鄧永鏘（DavidTang）中國會、上海灘創辦人
IgotzeromarkformyEnglishdictationatLaSallebeforeIsailedtoEngland,attheageof13,tojoinaboardingschool.Onboardtheship,Imetacoupleofchildrenmyage,butastheywereAustralian,Icouldn'tspeaktotheminEnglish.Fornearly30daysatsea,Igesticulatedandbehavegenerallylikeadumbboy.
AfterIarrivedinEngland,noschoolwouldtakemeasIspokenoEnglish.Atoneinterview,mymother,whospokereasonableEnglish,toldmetosay"MynameisDavidTang"tothefirstquestionasked.Asithappened,Iwasasked"DidyouenjoyyourjourneytoEngland?"So,unsurprisingly,Ididn'tdotoowellatthatinterview.Butluckily,IgotintoalocalschoolbecauseeducationwascompulsoryinEnglandthen.
Miraculously,IwassoonspeakingabitofEnglishandwithinsixmonths,Iwasabletoconversereasonably.Ieventriedtochatupabeautifulblondegirl.IthoughtshehadthebeautifullestblueeyesintheworldandsuchfairhairthatIthoughtIwouldneverseeanothergirlwhocouldbeprettier.ButIgotabsolutelynowherewithherasafterawhile,shejustlaughedatme.Ievenrememberhernametoday,37yearslater:ChristineGinn.Thatwashowdeepanimpressionshemadeonme.IjustwishedIhadamuchbettercommandofEnglishasIwascertainImighthavemademoreprogress.IalsoremembertryingtoimpressherbymemorizingchunksofShakespeare-noneofwhichIreallyunderstoodatthetime-asIthoughtthatwouldmakemearomanticfigure.Istillrememberlots-fromMacbeth,JuliusCeasar,RomeoandJulietandHenryV,myfavouritenow.Suchapityyoungpeopledonotlearnbyheartanymore.
Afteracoupleofyears,Idiscoveredreading.IrecallbeingsensibleinmychoicebecausethecriteriononwhichIselectedthebookswasthatithadtobeshort.IrealizedIcouldn'treadDickensorThackeryorMelvilleasnotonlyweretheylong,theyalsocontainedtoomanycomplicatedwords,andevenworse,idiomaticphaseswhichIsimplycouldn'tunderstand.Iwasn'tevenabletofindouttheirmeaningsfrommydictionary.
SoIchoseAgathaChristie,NevilleShute,SomersetMaughamandeventuallyRoaldDahl.TheirlanguagewasrelativelyuncomplicatedandIalsofoundthementertainingandoftenIcouldn'twaittofindoutwhathappenedattheend.
MyEnglishisreasonablygoodnow.IevenmanagetodocrypticcrosswordseverydayfromEnglishnewspapers.SoIhavecomeafairwayfromthoseearlydays.
Often,IamaskedbystudentsofEnglishwhattipsIwouldgivethemiftheywantedtoimprovetheirEnglish.IjusttellthemexactlywhatIdid.Ireadandread;andIusedthelanguageeveryday.Constantusage,whetherorallyorotherwise,hastobethesecretofimprovement.
That'swhyIstartedsomeEnglishLanguageschoolshereinHongKong.TheyhavebeenuniquebecausetheyarefreeEnglishschools.TheoneatTaikooissopopularthatweareforcedtoturnawayquitealotofstudents.Swire'shavebeenmarvellousinsupportingthisschool.Butdespiteitsuniqueness,hardlyanyoneinHongKongknowsaboutit.ItsaddensmetoseehowEnglishistaughtatschoolsandatlanguagecentreswhichcharge.Theyalltendtoforgetthatencouragingthestudenttoreadandspeaknon-stopoutsideoftheclassroomistheonlywaybywhichfluencycanbeattained.
Inmynextarticle,IwilltrymybesttodispensesomepointerstothosewhowishtoimprovetheirEnglish.Inthemeantime,wemustrecognizethatthestandardofEnglishinHongKongisnotthatgood.Beforelong,mainlanderswillspeakmuchbetterthanus.Therearenearly300millionlearnersofEnglishinChina(greaterthanthepopulationofAmerica),andtheyaresomuchmoredeterminedthanus.OnethingthatShanghaiiscertainlysuperiortoHongKongistheenthusiasmanddedicationofEnglishlearning.JustgototheBund,andstudentswillstopyouandpractisetheirEnglishoncompetentspeakers.WhereashereinHongKong,weareencouragedtousemoreandmoreMandarin.Nothingpersewrongwiththat,butifwearenotcareful,wewillendupbeingpoortri-linguals.Englishproficiencyisbadalready.JustaskanychancellorofanyHongKonguniversity,andyouwillfindthatmostoftheundergraduates'commandofEnglish,inwhichsubjectsaretaught,isabysmal.WhatthedickensiswrongwithourEnglishteaching?Iwillalsoletyouknownextweek.