English Corner

The English Corner started in Wuhu in the early 1980s. College students, workers, and English teachers created the space to improve their English. Every weekend people came to the Jinghu Lake (Mirror Lake) discussing topics ranging from international politics, domestic economy, and local cultural news. In the 1990s, Anhui Normal University students and international faculty members were main participants and organizers of various events at the English Corner.

Five years ago, an avid English language promoter Victor set up a QQ group facilitating various events for the English Corner. He posted weekly discussion topics within the QQ group and organized diverse English language learning programs.

Wang Xiao, a 10th grader from No. 12 High School told us that he really enjoyed the new format of English corner, “I not only learned abut English language, but also made a lot of friends.” Meanwhile he mentioned that a weekly two-hour long English corner gets him a bit of time out of the sight of parents, teachers, and classrooms. He said, “my weekend schedule is always filled up with classes in maths, calligraphy, and English grammars. Yet it is from here that I learned about meiju (American TV serials) such as Modern Family, American Dad, and The Big Bang Theory.” He hopes that One day he could go study in the States.

When we arrived at English corner on Jan 5, 2014, we were surrounded immediately by the excited participants at English corner. People were very frankly and friendly. They asked us questions and chatted us in English. They introduced the city, local foods, and were proud of their city and culture. They had so many questions about us: our study, school, trip, foods, music, and our understanding of Wuhu and Chinese culture.

“They were excited to meet with a group from America. People of all ages and walks of life gather and not only practice English but also create community. We had deep discussion about everything from education to aging,” says Lucy Brady.