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“Where There Is No Lao Wai-----How To Learn English On The Go, On Your Own”By Stephen Van Wyck

Introduction

Contents

Part One --- Brief Outline of TextPart Two --- Detailed outline of textPart Three --- The text

Part One : Brief Outline of Text

I. Introduction and purpose of the textII. Philosophical roots of learning EnglishIII. The problems facing youIV. How to avoid the problems and exploit them creativelyV. The solutions availableVI. How to make the solutions happenVII. Other ideas for considerationVIII. Conclusion

Part Two : Detailed outline of text

I. Introduction and purpose of this text. A. Introduction

1) The spectre of English2) A harbinger of changes to come3) People are anxious

B. Body 1) Everyone grasping for something

a) Fluency in Englishb) A “bridge” to future successc) Everybody chasing it

2) The bookstores today in Chinaa) English language learning materials b) Test-taking materialsc) Electronic learning materials

3) On foreigners in Chinaa) Been here 30 years

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b) Respected, coveted, popularc) A part of life in China

4) The rise and fall of English knowledgea) Thousands learned somethingb) After graduation, much English lostc) All that suffering for nothingd) “I had no foreign friend …”

5) Purpose of texta) Thesis Statement ---“It is to show you how to learn English on the go,

on your own, where there is no foreign person anywhere near you.”b) What it is not

i) Learning Englishii) Like the “Crazy English” program

c) What it is likei) Starting a slow-burning revolutionii) Maintaining it

6) Summary of remainder of texta) Philosophical roots of learning Englishb) Problems facing English learners after graduationc) How to avoid these problemsd) Solutions on how to learn Englishe) How to make these solutions happenf) Other ideas for consideration

C. Conclusion 1) Again, that complaint, “I had no ….”2) Time for complaint to go!3) Who text is dedicated to4) C.S. --- “Take it!” You have nothing to lose but your

complaints.”

II. Philosophical roots of learning English

A. Introduction 1) Books drive education, but various underlying philosophy drives the

books and the effort we put into learning.2) Consider this:

a) China awash in books, language schools, filmsb) Many people give up language studies after graduation.

3) Necessary to determine some philosophical roots of learning English. Four parts:a) Motivatorsb) Underlying motivatorsc) Educational and other mattersd) On “dependence” and “independence”

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Your philosophy will determine how well you study English after graduation, with no foreigner around you.

B. Body 1) Philosophical roots--- motivators

a) “Push on”i) Job demands it.ii) Society expects it.iii) The “bandwagon effect”.iv) WTO/globalization both force it.

b) “Pull up”i) Improve self------more incomeii) Better job, better lifeiii) Desire more knowledge, skillsiv) Sustain ambitions.

c) “Get out”i) Avoid “falling behind” in societyii) More up in society---village—city---capital

--overseasiii) Avoid dead-end jobsiv) From stagnant work units------vibrant companies

d) “Do better”i) Be better than another person.ii) Be better than another company.iii) Be better than another nation.iv) Be better than yourself the day before.

2) Philosophical roots------ underlying motivators a) What do you call it?

i) Greed, fear, ambition, pride, envy, dissatisfactionii) Hunger, concern, desire, self-respect, wish to be

included in life’s blessings, desire to do better with what you have.

b) Otherwise, why---i) Get up in the morning.ii) Struggle all day longiii) Study in eveningiv) Dream at night?

c) Why is there a qualitative difference in the way some Students study Russian and French, as opposed toEnglish and Japanese?

i) Languages hold different attractions?ii) Languages arouse different motivations?

iii) Target nations/cultures offer different rewards?3) Philosophical roots---Educational and other matters

to consider

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a) Synthesize language and knowledge, don’t memorizeThem.

b) An interest in the target language is half the struggle won

c) Bloom’s Taxonomy of Questions.i) Explain. Diagram.ii) Can be adapted to the level to which one wants

to learn a language.d) “English only”e) Do not criticize one another.

i) Promote risk-taking, exploration.ii) Eradicate shame, shyness, fear of trying

or “standing out”.f) On dreams and reality---T. E. Lawrenceg) “Low expectations.”h) Flexibility.i) “Did you enjoy yourself?”j) Are you a person of destiny?k) Train up a few to follow you.l) Do what you want, not what you mustm) Allow yourself the right to do it your way, to be unusual.n) Let your true self and genius come out ------better results.o) Have a plan. “Failing to plan is planning to fail!”p) “Micro-unit.” Have manageable chunks.q) If you love it you will learn it.r) Have you thought about using your English to “give”

and not to “get”?i) Helping others.ii) On “downward mobility”

s) Compare self with self, not self with others.t) On “absolute” vs. “relative” struggles and aspirations.

i) “Absolute”-- defineii) “Relative”--define

u) How are you doing?i) Measure countable behaviors.ii) Do not evaluate “feelings” on how you are doing

v) Do a “motivation inventory”---why am I doing this?w) Where am I strong? (Reading, writing, listening, speaking) x) What variables affect my learning?

i) Materials---books, tapes, VCD’s, etc.ii) Teachers.iii) Evaluation tools---(tests).iv) External factors---location, time of day, other

people, distractions, time available.

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v) Internal factors---feelings, thoughts, meals.vi) Your capabilities and learning styles.Conclusion.

4) Philosophical roots---dependence and independence a) Again, the problems of English---language graduates.

i) No foreign friend to communicate with.ii) Foreign friend seen as essential catalyst for language

development.iii) “American English” and “American accent” are

seen as essential part of language acquisition process.iv) No foreign friend, no way forward, for many.

b) Dependence in youi) The tyranny of “so-so”ii) Unwillingness to “vote”, take sides, stand out, speak up.

c) Dependence on foreign speakers among college studentsi) In “English-corners” --clustering.ii) In “Free talks”--keep silent, surrender to dominant students,

over-speaking teacher.iii) Foreign teachers often used to as publicity banners, hosts,

judges at large student gatherings (i.e.,--debate competitions).

d) Dependence on “American English” and “American accent” as a necessary precondition for an authentic language experience.i) American accent avidly pursued by many students.ii) “North American”/British, Canadian, New Zealand,

Australian teachers often favored over native/second-language English speaker from other parts of the world. Delicate, but extant issue….

iii) Accent/pronunciation is favored over conversation or grammar by many students.

iv) The job market favors “American accent” speakers over others.

v) America is perceived as a major world power, providing influence, jobs, opportunities, wealth, mobility, power. Therefore “accent” followers the power. Before, British English; before, French; and before, Latin.

vi) North America is still a major immigration destination.e) On independence in language learning.

i) You need to go it alone, as there are not enough foreign speakers for everyone.

ii) Very few people will help you, if at all.iii) The farther from big cities, the harder it is to find foreigners.iv) Many “language centers” are money-oriented, or their staff

not satisfactory.

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v) Only you understand what you need, or want, exactly.C. Conclusion

1) Only discuss thoughts, feelings, attitudes here. If long, it was for a reason.

2) The rest of the text will discuss actions you can take, events you must deal with.

III. The problems facing you

A. Introduction 1) You have arrived --- at new job.2) The need to survive.3) This is the context of your English-language studies.4) Your English is being “hunted”.5) This section will discuss those forces, seeking to destroy your hard-won

knowledge of English: From other people, from yourself, in terms of “other things coming in”, and in terms of materials/resources.

B. Body 1) From other people---“Who” and “what”

a) Workmates.b) Roommates.c) Classmates.d) Old English teacher--- Chinese or foreign.e) Boss.f) Boyfriend / girlfriend.g) Husband/wife.h) Children.i) People from your local neighborhood.j) English “parasites”.k) Dead-end relationships.l) “Turkeys”.m) Unfriendly foreigners.n) No encouragement.o) No support.p) Public opinion.q) Other people’s vision is imposed on you.r) The cult of conformity.s) The cult of mediocrity.t) On competition.u) On betrayal.v) Individual initiative is pushed down.w) The “fang yang pi” problem.x) Conclusion.

2) From yourself---“inner rot” and “outer collapse”.

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a) No dream---“Where there is no vision, the people perish”.b) Confusion over goals.c) Unsure where to begin.d) No feedback from colleagues.e) No one cares.f) Worries about your reputation.g) Worries about income, rent, food.h) Fatigue.i) Despair.j) No plan.k) No interest in English outside of job.l) Remain in your job because there is nowhere else to go.m) Lose interest in English. Want something else.n) Why bother? Collapse of motivation.o) Burnout---collapse of career.

3) “Other things coming in”-- “oppression”, “distraction”, and “temptation” .a) Discuss general concept of “other things coming in”.b) Load of work.c) Commuting to and from work.d) Your school too remote from centers of culture—

libraries, concert halls, museums, good bookstores.e) Only do your “same old lesson plans”.

i) Leads to a rut.ii) Leads to laziness.

f) Getting married.g) Having children.h) Competing projects.i) Becoming a leader or administrator/j) It is no longer necessary to survive the vigorous, challenging

demands of college.k) Failure.l) Success.m) Ambition.n) The result--you become unfruitful. (Isn’t “fruit”/result/product the

name of the game?)4) Materials/Resources---“slow starvation”.

a) Local bookstore has nothing.b) Bookstore is too far away.c) Lack of materials.d) Not enough money.e) Local materials are out of date.f) Local materials are too controlled by the librarian.g) Materials passed to students “disappear”, are hoarded, not circulated.

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C. Conclusion 1) Problems come from within, without, from anywhere, slow/fast,

stranger/friend, even family! (“A man’s enemies shall be members of his own household.”)

2) Make no mistake--your English knowledge like newborn deer; reality of life like desert wolves outside waiting to take it away.

