I. Introduction and Purpose of the Text

 A spectre is haunting the People’s Republic of China---the spectre of English.  Student and teacher, boss and worker, taxi driver and taxi passenger alike have joined together in a desperate alliance to understand, to overcome, to employ, to profit from the challenges posed by this spectre. Although the spectre has a name--“English”--
it, like perfume, is but a signature scent of something much greater, much darker, and above all, imminent, unseen, and threatening. It is a harbinger of changes already within these ancient shores, followed by greater and greater changes, challenges, setbacks, profits, disasters, triumphs, retrenchment, destiny. To call what is to follow “globalization” or “full-spectrum dominance” would be a tragic simplification, for it is much, much more than that.  A wave, a flood of change and challenge is about to engulf this country.  Indeed, it has already started --and people are anxious and disturbed.
   Herein lies the problem.  Like a person who is drowning, the students, the leaders, the workers are grasping for something, anything which will float--anything. Like people undergoing triage, they are looking for the word or condition that will pass them through--anything. What they think they need, and so persistently search for is a working, fluent knowledge of English--specifically, American English. They see it as a “bridge” linking their present status with a coming status that, as yet, exists only on the face of TV sets, in the hearts of dreamers, and within the country villas of the already rich. Therefore, this generation in China has turned to the study of English with the same enthusiasm with which 17th Century Dutchmen grew tulips, and teenage shoe-shiners from New York bought stocks in the 1920’s.
   It is obvious to anyone visiting a bookstore in China today that certain topics are very popular --- immigration, overseas study, and learning English. The bookshelves are full of every aspect, it seems, of mastering the “current world language”--grammar, listening, lexicology, intensive reading, comprehension and so on. Then there are all the books on how to pass the different exams--GRE, TOEFL, IELTS, CET Band 4 or 6, and the like. Tapes, videos and now computer software systems involving interactive video clips of foreigners speaking dialogs in “Standard American English” are also very well-received.
      Foreign teachers in China are respected by students, coveted by universities, and popular at “English corners” or “free talks”.
   What if there were no more foreign English teachers in China?
       Most people would consider this very suggestion as foolish, for foreigners have become a vital part of Chinese college life. Thousands upon thousands of people have learned something from their foreign teacher, but when they graduate and move on, something about their English washes away and is lost; a few years later, for some graduates, everything is washed away and lost. Think about it! Every year, thousands of students sweat, slave and suffer unspeakable trauma to reach a certain level of English proficiency, then it all comes bleeding out as time and various other factors do their work. Here is the major complaint I have heard from old students over these seven years in China is this one-- “I had no foreign friend to practice my English with.”
   The purpose of this text is very simple. It is to show you how to learn English on the go, on your own, where there is no foreign person anywhere near you. It is not about learning the English language per se--the bookstores are full of that. It is not about being inspirational, brave, determined and a public speaker. It is about something very different--almost like starting and maintaining a slow-burning revolution. This is why the opening paragraph of this text is adapted from the opening lines of Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto of 1848.
  Here is a brief summary or outline of the remainder of this text. First, what are the philosophical roots of learning English? Why do so many people do it, and what do they hope to achieve? Second, the problems facing English learners after graduation will be examined. Third, some suggestions on how to avoid these problems and exploit them creatively will be listed. Fourth, solutions on how to learn English will be presented. Fifth, ideas on how to make these solutions happen will be discussed. Sixth, some other ideas for consideration will be added.
  Once again, that complaint comes to mind--“I had no foreign friend to practice my English with.” Well, it is time for that complaint to vanish of the face of the Chinese landscape!  This text is dedicated to all those who will learn English after graduation, in a place where there is no lao wai and who want to learn English on the go, on their own. Take it! You have nothing to lose but your complaints.