Here is the observation of a man who lives in Guangzhou,wears some pretty classy shirts, on were he thinks the English courses
are heading in the next few years to come in China.
English is taught in school like any other subject, not as a language of communication. no wonder, most of the students cannot speak or speak only broken English even after passing the highest level exam.
Since few teachers and students in schools(especially public schools) speak English in China, how can one make it a medium of communication in classrooms,let alone outside schools?
And besides,the passive exam-oriented education system does not reveal whether a student can speak English or not. Like any other language,English can be studied at two levels;spoken and written. The basic level is oral communication,without any spelling or writing
involved. But the existing exam- oriented education system cannot make students proficient in spoken English,because it is focused on written English.
To ensure that students communicate properly in English the authorities have to set up"spoken English centers" where they can learn to communicate with each other in real situations. So i think that a lot of the issues of your lady and her English not being what you expected ,is
probably from these situations and how they were taught.
Right now in Bejing the gov't is now going to set up these classes from the very start of school (kindergarten) much to the dismay of many locals but to ensure the success later in life for these children and open up the many doors to the world they feel this is what is needed and
i must admit, i do agree with them. Soon this will funnel down to all over China, Thus opening up the door for many more native teachers here
in China.
It is what i do with my kids and they have made some tremendous strides in their communication (spoken,understanding) that has made me
proud of them. Someday maybe one of them will be the one who does something for the better of the whole world, whether in medicine or technology. And they do that thru their research and development from some other part of the world. You just never know were you are headed and today, children are learning for developments,technology, and jobs that dont even exist yet but will someday in the future.
But to ensure their future success English will play an important role in that. I just wish that i had started this journey 20 years ago instead
of being a part of the corporate rat race i was in for 32 years.
Ok im done thanks for humoring me.
