(This article is a true teaching story, and the student's name is a pseudonym)

Enrollment in waveChinese

Simon lives in a small city in the UK. I really can't remember its name, but his learning experience impressed me.

He was less than 30 years old and was originally an engineer at a famous British automobile company, but one day, he decided to take the teacher qualification exam and switch to being a teacher. I have to say, this is a surprising decision.

It was mid-March 2021.

Simon's Chinese level was elementary when he enrolled in waveChinese, but he knew more Chinese characters. Because he studied Chinese for a short period of time in Beijing. At that time, he lived in a Beijing family, and the condition was to teach English to the children at home.

This is normal. I have a lot of students who have studied in China for a short period of time in universities in Beijing or Shanghai. They told me that Chinese characters are taught more in universities.

Simon is the same. After testing, his speaking ability and grammar system are relatively weak. So, I chose the oral textbook "Chinese made easier" for him. This textbook is a classic Chinese textbook with 60 lessons. After completing it, you can reach an intermediate level of oral Chinese. In addition, its grammar system is very complete. I have used it to help many people learn Chinese.

Amazing learning attitude

Since Simon's level is a little complicated, we first had a few oral Chinese lessons. After I found out Simon's true level, I decided to start from Lesson 12 of "Chinese made easier".

For language learners, a good textbook is crucial. Because the textbook knowledge is systematic, it is conducive to memory and review.

Simon has a good foundation and is very hardworking, so he learns quite quickly and keeps the pace of learning one lesson per class. In fact, under normal circumstances, students need at least five classes to learn one lesson.

How does he do it?

I am often amazed at the neatness of Simon's homework. He always writes his homework neatly in pencil, erases the mistakes with an eraser, and keeps the page clean. This serious learning attitude is undoubtedly a strong guarantee for his learning progress.

He writes down all the words in the textbook. When he has time, he will read the text over and over again until he is familiar with it. For an amateur Chinese learner, this diligent study habit is precious. Diligence is probably his secret.

First year

Two classes a week, in a year, Simon took 70 Chinese classes. Theoretically, he should take 100 Chinese classes a year, but due to holidays in the UK, holidays in China, and trivial matters in life, it is inevitable that some classes would be cancelled in advance. By mid-March 2022, Simon had learned the 40th lesson and reached an intermediate Chinese level.

As time goes by, what remains unchanged is his learning attitude. He has developed good study habits, and we have also formed a fixed class pattern.

In each class, I check the homework first, and then examine his preparation for the new lesson. It is called preparation, but it is actually self-study. He needs to remember all the new words, read all the grammar examples by himself, learn the sentences in the text by himself, and then do ten sentence translations after the class.

According to his mastery of the new lesson, I usually practice conversation with him on key words. If there is time left, I will focus on explaining the difficult words in the next lesson so that he can prepare for it more easily.

Second Year

At this time, Simon went from taking two online Chinese classes a week to taking one. However, his study habits were not "discounted" at all, and he was still as serious as ever.

While taking Chinese classes, Simon applied to be an English teacher in a middle school in Shenzhen, China, because his first plan was to come to China, work, travel, and prepare for the British teacher qualification examination. Due to the impact of the epidemic, his trip was repeatedly delayed. In the spring of 2023, he finally came to China and realized his plan.

Third Year

In May 2023, Simon just started his third year of Chinese study. He took 110 online Chinese classes and completed the 60th lesson of <Chinese made easier>. We started studying "HSK Standard Course 4".

Simon can already communicate all daily conversations in Chinese fluently. He is also very successful as an English teacher in Shenzhen. Not only it's not a problem to speak Chinese in the work environment, but also when traveling.

During his vacation, he visited Guilin, hiked the Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan, visited the giant pandas in Chengdu, and visited the Terra cotta Warriors in Xi'an. He went to many places from south to north.

What made him feel funny was that a Chinese American companion who traveled with him did not speak Chinese as well as he did, and always hid behind Simon when talking to locals.

Travelling aside, Simon never missed his online Chinese class.

Time flies, it's time to go back to the UK!

After returning to the UK, Simon suspended his online Chinese class because he had to go to a university to study for a one-year teacher degree.

Good news

After suspending his Chinese studies for nine months, Simon came back at the end of May 2024 with good news.

He has successfully passed the teacher qualification certificate and got an internship opportunity.

In the days without Chinese classes, Simon has maintained the habit of self-studying Chinese. He memorized almost all the vocabulary of HSK Level 4 and tried to memorize some vocabulary of HSK Level 5.

His next new goal is to pass the HSK Level 4 exam.

We continued to maintain the rhythm of one Chinese class per week. Soon, after three months of preparation, at the end of August 2024, Simon successfully passed the HSK Level 4 exam.

At work, Simon also got a formal teaching position in the school where he interned as he wished.

Epilogue

How far is the dream?

Simon spent three and a half years to verify it himself. His Chinese level went from elementary to advanced. He completed work and travel in China. He successfully changed his career.

I often wonder, what makes dreams come true? The answer is perseverance. Simon has practiced Taekwondo for many years and often won gold medals in Taekwondo competitions in the UK. This may be the reason —— when you do one thing to the extreme, you will also know how to do other things.