Yueyue and Yangyang nodded, and Shuying sat on the sofa. The children sat obediently in a row. When they encountered unfamiliar words, the two little ones would be the first to look them up in the dictionary.
Xie Mingzhu tilted her head, propping her face up with one hand, and holding another children's picture book. Her basic knowledge was relatively poor, so she could only start learning from these simple things. She wanted to learn more, but all the basics had to start with recognizing characters.
"When I was a child, I always wished I could have a dictionary, but it was a precious thing for children in the countryside. Even schools didn't necessarily have one. Teachers would only borrow one when city leaders came to the countryside for inspections, but we were usually not allowed to take it home to read."
Rural areas have limited educational resources, and most of the time a school has only one teacher who teaches all subjects, including physical education.
Some good data may not even have been seen by teachers, and most of the time children just imitate what they see. There are a few good students who, when they reach a certain age, can no longer be taught by teachers.
If it happens to be a boy, and the family is better off, they might be able to afford to send him to school even if they have to sell everything they own. But if it's a girl, no matter how good her education is, she can't escape the fate of getting married.
Xie Mingzhu always felt regretful. She longed to learn, but her lack of knowledge prevented her from having a complete objective understanding of herself. Especially after arriving in the capital, she realized the importance of knowledge even more when she saw people around her speaking eloquently and not understanding the deeper meaning behind their sarcastic remarks.
Shu Ying held a collection of literary classics written entirely in English. She reads almost anything and has a basic understanding of various subjects, though only superficially. She hopes to improve herself, so she reads every day.
“We have a lot of books at home now, you can read whatever you want. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me. I’m at home every day, so teaching you is like reviewing the material myself.”
She is very patient, and she could actually be a very good teacher. However, her two young children at home already leave her somewhat exhausted. She probably wouldn't have the energy to face so many children alone at school.
Xie Mingzhu looked at the children's English picture books and pointed to a word with one finger. "Yingying, do you think this is apple? Am I pronouncing it correctly? I know this means apple."
Shu Ying was a little surprised. "You know, sister? Your pronunciation is very correct, but your accent needs a little correction. But that's not important. At your current stage, being able to recognize these words and speak them bravely is already amazing."
Many people, even if they know how to pronounce a word, dare not say it. This fear of expression is the biggest obstacle to language learning.
Xie Mingzhu's face flushed slightly. "I remembered it when I heard the children reciting it yesterday. You taught the children to pronounce it last week. The phonetic symbols are marked on this, so I learned it."
Shu Ying found an English beginner book more suitable for adults. She opened to the word group section at the back and pointed to the phonetic symbols with one hand. "Do you know how to spell this?"
Xie Mingzhu looked carefully at the phonetic symbols at the end, and struggled to piece them together, "The, People?"
After she finished speaking, she tentatively looked at Shu Ying, seeking an answer.
Shu Ying gave her a thumbs up in disbelief.
"Your pronunciation is perfect, and you pronounce the phonetic symbols correctly. This word means 'people.' You haven't systematically studied these phonetic symbols, so how did you learn them, sister?"
She believes that some people are self-taught, but Xie Mingzhu is already an adult, and the best time to learn has passed. An adult's living environment is fixed, making it difficult to integrate into a second language.
Xie Mingzhu scratched the back of her head with one hand, "I learned it from you before. I listened to you teach Yueyue and Yangyang. It's actually quite simple. It's just like our Chinese Pinyin. You put these sounds together and that's the pronunciation of the word. It's just that I don't quite understand their meanings yet. I guess I'll have to spend some time memorizing them properly."
Shu Ying took her hand and put the book on the table next to her. "Sister, many people's language learning foundation becomes much weaker after they grow up. What you consider simple may be extremely difficult for others. So you are very talented in languages. You can memorize English words very quickly. Sister Li also has her own system. If you are willing to learn, I can teach you everything I know. You will definitely learn better than me!"
Shu Ying's encouragement made Xie Mingzhu feel a little excited.
She never imagined that she also had a talent for learning.
Her face was flushed, her hands were constantly groping the title page of the book, and her eyes were full of thirst for knowledge.
"Of course I'd love to. I'd be thrilled to have such a wonderful teacher like you. But I'm worried I might bother you. I'm afraid I'm too slow, and if I never learn, wouldn't that be taking up too much of your time?"
Shu Ying understood her concerns. Someone without a high level of knowledge has limited time in school. She was unsure of her own learning abilities and was only worried about causing trouble for others.
"Of course not. Having an excellent student is also a teacher's good fortune. Sister, you are excellent in every way. Most importantly, you have a heart that knows how to improve. Actually, learning is not difficult at all. If you master the methods of learning, you will find that it is the freest thing in the world. Then you can learn whatever you want and master whatever you learn. That's great!"
Shu Ying created an ideal utopian learning environment for Xie Mingzhu, and she looked forward to it with great anticipation.
"I wish I were as amazing as you say. Actually, the person I admire the most is you. You know so many things, and you even speak foreign languages fluently. If the leaders hadn't come this time, I wouldn't have even known that you could speak foreign languages. When you were teaching Yueyue and Yangyang, you were shining just like those translators on TV."
Shu Ying was amused by Xie Mingzhu's words, "Sister, you even know about translators, that's really an improvement."
Xie Mingzhu laughed a little embarrassedly, "I saw it when I was watching a movie at the brigade headquarters. That's what people call those who speak foreign languages."
As the two were talking, the courtyard gate was hurriedly pushed open. Shu Ying and Xie Mingzhu looked out the window at the same time and saw Xie Zhiyan rushing in.
Shu Ying put on her slippers and walked to the door, just about to take his coat when Xie Zhiyan grabbed her wrist with one hand.
“Yingying, it’s good that you’re still awake. We need to go to the train station now. Something happened there at noon. The higher-ups said it’s related to enemy agents.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
