Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Fortunately, Qiao Nan was the one who posed this question today. If it was someone else, it would be so embarrassing if she could not answer it.
It was only until this moment that Shi Qing finally understood. Although she was often the top scorer in the cohort, there was nothing great about it. Regardless of how strong one was, there would always be someone better than them. This saying was never a hoax.
At the sight of how knowledgeable Qiao Nan was, Shi Qing pursed her lips. She then made up her mind to study and learn well so that she could keep up with Qiao Nan.
As per what her father’s words, it was not unjustified at all that she had scored half a point mark less than Qiao Nan. In fact, it did not reflect the actual gap between Qiao Nan and her.
After flipping a few pages of the Oxford Dictionary, Qiao Nan felt much better.
Just as what Shi Qing said, it was not easy to buy the authentic Oxford Dictionary because it was comprehensive and thus extraordinarily thick. The English dictionary that the Zhu family bought for Qiao Nan previously was useful but not as comprehensive.
As an individual who would like to deepen the studies of English Language, of course, Qiao Nan needed the Oxford Dictionary.
It was just that the Zhu family bought all these for her previously. Qiao Nan would feel embarrassed to express what she needed. Anyway, those given by the Zhu family were usable too. When she started to earn money in the future, she could always find a way to buy it herself then.
“Thanks for the dictionary. I profited.” Qiao Nan smilingly accepted the dictionary without hesitation. “After this dictionary comes to my house, you can forget about having it back. There’s a price to pay for sharing each other’s weals and woes. I’ve suffered with you. You won’t be unwilling to let me benefit from this, right?” Qiao Nan sounded bold and righteous as she took advantage of Shi Qing.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, are you a mythical beast? After it went into your pocket, I can forget about retrieving it?” Shi Qing laughed. “There’s a saying that gifts blind the eyes. Qiao Nan, you took my gift. Don’t regret it. From now onward, you’re mine.”
“…” Obviously, Shi Qing refused to suffer any loss.
Now, the situations of Qiao Nan and Qiu Chenxi’s classes were close to Qiao Nan’s prediction. The number of students in Qiu Chenxi’s class basically hovered at over twenty.
“Teacher Xiao Qiao, I’m quite interested in English. As such, I have a few questions that I would like to seek your advice on. I wonder if you are free at the moment.” This was unlike Qiu Chenxi’s class where everyone left immediately upon the end of it. At Qiao Nan’s end, this type of situation gradually occurred.
Upon the end of the class, there would always be a few people who would look for Qiao Nan at the stage to ask some questions.
“Sure, you may ask.” Qiao Nan was clearing up the table.
“That is… How do you usually improve your English language skills?”
“We generally classify English into two categories, oral and writing. Which aspect do you wish to improve on?” Qiao Nan put down her books and looked at the student seriously.
“Okay…” The soldier hesitated for a while. “Actually, I wish to improve my writing. I know a little of what you taught but I don’t know how to write them. It feels strange. I’m afraid I will forget them soon.”
“Writing…” Such strive for progress was hard to come by. “If you wish to improve your writing, I’ll give you three suggestions. First, if you can afford it, buy an English dictionary. The more comprehensive it is, the better. Memorize it every day. If you can memorize the English dictionary, your writing will definitely not be poor. There will even be great progress in your grammar. Second, buy some novels to read. The best is those with Chinese on one side and English translations on the other. Third, find some foreign films to watch. Remember, those English films with both English and Chinese subtitles. The third method will not only help in your writing but also your oral skills.”
“So complicated?” The soldier was dumbfounded. He was just trying his luck when he asked these questions.
Given Qiao Nan’s age, coupled with the fact that she usually taught them English that was more practical for daily use and the common and simple English knowledge, the solider was not confident if he would really receive an answer after he posed this question.
Unexpectedly, Qiao Nan not only replied to him but also gave him three suggestions.
Qiao Nan’s teaching advice was professional but was not especially difficult to carry out.
“Thank you, Teacher Xiao Qiao. I will certainly do so. Then, Teacher Xiao Qiao, do you have any good recommendations?” The soldier asked another question.
To Qiao Nan, she felt that this question was difficult to answer. It would be making things difficult for the soldier. “As to what kind of good recommendations, that will depend on your needs and your current standard of English. As of now, it’d be better if you learn from the basics. Buy an ordinary dictionary will do. The dictionaries that are sold in our country are generally suitable for you. As for the second method, I’m not too sure what kinds of books are published nowadays. To avoid the situation of losing interest in reading, it’s best that you choose short or medium-length bilingual novels to buy. Please don’t buy long novels. As for the third method, you must pick the films with a genre that you like. For example, shootout or science fiction. It’s best not to try the topics that you’re not interested in.”
Qiao Nan could only recommend things that would only be available a few years or even a few decades later. If she stated those titles now, she would expose her secret.
“Thank you, Teacher Xiao Qiao. I know what to do now!” The soldier’s eyes lit up. Qiao Nan gave a very specific answer. After having some directions, of course, the soldier would know how to improve his English if he was eager to do so.
“Don’t mention it. Right, I nearly forgot. Maybe you can go and find these items.” Qiao Nan tore out a piece of paper and then wrote some English teaching materials. Those were English language teaching materials used for the nine years of compulsory education. “You can read these few volumes of textbooks. The first volume teaches you the basic stuff. If you can afford it, you can also buy a tape recorder. This is because these teaching materials will normally come with a set of listening tapes. You will yield twice the results by doing half the work if you learn and listen at the same time.”
“But it’ll be hard to find these textbooks.” The soldier did not feel ashamed about reading the textbooks studied by children, but he felt that it was too difficult to find these books. He was not someone who was schooling.
“They are very easy to find. Now is the best time to do so. Actually, at the end of every semester, many parents will think that the textbooks are not useful anymore as their children have completed their studies, particularly those whose children have graduated. These parents will sell away all the textbooks. You can look for secondhand stores. There are many books and things there. They are also very cheap. You don’t need to spend much. It’s just that it may be more troublesome to search for the books. You have to take some time to do so. Those books that I introduced to you are the core ones. If you really go to that place to look for them, you can also get some practice materials at the same time.”
“Really?” The soldier’s eyes turned even brighter. He was so emotional that the veins on his neck looked like they were exploding.