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Author Unknown
Tome Cruise
Kids in English Classroom
China has opened its doors to the West and, in many ways, has leaped into the modern world. Our travel group of teachers, librarians, and seasoned travelers wanted to learn more about the people of China. We talked to many adults and children on the streets and in bazaars. However, we learned the most in schools.
In a crowded high school classroom, the voices of 51 teenagers, both girls and boys, roared in our ears. With one sharp word from the teacher, though, silence fell instantly.“Speak only English now,”the teacher said.
I sat with a group of five. “I’m learning lots about China,”I said. “What would you like to know about the United States?”
They giggled, looking at each other. One boy finally said, “Do you know Leonardo DiCaprio? I’ve seen the movie Titanic 15 times.”
“Or Tom Cruise?”a girl asked.
Regretfully, I said, “No.”
I described a typical American high school and asked the students about theirs.
I learned they don’t date in high school. Also, they were unsure about careers after graduation, waiting for their parents to help them decide. What did they think about deciding for themselves? “Too scary,”one girl said. “My parents know best.”
“I may be an artist,”the other girl said. “Do American girls become artists?”
“Yes,”I said. “But it’s a hard life. You don’t make much money.”
“In China,”she answered, “being an artist is very important.”
The others nodded.
Another school visit occurred in a mountainous area. The 54 sixth graders had begun learning English only recently, so, to our disappointment, exchanging information was not possible. The teacher asked the students to recite the day’s English lesson for us.
The children sat up straight, held their textbooks vertically, and together shouted the English lesson, a story about a dog. Their voices rose and fell in a singsong pattern. We applauded. Smiles passed across their proud faces. To answer them, we counted to ten in Chinese and stumbled through some Chinese phrases we had learned. They applauded. We didn’t need a common language to communicate.

Because our guide was Chinese-American, we were able to visit his relatives’homes. We were welcomed for tea in a Chinese wooden house.
One little girl waved to me. I gave her some candies. Her aunt and mother pushed the girl from behind, urging her to say “xie-xie.”The little girl shook her head. They pushed again. Again the girl shook her head. They sighed and looked embarrassed. I smiled and said, “That’s fine”, and edged away. Just then, the girl grabbed my arm and said, in English, ‘Thank you!’
Her mother and aunt gasped. “She’s learning English in kindergarten,”they explained. “She finally found the right English words.”
I hugged her, and said “xie-xie”to her.
By the end of our three-week visit, we were enchanted with China, its beautiful scenery, its delicious food, and most of all its friendly, welcoming people — especially the children.
(495 words)