Hello everyone, I remember when I first came to London for English classes, it wasn't easy. This is because in the UK, they always use English to teach English. At that time, I was already 29 or 30, so starting from scratch was really difficult. However, the British teachers are truly amazing, I really admire them. How do they teach? Let me first mention that in our class, there are 30 students, all from different countries like Spain, Switzerland, France, Italy, and so on. So the teacher had no choice but to teach these students in English, as they came from different countries. Their way of communication is fantastic, and sometimes quite funny. This teacher is very serious about her work. For example, when we first started learning vocabulary, like fruits, before class, she would put bananas, pineapples, and everything on the desk. Then, for example, when it came to apples, she would take the apple down and call for the banana, picking it up. She brought a sample for every item, like vegetables, peaches, radishes, and animals, to demonstrate. This made it easier. The key was the actions she demonstrated. At the beginning, for example, when she said "sit," she would sit down, and when she said "stand," she would stand up. When teaching the word "lie down," she would push the desk and plop down on the floor. Imagine a woman in her twenties doing such a difficult action! She just plopped down, and we students were surprised, thinking, "Oh no, did she have a stroke or cramp?" But it was just a joke; the teacher was very serious. Then she would roll over, and after lying down, she would crawl forward. She used actions for all the vocabulary she taught. You can imagine how difficult it is for an English teacher to teach foreign students. So we studied quite seriously. We felt that learning a language allows for communication, friendship among people around the world, and understanding foreign customs and cultures, which is really interesting. When I came in the 1980s, there were delegations coming abroad for inspections or business, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as it is now.

Once, I was still working in a restaurant, and I got off work quite late, around midnight. By the time I reached the subway station, I saw two people who couldn't speak a word of English, just shouting at the subway station. A black staff member shouted, "What time is the last train?" I walked over and thought, "This guy is loud; I want to ask him what time the last train is." I was so loud, but he still couldn't understand me. I said, "You broke your leg," and he still didn't understand. I said, "What you're saying is in Chinese. Just because you say it louder doesn't make it English." So, there really was such a situation where someone couldn't say a single word, which was awkward. Therefore, learning English is also important. It's not just about necessity; it's about mastering a language skill, having more friends, and communicating more. In the future, when going abroad, this is essential for talking to friends.

That being said, learning Chinese is also not easy. Many friends say, "You've been married to her for over 30 years, how come she doesn't know a single word of Chinese? What's going on? You must be at fault!" They think that after being married for over 30 years, she should at least know a few words of Chinese. But to be honest, I really can't teach her Chinese. Why? Because I'm not a teacher, and to teach Chinese or English, you really need to understand verbs, adjectives, nouns, and so on. I can't do that either. At first, Amanda did learn a few words, like "hello" and "goodbye." I was actually a bit attentive and wanted to teach her. But then, there was a time when I taught her one or two words, like "my cup," the cup I use for tea. She looked down on me and said she could learn by herself. I said, "Okay, go ahead and learn by yourself." Later, one time I had a few friends over, and we were sitting there, drinking some beer and tea. I said, "Amanda, can you get me a cup?" A few seconds later, she came out of the room carrying a comforter. I was frustrated; I wanted a cup, and she brought out the comforter. You see, learning Chinese isn't easy either. I taught her the word for cup, and she looked it up in the dictionary. In their dictionary, the word for comforter is written, but they don't know the four tones, so they confused "cup" and "comforter." As a result, she brought out the comforter. A few of my friends said Amanda is so cute; she really brought out a comforter when I asked for a cup.

English is indeed very difficult to learn. I thought it would be different, but it really isn't. For example, in China, we have facial oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, and cooking oil. But when it comes to gasoline and diesel, the names in English are different. For instance, cooking oil is called vegetable oil, which has "oil" in it, but when it comes to gasoline, it’s called petrol, which has no relation to "oil." Diesel is just called diesel, so there's no connection at all. After learning, it's easy to forget, isn't it? I study English for three hours in the morning and then rush to work in a restaurant in the afternoon. Occasionally, I go out with friends to a restaurant or play some ball. One time, I wanted to polish my shoes, but I forgot how to say shoe polish. I really couldn't say it, so I rushed to the supermarket. I looked for shoe polish, and the supermarket was quite big. The shoe polish must be in a small box, but I didn't know the English words. I saw a staff member there, and I wanted to ask him, but I couldn't say it. The other person was an Indian, not a British person, and probably didn't speak English very well either, but he was working in the supermarket. I was stuck. In English, "shoes" is "shoes," and "oil" is "oil," so I combined them in Chinese and said "shoes oil." The guy couldn't understand at all. There’s no such term; he doesn't say it that way. But I combined the two words in Chinese. He didn't understand, and I repeated it eight times. Eventually, he got frustrated and went back to his warehouse. When he came back, he brought me a big bucket of peanut oil. Maybe he thought I looked like a chef after working in a Chinese restaurant, all greasy, so he brought me a bucket of peanut oil. In fact, I wanted to buy a box of shoe polish. It made me laugh.

So, learning a language is indeed not easy, is it? Even missing one word can be a problem. Now many friends want to learn, and I think that's good because learning something is better than not learning at all, right? Even if you can say a few sentences, it still has its meaning, doesn't it?