3) “If you do not use it, you will lose it.”4) This section depressing, but need to know what up against, and must do.5) C.S. ---“Finally, these problems also provide you with a blueprint for

avoiding these same problems, (or at least managing them) and for exploiting them creatively. Many difficulties contain in them the seeds of their solution, if you dig. We will examine these in the next section. The tone of this text will also become more positive.”

IV. How to avoid the problems and exploit them creatively

A. Introduction1) This section is the turning point of this book.2) Problems to solutions. Pessimism to optimism. Dangers to opportunities.

Obstacles to highways. Limitations to advantages.3) Many problems have the germ of a solution in them.4) We must be aware of and cautious of problems, but they can point the

way to where we can work on them and solve them—right in the workplace, where they arose.

5) This section will re-examine the many problems raised in the previous section, then suggest some ways to solve these problems on-site, rather than leave them for another place.

B. Body1) From other people

a) Workmates.b) Roommates.c) Classmates.d) Old English teacher.e) Boss.f) Boyfriend/Girlfriend.g) Husband/Wife.h) Children.i) People from your local neighborhood.j) English “parasites”.k) Dead-end relationships.l) “Turkeys”.m) Unfriendly foreigners.n) No encouragement.o) No support.

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p) Public opinion.q) Other people’s vision is imposed on you.r) The cult of conformity.s) The cult of mediocrity.t) On competition.u) On betrayal.v) Individual initiative is pushed down.w) The “fang yang pi” problem.x) Conclusion.

2) From yourselfa) No dream.b) Confusion over goals.c) Unsure where to begin.d) No feedback from colleagues.e) No one cares.f) Worries about your reputation.g) Worries about income, rent, food.h) Fatigue.i) Despair.j) No plan.k) No interest in English outside of job.l) Remain in your job because there is nowhere else to go.m) Lose interest in English. Want something else.n) Why bother—on motivation.o) On burnout.

3) “Other things coming in”a) On turning “other things coming in” into assets.b) Load of work.c) Commuting to and from work.d) Your school remote from centers of culture.e) Only doing your “same old lesson plans”.f) Getting married.g) Having children.h) Competing projects.i) Becoming a leader or administrator.j) It is no longer necessary to survive the vigorous, challenging

demands of college.k) Failure.l) Success.m) Ambition.n) Objective—to become “fruitful”.

4) Materials/Resourcesa) Local bookstore has nothing.b) Bookstore is too far away.

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c) Lack of materials.d) Not enough money.e) Local materials are out of date.f) Local materials are too controlled by the librarian.g) Materials passed to students “disappear”, are hoarded, not circulated.

C. Conclusion1) Part of learning English is to use what you have – exploit problems,

not people.2) Always problems, so if you know how to turn them into solutions,

you can usually get solutions. (Lemons to lemonade.)3) Some problems can’t be solved, so avoid, or “manage” creatively.4) Consider this approach as a sort of “training” for what is to follow.

Now, prepares you and tests your resolve. Then, get creative.5) C.S.—In the next sections, we will talk about how to really make a

“slow-burning” revolution in learning English – first, the solutions available, then some ideas on how to make those solutions happen, which is what you really want. Get ready.

V. The Solutions Available

A. Introduction1) A major change in the direction of this book.2) Sections III and IV discussed what life offers you, and how to respond to it.

(i.e. it is “reactive”.)3) This section talks about learning English on your terms. (i.e. it is “proactive”.)4) The model used is an adapted version of “cells”, such as those cells used by

the communists in China and other places. Borrows methodology, not content.5) It is a form of quiet, “slow-burning” revolution.6) This section will discuss the following topics: The inspiration for learning

English from communist “cells”, the organizational structure of the cell, the characteristics of the cell, the core values of the cell, the people who are served, and helping yourself.

B. Body1) The inspiration for learning English from communist “cells”.

a) Dictionary definition.c) 1920’s and 1930’s. The communists in China. You know what I mean.d) Proven effectiveness. Still in use today. Can be studied in books. Can get

real training.e) What does/does not work has been tried/tested/refined.f) Much related literature is available.g) Revolution: the overthrow of a system – here (i) failed English, and (ii)

flawed motives, and (iii) something new.2) Organizational structure of cell.

a) Self-contained. Only associations are (i) with teacher, (ii) with students,

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and (iii) with equal.b) Not open, public.c) Independent in operation – no “infrastructure”.d) Independent of others – help, money, support, materials.e) Isolate groups from each other.

3) Characteristics of cella) Low profile.b) Secure – cannot be penetrated by turkeys.c) Motivated – to learn English (the end, not the means).d) Committed to excellence.e) Commitment to talent (over relationships or self- interest).f) Committed to cell propagation.g) Candidates are screened.h) Candidates are recruited.i) Candidates are trustworthy.j) Candidates are tested – faced their “Long March”, and have overcome.k) Consistent meeting times – daily/weekly.l) Persistent effort – until success.m) Complete effort – to point of the students’ desired fluency.n) Long-term relationship-over a lifetime, or for a season. o) Low-budget.p) No payback.q) “On the go” –(define). Your ability to remain mobile is not compromised.r) Fun and enjoyable.

4) Core values of cella) Self-reliant (in terms of educational philosophy) – “In”.b) Multiplying – “Out”.c) “Teacher” and “apprentice” system.d) Realistic goals – 1 up, 2 down across only.e) Learning – “Up” (x1).f) Teaching – “Down” (x2).g) Phases – Instruction, practicum, training to propagate, consulting.h) Using English – “Across”. (One equal friend.)

5) The people served.a) Visionary – “English for English’s sake” – all over China.b) Radical outreach – in needy areas, both near and far.

6) Helping yourselfa) Use your own system (this can involve making your own, or following/

adapting someone else’s system).b) Build your system around the four language arts skills – reading, writing,

listening, and speaking.c) Make your “theoretical plan” and your “action plan”, and follow it.d) Go it alone. “If you want to get it done right, do it by yourself.”e) “Be nice to yourself.” Buy books , VCD’s, tapes and other materials you

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like for yourself. Eat out less, to save your money. Get good radio, tape recorder.

f) Be discreet. Don’t tell everyone! Avoid problems, opposition, and distractions.

C. Conclusion1) This section about cells – inspiration from, structure, characteristic and

core values. An effective tool.2) Also about helping others, and helping yourself. Many options.3) C.S. – “Even if you disagree with cells as being too political, or helping

other people as being impractical, do this one thing – take full control of the learning process, put it on your terms and determine the outcome from the start. The days of life talking down to you are over.” Next, we will discuss putting some of these ideas into practice.

VI. How to make the solutions happen

A. Introduction 1) First, this section is not meant to be a comprehensive answer to your

problems – these are just “pointers”.

2) Many solutions will have to be worked out by yourself，or researched

from the many books available in the bookstores.3) This section will comment on some of the topics introduced in the

previous section, and a few case-studies added. It is hoped these will provide a starting point for you, as you go about trying to formulate solutions to the problems unique to your situation.

B. Body 1) Characteristics of cell.

a) Low profile. b) Secure/cannot be penetrated. c) Screening.d) Recruiting. e) Testing for trustworthiness.f) Holding meetings. g) On choosing and implementing the appropriate budget. h) How to operate “on the go”. i) How to get fun and enjoyment out of this work.

2) Core values of cell. a) How to be self-reliant, in terms of educational philosophy. b) On the “phases”. c) A case study detailing the “phases”. d) On the “across” friend.

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e) A case study detailing the “across” friend. 3) The people served.

a) Out reach by geography—local, county, far away. b) Outreach by “comfort zone”—people like you, people somewhat

removed from you, people very removed from you. c) Outreach by time—weekend visits, over a summer, over one or two

years, over many years. 4) Helping yourself.

a) Some recommendations in terms of books and materials. b) Suggestions concerning internal and external motivation. c) “Doing what you like, and liking what you do.”d) Combining “business and pleasure.” e) “Not just a job, a way of life.” f) Having “your way” and “the highway”. g) Tailoring your program to your needs, your desires and your

abilities…for each of the four language arts skills. h) Going it alone—pointers. i) Being discreet—pointers. j) On “being nice to yourself”, and a personal case study. k) On “tasting” and “sampling” English, not learning it.

5) Getting help. a) On the “I.E.P.” b) Help from a middle-school teacher. c) Help from a college English major.

C. Conclusion. 1) Thus far, have discussed the many Problems facing you, and how to overcome them

(reactive), and solutions available and how to make them happen (pro-active). 2) You have tools to understand, overcome, profit from, and conquer. 3) The “cell model” has a proven history of success; you can use and adapt it as you

see fit. 4) C.S.—“In choosing both the reactive way and the proactive way of struggling to

learn English, with adaptations, you have some strong advantages. We wish you good luck and good learning.

VII. Other Ideas For Consideration.

A. Introduction. 1) This section is really an extra part, an appendix to what has gone before. 2) Revolutions need an idea (or a philosophy), some people (or the revolutionaries),

and a tool (or a weapon). This section about the tools you can use. 3) Thesis Statement—“This section will discuss the role of video telephones, internet-

based “matchmaking” services, and other technological innovations you can use in

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order to spread the use of English all over the country.”

B. Body. 1) Long-distance tutorials by video telephone.

a) Description of system: general. b) Description of teacher’s role. c) Description of student’s role. d) On telephone design, to help this learning.

2) Internet “matchmaking” service. a) Discuss other, current matchmaking services in use on the internet today. b) Discuss how this one will work. c) Information to be “traded”. d) On the question of “profit”.

3) On some kind of “new ideas” bulletin board, on the internet. a) Purpose: to catch, inspire, harness, advance the people’s ideas. b) How it might work: receive, sift, apply. c) Who will operate the system. d) On the questions of “profit” and of “patent”.

