>My girlfriend gave me some information last night. This more for my future reference for future columns than it is for you.
1) You have to pay for high school in China. And I’m not talking about class dues or shit like that; think more along the lines of tuition. How much? She said it prevents poorer families from educating their children. The natural question is: why do they charge for high school? Perhaps there is a good reason, think school upkeep. Let’s see.
2) She did not learn to speak English until college. The English portion of the college entrance exam tests reading and grammar, not oral. Why? Furthermore, the teachers had bad English pronunciation; she said that different classes heard different pronunciation. Again, why? Why hire such bad teachers? A shortage? Something else? I guess what the Australian teacher said holds true in this case: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” They probably don’t see the value in oral English, especially since the college entrance exam does not test oral. Too bad that anyone hoping to use English as a means to a good job or abroad needs to know how to speak and understand it. Explore further.
3) Since I am going to her hometown, this one comes in handy: her parents do not speak Putonghua (standard Mandarin) but a local dialect. Okay, how do they communicate with people outside their hometown? Apparently the dialect is not that different to hinder communication. It’s mutually intelligible with Mandarin. This isn’t Cantonese versus Mandarin. And she can speak the local dialect and Putonghua as well. The college entrance exam tests knowledge of Mandarin, I think. I’ll look into this.
