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If you want
to learn to swim you have to go into the water yourself,
not just read a book about it, That was the central message
delivered at the open class held at the International
Peace Club on Ningxi Road, Zhuhai this week.
Mr. Gordon Kerr, the Academic Director of the school
-Gateway Language Village (GLV)- said that although there
were many good language schools in China, if you really
want to learn to speak English fluently then the Total
Immersion Experience (TIE) they have created here in Zhuhai
is one of the best ways to do it. Here, in a totally managed
environment, you enter a world where only English is spoken,
only English is heard and native English speakers are
employed as teachers. No Chinese is allowed. Situated
in a beautiful seaside location in Zhuhai, students become
immersed in a world of English 24 hours a day and eat
meals, socialize and share accommodation with their teachers.
It is more than a school, it is a learning community where
every one supports each other. A wide range of creative
teaching methods are employed to improve communication
skills, including the latest textbooks, multimedia, music
and drama. Class size is kept small with a maximum of
15 per class, often less. Students show remarkable progress
and quickly acquire skill and confidence in using English
to pass important interviews or boost their scores for
TOEFL, IELTS and other exams.
Mr. Kerr said, "GLV is the ideal way to prepare
for travel abroad, higher education or professional training
because the students not only rapidly improve their English,
but also learn how to make sense of the culture and use
language effectively. Total immersion works for all levels
of English ability. Some students from the countryside
with hardly any English have made astonishing progress
in only a few weeks and leave speaking fluently. On the
other hand, those who have studied English for many years
at a high level often still struggle with spoken English
because they have no opportunity to use it. They benefit
tremendously from the many hours of contact time with
native speakers. In recent weeks, top international companies
have sent senior managers from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
to study with us. Local government departments send their
young professionals to us to prepare for overseas training
and many parents of middle school and high school are
keen to send their children to us for our exciting summer
program."
Set up two years ago by fellow director Hong Xiu Ping,
who won a full scholarship to study his master degree
at Purdue University in Indiana, the school has gone from
strength to strength. After living in the USA for 5 years
Ping realised that many of his fellow Chinese students
still did not learn to speak English when they went abroad.
He explained that one reason for this was that outside
of formal classes they continued to associate with other
overseas Chinese, shared apartments with them, ate in
Chinese restaurants and watched Chinese TV. Going abroad
to learn English was also very expensive and sometimes
involved great sacrifice by the families and friends back
in China. Ping realised that what really mattered was
not which country you lived in but the actual environment
that surrounded you. Ping also realised that for many
of his countrymen learning English abroad was just not
possible. That's why he decided to create China's first
language village and offer Total Immersion Experience
(TIE)
We asked Ping, "Why Zhuhai?" "Well quite
simply, it is a great place to live and study with a good
environment. I moved here two years ago from Guangzhou
with my family and they love it. Our foreign teachers
also prefer it to the big cities, where pollution and
traffic jams can make life so stressful. Zhuhai is now
very easy to get to. It is only one hour from Shenzhen
by ferry and only one and half-hours on the new expressway
once you get out of Guangzhou. Zhuhai is fast becoming
a centre for top quality education with many new schools
and training centres opening up here, including Zhongshan
University's new campus. That's why we are expanding our
operations. Our new full-time program will open this September
and we will be holding more open classes in Guangzhou
so that people can come and learn more about our center
and meet some of the teachers."
The open class was introduced by Jojo Zhou, well known
TV hostess, who is a personal friend of the directors.
Jojo has only recently returned from the US where she
studied at San Francisco State University but she is glad
to be back. "Its true," she says, "you
don't need to go abroad to learn English. I met Chinese
immigrants in California who have been there 30 years
and can only speak two words in English,'No' and 'OK'.
It's not where you are but whom you are with, that counts.
You have to use English intensively all the time if you
are to become fluent. It's the way young children learn
language. It is also a bit like flying. You need to gather
speed if you want to take off. So many people study for
years but never leave the ground. The Total Immersion
Experience at Gateway language Village is a great idea.
It's hard work and needs commitment, but it's also great
fun. So if you want to fly with your English
go to Zhuhai!"
If you wish to comment on the above article
send an e-mail message to me at gordonjkerr@glvchina.com
or call Gateway Language Village, Zhuhai
0756-2291934
Website:
www.glvchina.com.
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