4) On “error analysis” in language learning. a) On the errors we make, and their patterns. b) On error analysis—theory, use, practical applications, and the limitations of

reality. c) Error analysis work in the English language: Potential and challenges. d) Error analysis work in the Chinese language: Potential and opportunities. e) Proposal for an automated error analysis system to serve large populations of

Chinese language students, by adapting current language recognition software technology.

C. Conclusion. 1) This section is only an appendix to what has gone before. 2) It is only a preface to what may come afterwards, from the people of China. 3) It is only a match in a haybarn. 4) C.S.—“It is my hope that this paper, and others like it, will inspire a deeper culture

and infrastructure of creativity among the Chinese people which will build upon what they have already begun and accomplished.”

VIII. Conclusion.

A. Introduction. 1) If you have read thus far, you are patient! 2) Wrote book to share a message, not to entertain.

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3) Taught English seven years in China, seen/felt many things…had to speak out.

4) Book written during the SARS outbreak of 2003. Had nothing to do. Ideas flowed out.

5) Also wrote for 2001-Writing class…hence, this structured plan. 6) Hope plan is useful as a writing model. 7) Wrote this for all those studying English, who are unsure of their way. 8) “This section will briefly review what has been said, and leave you with a

question.”

B. Body. 1) Brief review of the book.

a) Many people today study English, but for what? b) Attrition rate, especially in “lesser developed areas” very high. c) Many lose English skills. d) This is a “philosophy” book first, not really a “how-to” book. e) Central problem facing English-learning in P.R.C. is in philosophy

and attitudes. This needs to be corrected. f) Some answers—“reactive” format, “pro-active” format, and some

suggestions.

2) The Big Questions. a) What are you doing? Why? b) Where will you be later on? c) How will you get there? d) What will you do then?

3) Problems. a) English knowledge is in part necessary. b) In part, a big “confidence trick” (Zha Pian)…driven by economics

and crowd psychology. c) It has deceived an entire generation.

4) Take action. a) Step aside, stop, think, make and execute plans, be flexible. b) If possible, help others. c) This is “English on your own, on the go, without a foreign helper.” d) Go have a try!

5) Purpose of this book. a) Not meant to compete with other books. b) It is a wake-up call, a “reality-check” to you, to ask you some things,

to make you think.

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C. Conclusion.

1) I will stop here. Have said enough. 2) Now up to you and your friends to continue dialog. 3) If you like this book, then pass on the book manuscript, or the “web”

address. Share it with two other people! 4) Thanks to all those I knew in China—old students and new, every fu wu

yuan in the country, all my friends, and especially the class of 2001—my Writing class—for whom this book is written.

5) C.S.—“I hope that you, and all English speakers in China, will love and synthesize English always, on your own, on the go, without a foreign helper!”

Part Three: Text

Introduction and purpose of this book.

A spectre is haunting the People’s Republic of China---the spectre of English. Student and teacher, boss and worker, taxi driver and taxi passenger alike have joined

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together in a desperate alliance to understand, to overcome, to employ, to profit from the challenges posed by this spectre. Although the spectre has a name--“English”--it, like perfume, is but a signature scent of something much greater, much darker, and above all, imminent, unseen, and threatening. It is a harbinger of changes already within these ancient shores, followed by greater and greater changes, challenges, setbacks, profits, disasters, triumphs, retrenchment, destiny. To call what is to follow “globalization” or “full-spectrum dominance” would be a tragic simplification, for it is much, much more than that. A wave, a flood of change and challenge is about to engulf this country. Indeed, it has already started --and people are anxious and disturbed. Herein lies the problem. Like a person who is drowning, the students, the leaders, the workers are grasping for something, anything which will float--anything. Like people undergoing triage, they are looking for the word or condition that will pass them through--anything. What they think they need, and so persistently search for is a working, fluent knowledge of English--specifically, American English. They see it as a “bridge” linking their present status with a coming status that, as yet, exists only on the face of TV sets, in the hearts of dreamers, and within the country villas of the already rich. Therefore, this generation in China has turned to the study of English with the same enthusiasm with which 17th Century Dutchmen grew tulips, and teenage shoe-shiners from New York bought stocks in the 1920’s. It is obvious to anyone visiting a bookstore in China today that certain topics are very popular --- immigration, overseas study, and learning English. The bookshelves are full of every aspect, it seems, of mastering the “current world language”--grammar, listening, lexicology, intensive reading, comprehension and so on. Then there are all the books on how to pass the different exams--GRE, TOEFL, IELTS, CET Band 4 or 6, and the like. Tapes, videos and now computer software systems involving interactive video clips of foreigners speaking dialogs in “Standard American English” are also very well-received. Foreigners. They have been in China for about 30 years now, the first ones having arrived in the early Deng years. They are respected by students, coveted by universities, and popular at “English corners” or “free talks”. What if there were no more foreign English teachers in China? “How silly! ” you say “They will never leave!” Indeed, they are for now a regular condiment to Chinese life. Thousands upon thousands of people have learned something from their foreign teacher and when they graduate and move on, something about their English washes away and is lost; a few years later, for some graduates, everything is washed away and lost. Think about it! Every year, thousands of students sweat, slave and suffer unspeakable trauma to reach a certain level of English proficiency, then it all comes bleeding out as time and various other factors do their work. The major complaint I have heard from old students over these seven years in China is this one-- “I had no foreign friend to practice my English with.” The purpose of this text is very simple. It is to show you how to learn English on the go, on your own, where there is no foreign person anywhere near you. It is not about learning the English language per se--the bookstores are full of that. It is not about

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being inspirational, brave, determined and public (all good things)--you can find these things in Li Yang’s “Crazy English” books and tapes. It is about something very different--almost like starting and maintaining a slow-burning revolution. This is why the opening paragraph of this text is adapted from the opening lines of Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto of 1848. Here is a brief summary or outline of the remainder of this text. First, what are the philosophical roots of learning English? Why do so many people do it, and what do they hope to achieve? Second, the problems facing English learners after graduation will be examined. Third, some suggestions on how to avoid these problems and exploit them creatively will be listed. Fourth, solutions on how to learn English will be presented. Fifth, ideas on how to make these solutions happen will be discussed. Sixth, some other ideas for consideration will be added. Once again, that complaint comes to mind--“I had no foreign friend to practice my English with.” Well, it is time for that complaint to vanish of the face of the Chinese landscape! This text is dedicated to all those who will learn English after graduation, in a place where there is no lao wai and who want to learn English on the go, on their own. Take it! You have nothing to lose but your complaints.

Philosophical roots of learning English

O.K. Enough rhetoric. Let’s discuss some of the thinking and assumptions that underlie the act of learning English in China. Where does it all come from? What drives so many people to study English? Books drive education, but various underlying philosophies drive the books and the effort we put into learning. Consider this too: China is awash with books, language schools, films and other materials for learning English, but many people give up their language studies after graduation. Why? In this section, we will try to determine some philosophical roots of learning English in China today. First, we will look at motivators, and second, the underlying motivators. Third (which is longer), we will discuss educational and other matters. Fourth, we will discuss attitudes of “dependence” and “independence” as hindrances and facilitators (respectively) in learning English. In short, your philosophy will partly determine how well you study English after your graduation, with no foreigner around you.

Philosophical roots--- motivators.“Push on” --- Under this form of motivation, you are essentially driven on by outside influences. More and more jobs today require a working knowledge of English, and in time, society may too, as more and more people integrate into an English-oriented network; a “bandwagon effect’’ takes over, creating a “come and join us!” effect. Finally, WTO entry and the insistent demands of globalization will pressure more

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people to learn English. “Pull up” ---Many people today want to improve their life, themselves, and earn more money; a better job can mean a better life. Others desire more knowledge, especially internet-located knowledge, as well as general and technical skills. In all these and more, English can help them to sustain their ambitions. “Get out” --- Today, nobody wants to “fall behind” in society. If you look at college graduates pursuing upward mobility, you see movement from village to city, city to capital, capital to overseas. Nobody wants a “dead-end” job. Whether it means leaving a stagnant work unit or breaking into a vibrant new company, English is seen as part of your ladder upwards. “Do better” --- Today, the competition is pitiless. Most people want to be better than another person. Every company wants to do better than their rivals. Nation now struggles with nation for prowess, even in “peaceable” activities like commerce. Every evening, some people look at themselves in the mirror and hope, ask themselves if they were better today than they were yesterday. English proficiency is one of many swords that people are buying and sharpening today.

Philosophical roots --- underlying motivators.

“Between the desire/…And the descent/ Falls the Shadow”(T.S.Eliot). What lies under your motivation for learning something? For learning English? If you are negative and pessimistic, do you call it “greed, fear, ambition, pride, envy, dissatisfaction”? Or if you are positive and optimistic, do you call it “hunger, concern, desire, self-respect, wish to be included in life’s blessings, desire to do better with what you have right now”? Otherwise, why should you get up in the morning? Why struggle all day long? Why study in the evening hours? Above all, why dream at night? Why? Here is an observation. It may not be related, but I think it is. Tell me, why is there a qualitative difference in the way some students study Russian and French, as opposed to English and Japanese? Do these languages hold different attractions? Do they arouse different motivations? Do the target nations/target cultures offer different rewards? After all, one studies a language in the hope of achieving some output or reward.

Philosophical roots---Educational and other matters to consider

Please be patient. This section covers a wide range of educational tips, ideas, philosophy--all having something to do with studying English on the go, on your own without a foreigner around you. Take what you like, and forget the rest.

