Two approaches to one culture

[Zhang Chengliang/Shanghai Star]

The Chinese have a saying that in order for a teacher to be considered successful, he must have students from all over the world (tao li man tian xia). I just started teaching and, lucky for me, am already considered "successful".

I teach Mandarin to foreigners, mostly overseas college students studying in Shanghai. Teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages was also my major, so practically speaking, I have been in this profession for about 10 years.

I enjoy listening to students telling stories about living in China and what their life is like here. For some first-year students, understanding the cultural differences between their country and China can be difficult.

Language is the first barrier. Last fall, one of my students, in preparing for a trip to Beijing, went to a pharmacy to buy pollution masks. He did so well explaining what he wanted and used all of the shopping phrases that he learned in class. He only turned to his Chinese dictionary app Pleco for help with one word - "mask" - which got him a whole pack of facial beauty masks. Luckily for him, they are especially designed for men.