Foreword

We have known Wu Jing and Paul Coles since 2011,when we taught for part of a spring and summer at Jinan University in Zhuhai.Because they were entrusted with looking after us during our time in China,we got to know Jing and Paul very well,and what began as a professional partnership grew quickly into a close and long-lasting friendship.They taught us so much that,though our stay only lasted six weeks,we left feeling as if we understood much about the customs and had experienced many of the various geographies of southern China.Of course we stayed in touch by e-mail after we returned to the U.S.,but we were so pleased when they decided several years later to come to our home state of Wisconsin,where Jing served as a visiting international scholar at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire during the 2014-2015 academic year.In the time they spent here,we shared a few holidays,took some brief sight-seeing trips together,and enjoyed each other's company.But what impressed us most were the curiosity,intrepidness,and energy they demonstrated in their commitment and dedication to soaking up American knowledge and culture.

Jing immersed herself immediately in university courses on American literature and on U.S.Culture and Institutions,as well as an introductory course on the textual interpretation strategies we teach our English majors.In fact,she was invited in that course to present a lecture on narrative elements of Chinese oral tradition,for which the course's instructor praised her"professionalism"and her"beautiful"presentation style.While Jing was busy being a scholar,Paul was reading voraciously,sitting in on classes,and researching everything he could about American culture,history,and geography.Together,they attended lectures,performances,and author readings on campus and in the Eau Claire area,on such topics as Native American history,Asian American identity and race,cultures of South America and Mexico,African American history,and agricultural life in the American Midwest.And they travelled extensively,to Washington D.C.,to Miami,Florida and the Caribbean(aboard a cruise ship),to Maryland,New York City,Boston and the West Coast.What's more,before leaving to return to China,in the summer holiday,Jing and Paul embarked on an astonishing six weeks road trip in their own car,visiting and camping in many of our country's major National Parks and other sites throughout the western and southern United States.We would venture to say that they saw and experienced more of North America in their one year here than most Americans experience in a lifetime.

All this is by way of saying that they are the perfect people to have written a book like this one.In fact,they were working on the manuscript while they were in the U.S.,using what they observed around them as partial inspiration for some of the themes that would organize the text,including holidays and festivals,religions,nature-related details,and general cultural

characteristics.They are dedicated educators with many years of experience teaching students of different ages,backgrounds,and abilities.They have extensive experience in different parts of the world,from Asia to Europe to North America.They embody in their own marriage the joining of China and the West.And they are lovers of story and oral traditions,Jing through her study of literature,and Paul through his natural gift for storytelling.Who better to offer advice and expertise on oral approaches to Chinese and Western cultures?

There are a couple of things that struck us in particular about their book.First,it breaks away from standard oral English textbooks in China by linking cultural content with the oral practice exercises.Unlike the standard books,which tend simply to provide already-scripted dialogues that students merely repeat in an effort to learn vocabulary and idiomatic phrasing,An Oral Approach to Chinese and Western Cultures teaches the students about the cultural histories,practices and traditions in both China and the West,in an effort to give them substantial knowledge as well as the ability to communicate it.It may be true that young people the world over,in every culture,believe that time begins with them.What this book does is to remind Chinese students of their own past,their own traditions and stories,so that they can"own"those stories and relate them not only to each other but to Westerners who may have imperfect or mistaken ideas about Chinese customs and beliefs.Likewise,the book offers Chinese students detailed understandings of Western customs and beliefs so as to better prepare them for their own life journeys,including travel or working abroad.

The second thing that struck us about this book,and that clearly distinguishes it from other oral English textbooks,is its emphasis on independent and analytical or critical thinking.While the practice exercises ask basic questions about content and information,they also challenge students to examine their own country's practices and to compare them—through the new knowledge they have received in the textbook—to Western history and practices.For example,in the very first unit,after reading about Shennong,known as the Emperor of the Five Grains and an ancient expert in herbal remedies,students are asked to compare Chinese traditional medicine to modern Western-style medicines and to decide which they prefer.No matter how they answer that question,they must demonstrate what they have read carefully,thought carefully,weighed options,and come to a conclusion of their own.Further,students are asked if they would sacrifice their lives(as Shennong did)for any cause or person or for humanity in general,and they are asked to explain their answers to each other.What these kinds of questions do is to make the material personal and relevant.In this way,they help the students learn best,because now the knowledge is no longer simply words in a textbook.It has become a collection of stories in their own hearts.

This book is all about stories,about telling them well and responsibly and with knowledge of where they come from and why they are important.It has been written by two people who believe in the power of narratives to teach,who know that the best way to encourage young people to become proficient in a new language is to give them stories to tell,about themselves and their

communities and their country,as well as about other countries and communities far away.

Human beings have always learned best through stories.Jing and Paul know this on an intuitive level and on an intellectual,professional level.This book represents what they know and what they have learned as long-time educators and as people dedicated to understanding the larger world.We are certain it will make a difference not only in their students'classes in oral English but in their students'lives.

Jack Bushnell and Jennifer Shaddock

Professors

Department of English

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Wisconsin,USA