Marian was a foreign teacher from America. I knew her at the English corner at the college. She loves her students as her children and her students also love her very much.
Marian often invited her friends to the class for communicating with her students. It was lucky for me to have the opportunity. Remembering the first time to Marian’s class, my friend Lily and I sat among the students. On that day Marian and her friends, Mr. Dennis and Mrs. Chris, a couple from America, who were traveling in China, entered the classroom together. Dennis and Chris were in leisure
clothes and sport shoes, looked like much younger than their real age. After introducing her friends, Marian seated herself by her students, and her friends gave us this lesson.
First, Dennis and Chris brought some photos and distributed them to show us. They told us that the beautiful girls are their daughters and the cute baby is their grandchild. How happy the family is! There were some pictures about their elder daughter’ wedding. They narrated something about wedding custom in America.
There are many differences between American and Chinese wedding. All of us were
interested in their story.
Then it was the time for asking. The students brought any kinds of variety of questions up to them. Such as their job, holiday and travel, their hobbies, and about English study, even they looked like so young and what secret for this… etc
. Dennis and Chris answered all the questions one by one. Every now and then their humorous answers made us laughing. Heard these I also wanted to ask, but a bit nervous and worried about making mistakes. After Lily asked a question, I finally made my mind. “I can’t lose this chance.” I thought, and wrote down a question in my notebook, then raised my hand.
Being allowed I stood up from my seat. “My name is Linda. My question is that our city is small and many people don’t understand English. If you want to do something in our city, how to communicate with people here?” I said to take up my
courage loudly.
It seemed that they didn’t understand me, but Marian knew my question. “Communicate,” she said to her friends. Very soon they was clearness. “Communicate, It’s a good question.” Chris said. Then Dennis answered my question very seriously. At that time I could not understood what he said entirely, but I knew his main meanings. He said that they had come to China for three times. When the first time they came to China they hired an interpreter to translate for them. They
traveled many places of China, and each place where they reached was their favourite. This time was the third and they already learnt about China well and their
friends Marian and Curt were teaching here, so they did not hire an interpreter
anymore. If they want to do something, Marian’s students would translate for them. If only himself, he would be with smile to communicate with people here.
After Dennis answered, Marian asked me, “Linda, how do you learn English?” I thought for a while and said, “ I learnt English on TV for half and one year many years ago. Now I do it by myself.” Heard my answer, Marian led her students
to applaud. I was encouraged greatly.
The hotter class atmosphere had been lasting till the class was over. After class, Dennis took a picture for the students in the classroom and went away. I got
so many precious learning experiences from Marian and her friends. It makes me
keep learning till now.
