It is sometimes said that when a person loses an opportunity to speak his native language, he loses 80 percent of his individuality. In the modern global Word, people have become very mobile and can change the place of living several times in their lives. Does it mean that they have to say goodbye to their personality? I think it does not: we have an opportunity to study foreign languages, which enriches our intelligence and makes our mental outlook broader. Studying a foreign language is one of the most exciting human experiences, which brings both pleasure and mental growth.
The Chinese professor from the USA says that he has come across his occupation by chance. However, it is very impressive that he has opened his soul to another culture, which is so different compared to his native one. He has told that Chinese has several brunches, and sometimes it is different to understand Chinese from the different parts of China. But the difference between Chinese and English is much more serious: these languages have a different alphabet, grammar, and pronunciation.
The Chinese culture has old specific traditions, it is difficult to understand them at first for the Western people. The professor talks about cultural mistakes which he sometimes makes in China. But now he can read Chinese old books and modern newspaper articles, communicate with the Chinese. I think this helps him to understand the spirit of Chinese culture.
The professor says that it is very important to communicate with Chinese native speakers, and I understand why. The modern simplified Chinese differs much from the language used in the old books. At the same time, the new words appear in the language all the time: they are some professional or cultural terms, the words of slang. This proves that the language is like a living creature: the nation lives and develops, and so does the language.
Besides talking to native speakers, I think the most important when studying a foreign language is to train one’s active vocabulary. A vocabulary of a person who studies a foreign language can be divided into 2 parts: active and passive. Passive vocabulary includes the words which we can recognize when reading or listening to the speech. Active vocabulary is smaller: it includes the words which we can remember immediately when writing or talking.
That is why people at first learn to read and listen to foreign speech, and only then to speak and write. The Chinese professor does not mention this aspect, but I think he also feels this because he says that sometimes he feels he does know something well when teaching, and this is challenging for him. I think training active vocabulary is very difficult and important: the more words we can use when speaking, the brighter our speech is.
Today studying Chinese is not so popular in the English-speaking world. However, China is getting a stronger international position: it provides goods and services to many countries of the World, and the Western companies invest in the Chinese economy. Chinese specialists find the job abroad, and Chinese students study at the best universities in the World. This means that not only the Chinese need to study English but as well studying Chinese will become more and more popular with English-speaking people.
That is why I think that the professor’s occupation is not only interesting but also very timely. His students are lucky, as they have a chance to get unique knowledge, extend their view of life, and get better career opportunities. The professor shows them that our World is diverse and that understanding becomes the most important thing in it.