ENCOURRIGING STORIES OF
LEARNING SPOKEN ENGLISH
英语口语学习励志故事
1. From “Pigsty English” to
“Foreign Teacher’s Class” at ZU
一、《从猪棚英语到浙大外教英语课》
（英文附中文本）
（节选自John Y 长篇英语学习回忆录《英语口语---一个只面对执着的回音 ENGLISH SPEAKING-AN ECHO ONLY FROM COMMITMENT》）
At about the end of 1968 I graduated from Fudan University Affiliated High School and as a "Zhiqing"(educated youth) settled at Luodian People’s Commune in Baoshan County, a far northern area of Shanghai. After two years “Fighting against the Sky and Struggling with the Earth”, I was "selected" as a swineherd by villagers to raise all sows and pigs which were possessed by the collective.
In those years, such sayings as "Going to school is useless" or "Learning English is worth nothing" were widely believed in the society. English, as “Garbage of Feudalism, Capitalism and Revisionism" had been swept into trash heap. English study had been abolished from all primary and secondary education in the whole country. But to my mind, it should never been given up. From the "old paper heap" at home I had dug out some English books and took them to the countryside. Whenever there was spare time after feeding the pigs, I’d like to sit by the pig shed and read English books while the squawking of the animals could be heard up and down and all around. But I didn't realize that this would have brought me big trouble later on.
One day, the cadres from Production Brigade headed by the Party Branch Secretary came to my village for a “site production examination”. When passing by my pig shed, the party head had happened to see I was stooped over reading something, so he came up and asked: "What are you doing?" Since I had nowhere to cover it up, I showed my English book to him and said: "I am reviewing English."
He suddenly snatched the book from me and with his face frowning, said: "What? English? How could you dare to exercise such Feng-Zi-Xiu while receiving re-education in countryside?" Saying this, he angrily threw the book to the ground and went away. I knew something was going to happen.
Sure enough, after a few days at the “all brigade members’ meeting”, the party leader launched harsh comments directed at me. "Now, in our brigade, some individual intellectual youth failed to take the re-education, missing the Feng-Zi-Xiu, still read English books while raising the pigs. How come! This is serious and can’t be tolerated. The village leaders must take action to fix it …”
Despite this, I was not scared and kept studying on my “foreign garbage” only now under the table. My fellow villagers also felt sympathy for me and ignored the party head’s threatening. Three years later they further elected me as the Political Chief of the village production team so that a student "swineherd" turned out to be a "village official". Two years later, my performance was finally recognized by the brigade and I was relocated to the Shanghai Normal University (now as the East China Normal University) for teacher’s training. This had laid a foundation for my entry to the university two years later.
In 1977, I took the first National College Entrance Examination after the Cultural Revolution and was admitted to Zhejiang University (ZU) in mechanics major. My English course was exempted because I chose the optional English test in the exam and had scored over 80 points, which was far enough past the exemption line of 60 for English by ZU. Among these 80 freshmen in my department only two were entitled with such honor, and I was one of them. This was in response to what was called “God will never forget those who work with great endeavor”. My "never abandon, never give up" policy in English finally paid off.
In retrospect, I was sticking with my special interest and staying true to my ambitions in English study during my middle school years. This was largely thanks to two middle schools I attended that had high quality English education and outstanding English teachers. I went to Shanghai Tongji Middle School for junior study and Fudan University Affiliated High School for senior study. The teachers who taught me English were Mr. Chen Zongyang and Mr. Zou Jiayuan. They respectively graduated from two top universities with top English specialty in China: English Department of Shanghai Institute of Foreign Languages (now as Shanghai Foreign Language University) and Foreign Language Department of Fudan University. These two schools and two teachers left me with a strong English background that has benefitted me in decades of study, life and work, including overseas study ever since.
After entering ZU, I felt bad with that it had no English class for me at all. Fortunately, in the third year the university opened a special English class for students with exception status – the “foreign teacher’s English class”. The teacher was a white young man invited from the US. Today the foreign teacher’s English class is nothing new for even middle school students, but in more than 30 years ago when China had just opened its doors to the world, a white guy with blue eyes and brown hairs sitting in the classroom, talking with a group of Chinese students, was truly a miracle. Especially since China had just established diplomatic relations with the US not too long ago.
Because the regular courses for us were tight, our foreign teacher’s English class was scheduled quite infrequently, only once a week. But we all attended it with great enthusiasm. Maybe this was because of the way this American guy had been teaching, which was much different from that of our traditional English class mainly focused on grammar and reading. Most of the time, this guy was just having free talks with students. Although there was a textbook, he never followed it. Sometimes he had referred to it, but it was only a simple glance and he would quickly shift back to his boundless but colorful talks again. Sometimes he even took us to school campus or by the West Lake for a so-called "site class".
During that class students were all quite active, competing with each other for more chatting minutes from the teacher. But this young "Laomei"(American guy) liked to chat with girls, the pretty girls foremost and we boys got little chance. Fortunately, he often went to a snack shop near the school at lunch for noodles, and I had the same hobby, so I always had the opportunity to meet him there and chatted with him in English while enjoying noodles. It was from this young American guy that I initiated my learning and practicing spoken English with particular interest.