(a) Synthesize language and knowledge, don’t memorize them. In China, memorized knowledge has a long tradition, and has served the country well. Most students of English here have learned a lot of material over their eight to eleven years of language study. Now, if you were to change your mindset from one of “spitting out” knowledge to synthesizing, creating and re-creating it--

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just like any infant/toddler does with their “mother tongue”--then your output, expression and vocabulary use would expand explosively. Put another way, ten “set phrases” can give you ten set phrases (memorized), or two or three dozen new phrases/sentences (when synthesized). This is why foreign toddlers may say more than many college students here-- they synthesize what little they have.

(b) An interest in the target language is half the struggle won. If you like English and are interested in the task at hand, the journey will be much, much easier.

(c) Bloom’s Taxonomy of Questions. Named after Benjamin Bloom, this conceptual model divides questions into six “levels”: Knowledge-Comprehension-Application-Analysis-Synthesis-Evaluation. As a teacher, you can use this model to ask questions at different levels of complexity, thereby keeping your students challenged. As an English learner, you can approach your own tasks at a level that suits you. The “higher-order” questions require more creative, synthetic thinking, whereas the “lower-order” questions draw more upon memorized, summary thinking. There is no set, “right” answer at the higher levels.

(d) “English Only”. This goes without saying. If you want to create a better language environment, you must think, speak, act, live in English. Only use Chinese for new words. (Some people may object to even this.)

(e) Do not criticize one another, or laugh at one another. The reasons are simple—this culture is a “face” culture, and fear of ridicule, failure, or “standing out” will kill off a great deal of student initiative. Therefore, do all you can to promote risk-taking and exploration. Remove shame, shyness, fear of trying or “standing out”. Make sure that everyone is able to speak out in safety.

(f) On dreams and reality. T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia) wrote: “All men dream, but not equally. There are those who dream in the dark, in the dusty recesses of their minds, who awake to find it is vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they act out their dreams with open eyes, to make them happen.” You need an attitude like this, to conceive of, understand and execute your dreams.

(g) “Low expectations.” Don’t expect to be reading Shakespeare in a week. If you aim too high, and you fail, the forces against you will be great the next time you try. Set low goals, achieve them and be happy; then, set more low goals.

(h) Flexibility. Sometimes, your plans don’t go the way you expected them to. Therefore, be prepared to make changes to your plans, procedures, aims, goals, timeframes, language partners, and so on… as you need to.

(i) “Did you enjoy yourself?” When I first came to China in 1994, my leader told that summer’s group of English teachers this: Don’t ask how well you did, who you met, and what you did. Ask, “Did you enjoy yourself?” The “joy of the journey”, I feel, gives one a certain measure of strength, hope, and courage. So, I hope you can study English because you enjoy it.

(j) Are you a person of destiny? Do you believe that you were put onto this

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earth, for a certain number of years—for a purpose? Many people who have done difficult, dangerous, seemingly “impossible” things did them because they firmly believed this was why they had been created and put on the earth. The pages of history are full of such people… but they did great, large-scale things. Could not the same be true of us, and small, common, everyday things? If we discover this destiny (for us), then there is hope, power, direction, and maybe even other, similar-thinking people. We are not dice rolling over a Friday night gaming table!

(k) Train up a few to follow you. Consider this line from someone’s letter: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” In this sentence are embedded four generations of learners. A great deal of benefit can accrue from teaching and learning on a “one-to-one” basis. In benefiting others you benefit yourself. This tutorial/mentor model can sometimes be an effective learning model with a high success rate. We will talk more about this idea in Part Four of this text, as it is very important, I feel.

(l) Do what you want, not what you must. Thoreau wrote, “The mass of people lead lives of quiet despair.” Of course, we must do certain things to survive. Nevertheless, life is sometimes (or often?) happier when we are doing what we want. It is also more productive. How does this affect English learning? If you are studying something which interests you, you will do more, and faster—and you will have fun. Look at this picture; it represents how I went about my Chinese language studies. “A” represents the sum total of the Chinese language; “B” covers simple, everyday phrases; “C” stands for an area of expertise (in my case, travel around China); and “D” is everything else. “D” therefore, is very large. I focused all my efforts on “B” and “C”, enjoyed myself, did what I wanted, traveled all over China, and hope to use this model again later with Russian. Of course, there are trade-offs… there is a lot of “D” I missed out on. However, the point is this: doing what you want in language study will yield you a good result.

(m) Allow yourself the right to do it your way, to be unusual. Maybe your teacher said to you, “It’s my way, or the highway!”, right? Listen to your teacher—leave him and take your own highway, or make it yourself! Sometimes, your way is best for you, but… don’t drive your friends into alienation. (You need some of them later.) Some people (like me) can’t do much unless there is nothing and nobody around them, and they are doing something “their way”. In learning English, there is ample room for all sorts of creative possibilities.

(n) Let your true self and genius come out: This will lead to better results. Plainly, this is related to the previous paragraph. If we let “who we are” come out, perhaps our English studies will go better—they will more likely be happier and more interesting. Second, concerning our “genius”: we all have some spark in us somewhere. If we identify it, nurture it, harness it, perhaps it will provide us with some energy to let us better study English. (For me in China, that spark was used to design a country cottage and a tree-planting

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machine… at least, the beginning stages). (o) Have a plan. “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Most people need a plan to

get things done. However you organize your life, do it, and don’t let others invade the time you set aside for your English studies.

(p) “Micro-unit” your learning ambitions into manageable chunks. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

(q) If you love it, you will learn it. Hey! Haven’t you said this before? Yes…just reminding you.

(r) Have you thought about using your English to “give” and not to “get”? You already have some (or quite a lot of) English knowledge. Unless you are a total “A-B-C” learner, why not help someone else to learn English…someone whose language ability is less than yours? “Oh, but my English is so poor!” you say. Maybe, but it is more than someone else’s! In a given city, there are college students, middle/high school students, primary school students, workers, professionals, and many others who want to learn English. However, there are also the children of the “floating population” workers—and they need help, too. Outside the cities are the children of the countryside and the mountain areas. Instead of thinking of competition, struggle, and upward mobility, why not consider this: helping, needs and “downward mobility”? Giving too, has its rewards, even in the area of English language learning.

(s) Compare self with self, not self with other. This is your pilgrimage, not someone else’s! Do it for yourself, not someone else. There will always be greater or lesser people than you; so, don’t compare yourself with others, or you may suffer disillusionment or pride. Let’s keep the “self” in self-improvement.

(t) On “absolute” vs. “relative” struggles and aspirations. This is somewhat related to the previous paragraph. I define “absolute” (in terms of English learning) like this: “After one year, I will be able to pass the CET Band-4 exam at or above the 70% level.” Here, you are striving to pass a fixed, measurable mark. Now, for “relative”: “After one year, I will be able to pass the CET Band-4 exam at the top of my class.” Here, you are trying to compare yourself with other people. You want outcome/performance-based measurements, not food for envy! Therefore, think in terms of “absolute” improvement, not “relative” improvement.

(u) “How are you doing?” After a time of study, you may want to know your progress. Please remember cold, objective measurement; that is, measure countable behaviors. Do not evaluate yourself based upon your feelings on how you are doing. When you say, “Oh, my English is so poor!” you are making an evaluation based on feelings—unless you have recorded countable behaviors over time. One other thing—depression very often cuts down your second language ability to a significant degree; so don’t allow yourself to be depressed any more than necessary.

(v) Do a “motivation inventory”—ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” I studied Chinese because I wanted to travel alone in China, everywhere (I did), and

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because I wanted to marry someone local (I did not). These motivations had a direct effect on what areas of Chinese I studied, how well I did, and what areas of Chinese I ignored. After a season, I reached a “plateau” of language proficiency, and I didn’t want to try any more or go any higher. Thus, I remain at a basic level of Chinese, and am content to be semi-literate, well-traveled, and unmarried. Therefore, it is important for you to clearly understand and write down your deep, true, inner motivations for studying English. You may be afraid to tell others your inner secrets, but don’t be ashamed to tell yourself. Under certain conditions, motivation can be a very powerful force, helping and goading you on your way as you struggle to succeed in English. Please be honest with yourself.

(w) Where am I strong? Review the four principle language arts skills ( reading, writing, listening, speaking) to see which one you are strongest in, and which one you are weakest in. Are you better in the “productive” skills (writing, speaking), or the “receptive” skills (reading, listening)? Under what conditions? Then, compare what you can do with what you want to do, and where you want to be.

(x) O.K. This is the last one! “What variables affect my learning?” Learning is a complex process, and it is affected by a number of variables. Perhaps the variables affecting different people at different times are not the same. Here are some of them: i) Materials--books, tapes, VCD’s, a good text book(or a bad one) makes

all the difference in one’s studies. If it was written carefully, over time, with a sound knowledge of educational theory, then this input will translate into enthusiastic, engaged students, which may result in the desired outcomes. If it was written in haste over a summer holiday between busy teaching semesters (as many textbooks are written), then the effect will be less desirable. When choosing a textbook (from the dozens in the bookstore), choose the one you like, which is also the most effective for you. You may have to search a little.

ii) Teachers. We all know a good or a bad teacher makes all the difference in one’s educational career. (I had a terrifying and cruel Latin/French teacher in primary school who burned many students emotionally for life. I also had a dour-looking but extremely inspirational French teacher whose “je ne sais quois” transformed me from a language student into a person who used language to work and travel in many parts of the world. I will never forget him!) Ask yourself: what makes a good or a bad teacher for you? Different people will have different opinions on this issue, but your opinions are important for you, both as an English learner and as a possible future tutor/teacher.

iii) Evaluation tools (tests and exams). Evaluation and measurement are huge topics and I cannot cover them here. However, I will say these two things here. First, have you noticed how “America-centered” the course materials are, even out here in the Orient? Is this because of

