" With all my heart, I am keen to
see the world;
With my ears, I am eager to listen to
the world."
--My story of English Learning at
BeiwaiOnline
By Zhao Fang,2005 Class
March,18th,2021
To this day,I still keep the pamphlet
issued by BeiwaiOnline Institute
when I was first enrolled.On the cover
of it,there is an eye-catching motto
in both Chinese and English:
北外网院-“全人”教育的摇篮
BeiwaiOnline-Cradle of a Whole-person
At that time,I might not have a deep
understanding of"whole-person
education”.
But once I was in this cradle, soon I
was going to face new challenges
in my life.
Beginning - Why I have chosen to study
English at BeiwaiOnline Institute?
I had just passed my 35th birthday at
the year of enrollment. I decided
to pick up my English learning again
that had been ignored for more than
ten years since graduating from
university. This decision was a direct
result of my experience of
embarrassment of language barriers in a
foreign
country on a business travel to Europe
in the previous year. To solve the
long-standing problem of dumb English
was just one reason. The second was
I had always liked literature, and
learning English wiuld enable me to
read English originals without
barriers. The third was that I was
thinking
of the growth of my kid. I firmly
believe that teaching by example is
better
than by words.
My colleague who had graduated from
BeiwaiOnline and engaged in foreign
affairs in our company recommended this
program to me. I went to the
headquarter
to inquire about the registration
requirements. After returning home, I
discussed with my family, and they were
very supportive of my decision.
I also made a deal with my kid that we
would start learning English at
the same time to see who could make
progress more quickly, and my
first-grade
kid gladly accepted it.
Challenge - Experiencing "whole-person"
education: time management, lifelong
learning, and self-improvement
My undergraduate major was
telecommunication engineering. After
graduation,
I had been working in a large
state-owned enterprise. My work in the
past
years had involved almost every aspects
of telecommunication field, from
engineering installation, system
management, telecommunication
monitoring
system and data communication network
construction to telecommunication
system and data communication network
design. The rapid development of
communication and information
technology required me to keep learning
at
work. It was this ability to learn that
gave me the confidence to restart
my English learning.
At that time, I served as the chief
designer in a consulting institute.
In order to catch up with the
engineering design progress, I often
worked
overtime with my small team overnight.
My husband was busier at work than
me and often traveled a lot. Thus,
sending my kid to school and
participating
in a variety of extracurricular classes
naturally became my task. All this
plus my daily distance learning and
participating the face-to-face tutoring
classes on campus every weekend had
made time management crucial.
It was the time to improve my
"whole-person" ability. With multiple
roles
in me, I had benefited from the idea of
“whole-person” education of
BeiwaiOnline
that was in line with that of
international education. I also had
benefited
from the seniors, who had taught me how
to manage my time, mainly how to
make full use of odds time, as well as
the guide of my tutors and the
supervision
and support of the staff of the support
center. All this had made me quickly
adapt to my various roles, working hard
while being happy.
There were new things to learn every
day. Usually I practiced my English
listening while driving my kid to
school and then driving to and from
work;
I read my coursebook during the lunch
break (I occasionally took a nap
when I felt tired in the summer); and I
learned the courseware of wrote
my homework while waiting for my kid
during various extracurricular classes.
After tutoring the kid’s homework in
the evening and accompanying the kid
to bed, the remaining time was really
my own study session.
In addition to learning courseware and
doing homework during this time
before going to bed, there was also an
important task, which was to
participate
in the "Voice of Beiwaionline" (VOB in
short) program. VOB was a real-time
voice online classroom system developed
by the Institute in 2002 for teachers
and students to communicate in
real-time voice. It was a great
convenience
for the distance learners like me,
because even if we were away on
business,
we could participate in the program as
long as we had a laptop connected
to the Internet.
It was also a good opportunity for us
to practice spoken English. At that
time, a few fellow distance learners
and I set up a study group in VOB,
and I was also the host. Each time when
we had a program, I need to choose
a topic in advance for our discussion.
Sometimes when I was hosting a program
or participating in discussion
in a VOB program, my kid who wasn’t
sleepy would come to me and listened
to my accented English curiously and
asked what I was talking about. I
would shut down my microphone for a
while to answer his questions, and
then urged him to go to bed as soon as
possible, saying that the two of
us should support each other. My kid
then would unwillingly yet obediently
go to his room.
Although distance learners like me
couldn t have as much time as
on-campus students to practice English
skills, I did make rapid progress.
After my first-year learning and
finishing the course module at
BeiwaiOnline
(a module-based design is the feature
of the curriculum design of
BeiwaiOnline),
I signed up for the IELTS test (IELTS)
at the end of the school year to
know what my English learning was like.
The result was an average of 6.5
points (of which 6.5 in listening, 7.0
in reading and writing, and only
6.0 in speaking).
Opportunity - a turning point in my
life
What I have gained in BeiwaiOnline was
not only knowledge and skills,
but also friendship with my teachers
and classmates. The students came
from all walks of life and could learn
from each other and help each other.
