Lianghe welcomes teachers from Shanghai
Zhang corrects students's English pronunciation (Photo provided by interviewee)
At the beginning of the autumn semester, a new teacher from Shanghai came to a mountain school in Lianghe county, west Yunnan's Dehong Dai and Jingpo autonomous prefecture.
The teacher is named Zhang Yue. She has taught English at Jiaxin School in Shanghai’s Qingpu district for 17 years, heading the school's English teaching and research group. Since Qingpu was paired with Dehong in 2017 under an aid program, excellent teachers in the district have volunteered to teach in Dehong.
Influenced by her spouse's desire to teach in Xinjiang, Zhang decided to go to Lianghe county to teach, enriching herself while dedicating to education in mountainous regions.
Although her own child just entered sixth grade this September and needs her company, she convinced herself: "Compared to many children who are separated from their parents in the mountains for years, my child might grow up more without me, and I’m only leaving home for a year."
Lianghe county covers 1136.69 square kilometers, 87.8% of which are mountainous areas. Because of a shortage of English talents, children there are quite poor in English. Good English teachers are desperately needed and Zhang was chosen soon after she applied for the volunteering program.
The newly built school recruits children from grade one to nine. They are mostly relocated from nearby areas under poverty-elimination projects and their parents are migrant workers.
"These kids began studying English later than kids in Shanghai, and they have no interest in English. Thus, learning English is difficult for them, especially in listening and speaking, due to a lack of a language environment," Zhang Yue said.
How to improve the situation? "I exchange ideas with the school's English teachers, guiding them to use English more in the classroom. We gradually created an English learning environment where students can read and listen to English anytime and anywhere," said Zhang, who also established English corners and encouraged students to speak English bravely.
After more than a month, students gradually adapted to Zhang's teaching methods, and Zhang also became closer to these children. She even developed an affection for this place. "At least, I adapted myself to eating spicy food," Zhang joked.
Not only Zhang Yue but also 12 leading teachers from Shanghai's Qingpu district have volunteered to teach in Lianghe county in the past few years.
From the bustling metropolis to the rural areas in western Yunnan, these teachers built a strong bond with the mountain children through their dedication, convincing the children that there are various options for their future.
Source: People.cn; trans-editing by Guo Yao