In this thread, I will share with you my 30 some years of experience in studying English, started in the late 70s, as a high school student in one of the poorest towns in China, continued in Tsinghua and Cambridge, and then as a professor in the United States teaching my Chinese postgraduate students English, and finally as a dad watching my two kids growing up into their college and high School years.
One word of wisdom for all learners: however good your English sounds like, however well you write, if you cannot think in English and cannot use the simplest few words to express your idea, then you have not learned English yet. Next time when you speak, pay attention if you can correctly use the few words like she he her him, do did does, has have.
1. 踏上英語旅程的死路
1980年秋，我跨出上圖中的門坎，坐了一整天的長途車到省城，然後再坐兩整天的火車到北京。當我踏上清華大學校園，加入了80 級的2000新生時，北京的天空特別清爽，我覺得我幾乎可以飛入蘭天。
按考分，我和90名分數最低的新生被分配到英語C班，其它學生到B 班，或A班。
到了11月，天氣已經變得寒冷，教室外面的天空似乎永遠恢沉沉的。在那個年代，標準的英語學習方式是記住儘可能多的單詞和語法規則，然後把精心挑選的教科書背得爛熟，恰如在高中背古文一樣。早餐後讀，晚餐後讀，睡前還要讀。我們隨時隨地都在讀。校園的每一個角落都充滿朗朗的讀書聲。除了背書，更多時間花在背英語單詞上。單詞卡，正面英文反面中文，人人隨身帶。
平均而言，我學英語，比所有其他學科加起來，花的時間還要多。
一年後，外面的天空一樣的無味，老師解釋語法規則的聲音變得越來越象吹眠曲。在我的白日夢中，我可以看到我將來絕不可能學會閱讀，寫和說就不用提了。
