Learn Foreign Languages

By a Chinese Friend

I am Chinese. I have been learning English ever since I entered the junior middle school. It’s impossible to not speak it fluently after so many years of learning. However, many university graduates in China are far away from that. Does this happen to those in other countries? I don’t know. But everybody around me here always asks the same question: How to learn English well?

At first, our goal at school was just to pass exams, mid-terms as well as finals, which are full of multiple choice problems. So reading and understanding was the most important thing.

Things changed when we were enrolled into universities. Our goal then was trying to open our ears as well as mouths, i.e. to understand what the English people say and to speak English. “Deaf English” became the most popular term on campus when people talked about English learning. Most of the students could read, but couldn’t speak. And the listening comprehension was poor.

Therefore, if you spoke good English, you would meet with admiring eyes on occasions where English is supposed to be used for communication such as English Corners. (An English Corner is a party organized by some English fans. Its purpose is to gather English-loving people together to practice English by conversing with each other and doing games.)