During the summer of the second year
studying in BeiwaiOnline, my classmates
and I had a meal with our teacher after
our face-to-face tutorial. The
teacher told me that he was in charge
of a tow-year master s program in
film, TV and media studies jointly run
by Beijing Foreign Studies University
and a renowned foreign country’s
university. In the first school year,
teachers were partly from Beijing
Foreign Studies University, and partly
from that foreign university （they
would fly to China to teach）, and after
the first year, if the students were
qualified for the requirements of
the program, they would study abroad
for another one year. He knew that
I liked movies and knew that my IELTS
score was also qualified for the
requirement of the university. He
specifically recommended me to apply
for this program.
It was a big deal. I came home to
discuss with my family. Once again,
my family strongly supported me. This
was also a major turning point in
my life. In fact, this turning point
had already begun, at the moment when
I decided to study English in
BeiwaiOnline.
The students enrolled in this study
program were all born in the 1980s
and graduated with bachelor degrees in
English. Among them, the youngest
was 17 years younger than me. My
English learning starting point was the
lowest and I was the oldest among (36
years old). In addition, I was
originally
an engineering student. These were all
my disadvantages. Besides, I also
had a family to take care of. All of
this made me a little nervous at the
beginning.
Of course, there was another thing that
made me uneasy. It was a kind
reminder from a friend. She said that a
female colleague of her was sent
to the UK for training for one year at
her TV station’s expense. As a result,
after she left for about a month (or
less than a month, I couldn’t’t
remember
it exactly), her husband had an affair
with another woman. My friend said
worriedly, you now have your own flat
and cars in Beijing, and your family
is happy and harmonious. If everything
might be gone when you come back,
is it worth it?
Fortunately, it didn’t bother me too
much. Because what she said, especially
the family, was indeed what I used to
defend with my life. However, I also
knew that that was not the whole story
of my life. Long before I had always
known “you have to be empty in order to
be full”.
Harvest – broadening my horizon and
improving myself
Later, studying abroad had proved that
my worries did not exist. During
those hard and novel school days, I had
not only completed my studies,
but also finished my master s degree
with a first-class honours (it must
meet the demand of an average grade of
“A-” or higher). At the same time,
I did not miss my kid’s growth. In that
year, I had carried heavy books
and homework back and forth for more
than 100,000 kilometers, and written
papers of more than 100,000 characters.
Of course, I did not forget to
take a leisurely time to experience the
local exotic scenery,
diverse culture and
customs, and fine wine and food.
I have always been interested in
wine. There happened to be a
famous
wine region in the area. So, I took
advantage of a short holiday to made
an appointment to go to a
winery to help pick grapes
with people
from all over the world (This was the
first time for me to know the grape
picker s English name is Picker). That
time I learned how to distinguish
what kind of grapes could be picked for
winemaking, and I also took a tour
of the winery to learn about the
winemaking process. Of course, I also
tried the tasty food the winery
produced and tasted fine wine they
made.
Although it was tiring to work in the
vineyard all day, I did not feel
hard at all. I was always happy if I
could do what I was interested in.
Without my English learning in
BeiwaiOnline, it would be impossible
for
me to study abroad and did what I liked
to do as such.
Keeping curiosity about the world and
persisting in lifelong learning
will make me feel that every day of
life is new.
Therefore, whenever a friend who had
not seen me for a long time asked
me why I suddenly thought of quitting
my job to study film, TV and media
abroad, it was always difficult for me
to answer, because it would be a
long story.
Today, I take this opportunity to write
down my story, which is an answer,
a review and also a summary.
If I have to answer in one sentence, I
think it should be like this: It’s
all because of the choice I made at the
time.
For a long time, I have been feeling
fortunate that I had chosen
BeiwaiOnline
Institute because I had met a group of
teachers with professionalism and
broad vision there.
Albert Einstein once said, “Education
is what remains after one has forgotten
everything one has learned in school.”
For me, improving English skills and
acquiring knowledge of English language
and culture in BeiwaiOnline Institute
was only part of my gains. The more
important part was what Einstein called
"education"-many years later, even
if I forgot everything I had learned
from school, I would still remember
the "whole-person" education that the
school had always advocated.
These ideas have permeated and
influenced my life from then to today
and
will continue to do so in the future.
When I was writing this article, I
happened to see a famous quote by Irish
poet Yeats printed in the pamphlet
issued by BeiwaiOnline:
Education is not the filling of a pail
but the lighting of a fire.
There was also a sentence from the
American psychologist Angel J.:
The primary purpose of education is not
to teach you to earn your bread,
but to make every mouthful of sweeter.
Looking back into my experience in
BeiwaiOnline, I believe I have been
well educated.
My sincere gratitude will always go to
BewaiOnline.
Note:
The title of the article is quoted from
a poem written by the author.
鹧鸪天.三八节书怀
2021-3-8 青玉
岁久未忘当日情。相逢自是缘美名。
一心欲识东西事，两耳静听风雨声。
桃李盛，芷兰荣。德音不忘赖传承。
又蒙师友绸缪意，独自思量感不胜。
Partridge in the Sky: Thoughts on
International Women’s Day
March 8th, 2021
by
Jane Zhao
My gratitude to you will not be
forgotten with age.
My choice of you was a result of your
prestige.
With all my heart, I am keen to see the
world;
With my ears, I am eager to listen to
the world.
You have sent forth so many students;
And you have cultivated a galaxy of
talents.
Your ideas and motto will pass down
generations.
Today I feel strong attachment to you
once more,
Which makes me cannot help thinking a
lot.
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