Following is the article written by a British expert, Patter Adler,
telling her aspirations for doing something for the
2008
Olympic Games in Beijing.
When the 2008 Olympic Games comes, the attention of the whole world
will be attracted to China. It is imaginable how large a scale of
Beijingers' reception work will be by the time.
As
a person who had been working for a long time in China, it is
necessary and duty-bound for me to do something for the Olympic
Games within my power.
But what I can do for it?
I
think English is my strong point. I know the Olympic reception work
requires large numbers of English-speaking personnel and I'm aware
that many Beijingers are learning English. So, I think I can do
something in this respect.
For this, in 1991 I cooperated with a psychologist of Chinese
children Liu Jinghe in compilation of an 8-volume book titled
"Modern English for Children" intended for children aged between 9
and 12.
Why did I compile this series of books at that time? Because I
contemplated that Beijing would succeed in its bid for the 2000
Olympic Games, and children would be encouraged to spend ten years
(1991-2000) to learn this set of books, by then they would
definitely be useful for the Olympics.
China's education TV station broadcast the first three volumes of
our book, both parents and their children said this to be very
effective.
Of
course, I also had my own purpose in compiling the book.
I
once taught at the China Foreign Affairs Institute, I also worked
in Xinhua News Agency and the China Foreign Languages Publishing
and Distribution Administration, later in 1973 I went to work at
the Beijing Foreign Studies University, by now 40 full years have
passed.
In
publishing books, emphasis should be placed mainly on reality and
children be encouraged to ponder over matters. I think in compiling
books for children, we must put out books children are interested
in.
A
teacher shouldn't ask children to learn things for the adults or
force a method of study on them, instead, they should be allowed to
study on their own, to speak out things to their own concerns and
how they are proceeding with their studies. This is also one of my
purposes for compiling this set of books.
Now that Beijing has succeeded in its bid for hosting the 2008
Olympic Games, I still want to take advantage of my strong point in
English to do something for the Olympic Games.
Currently, numerous Chinese are learning English, so are many taxi
drivers in Beijing, they are making preparations for greeting the
2008 Olympic Games.
But I discover there are only few books suitable for children. Many
Chinese fall short of the standard in their use of English.
Considering this situation, I'm now collecting some non-standard
English words and sentences and note them down, and plan to compile
them into some sort of a booklet; at the same time, I'm also
collecting meaningful works done by some renowned writers and
revise them into English readings which youngsters, including
beginners, like to read, and which are comprehensible to them.
In
this way, I hope those learning English through these readings will
be able to use correct English in their communication with
foreigners during the 2008 Olympic Games.
English has become an international language for human
communications, for instance, many Chinese friends I met in Beijing
almost all could use English to talk with me.
China boasts rich and glorious, 5,000-year-old culture. I think,
whether it is at present, in 2008 or an even more distant future,
every Chinese is duty-bound, by means of the language, to enable
foreigners to appreciate China's great culture and understand her
history and civilization.
To
this end, I'll spend some energy after my retirement to compile
some books suitable for children during my remaining years, so that
I can make come contributions to China's English education, that is
my real intention.
( May
31, 2002)