Satisfied, But Deceived…Good Luck Finding English In China

By OLGA CASSETTA

My family and I spent three weeks in China before, during and after National Day. It was my fourth trip to China in a dozen of years. Two of my close relatives live permanently in Beijing. We are all very attached to this marvelous country, and every sign of prosperity in China makes us as happy as if it were for our own homeland.

When China was chosen as the host of the 2008 Olympic Games, in 2001, we celebrated in Canada with a bottle of Champagne. From that moment, Beijing started to prepare for 2008, building hotels and the venues for the games, intensifying urbanization and educating its citizens to a more open aspect of culture, including the learning of a foreign language, namely English.

Some Chinese may say, “Why do we have to learn a foreign language instead of future visitors and athletes learning Chinese?” There is something right here. But don’t forget that thousands of people in the whole world are effectively learning Chinese, in their own country or in China’s institutions all around the country. And remember that the advantage of knowing a foreign language-in particular English, which is the easier language to master for Chinese speakers-will serve them forever, not only for the 2008 Olympic Games.

From July 2001, media from China and abroad and the Internet have claimed that in 2008, each Beijinger, including retired persons, would be able to speak 300 English sentences. Three of the seven years have passed; as we are almost halfway from the targeted year, I though that during my trip, I could go around Beijing without an interpreter and talk by myself with the locals as they might already mastered 120-150 sentences. What a deception. Nothing, except “Hello” and “Bye bye” or the always wrong “Look-a-look” that they were using a long time ago.

I had a chance to meet some good English speakers who could fluently hold a conversation, but these persons were not in public fields and had nothing to do with the foreign visitors. I’m talking of staffs in the subway, stores, markets, drugstores, post offices, the taxi drivers, all those who work in public service sectors, at least in the capital city. I also heard, while in Beijing, that the former 300 sentences had been reduced to 100! But if the Beijingers have not yet started to study and practice a part of the lesson, they will never make it by 2008.

Some children are pushed by their parents toward foreigners they cross on the street to give a demonstration or their performance. They pitch all in one breath, “Hello how are you where are you from?” But when I answer, “I’m from Canada; what about you?” they are lost: They can’t recognize the “pattern” question that was in their textbook. So, no conversation is possible. On Wangfujing, some young girls impressed me when they told me in good English that they were art students from Xi’an holding an exhibition in Beijing, and invited me to see their work. But after the third one repeated the memorized text, I got it: They were not students, not from Xi’an, and not artists. All this was fake for commercial purpose.

Chinese people are usually very generous in complimenting foreigners on their “good Chinese” for a simple “ni hao” they have said. Maybe we, foreigners, expect more than a “Hello” (or Haalo) before thinking a person’s English is “very good.”

I would also like to mention that the written English I could see in places I visited is very poor and often impossible to understand. What does a “Don’t burn” sign mean, along a Temple of Heaven path? More, only a tiny percentage of written information is available in English. For instance, at a ticket counter, you may see 3, 5, 10 and 20 yuan in Arabic numbers, but no explanation whether it is for children, students, elderly, groups, members of an association, admission on the spot only of complete ticket, etc. There is not a written word in English where thousands of foreign tourists pass everyday, and no one who can answer your question.

A last remark: It seems that only big stores such as the Friendship Store or the Liulichang Antiques Stores accept credit cards. Not all visitors like to buy from them. How can places like Panjiayuan, Hongqiao Market or the lovely boutiques around Houhai make money with tourists if they can’t take credit cards? The trend in Europe and North America is now that people don’t carry real money, only “virtual” money.

For the sake of China, and Beijing, I wish the situation will improve rapidly. The 2008 Olympics are a precious opportunity for the country to make people happy and at ease, so that they will publicize China abroad and bring new visitors and new investments, especially in the tourism sector.