200 Philosophical Short Stories for Cultivating Children's Emotional Intelligence

Author: Peng Zhengming, Wangainen
Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features:
5. Confidence shouted out loud Do you know Li Yang, the founder of "Crazy English"? He helped many people who lacked confidence to overcome "silent English," but in fact, young Li Yang himself was also very insecure. As a child, Li Yang was very introverted and even somewhat autistic. When he was alone at home, he wouldn’t dare to answer the phone when it rang; when the doorbell rang, he would scare himself and sneak out through the window, fleeing as if running away from something. When guests came to the house, he wouldn’t dare to talk to them. Once, his mother asked little Li Yang to buy soy sauce. For an introverted Li Yang, this was a great challenge. He had to stand in front of the small shop, hesitating for a long time before finally saying, "Auntie, I want to buy a bottle of soy sauce." He wasn’t just isolated in life; he was also isolated in his studies. His father asked him to repeat the text, and he would tremble so much that it was hard for him to open his mouth. Once, his father’s foreign friend came to visit. When the guest arrived, his father wanted to test how well Li Yang had learned English, so he pushed him in front of the foreign friend to greet him. Unexpectedly, Li Yang was so scared that he didn’t know what to say or do. Because he lacked confidence in himself, his grades were very poor in middle school. Once, he suddenly discovered that memorizing texts aloud improved his memory. So, he tried reading the texts aloud by himself. Once, while he was reading English aloud, a classmate walked over and said, "You read so well." This encouraged Li Yang greatly, and gradually, he stopped being afraid of reading English in front of his classmates. His English grades improved quickly, and from then on, he not only read English aloud in the classroom but also everywhere on the playground and in the corridors. His classmates could hear him speaking English from a distance. He became more and more confident, even shouting English while exercising in the morning, without worrying at all about being laughed at by others. Later, Li Yang’s English improved rapidly. When he grew up, he became an excellent English speaker, especially in speaking. At that time, he saw many people who, due to a lack of confidence, could understand English but didn’t dare to speak it. He decided to share his experience in learning English with everyone. And his experience was to overcome his own inferiority and shout English out loud. This is how "Crazy English" came to be. P6-7