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In my essay I want to talk about some cultural aspects that prevent Chinese people from learning English. This is an actual problem for me because at the moment I work in China as a teacher. And often I see misunderstanding among my students regarding things that seem to be so simple for me. In this quick analysis I will try to show some of the main problems for learners in China: 1. Letters/characters It is well known that alphabetic system is very different in these two languages. Moreover China is the only country in the world that still uses only characters. Of course they use their own Phonemic alphabet system that contains of English letters (for texting in devices), but most of them are pronounced the different way. And it makes adult Chinese men feel more confusing while learning English. 2. Different parts of a brain are responsible for comprehending speech. Presence of tones in Chinese language make Chinese people to have a little bit different brain activity while speaking or listening. Unlike them English speakers don't use right brain to perceive oral information. Chinese people need to adapt and change the way of comprehending. 3. Pronunciation. This is one of the most difficult parts of English language for Chinese learners. Often students need some time to feel which pronunciation is right. It happens because English and Chinese have too many different sounds. And even when Chinese people learn an alphabet they still need to be very familiar with Phonemic system. That's why it's so hard for Chinese people to say words like "bird", "weird" and not to add "a" in the end of the words that end with plosive sounds. To improve your pronunciation skills you need to talk and listen more foreign language but China is a rather closed country. 4. Closed culture. China is well known for its very closed culture. After the two Opium wars China began to treat foreigners very carefully. And this attitude keeps nowadays. Chinese government protects its people from influence of Western and American culture. And usually creates their own equivalents of world known cultural phenomenons. For English learners in this country this means an absence of qualified teaching materials and access to some cultural aspects of life that are common in other countries. 5. Loan words. China is one of the few countries that don't use loan words. One of the reason of this thing is their closed culture. Such popular words as "internet" or "love" will be understandable all over the world except China. And having these kind of words in your native language significantly makes learning foreign language easier. 6. The lack of confidence Traveling around the world and talking to foreigners is still a new thing in China. Except big cities like Shanghai, Beijing or Guangzhou it is still hard to find a foreigner in other provinces. So Chinese people don't have enough experience in practicing English. They are too afraid to say something wrong, look funny and to "lose face". Despite all difficulties Chinese people meet while learning English, demand for learning becomes bigger and bigger. More foreign teachers have been coming to China for the last 5 years. And this certainly will help Chinese learners to improve their skills and overcome all problems in learning English.
