Mike and his wife (Photo/Chen Lei)

Mike, a son-in-law from Germany, has lived in China for a decade. He has settled in Dong’an County, Hunan, with his wife Lei Hua, and manages an English language school for children. He was preparing class schedules and teaching plans at his studio when he was interviewed.

Mike, a son-in-law from Germany, has lived in China for a decade. He has settled in Dong’an County, Hunan, with his wife Lei Hua, and manages an English language school for children. He was preparing class schedules and teaching plans at his studio when he was interviewed.

Mike gives lessons to kids. (Photo/Chen Lei)

Born in Nuremberg, Mike was awarded a master’s degree by the Technical University of Munich (TUM). He speaks fluent English and German, and has taught English in Shanghai. He is keen on Chinese films, paper cutting, martial art, history, and Chinese cuisines such as hot pot and barbecue.

In 2010, when he was a senior manager at Philips Germany, he fell in love at first sight with his wife Lei Hua during a business trip in China. After marrying in 2017, they settled in Dong’an, Lei Hua’s hometown which is a “county of Chinese martial art”. He eagerly attended every county martial art festival and dragon and lion dance performances.

Mike and his students engage in outdoor activities. (Photo/Chen Lei)

Having lived in Dong’an for a while, he decided to open a language studio to teach English and present the outside world to local children. “I have language advantage and teaching experiences. I would like to provide Chinese kids more chance to learn real English,” he said.

Mike’s studio features interactivity. Green symbolizing vitality is the predominant color. The classroom for the kids under 8 years old has English stickers of animals on the wall.

Mike uses Western teaching methods. He presents gifts and organizes outdoor activities to cultivate children’s lateral thinking and inspire them to explore the world. “For example, we decorate classrooms with pumpkins filled with candies during Halloween. I tell them how American and European people celebrate Halloween, and talk about Chinese and western cultural exchanges,” he said. At Christmas, he and his wife dressed up as Santa Claus and presented kids with Christmas socks filled with nuts and candies. They would teach the Christmas greetings in English.

He has developed his own teaching methods. “When teaching words and letters, I lead the kids to recognize the shape and learn to pronounce first, and then deepen their memory through a card-picking game. Taking a bus scene for example, we place chairs in line, so that the kids would speak and perform simultaneously.” His has been recognized by many local kindergartens and he is often invited to give lessons.

“The kids are kind and lovely. They rush to hug me when I visit their kindergartens.” He recalled that, a 5-year-old kid and his parents presented a handmade Christmas card to him to ease his homesickness.

Over the past three years in Dong’an, Mike has enjoyed Chinese traditional festivals with his wife and friends – making Zongzi in Dragon Boat Festival; eating Tangyuan in Lantern Festival; and, having family reunion dinners during Spring Festival. Impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic, there were fewer get-togethers this year, but he has shared China’s anti-epidemic experiences with his family and friends in Germany via calls and videos, and implored them to wear masks, wash hands frequently, and avoid crowds.  

“I love China. I am willing to convey what I’ve seen and felt in China to Germany. I would like to be a folk ‘envoy’, to bridge the two countries for communication and cooperation with language,” he said. He plans to launch an English corner in Dong’an, to attract more Chinese children to practice English while chatting and making friends, and learn more about the world.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: chinanews.com