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globalization, or because the “big exams” (i.e., TOEFL, GRE) expect it? Second, what is driving language education in China today—the desire to create self-learning, knowledge-synthesizing, problem-solving citizens… or the urge to pass exams, exams that are invariably conceived, constructed, and controlled by outsiders? We all know that teachers “teach to the exam”—and for very understandable, if disagreeable reasons. Remember this! When you leave your university, college, or high school, you will study English for yourself, not for “others”. Therefore, you need to think, act, and execute by yourself, for yourself. Start acting like a pioneer today!

iv) External factors—location, time of day, other people, distractions, time available. This topic is hugely important! First: walk into any student dormitory and compare the rooms where the “bookworms” live, with the rooms where the “party-lovers” live, with the rooms where the “bookworms” and the “party-lovers” share the same living space. It is the third room that is the most tragic, I feel. There is no real privacy in China, except deep in the mountains or in your own room; yet, for students, their “own room” has become a party-house, or at best, a coffee-house. Moreover, students are not allowed to “re-shuffle” their locations according to their (extrovert/introvert) character. Due to the desire to “avoid confrontation” and “save face”, the “bookworms” keep silent, and thereby lose their last refuge. I repeat, China has a thousand places to play in, to party in, to leap up and cry out for joy in, to be a little wild in, to be “re nao” in, to play games in, and more—but only a mere paltry handful of places to be quiet in, to sleep in, to reflect in, and to study in! Students!!! What you have done to your own dormitories is like finding the very last hiding place of the panda bear, and razing it to the ground! Do you really, really want this…? So, let’s go on. Second: location. Go and find “that place” where you can study (and live) in peace. I suggest your dormitory first. Or, it could be a place known only to you. Third: time of day. Follow your body’s “biological clock”. You know when you are at your best, and if that means between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., then so be it. Follow your body’s call to you. Also, don’t forget the influence of food and digestion. Fourth: other people. You have to decide what is more important—“face”, or progress—for they can’t easily co-exist, if at all. Practically speaking, you have to leave the scene, or they have to leave the scene, or you both must take turns leaving the scene. By “scene”, I mean, “the place of study”. Fifth: distractions. Eliminate them like cockroaches. If necessary, buy earplugs or special earphones (such as some construction workers use). Do not lose your friends in the process! Sixth: time available. How much time you have to study, and in what “blocks of time” you arrange them in a week also affect your language-learning progress. Allow diversion, “study-breaks”, meals,

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exercise and so on. Don’t forget to plan your week carefully. You control your life, your timetable in order to maximize your dreams, your effectiveness. Don’t let other people control your life and your timetable—which is what they do when they call you on your cell phone and say, “Let’s go and …!” The primacy of “relationship” and the wide availability of the cell phone is the death of a planned, intentional lifestyle! Remember, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Some of you chose to cut short your pretty, long hair so as to allow you more time to study. I suggest doing the same thing with your cell phone.

v) Internal factors—feelings, thoughts, meals. What is inside you will come out and affect you. Try to find some way to manage, release (in a controlled way), and direct your feelings and thoughts. Some like to ruthlessly control or suppress them; some like to “manage” them, to “bleed off” the internal steam pressure (as in a steam engine). You find out what is best for you. As for meals, the time before (hunger, appetite), and the time after (digestion) all have a effect on how well you study. As with gravity, let them work for you, not you for them.

vi) Your capabilities and learning styles. I won’t say much here, as this topic is very controversial in some places. Nevertheless, we all have various abilities and capabilities, and can use them to our advantage—and know what “hard spots” to overcome or avoid. As for learning styles: some people feel they learn something better by seeing/reading it; others feel they should hear/listen to what they learn; and others feel they will understand a problem by touching/holding it. Of course, this is the old “visual/auditory/tactile- kinesthetic” argument. Others feel the above is not true at all, and that learning happens in another way. I will say this: the struggle over dominant educational philosophies is a kind of war; everyone thinks “their way” is the best. Why don’t you find out what way works best for you, and is the most effective? (Remember, the most important word in education, after “love” and “patience” is this: “effective”.)

Conclusion: As you study, keep a short and simple record of what you did, how you did it, what worked, and what didn’t. You may find the results interesting; they will certainly be individual.

Philosophical roots—dependence and independence. a) Summary of problems. Having finished the previous (long!) section,

let us review the problems facing the English language graduate. First, there is no “foreign friend” to communicate with. Second, a foreign friend is seen as an essential catalyst for further language development. Third, “American English” and “American accent” are viewed as essential parts of the language acquisition process. In

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summary, many believe as follows: no foreign friend, no way forward. These beliefs form a very powerful barrier of inertia. The root of the inertia is dependence, and the solution lies in independence.

b) Dependence in you. Perhaps you will hate me for saying this, but the beginnings of linguistic dependence are in many of you. First is what I call the tyranny of “so-so”. When asked for their feelings on an issue, many students will reply “so-so” (not hot and not cold, not big and not small). This attitude permeates much of many students’ thinking. Second, this way of thinking translates into action—or rather, lack of it. The major sign or symptom is an unwillingness to “vote”, to take sides, to stand out, to speak up. (Remember, we are talking about taking sides in an oral English discussion class, not a national election.) It is impossible to run if you do not first stand up.

c) Dependence on foreign speakers among college students. Consider the relationships between college students and foreign teachers… in “English corners”, “free talks”, and at English language “events”:

(i) In many “English corners”, you will know where the foreigners are, because there are many students around them. This “clustering” is really proof of the “survival of the fittest” among the students, the vanity of some foreigners, and the helpless frustration of the shy or meek students. For some foreigners, it resembles a deer being torn apart by hungry wolves. The purpose (as you know) of an “English corner” is for people to meet others and talk English with them. Whether or not a foreigner attends makes no difference!

(ii) In many “free talks”, many students remain silent. They surrender their right to be heard to the “dominant” students in the group, or they come with no topic or agenda (“Failing to plan….”). In addition, they are silenced by their over-speaking teacher, such that “free talk” becomes “free listen”. (I do admit that this is my problem.)

(iii) Foreign teachers are often used as publicity banners, hosts, or judges at large student gatherings (such as speech or debate competitions). Here, however, they have less of a leadership role, which is the way it should be.

d) Dependence on “American English” and “American accent” as a necessary precondition for and authentic language experience.

(i) Let’s face it. To speak English with an American accent is a goal avidly pursued by many students today. They buy the books, listen to the tapes, and practice—and they try very hard, too. VCD’s of contemporary sitcoms from America are more and more popular. The days of Humphrey Bogart saying, “Here’s looking at you, kind!” are now out of fashion (unfortunately).

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(ii) It seems to me that North American/British/ex-Dominion people are often favored for positions as English teachers, over native/second-language speakers from other parts of the world. Both students and college administrations seem to want it this way—and the desire for an American or British accent is part of the reason. Of course, this is a “delicate” issue, with other factors involved; however, it exists. It shows how important accent has become.

(iii) Accent/pronunciation is favored over conversation or grammar by many students. You think not? Some people labor to “sound American” (they don’t; it is horrible), and their speech is full of grammar mistakes. The “middle part” (i.e., conversation; the ability to synthesize yourself in English—into clear, logical speech) is partly or largely missing. It is this middle part of language which is the heart of communicative language—and it has been neglected, and accent/pronunciation has been “chased” instead. From a linguistic point of view, substance has been subverted by style.

(iv) The job market favors “American accent” speakers over others. This too places a burden on language learners, as they seek to conform to outside expectations.

(v) At present, America is perceived as a major world power, providing influence, jobs, opportunities, wealth, mobility, and power. Therefore, “accent” follows the power. Before, it was British English; before that, it was French; and before that, it was Latin. In time, this state of affairs will be changed as another international/world language takes over—Chinese? (Hey, with no verb or noun changes, why not?!)

(vi) North America is still a major immigration destination—directly to the U.S., or indirectly to the U.S. by way of Canada. This too affects the great importance given accent/pronunciation.

(vii) Some of my students have criticized me for saying these things—that’s O.K.! Accent is important, but not at the expense of grammar (the rules of language) and conversation (the synthesis of language). I think the best accent is the standard BBC World Service accent (O.K., I am biased). However, there is one accent that is very, very interesting—that of the interpreters for the highest Chinese government leaders. They certainly don’t follow American English as a rule, nor British English, and of course such people do not speak in “Chinese English”. They seem to chart their own linguistic course, following nobody, a category to themselves—and they are very competent and pleasing to the ear. People, these are the ones to listen to! I wish I knew who they were, and if their work was on a

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collection of study tapes. As one would expect from the Chinese government, they follow no one else, but rather make their own mark on the world. It is totally authentic.

e) On independence in language learning. We now change from the problems of “dependence” to the issue of “independence” in language learning. I believe you need it, if you are to survive in your goal of studying English, on the go, on your own after you graduate, without a foreigner. Why is this so? Consider: (i) You need to go it alone, as there are not enough foreign speakers

for everyone—even in Beijing or Shanghai. (ii) Very few people will help you, if at all. Remember, most

foreigners in China (except the short-stay tourists) are not here to “deepen their knowledge of China” (as an intrinsic thing in itself). They are here for a purpose, they have an agenda, and China is their zone of endeavor, their zone of struggle, their zone of service. (Remember, “means to an end”, not an “end in itself”.) They don’t want you popping up in front of them in Wangfujing asking for linguistic favors. You need to know this! However, there is something good and profitable hidden inside this shocking “brick wall”, which can turn out to your advantage—for some of you. More on this later.

(iii) The further from the big cities you go, the harder it is to find foreigners. Moreover, the different regions of China tend to attract different types of foreigner. For example, Xin Jiang has become a huge, huge playground for many Japanese, since their country is so densely populated. (I like Xin Jiang as a huge playground, too!) Many American tourists stay in the eastern, coastal provinces because in their eyes the service infrastructure is more stable and predictable. As for Qinghai and Tibet, those who want adventure and “the exotic” flock there. Remember, it is harder to find a foreigner (let alone a foreigner you can make a friendship with), the farther away from the big cities or tourist sites you go.

