Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004

Hi,

My mother tongue is Chinese, and I live in Taipei, Taiwan. An American here
whose Chinese is quite fluent told me that he bought all Chinese textbooks
from schools and went through them. I think it a good idea because in fact a
large group of people will not ever open any educational books after
graduation. Knowing what people had learned in advance is beneficial for
communication. Besides, it's inconvenient and sometimes painful for people
who don't live in an English environment to jump from American English to
British English to Australian English to etc. all the time. I guess each
country will choose a fixed style, spelling, and grammar for their adorable
kids. As a person in the era of globalization, of course, I should get used
to all styles, but I think focusing my attention on one style is a good
preparation for adjusting to next.

Many people also suggest classical masterpieces, like Alice's adventure in
the Wonderland, etc. For a outsider, I cannot easily tell the differences
between modern and old-fashioned English style, word usage, and so on. When
studying Chinese, I had to learn Classical Chinese--nobody will use it
today, but it is taught for preserving culture and tradition, or cultivating
classical language sense. I hope to know: Have people done the same thing in
English-speaking countries? If so, should I be patient before developing
enough sense to discriminate between modern and old-fashioned differences.

If you think learning English from high school textbooks is useful, please
tell me where to buy some online, in Taiwan, or in the U.S. I know there are
plenty of American Schools everywhere--also in Taiwan. That means books
should be available everywhere. 2nd-hand books are preferable when
available. The reason I ask here, instead of waiting in the front gate of
these schools and asking their students, is that I am lazy and like to ask
everything on the Internet beforehand. ;-)

Thanks.