Shanghai day 2
Even though the sun seemed to be struggling to break through the hazy clouds overhead, the heat was deep and penetrating. The air felt like it was curdling in my lungs before I could release it and it was still only 10:00 a.m. Tony Hird, one of the executives at Spring Airlines and my contact within the company, met Joel and me outside our hostel. It was good finally meeting Tony in person as we had been corresponding via email every since he had heard The Learning English Video Project was coming to Shanghai. We had plenty to discuss on our way to the Spring Airlines HQ and so our project in China was underway. Upon arriving at the central offices opposite Hongqiao Airport, we were introduced to the Spring Airlines team, most of whom were from China and just starting out on their English language journey. Joel and I were made to feel welcome by every member of staff that we met, and given a brief insight as to how and why the managers and senior staff at Spring are starting to learn English.
After an extensive tour of the grounds and offices, we began filming at the IT centre. It was here that we met with some of the younger members of staff whose level of English seemed to be a lot higher. We made plans to start our interviews over the weekend and to spend plenty of time finding out how and why everybody here has decided to study ESL.
After a day at the office and some remarkable Chinese cuisine, Joel and I returned back to the Hongku district for an evening stroll. There is so much to film here in Shanghai, it is almost impossible to know where to begin. Tomorrow we are planning to visit the city centre and get some night footage of People’s Square and the world-famous Bund. Even though the city is so huge and seemingly impossible to navigate, both Joel and I have been made to feel welcome here. The Chinese people have been extremely friendly so far and I can’t wait to try and capture some of their good nature on film over the course of our stay!
I am still keen to know what you would like to find out from the people we will be interviewing here in Shanghai. If you could ask one question (on the topic of English) to one of our interviewees, what would it be?
I look forward to reading your replies!
Best Regards,
Daniel.
9 Responses to “Shanghai day 2”
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Nucha says:
Dear Daniel and others,
First of all thank you for the nice project and give learnners here a interesting question for sharing .
I would like to find out about this question .
When you started to learn English in China , did you start from common English conversation or basic English grammar? I hope you’ll ask the question for me , I am curious to know it’s the same in my country or not and also interviewee’s opinion in there.All the best ,
Nucha -
Tony Hird says:
It is great to welcome Dan and Joel and English Club to China. It is going to be a great video and I as a native English teacher here will more than most look forward to the questions. Tony Hird Spring Airlines
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naima zouaid says:
dear daniel,i m really excited.i have just returned back from a nine day holiday in beijing china.i was dazzled it was fantastic.the city is huge sometimes it was very diffucult to navigate even in english.food labels ,road signs,are often puzzling.china video project will be..exciting.i m looking forward to watchingit.
best regards .keep doing your nice work.
bye bye. -
Amanda says:
Dear Daniel,
Thank you for sharing your passion with us and for eliciting questions from us.
Could you ask the students how much time they spend outside of their English classes studying, practicing and using English?
Many thanks,
Amanda -
naima zouaid says:
dear daniel
the first question i asked people while in beijing was about the percentage of people who speak english in china.the answer is five percent only.i was really astonished. -
João B. L. Ghizoni says:
Dear Daniel,
Congratulations on what you’ve been doing. And thanks for the frequent updates. The question I suggest is: How many hours a week are you in (English) class? One more, please: how much English (percentage) is/was used in class in the first two semesters of the course? Thanks in advance.
João
Florianópolis, SC, Brazil -
Linda k hollywood says:
Dear Daniel!
How are you doing ! If you want to asking the
Question for interviews with the people in Shanghai
China. I would be ask . What are you interested
in English Language.Have a good trip !!!!!!!
Linda K -
kikam says:
Hi Daniel,
I would like to know wether the ESL learners use english in their daily life (outside the classes) or not, and if yes, how often?
I mean: do they use it with friends?relatives? and is it in a regular manner?
How is it difficult to keep on this habit in order to improve spoken english?Thanks in advance ;-)
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isabel says:
I´d like to watch the video about China-The previous about Morocco and America are excellent you can see different accents and pronunciations as well as enjoy their culture Thanks.