Forty-eight-year-old Lao Zhao, or old Zhao, as his colleagues call him, is the oldest policeman in Nanjing’s Traffic Administrative Bureau. Lao Zhao’s real name is Zhao Hongxi. He has worked for over 30 years, and had never spoken a single word of English since he left school. But last month Lao Zhao decided to pick up his long forgotten English. In fact, he says all the staff at his Bureau are required to learn some basic spoken English.
“I think I’m too old. I was not good at English even when I was at school. And I haven’t had an opportunity to practice it for more than 30 years. So it is very difficult for me to learn it again.”
Despite these difficulties, Lao Zhao is determined and hardworking. Every day, during lunch hour, four language-school graduates in his Bureau take turns to teach him. During the weekend, Lao Zhao relies on his daughter, who is studying at university in Nanjing.
“When I asked my daughter to help me with my English, she was happy to accept. She teaches me every weekend when she comes back from school. I can’t remember things as well as when I was young. But I think I can manage to learn a couple of sentences a week. Now I’ve learned how to direct a passer-by to Lukou airport.”
Two sentences per week is the required quota in Lao Zhao’s bureau. An official from the bureau, Wang Jinyao, says earlier this year they compiled a book of “200 English sentences”, specially designed for the police.
“During the process, we invited some foreign language experts from Dongnan University to help us. We also try teaching with computers and the Internet. Now, as people from all walks of life in Nanjing have started to learn English, more textbooks on spoken English have come out, so we have a wider range to choose from.”
As Wang Jinyao says, following the example of the police departments in Nanjing, people from all walks of life have joined in the trend to learn the language – taxi drivers, civil servants, tour guides, shop assistants – to name but a few. It is expected that by the end of the year, one fifth of the staff in the city’s service industry will be able to provide services in English to overseas customers.
Nanjing’s first “English Speaking Corner” started over ten years ago. Now, a growing number of enthusiasts come here to practice their oral English. And a lot more English corners have appeared, in public places and even residential communities. The one on Yueyahu Square attracts some one hundred people every evening. Sun, a retired teacher, often goes there.
“My children tell me that I sometimes say new words even in my sleep. I’m determined to learn English well. You know what, I went to the United States last year to visit my son. I felt miserable because I couldn’t communicate with the people there. The only thing I learned to say was ‘Sorry, I can’t speak English.’ It was very embarrassing. ”
Undoubtedly, the students in Nanjing have played an important role in this trend. Primary and middle school students are encouraged to teach their parents English at home, while college students offer their help voluntarily to people in every sector of society.
(China Radio International July 2, 2002)