When recalling my foreign teacher’s class at ZU, I would admit that it was really a start of enlightenment for my spoken English study. I also learnt for the first time, that the study of English could be away from the textbook or out of the classroom, and that might be a more effective way to accomplish it. To these days, when living and working in China, I’ve kept this hobby often taking my foreign friends, no matter if they’re white or black, young or old, American or others, to nearby restaurants, tea houses or other casual places. We are out there not only for foods, drinks or fun, but also for cross-culture communication and exchange.
（中文版本）
1968年末，我从复旦附中毕业，到上海宝山地区插队落户。经过两年的“战天斗地”，我被“选派”为饲养员，在生产队的猪棚里养猪。
当时社会上广为流行“读书无用论”和“英语无用论”，英语作为“封、资、修”的糟粕被打入冷宫，英语课在所有中小学教育中被废除。但我从心里对此不屑一顾。我不愿意放弃这个机会，从“旧纸堆”里翻出几本英语书带到乡下，经常利用养猪之余，坐在猪棚门口的石板上，边看英语书，边听耳边猪的嘶叫声。没想到这样就惹了祸。
有一天，大队干部检查生产路过我们生产队，大队支书也在其列。经过猪棚时，他恰巧看见我在低头看书，就走上来问：“你在看什么啊？”我来不及遮掩，只好说：“我在复习英语。”
他把书揣到面前一看，顿时脸拉了下来：“什么？英语？！你怎么下乡锻炼还要搞这个封资修？”说完把书往地上一扔，怒气冲冲的走了。我知道事情不妙了。
果不其然，几天后在全大队社员大会上，大队支书对我作了不指名的批判：“现在，我们大队还有个别下乡插队的知青，不好好接受再教育，还在怀念封资修那一套，在劳动时看什么英语，这怎么行？生产队要做严肃处理！”
但是，我并没有被唬住，继续偷偷地看我的英语。我所在生产队的“贫下中农”老乡也很同情我，根本不睬大队干部那一套。三年以后，他们又选我这个“洋秀才”当了生产队政治队长，从“猪倌”一跃而为“村官”。两年后，我的表现又被大队肯定，选送到上海师范大学（现华东师范大学）参加教师培训，为以后重新跨入大学校门创造了条件。
1978年，我参加文革后首届高考，录取了浙江大学力学系本科。我的英语课居然被免修了，这是因为我在高考中选考了英语，成绩达到80分以上。按照当年浙大的规定，英语选考成绩在60分及格线以上的新生，普通英语课一律免修。力学系78级有80多名新生，英语获得免修的只有两人。这正是所谓“皇天不负苦心人”，我在下乡期间对英语的“不弃不舍”，终于修来正果。
回想起来，与时下很多80后90后一样，我在中学时代对英语有一种朦胧而执着的爱好。这在很大程度上得益于我所就读的两所中学，具有高质量的英语教学和一流的教师团队。我初中读上海同济中学，高中读复旦附中，教我英语的先后是陈宗杨老师和邹家元老师。他们分别毕业于国内两所顶尖大学的顶尖英语专业：上海外国语学院（现上海外国语大学）英语系和复旦大学外文系。这两所学校和两位老师给我留下的英语底子，在以后数十年的生涯中，包括出国留学，可谓受用无穷。
进入大学后没有英语课上，这滋味也不好受。幸好从三年级起，浙大为各系英语免修生开了一门别开生面的英语课——外教英语课，任课教师是一位刚从美国邀请来的白人青年。这在文革后我国重新打开国门，实行对外开放的早期，是十分罕见的，况且我国与美国刚刚正式建交不久。
由于大学课程紧，我们的外教英语课课时不多，每周只有一次，每次两小时。但大家都上得津津有味。也许是因为美国小伙的上课方式比较特别，跟以往我们习惯的英语课主要讲语法和阅读完全不同，他上课的大部分时间，是与学生海阔天空地聊。虽然有课本，但他基本上不按课本讲，即使涉及课本，也是三言两语“虚晃一枪”，然后又回到他的海阔天空。有时候，他还带我们到校园里甚至西湖边去上所谓“现场情景课”。
那时的学生比较活跃，不管上课下课都争先恐后地与他聊。遗憾的是，这个小“老美”只爱跟女生聊，而且喜欢拣长得漂亮的，我们男生很少有机会。幸好他每天中午都要到校门口的小餐馆吃面，我也有同样的嗜好，所以常有机会在那里碰到他，趁机边吃面边与他“侃”两句英语。不论怎样，我对学习英语口语的起步与兴趣，是从这位美国小伙那儿开始的。
这次上美国外教的英语课，对我日后学习英语口语是一个启蒙。我也第一次感受到，学习英语和口语，可以不需要照着书本上学，可以不需要在课堂上学，或许那样学更加有效呢！
