Dear Shengliver,
I hope this letter finds you well.
First of all, I would like to express thanks for the handout you shared in the Wechat community Alumni Shengliver, which evokes my precious memory of senior high school English lessons. Always bright and beaming deep in the cache of my memory are days when I was attending your English lessons at YYHS.
I remember clearly that you usually chatted with us in English at break. I remember that you jokingly called one of my classmates who is named Jia Gengxia Miss Real. I also remember that you talked about what you had for breakfast vividly before class. From the talk, I picked up the phrase “hot dry noodles”. I still remember that when I took a monthly test, I was tricked by a reading passage about a new gadget called AF English Mouth, which claimed to be able to help us learn English fast and easy. The text turned out to be an ironic ad crafted by you, Shengliver. I remember you drew a smiley on my composition, for I used a newly-learned phrase in the sentence “YYHS is famous for its long history.” The smiley helped me to see that I should apply a learnt phrase to use in writing. I even repeat to my students nowadays a catch phrase you imparted to us, that is, “Don’t be afraid to lose face when practising English.” I prefer to use the Chinese version with a Yunxian accent.
It has been 15 years since I graduated from YYHS. How time flies! In a word, I am attracted by your sense of humour. What’s more, I am fascinated by your fluency in English. You do really have a good command of English and you are definitely a master of ELT in my eyes. Unfortunately, you taught me English only for half a year, which I even regret today. To some extent, I hate to admit how I envy the students who are sitting in your classroom and are inspired by your wisdom and humour every now and then.
Let’s come back to the handout, which has spurred me to write this letter to you. The moment I read the handout, I believed Story Time is part of the textbook you are using. Therefore, I made an effort to search for the full text on the Internet, for I wanted to draw some inspirations from your way of curriculum design, the way you raise questions, or the way you organise a lesson. You must have known what happened next. There was no trace of the story on the Internet at all. I didn’t realise that it is the journal entry written by your student until you pointed it out last night in the WeChat community Alumni Shengliver.
Having deliberated for some time, I have decided to ask you a favour, which I found myself hesitating over. Could I take one of your English lessons online? Or could you give me some tips on remote teaching? You are the kind of experienced and knowledgeable English teacher that I have always dreamed of being. And it has been my dream since I began my teaching career 8 years ago. I got to know that you started remote teaching again due to Covid. I would like to take this rare opportunity to beg Shengliver for a favour. Is it possible to attend your online lesson as a trainee? Or could you offer me advice on conducting an English lesson based on your years of experience?
After reading and re-reading, writing and re-writing the letter countless times, I finally made up my mind to push the send button. I had not screwed up the courage to write to you before, for fear that it might disturb you. Having tossed and turned all night, I finally determined to give it a try.
Best wishes to you, Shengliver. Looking forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Aileen
A Quick Reply to Aileen
Your mail pleases me so much, Aileen.
If you allow it, it will be revised and posted on my blog and WeChat MP space on December 18, 2022.
If you are free, you could attend one of my two online lessons tomorrow morning, 7.45—8.55 and 9.10—10.20. If not, any other day will be OK.
Writing English is the most difficult skill. This mail of yours is well written. So far, my MS Word app has not spotted any errors in it. Congrats, Aileen.
You might find the following links helpful.
My English Blog:
My XMLY Channel:
https://www.ximalaya.com/zhubo/187573162
Shengliver Studio 