Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Crazy English

It is interesting and inspiring to note that more than 350 million Chinese are estimated to be learning the English language (“Crazy about English in China,” June 27).

That thousands of learners vigorously practise English phrases with a belief that it will help them interact better with foreigners during the 2008 Beijing Olympics is mind blowing. It reminds me of my days in the U.S., where the sight of Chinese students studiously referring to English dictionaries to get a better understanding of academics was common. The spirit of the Chinese is both laudable and worth following.

B.V. Siva Prasad,
Vijayawada

Li Yang’s method of teaching — shouting out short phrases in English — may help the Chinese get over their inhibition to learn the language to some extent. But when it comes to acquiring working skills, this method may not be very useful.

Accents vary according to the mother tongue of those attempting to learn a new language. Methodical research plays an important role in imparting and acquiring linguistic skills.

Zhong Dao Long is right when he says there are no shortcuts to learning a language.

K. Vaithinathasamy,
Kumbakonam

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