Gong Jinpei

　　It is my personal opinion that the period when I was learning English in Beiwai Online Institute between the spring of 2002 and the summer of 2003 was the most valuable time I have ever experienced in my life, because I was lucky enough to be educated and trained by the professional tutors, teachers and professors in that duration.

　　When I was enrolled into the Institute in the spring of 2002, I found that the textbooks, which were compiled by Beiwai, were brand new to me and greatly aroused my interest and enthusiasm for studying English. The contents of the textbooks were quite different from those I had learned before, as the editors of the textbooks systematically designed all the units of the books for the aim of improving our students’ abilities of listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation. Each unit consisted of several learning tasks which were in the forms of essays, reading or listening comprehension, exercises of translation and so on. With the modern learning support of cassettes, disks and online learning activities, I was able to understand and practise the language points of each unit in our textbooks and finish my assignments ahead of our study schedule.

　　If I found any difficulties in learning English, I would like to raise those questions in the tutorial lessons which used to be held twice a month. Our tutors were kind, professional and responsible. They would summarize the key points of each unit in our textbooks both concisely and clearly. Then they would answer our questions patiently and completely. In each tutorial lesson, our students were encouraged to apply what we had learned into full practice. For instance, having English conversations with our partners in front of the fellow students was one of the most popular ways for improving our abilities of spoken English. This kind of learning methods was extremely valuable to our students, as it created a nice atmosphere for practising spoken language. No student would look down upon or laugh at those students who made mistakes in their English dialogues. By this way of learning, our talent of speaking English in public had been gradually trained and fostered. With so many benefits to attend tutorial lessons, I had tried my best to take part in all the lessons offered by our tutors.

　　Practice makes perfect. The purpose of our English study is not merely to remember some new words or grammatical rules, but to be able to express English in verbal or nonverbal forms fluently and logically. Our Institute provided us with online BBS and VOB  (Voice of Beiwai) in which we could practise written and spoken English through the Internet every day. We could write essays in English and upload them to BBS. On the one hand, it was a very nice chance for us to improve our abilities of written English. On the other hand, we could learn a lot through reading essays written by other fellow students. Our teachers and professors would also issue some important notices through BBS for holding lectures, answering some questions put forward by our students or discussing the educational matters we concerned.

　　Attending the activities of VOB was one of the best ways for our distant learners to practise spoken English, because professors from home and abroad would often be invited to host the programs with certain specific themes. Our students could not only imitate their ways of expressing English with correct pronunciation and intonation, but also hold direct chatting with them by earphones and microphones. I used to take an active part in attending the activities of VOB so as to improve my skills of expressing English orally. It was also a good place for us to make friends with the fellow students throughout the country.

　　To teach us English well was not the sole purpose of the education in the Institute. The tutors, teachers and professors in Beiwai tried their every means to assist us to get rid of the outdated learning habits and to help us to become whole-persons. Apart from learning English, we were required to study other subjects, such as a second foreign language (Japanese, French or German), Political Economy, Basic Knowledge of the Laws and the Theory of Mao Zhe-Dong Thought, etc.

　　Frankly speaking, I was not fully aware of the benefits of the textbooks, the tutorial lessons and the learning activities in VOB when I was learning English earnestly and diligently. It is now that I have realized my abilities of spoken and written English acquired in the Institute are extremely useful and valuable to the jobs I am engaged in at present. I can not say that I had become a whole-person after being educated there, but I am confident to indicate that I have no difficulties in exchanging views in English with foreign friends. Therefore, I find that it was very lucky for me to be a student of Beiwai. And it was also wise for me to follow the learning requirements recommended by the tutors, teachers and professors. Learning English in Beiwai was one of the priceless and unforgettable experiences in my life and it enabled me to taste the successfulness in my new career, too. If I have any chances to continue my learning of English in the Alma Mater in the near future, I will grasp the opportunity without any hesitation.