(iv) This reason and the next do not involve foreigners. Many “language centers” are not client-oriented! (That is, they don’t care first of all about you). They are money-oriented; hey, they are a business-for-profit, right? Sometimes, their staff are not very satisfactory, not very competent, and certainly not effective. They know what is motivating you and many others—where you want to go, and what you want to get. (In a gold rush, it is not the gold miners who typically make the money—it is the shopkeepers who supply them with what they need to live on and operate with!) So, when you consider language centers, choose carefully!

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(v) Once more, it ends with you. Only you understand what you need, or want, exactly. No one else does. If they say they do, are they trying to sell you something? To make it to the end of the journey, you need to be independent, and to be successfully independent, you need to know what you want. It is likely that few people will help you; perhaps for a few of you no one will. That’s O.K. You now have your freedom to win on your terms.

Conclusion—This section, “Philosophical roots of learning English, has been rather long. However, I feel it was necessary, because the key to a successful study of English, on the go, on your own, where there is no foreigner is attitude, and the foundation to good attitude is a good philosophy. In this section, I wanted to discuss thoughts, feelings and attitudes. The rest of the text will discuss actions you can take, and the events you must deal with.

The Problems Facing You.

Congratulations! You have arrived. After four years of college, and before that many years of primary/middle/high school, you have graduated and found a job. You are at work; you are on the job—and looking around you. What are you thinking of? You want to survive. It is a new job, the first real job, a new world. Your future is uncertain. Each day you work hard—and worry. At evening you go home to sleep—and worry. On the weekends you go out to play—and worry. The first year of employment is always difficult. It is in this context that your hard-earned knowledge of the English language will either flourish, or plod along—or wither away. Know from the start that the English-language proficiency you nurtured and cared for over these years, like a pet deer, is now being hunted, as by desert wolves. The enemies you face are numerous. If you think this is nonsense, ask yourself, why is it that so many English-language graduates barely maintain their proficiency level, or else go into decline? Only a few triumph. Therefore, the enemies you face are numerous. This section will discuss those forces seeking to destroy your hard-won knowledge of English: From other people, from your self, in terms of “other things coming in”, and in terms of materials/resources. From other people—“who” and “what”.

a) Workmates. This may come as a surprise, but one of the worst places to practice and improve your English is in your work unit! A number of my ex-students have told me speaking English in the workplace is tacitly frowned upon—it belongs in the classroom. Remember, the workplace is ultimately an arena, a zone of combat, where your colleagues are also competitors, as it were; it is not a social club where you can be innocent, transparent and carefree. There is also something of a cultural taboo at work here—some people view speaking English in a Chinese workplace as, well, unpatriotic. b) Roommates. This is also hard! For most, if not almost all Chinese people,

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English is the language of the head and not of the heart. Of all places in your “post-college, pre-marriage” life, your apartment should be a safe haven and your roommate a familiar, accepting and confiding face. After a “long, hard day at the office”, you want to unwind at home, and so does she. Jumping into English won’t help at all. Perhaps she wasn’t an English major at college, so she cannot join you. If she is a colleague, English and “work” may be the same thing! Besides, you never spoke English with your college roommates, and why? It wasn’t “cool”.

c) Classmates. Every year, college classmates graduate, disperse to the four winds—and stay that way. Apart from class reunions at some restaurant or someone’s wedding party, it is amazing how quickly people lose contact. Again and again I hear, “We are both so busy.” Typically, English-language relationships between classmates don’t happen. Old classmates are a source of “social capital” best saved for emergencies. To do so otherwise is like “robbing principal” out of a trust fund for unimportant needs. In the end, you may suffer.

d) Your old English teacher. Once you had an English teacher. They vary in quality: some treated you as their own children (their “babies”), others contributed to your English education, and others were “so-so”…just another teacher. Once you have left them (or rather, they have left you and moved on), it is hard to re-establish the relationship you once had. Remember! The foreign teachers are always sifting through the hundreds of students they see, looking for prospects, the way a river-gold miner sifts through gravel looking for pieces of gold. To be a (foreign) English teacher in China is a transient, lonely and culturally superficial occupation, with few real, or long-term friends. When they are found, happy is the foreign teacher! Almost all my real friends in China are those who I sifted out of the river gravel, or those given to me by heaven: they are all old students. Current students are river gravel being sifted. If you are one of these selected old students, happy are you! Your future is good. However, know this: the foreign teacher has chosen you because you are able to offer some service which they could not do alone—buy rail tickets, introduce them to business contacts, and the like. (Here, I am not trying to discourage you—I am just telling you how I think it is. Enjoy the relationship, and be realistic.) If you are not one of these students, the odds against you are very, very high, in terms of having a meaningful, productive English-language relationship. Foreign teachers move on, and so do you. Teachers who stayed in one teaching site for three years have a better chance of making and keeping real, long-term friends than a teacher who worked in one city for one year. However, I do not want to be totally deterministic—there are exceptions. As for your Chinese teacher of English, I do not know what to say, except that you (the ex-students) are many and they (the teachers) are few.

e) Your boss. Sorry, this is the kiss of death. It won’t work! f) Your boyfriend/girlfriend. First: it is likely that you both met and developed

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your relationship over something other than “a love of the English language”—sports, watching films, karaoke singing, being on student committees, and so on. (Remember, for many Chinese students, English is but a means to an end, and not an end in itself.) If you try to integrate English into your relationship, your partner may consider it unnatural—your peers certainly will, and some may consider it unpatriotic. Second: what about starting a relationship with the declared intention of making it an “English-only” relationship? With another Chinese person, beware of mismatching in other areas of your life (other interests, emotions, and so on), and beware of ferocious peer pressure, gossip, rejection and criticism. They will ostracize you! With a foreigner? It is true you will learn English very quickly if you have a foreign boyfriend (foreign girlfriends are much rarer). Why is this so? Generally, because many western boys view a relationship with a Chinese college girl as a sexual apprenticeship, where they can test-fire their guns, make mistakes, gain experience—and “move up and move on”. For many of you who try this route, you are cannon-fodder. You must be careful! What do you think goes on in the bars and discos of San Li Tun in Beijing? I know some of you go there. If you choose this route, know the rules, know the penalties. However, there are some foreigners with an honest heart and no ulterior motives—but don’t ask me who they are. I don’t know!

g) Husband/wife. For you married people, Chinese is the language of your heart, the language of your “pillow talk”—not English. English is only a “head” language, and if it is introduced into your close relationship, there could be certain adverse “side-effects”. It is much harder to communicate one’s deep feeling and emotions in a foreign language. However, you might try, but would your partner agree? Can they even speak English, and at your level? What will serve to hold this “English-based” relationship together? Will it rather pull you apart? The future looks grim. The one important exception to this rule can be found in those couples who passionately share a common belief or ideology, a shared vision, a joint task or purpose. In some sense, their marriage itself is subordinated to a “higher” purpose, be it political ideology, religion, humanitarian concerns, or whatever. These people will go to the ends of the earth together, speak English together (or some other language), and remain in love together to the very end. Don’t you wish you could find or have a spouse such as this?

h) Children. What about speaking English with your children? It would, after all, improve their grades in school. Sorry, I have more bad news for you. Here is a story about the experiences of many Chinese people who have gone to the U.S. to immigrate and settle down. They struggle to learn English, get a job, and in time integrate (to varying degrees) in their new society. Their children are born, grow up, and learn English with ease. The trouble comes when either the parents (or else the grandparents) want the children to learn Chinese, the language of the “old country”. Usually, the children do not want

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to out of peer pressure, but mainly because it has no relevance to their daily life. “Mom! Dad! None of my friends speak this language!” The same situation could hold true in China, with parents trying to teach English to their children. There is also the question of children accepting their parents as “yet another teacher”. Of course, parents can and have done this, but it requires strong, persistent dedication. The example of the mother in Taiwan Province and her four-year old son is a case in point.

i) People from your local neighborhood. Perhaps there is someone in your local neighborhood who you know speaks English—can they help you? My feeling is, no, they can’t, or won’t. First, the relationship is one-sided, with you as the dependent party. You are asking from them, but what is going the other way? Then there is “social inertia”; you don’t just ask someone to speak English with you. Finally, you don’t want to upset the social balance of your “home turf”, where people might talk about you for a long time. Look farther outside.

j) English “parasites”. This is the inverse of the previous section. These people want to have you “teach them English”. Sometimes there is no structure to their requirements—you must provide that, too! They wish, as it were, to “milk” you, and have little to return to you, which you would like to have. (This is why some foreign teachers feel they are being used as “English cows”.) You cannot “teach someone” English—they need to help themselves, and the relationship must be “mutually beneficial”, or at least mutually agreed upon. The “name of the game” is results, not relationships. Therefore, the “English parasite” will do you no good. Try to avoid or end such relationships.

k) Dead-end relationships. Some relationships are not worth having—literally. This is not because the person you are helping is a parasite, but because they have no future in the English language. An example would be someone whose English is terrible, even hopeless, but they want to “go to (study in) America”. You could spend a long time trying to help them, and for what? It’s your life, too! Some people should have changed their major a long time ago, but someone (probably their parents) forced them into an unhappy relationship with English. Remember, it’s about results, not relationships. It will go better for you if you start thinking like a mortgage/loan officer at a bank, not everyone’s “fairy godmother”!

