Shengliver’s Note: This letter to my epal Julia was written and posted in August 2007 on the MSN spaces. Some email messages have come in of late enquiring about Shengliver’s learning experience. I hope this reply to Julia will also have some of the recent questions answered.

 

Dear Julia,

 

After I was done with my speaking turn, I checked out your mail. Thanks for writing and thanks for sharing. Actually, your story turned out to be a bit surprising, for I had been expecting an account of your happy memories of my town.

 

I had my supper after going through your letter. It was on my mind when I was eating. I started thinking about a reply.

 

Every day after the evening meal, it is time for me to do my share of housework. I do all the dishes for the day and I also clean the kitchen thoroughly, the stove, the counter, the fans and everything else. It normally takes me about an hour. You might believe it is a bore to do the dishes, but I have turned it into something enjoyable by multitasking. I listen to English programmes on a wireless headset when I am doing the chore. A transmitter sends the programmes by radio waves from my laptop. And my mobile headset is a receiver. Being mobile, it is not connected by a wire to the laptop. Thus I can listen while working or moving about the house. I am immersed in the English shows. At times I wonder whether I am doing the chore or I am doing English.

 

This evening is no exception. I was listening to the English broadcasts while going about the washing and cleaning in the kitchen. I found myself engaged in another job meanwhile. Your mail kept popping up into my head. I couldn’t help thinking about your story and how to respond to it.

 

Now I am writing, everything in the kitchen sorted out. My wife is browsing the web. My daughter is already comfortably tucked up in bed, probably dreaming about her first school day this term tomorrow. I am at the laptop. Fingers tapping away at the keyboard, this letter is taking shape. It will be a bit lengthy and I hope that you are patient and read it through.

 

I sympathise with your teenage heartache. Loss of your mom at that young age was no doubt a blow to your family, especially to you and your younger brother. Most stories about living with a stepmom here in China are stories of horror. My father had two stepmoms, believe it or not. He used to share with me the bitter memories of having the two stepmoms. That’s why I said I sympathise. However, not all stepmoms here in China are that mean. There should be some heart-warming stories somewhere of stepmoms and stepchildren getting on well. Luckily, I find you quite forgiving. A mom now, you have come to appreciate how difficult it must have been for your parents then. I am happy you have decided to come back and visit them one day. They will be all smiles. You do have a big heart, Julia.

 

Born at a small mountain village in one of the satellite counties, I counted myself lucky to be able to land a teaching position here in my school. Having been here for over ten years, I have grown from a green young man into a father, and into one of the senior members of staff. I am grateful for what I have. And I have tried all these years to be a better teacher. My hard work has paid off. I have a clear mental picture of what progress I have made and where I am heading for next in my career.

 

It is my honour to meet you on the web. When I learned we are connected by the same city, I could not have been more excited. I seldom met such a good speaker from my city, to tell you the truth. Besides, the English you use in your mail is the best that I have ever read from a non-native user of the language. Your English is proof that you have taken your studies very seriously. I hope you keep your effort up. Just one step further and you will be something, Julia.

 

When you came up on the microphone for the first time, I mistook you for another pal of mine, who is Julia, too. That Julia is a college teacher of maths, and she speaks very good English. I bet the other Julia will read this letter if she comes to my blog. She might be saying, “Wow, this is a letter to me.”

 

You know very well what a hectic life high school teachers lead in your home province and elsewhere in the country. That is exactly my lifestyle. Nevertheless, I will do what I can to make it there when it is my speaking time. I didn’t get to know this nice place until 2005. Actually, I did not start to use a PC until a couple of years ago. One of my epals based in Dongguan introduced the community to me. There is an entry titled Breeze on my blog. Breeze is this pal. He is a very special person. I have not met him for almost a year. Probably he is still working down in the south. But I am not sure. The admins of the speaking community have been very generous. When I was talking there one evening about a year ago, they promised to give me one hour on the mike every evening. Thereupon I happily accepted the opportunity. A volunteer speaker I have been ever since. I have been able to do my talking most evenings for the hour except for circumstances beyond my control. When my connection is faulty or when I have duties at school, I have to be absent, but I seldom fail the turn.

 

Being a volunteer has taught me a lot. I am proud that I have chatted with speakers of all flavours—speakers from all the provinces and regions of China, Tibet and Taiwan included, and speakers from overseas as well. My speaking partners come from all walks of life—teachers, students, engineers, doctors, accountants, government officials and many others. Listening to and talking with speakers with various accents, I have accustomed my ear to English spoken in different ways and colourfully. I have progressed tremendously in my ability to talk in the foreign tongue. I owe it to all my friends and the moderators there. Of course, benefit goes in the opposite direction. My talking has been of some help to the audience and my speaking partners. Despite that, I am more of a learner than of a teacher in the community, where my knowledge expands every day, knowledge about the language itself and knowledge about the world. I am to keep up my talking in the years to come. It is a pleasure to know that you have found time spent in the community worthwhile.

 

For learners like you and me, upper-intermediate and/or advanced students of English, learning is all about having an environment where the knowledge and skills are put to use. In real life, most Chinese are not so lucky as to have such an environment. Can you speak English on a shopping trip? Can you speak English with people on the street? It is impossible and it is not necessary. Chinese fulfils all the purposes. However, to uplift our foreign language proficiency to a higher level, we have to take advantage of all the chances there are to sharpen our skills. I have tried my best to create an environment for myself to use English, especially spoken English. I do speak in the classroom. I speak with my colleagues in English, too, in the office. Still talking on the web hones my skills further. Without the many hours put in virtually, I wouldn’t be able to speak as it is.

 

I hope, Julia, that you will try your best to create your own language environment. Find time and chances to read, listen, speak and write daily. Be regular and stick to it. In time, your progress will amaze you. Of course, your English is already very good.

 

The instant I learned you recorded yourself as well as me, I knew you were a 5-star student. Recording yourself is an efficient way to improve your way of speaking. By listening to your own speech, you get objective feedback on it. Over the years, I have, through this method, detected the faults in my pronunciation and talking, and then I have worked hard on those weaknesses. If you look at yourself in a mirror, you will have a better picture of yourself. A recorder is to our speech what a mirror is to our image. Keep using it.

 

It is 22.44. I am about to close this letter. If you don’t mind, I will post it on my blog as the latest entry. I have received mail from a lot of epals but I have not got the time to answer it all. Should they happen to read this letter on my blog, they will find some of their questions answered in this message to you, Julia.

 

My blog has grown from a grain of sand to something much bigger. An egg maybe? The number of hits has been going up fast. Some friends enter the blog following the link on my Windows Live Messenger. A lot more bump into it while googling key words like BBC or EXAM. Still some simply come in for no reason at all. Aware of my responsibility for the upkeep of the blog, I will write with greater care. It is a pity that I cannot update the blog every day due to my tight schedule. However, when I have the time and the inclination to write, I will. Thanks, Julia, for your presence on my blog. Welcome back.

 

It is 22.50. Time to say goodbye. Remember me to your hubby and your lovely kid. May you all be happy in Wenzhou every day.

 

Sleep tight. Have a good dream.

 

Yours,

Shengliver