end of a term, answering voluntarily falls under the category 'class participation.' I think I've read here in the forum before that in German schools, even very young children are graded explicitly on class participation?
If so, that's very different from US schools, at least below the university level. Our teachers usually have more trouble getting younger students to be quiet and listen, so grades for 'conduct' tend to be based on _not_ talking when you're _not_ supposed to. As long as you aren't disruptive and you get good grades on tests, you're assumed to be participating properly in class. In fact, raising your hand too often can look like sucking up to the teacher, which tends to be strongly discouraged by other students. |
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