It's said that there was a story about a kid in San Francisco. When he was very young, his parents couldn't afford sending him to kindergarten, so he was trusted to be taken cared by a Chinese couple in a laundry store. He learnt spoken Chinese from the Chinese family. When he finished high school, the US Army needed Chinese speaking citizens to work in Peking(Beijin). He was chosen and sent to West Point for further training and commissioned as a military attache to the Kingdom of Imperial China.

The young American lieutenant was very proud of his assignment. On his voyage from the States, wherever the ship embarked, he would go up and visit China towns and tried his Chinese with pride. The voyage took two months. But one day, when the ship arrived in Tianjin, he couldn't understand a word. When he finally came to the embassy in Beijin, he couldn't fulfill his mission at all. To the disappointment of the government, after six months, he was sent back home. He mangaged to have the permission to have a trip down to the south of China via Hong Kong. One day, he arrived in a city, and heard people around talking something he understood quite well. That was Canton(Guangzhou). Until then, he realized that what he learnt was Cantonese, one of the Chinese dialects.

People learn other languages for the ease of the communication in their business intercourses. All the foreign teachers do have a chance to learn the local language in order to facilitate their associations with the lacal inhabitants. In China, we all have free Mandarin courses, the standard nationwide official dialect, the Putonghua. Yet, not every Chinese understand us.

In helping my advanced students in English Listening Comprehension, I sometimes do introduce some worldwide English radio recordings from many countries, such as the CBC Overnight from Canada, to expose them to the difference dialects of English from Britain, Australia, Warsaw, Brague, Berlin and Paris. So my students won't be shocked at the moment when heard a different pronunciation.

I would strongly suggest the recruiters to be aware of this. Hiring teachers from different regions might be a good idea, if you had several foreign teachers to hire. "Standard" language like Mandarin may be the best, but what about the other dialects when you have to face them?

I object the "native speakers only" idea in hiring. There are all kinds of people who can speak all kinds languages. To tell you the truth, among all the nicest voices I heard in the radio broadcasts, I found most of the Idian and middle-east ladies and some of the African-American speakers in Alternative Radio are much easier to be understood. So, if I were a recruiter, I would choose anyone who is capable teaching my students with the best methodology and motivation, no matter of their gender, race, color, place or age. They suppose to be the best diplomats to introduce to my students the different cultures, habits, manners and behaviors. They will broaden the views and knowledge of my students. Not to give the students bad influences.

The most important goal is: I wish to teach my students the best I know. Hopeful they will be better than me. My doctrine is: It's the students who make the school and teacher famous, not the other way around.

Alex Wu