l) “Turkeys”. In Chinese, a turkey is “xiao ren”. These are some of the most dangerous people in society, I feel—and not just in terms of trying to learn English on the go, on your own, without any foreigner! These are the people you should beware of the most! In America we say, “For every one person who wants to do something, there are nineteen turkeys trying to pull him down.” It is the same the world over, wherever success and envy co-exist. Those who fail in the self-imposed rat-race will resent those who aspire upwards and struggle onwards, who long to burst out of the present inertia and force themselves into their future hope. They are many and they are

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watching you. Without a doubt, they are your most dangerous external enemies. Beware!

m) Unfriendly foreigners. Yes, there are unfriendly foreigners out there. You want to speak a few words of your hard-earned English with them and bang! They refuse you, tell you to get lost, or “blow you off”. It hurts. Or worse still, they will charm you, coddle you, use you, make promises to you, drive you to ecstasy—and dump you. I heard a story (which I can believe) of a foreign boy who broke up with his girlfriend by telephone, a few minutes before he boarded his airplane home. Remember, most foreigners have their own agenda for being here in China, and they don’t want to be deflected or distracted from it. (Neither would you overseas, chasing your Ph.D.)

n) No encouragement. Now, we change from “who” to “what”. In your quest to learn English, you will invariably face periods of loneliness, when nobody is encouraging you. How tender and helpful it is when someone encourages you! It can make a real difference. However, you are now surrounded by wolves. Few people care.

o) No support. In addition to what people say, what do they do for you? Do they give you their old books, papers, magazines, or a friendly smile as you pass them? Do they stop you and inform you of any English-related news you may not have heard about? Is it “safe” for you to walk about publicly as an avowed lover of English and of self-improvement? If not, you struggle alone. Here, the indifference of those around you can be as draining as their opposition.

p) Public opinion. Public opinion is an evil thing, more insidious, repressive and destructively stunting than any police state; more false, deceptive and ruinously misleading than any whore. Yet it opposes many who want to stand up and grow tall in English. The further you get away from the centers of modern culture and higher education (i.e., big cities and universities) it becomes stronger. Public opinion is often inspired and fuelled by the ignorance and envy of the “have-nots”. A person who wants to move up is assumed to be someone who also wants to move out. At best it smothers; at worst it murders.

q) Other people’s vision is imposed on you. If there is one constant in education, it is that the leaders and administrators of most (or all) schools think their way of educating, their “system”, their “model” is the best or only way. The same is true for many companies. When an outside vision is imposed on you, it is hard to follow your own. If you do, you may lose your job. The very moment you declare who or what you are, others will be attracted to you, to conform you to their mold. There is nothing more miserable than being “re-built” into a system you don’t agree with.

r) The cult of conformity. In groups, the dominant-value carriers often try to force or persuade others to conform. After all, that is the essence of “society”—whatever the culture. It is so much easier to shut up and do (or be) like those around you… for, if you do pursue English seriously, you will

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stand out and soon become a target.s) The cult of mediocrity. One of the defining traits of envy, I believe, is its

strong desire to cut down, reduce, weaken, or even destroy that which it hates, for it knows it will never make a similar achievement. Many social groupings—be they a whole society, a village, a school, or even a class—will knock down any individual who sticks his neck up too high. The safest way is to be nondescript, “so-so”, common—which is really a way of saying “mediocre”. Of course, you do well in your job, but that is just to please your leaders. Above a certain invisible line, you lose their pleasure and incur their envy, as well as attacks from your threatened peers.

t) On competition. The working world—the place of employment—is a zone of combat. Ask any college graduate. Ask yourself…you just got your job, right? The “iron rice bowl” has passed; if you say anything against your boss, you will almost certainly be “laid off”. Naked open competition is back in style. For anyone who wishes to aspire onwards and upwards, this means most of those around are rivals. It is hard to learn English peaceably with the very people you are in competition with. Better to share a plate of meat with a pack of hungry wolves.

u) On betrayal. Competition often leads to betrayal. It is society’s pruning hook, and you are the sucker growing up skyward and not in conformity with the other branches. Why do people betray others? M.I.C.E. “M” is for money; “I” is for ideology; “C” is for conscience; “E” is for “ego” (ego—as in pride, envy, vanity, insecurity). Here are some of the reasons why those around you and in competition with you will, one way or another, turn on you.

v) Individual initiative is pushed down. All of the above problems have a cumulative effect. That is, the individual—you—is less likely to try to study English alone, on the go, without a foreign friend. In a culture where “face”, reluctance to stand up and stand out, and group consciousness are considered as important, personal initiative is often pushed down. It seems everything is against you—overtly, subtly, or covertly. It appears so easy to give up!

w) The “fang yang pi” problem. We no longer live in the Cultural Revolution, but the fallout from this insulting descriptor is still alive and active. It is a sign of colliding inner emotions and motivations. People like the “toys” and benefits of the west, but they suspect, even detest the culture that spawned these same “toys” and benefits. The English language is seen as a means to the end of achieving rapid progress and development, but the ideas which this language spawned into being are viewed as alien and subversive. It is a very, very fine line between using English to extract the elixir of “development” from a foreign country into China, and using English to extract oneself out of one’s current “zone of inertia”; between serving the country first, and serving oneself; between being an organic part of the crowd and becoming its advocate, and being a rebellious lotus plant springing out of the mud of mediocrity and becoming its target. Those who study English on

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the go, on their own, without a foreigner, and with true devotion will be looked upon with a whole range of feelings.

x) Thus closes this section. These are some of the forces you will experience from other people as you go out on your quest. Next, we will examine the wolves within.

From yourself—“inner rot” and “outer collapse”.

(a) No dream. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” It all begins with a dream, and it dies for lack of one. Perhaps the biggest problem facing you is this one. Have a dream and you have a destination; if you don’t, you are merely treading water. It is the dream that inspires you onwards when you are enveloped in dismal circumstances.

(b) Confusion over goals. If you don’t know what it is you want, you have a problem. First, look under the exterior goals and examine the interior motivations. Perhaps they are flawed, misdirected, or incomplete; if so, they will adversely affect your goals—and your production. Production does not exist in a vacuum. If your motivations and goals say different things and go in different directions, you are a divided person; you cannot stand.

(c) Unsure where to begin. You can’t be blamed for this one. The task is huge, the final destination is many horizons away, and as in another journey, the first “wicket gate” is hard to find. There are also many people telling you where they think you should begin. At this point, beware of “false starts” in your English learning; they can be very disillusioning.

(d) No feedback from colleagues. If no one tells you how you are doing, it is as if you are in a thick fog. Do they even care? Why won’t they help? They surround you like silent ships, giving no indications of their intent, no directions, no comfort. All you can hear is the uncertain thump of the sea against your bow-plates. The long journey you have embarked on is lonely and cold.

(e) No one cares. As long as you do the work assigned you by your boss, nobody complains. As long as you pay the rent and put out the garbage every Wednesday morning, nobody bothers you. As long as you don’t rock the boat, lead a “normal” life, and don’t put on airs of ambition, nobody gives a damn. You could die in your room, and they would tape shut your door, saying you had forgotten to flush the toilet before leaving on your two-week holiday. Remember,

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the people with great ideas must often walk alone for a season.

(f) Worries about your reputation. If you have ulcers to plague you while you are on your journey, then this is it. This problem shuts down many a dreamer, because they choose the whore “reputation” over the sweetheart “destiny”.

(g) Worries about income, rent, food. Obviously we must eat, but to worry about these things a lot is a running sore which will drain us and make us unproductive—we will bear no fruit at the end of the day.

(h) Fatigue. For those who want to study English after their day’s work, fatigue is a constant enemy. Usually, the demands of work are not what you had in mind—even if your job involves English in some way. What you studied in college may have no bearing on your work, and your work may have no bearing on your dream. All you have, you think, are the hours between supper and bedtime—and you are tired.

(i) Despair. The black dog of despair is always waiting to join you; he often comes with fatigue. Society wants to erode and crush you, and he wants you to follow him forever. This is a constant danger.

(j) No plan. Once again, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” If you have no plan, you will get lost, bogged down, and without direction. Worse still, if you have no plan, someone else my try to feed you their plan.

(k) No interest in English outside of job. Work is draining; people are hostile; society tries to crush you. After a while, you learn to master the demands of English your job requires of you. Now you are good! You can speak English well on the job with confidence. Either subtly or intentionally, you move no further; your “job English” becomes a fortress, you do not venture outside, and you begin to die by way of “fossilization”. Besides, English is “boring” and not a part of your “real life” outside of work. Let me play, right?

(l) Remain in your job because there is nowhere else to go. Thousands of middle-aged English teachers, as well as others—are in this situation. You still hold your job, but every day your fortress is becoming calcified, your house infested with termites, your career riddled with occupational cancer. Under these conditions, when you are looking in and not venturing out, it is very hard to study English, if not impossible.

(m) Lose interest in English. After a while, you may lose interest

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in the English language. Perhaps the English you now have has been successful in winning the prizes of life you wanted when you were a college student. “Why do I need to study more English? I have what I want.” (This is why my Chinese studies have died out. I wanted to travel and to “survive” in China; I have “ been there, done that”, and now I want to move on. Fluency in Chinese has no meaning for me…well it never was my goal.) The darker, more tragic side of this phenomenon is when you lose interest in English for the opposite reason—it did not achieve your goals! Rather than give up because your stomach is full and you are bored, you quit because you are disillusioned and your heart has been broken. I believe this entire generation of Chinese young people, in particular the students, has been monstrously cheated by the current craze of learning English this latter-day “tulipomania”, all in the name of glory, in the pursuit of mere pelf. The cries that will arise will be exceeded only by those who lost their firstborn in Egypt.

(n) Why bother?—collapse of motivation. All of the above, as well as others I have missed, have one goal in common—the destruction of your desire, your dream, your motivation to study English. In the end, you want to say, “Why bother?” Then it is all but impossible to study English effectively.

