Chinese Language, Never too Old to Learn

On December 3, 2021, I flew together with seven other volunteers from Beijing to Leicester, the UK, to start a new chapter in my life. Prior to that, I had always been longing for the overseas teaching life, because it was my first time to live and work in another country.

Becoming a volunteer Chinese language teacher in the UK proved to be one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. I learned the meaning of "Knowledge is infinite" and became a better person there.

Learning Chinese, regardless of ages

I have students ranging from 5-year-old kids in kindergarten, to middle school students in their adolescence, to mature college students, and even elderly people. This made me realize that Chinese language learning has nothing to do with age. In any country, there are people of different age groups interested in Chinese language and culture, and we, as Chinese language teachers, are required to master flexible and varied teaching methods to tailor our teaching to the students' needs, so that students of different age groups can enjoy learning Chinese and gain something from it.

The elementary and secondary students are very adept in learning foreign languages and their motivation for learning is pretty clear. I could recall that when I asked them in the first class why they wanted to learn Chinese, some of them answered, "I think Chinese is particularly interesting," and others said, "Because Chinese is a very important language and there is a possibility that it will become one of the world's common tongues, so learning Chinese will be helpful to me in the future." Upon hearing this, I was shocked that I did not expect these children to realize the importance of Chinese language at such an early age. In addition, I also felt really proud and determined to introduce more Chinese culture to them, helping them to make further progress.

Learning Chinese, regardless of identities

Among my students, some were young students, some were professionals who already got a job, and some were school teachers. Regardless of their identities, they all worked especially hard to learn Chinese and loved Chinese culture. The picture below shows my students contributing to the Winter Olympics with calligraphy. One of my students, a teacher in visual design at De Montfort University, said, "I really like the feeling of writing Chinese characters with a brush because it makes me feel calm."

There were also some employees of companies who persisted in their attendance despite busy work and completed each class assignment attentively, making rapid progress. At the end of the course, the students expressed their gratitude to me. Their recognition meant a lot to my work, and I would turn their appreciation into motivation to keep improving myself.

Learning Chinese, regardless of nationalities

Though my students were from all over the world, they shared a common purpose, which was to learn Chinese and understand Chinese culture. Some students intended to learn Chinese well and then go to study in China, and a few planned to teach Chinese in their own countries in the future. Their determination and efforts to learn Chinese touched me.

The picture below shows my students, one from Poland, one from Malaysia and one from Mexico. This was taken at the day when they took the HSK (Level 1), with bright smiles on their faces and confidence in passing the exam. I could still recall one of the students saying enthusiastically, "I will work hard to pass the HSK (Level 3) so that I can apply for graduate schools in China. And I will make efforts to pass the HSK (Level 5) during my graduate studies in China to speak fluently with Chinese people!" As a Chinese language teacher, I was deeply relieved to see him planning his future with great expectation.

I have gained a lot from my year of teaching Chinese in the UK. I can still remember what a local teacher who trained us said: A teacher who stops learning is not a good teacher. I should encourage myself with these words. As a Chinese language teacher teaching overseas, I need to pursue lifelong learning and contribute more for the cause of international Chinese language education!