(o) Burnout—collapse of career. I wish to end this section from the perspective of the teacher of English—many of you, and me. First: “Burnout”, as an occupational/psychological problem has been discussed in other books/articles. Those people in the “helping professions”—doctors, nurses, social workers, parents (yes!), and teachers—all reach a point where they “lose it”. Creativity, care, concern, compassion—and competence—go, and they are no longer what they used to be. They suffer fatigue, weariness, exhaustion, apathy in all domains of their being—I am not referring to mere “Monday morning blues”, here. Burnout has different stages of severity, along with different types of treatment for each stage of severity. You should look in the right sources for the correct treatment, but broadly speaking, it involves some form of change in your life, something new, refreshing and stimulating—in a sense, the opposite of those factors which brought you to the point of burnout. Second: many of the problems we discussed in this section on “inner problems” can contribute to burnout. One of the end results is the choice to give up one’s English studies. It can be seen that the labor of studying English is as much an inner

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struggle of the spirit, as an outer war in the confines of society.

“Other things coming in”—“oppression”, “distraction”, and “temptation”.

(a) One of the reasons we give up a project, a course, a calling is we allow our original intentions to fall away; soon, other ideas or actions come in to replace them; in some cases, the new things forcibly push out the old. Note these four words: “other”—not what you had originally intended; “things”—abstract or concrete, they can be conceptualized and itemized; “coming”—they approach you, either intentionally or (it seems to you) by chance; “in”—they penetrate you, and once inside you they poison you. This section will discuss this kind of threat to your plans to study English on the go, on your own, without a foreign teacher. These threats are dangerous because they try to replace your way with something else.

(b) Load of work. Many people have heavy work loads, but some have insane levels of responsibility. It does not matter where it comes from—whether from the boss or from the needs of your students or from your own pet projects—the more deeply buried you are in you work, the less time you will have to study English. In extreme cases it will affect your health.

(c) Commuting to and from work. Many people must sacrifice up to two or four hours of their life every day, traveling to and from their work site. Over one year, this amount of time adds up to many hundreds of hours of lost time. For many people there is no choice. Crowded busses often make reading a book difficult; besides, the way out to work is often fraught with anxiety, and the return home is a draining experience for one already tired.

(d) Your school is too remote from centers of culture, such as concert halls, museums, well-stocked libraries and good bookstores. We all need cultural (and mental/emotional/social) stimulation. It refreshes us and enables us to do a better job the next day. If you live in Beijing or Shanghai, you are very fortunate in this regard. If you live in a provincial capital you have something—but a little less. And so on, down the line. Of course, TV’s, VCD’s, and the above-mentioned centers of culture can be found all over the country to varying degrees, but external, “higher” culture (Chinese, of course, and other) allows you to leave, transcend and forget for a while your current milieu, your present condition, your all too familiar colleagues. This is very refreshing. In the absence of such diversions, all you have is—more of the same. For some, this is very stunting, for others it is bearable. What about you?

(e) You only do your “same old lesson plans”. We all know it is degenerating, we have suffered under it—and we do it all the same. When you were a new teacher, a new worker, you slaved over your preparations, worked hard, and loved your students. Now you don’t. Laziness, complacency, burnout, other dreams have caused you to use these “recycled” lesson plans. These are “other things coming in”! They are symptoms of a problem that also affects your ability to study

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English: it leads your life into a rut, and leads you into more laziness. When you feel and act this way, how well will you study English?

(f) Getting married. There is nothing wrong with getting married, but it will seriously take up your time, making English studies much more difficult.

(g) Having Children. This one will certainly take up your time! It will drive your entire life.

(h) Competing projects. Many people measure the productivity or success of their life not by what they did “on the job” but by what they did when they got home after work each evening. This is a sad commentary on society and human nature: we are free to be ourselves only when everyone else has been paid off and the scraps that remain are given to us. We therefore guard those “windows of time” jealously. This means that every time (every evening between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m.) we do something else, our investment in English suffers considerably.

(i) Becoming a leader or an administrator. Many classroom teachers dislike becoming administrators, for this change of fortune takes them out of the classroom and away from their students, their “babies”. It also removes them from that inspiring scent coming from the “kitchens” of education. There are meetings to attend (many meetings to attend!), committees to run, and parents to placate. Naturally, this affects your ability to follow your own ventures, such as studying English. As for becoming a leader, beware! The “golden birdcage”, if it doesn’t destroy you will constantly stunt your personal, private goals if you are not careful.

(j) It is no longer necessary to survive the rigorous, challenging demands of college. Do you remember those crazy days of college, when you ate “liang pi zi” and homework for breakfast, lunch, and supper? You read enough to fill a suitcase and wrote enough to fill a telephone book…at least, you said you did. Well, when you began to work, you had a new round of labors to perform. In time, you came to understand, then manage, then master your responsibilities in the classroom and in the office. You made an elaborate, minimally-managed system to cope with your work, then shut down most of your generating capacity. Today, you just exist. The students smell it, and in the back of your mind, you know what you are doing. Under such conditions, it is very, very hard to persevere in your original calling, your “Long March”—of being a lifelong learner of English!

(k) Failure. Life tries to crush you. Society attempts to destroy you. Some other people actually betray you. At times, you fall down. When “in crisis”, you tend to “streamline”, “evict”, “cut out”, or “reassess” your priorities—or, put another way, to give up. Those things which are not deemed essential to survival, family or job are the first to go when you face failure…such as your English studies. At this point you wonder, can I hold on? Failure is not when you are dead, but when your dreams are dead.

(l) Success. Perhaps this is even more dangerous than failure, because it rots you through complacent feelings of pride. Either that or it buries you under a snowstorm of new work and responsibilities.

(m) Ambition. In some ways, ambition is useful, in that it drives you onwards and

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upwards. However, if English is not your driving ambition, influencing everything you plan, think or do…something else will be. Like heirs to a throne, ambitions do not tolerate rivals. If ambition does not harm you, it will certainly harm your cherished dreams of mastering English on the go, on your own, with no foreigner to teach you.

(n) The result. What is the result of all these “other things coming in”? Do you die? Do you lose your job? Will your children get up and walk out on you? Not necessarily. The result, in short, is that you will become unfruitful—that is, unfruitful to your first dream. The seed you planted will (perhaps) become a plant, and it may live a typical length of time, but it will bear no seeds—it will be empty and fruitless. No fruit, not future; no seed, no sowing; no harvest, no satisfaction; no gratitude, no meaning; no conclusion, no fulfillment. The older you get, the more painful such a revelation becomes. After all, isn’t “fruit”, the result, the “bottom-line”, the product, the reason for all this, the “name of the game”?

Materials/Resources—“slow starvation”. (a) Local bookstore has nothing. Every gun needs bullets, and this dream of English

needs books and other materials. If you live far from a big city or in the mountains and the local bookstore had nothing (of current value or in your area of need), then you have a problem.

(b) Bookstore is too far away. If you live far from the nearest local bookstore (I am thinking of you people living in the mountains), you cannot get what you need—easily, or at all. You are dependent on those rare journeys out on Spring Festival or someone’s wedding. Finally, you cannot always count on others bringing in your books; they cannot always know what is in your heart.

(c) Lack of materials. Look around your school, house, or worksite. There are not enough materials to fill your mind, let alone that of your students.

(d) Lack of money. Why is it that many country villages are well-stocked with 4WD vehicles, but there is often not enough money to pay for school books and other materials? If there is not enough money for such things, young brains starve. The same is true in the small bookstores and libraries.

(e) Local materials are out of date. This may be caused by lack of money to buy, knowledge about what to order, or “inertia” (i.e., laziness and stubbornness) on the part of the older, entrenched staff who usually hold the levers of power. Just try to be a new teacher in a village school! The effects are catastrophic, when you think of the children who use such materials.

(f) Local materials are too controlled by the librarian. To some extent, you can’t blame the poor librarian; if she wasn’t rigorous, the shelves would be very quickly stripped. Nevertheless, restricted information stunts the growth of knowledge, and also generate a certain problem of “learned helplessness” on the part of the school children—and you too, perhaps. I should think that the more remote the library, the more controlled the books are.

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(g) Materials passed to students “disappear”, are hoarded, or not circulated. This is one of my major complaints with my own students. They are a bottomless hole—materials given to them are never seen again. In a sense, this is understandable, as certain materials—especially foreign-printed materials—are so rare or in demand, and the students are hungry (nay, ravenous) for more, new, interesting knowledge. However, there is a serious consequence to this “culture of keeping” among the students, as well as many of their teachers. It stunts sharing and cooperation, the shy or weaker students are shut out, and education takes one step closer to the “survival of the fittest”. How ironic for a humanistic pursuit such as education.

Conclusion—As you struggle to learn English on the go, on your own, without a

foreigner, you will see there are many problems. There are problems coming from within, from without—from anywhere. They may be slow or fast, from a stranger or from a friend—or even closer. “A man’s enemies shall be members of his own household.” Make no mistake—your English knowledge is like a newborn deer, and the realities of life are like the desert wolves outside waiting to take it away—by night or by day. “If you do not use it, you will lose it.” This law starts from the moment a new piece of knowledge settles in your brain. This section is very depressing, but it is important to know what you are up against, before you meet it, and to know what you have to do. In other words, “Know your enemy”…before you fight.

The enemies are numerous, it is true. You need to “Count the cost” right now. Consider these words: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ ”. Well, people may not ridicule you, but the ridicule may come from within, as you listen to the voices of regret later on in life.

Finally, these problems also provide you with a blueprint for avoiding these same problems (or at least managing them), and for exploiting them creatively. Many difficulties contain in them the seeds of their solution, if you dig. We will examine these in the next section. The tone of this text will also become more positive and optimistic.

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