Teaching patriotism in a foreign tongue

English teachers in many parts of China have incorporated patriotic sites and revolutionary martyrs and their heroic deeds into classes to teach students the history of the Communist Party of China as they study English.

They said teaching students CPC history in English helps stimulate their interest in learning about the country, and boosts confidence and pride in being Chinese.

Around 1,000 English teachers from 377 schools in 27 provincial-level regions participated in a lesson design contest featuring CPC history organized by 21st Century English Education Media, a subsidiary of China Daily, to celebrate the centenary of the founding of the CPC.

The 18 finalists presented their lesson designs at a special session of the 2021 Global English Education China Assembly in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Friday.

Shi Jiaolong, a high school English teacher in Tianjin, said his course focuses on late premier Zhou Enlai and his wife Deng Yingchao.

Zhou and Deng were students in Tianjin when they participated in the May Fourth Movement. Together with other students, they founded the Awakening Society in 1919 and became early advocates of Marxism in China.

Some of Shi's students made short videos about the young Zhou and Deng, writing the scripts, filming, directing and acting in the videos.

"Students are passionate and eager to learn CPC history. Many said they want to learn from revolutionary martyrs and contribute to the great national rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," he said.

"I am happy to see that students today are patriotic, having seen the great development of the nation and how much the country and the Party care about the people."

Liang Xiaotian, a middle school teacher in Changsha, Hunan province, took students on a field trip to Shaoshan－the birthplace of Mao Zedong－to learn about the late leader.

The students were keen to learn about Mao and did a lot of research on his life and heroic deeds, Liang said.

Apart from the revolutionary martyrs of the past, Liang said she also wants students to learn about the heroes of today, such as epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan and the late Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice.

"Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there has been an outpouring of patriotism and deep love for the country and the Party among students, as they have seen firsthand how much the CPC cares about people's lives," she said.

Gao Lixin, a high school English teacher in Beijing, said her course centers on the May Fourth Movement because Beijing was its birthplace.

Some students spent several hours walking the routes that students marched more than 100 years ago, and have gained deeper understanding of the significance of the great social revolutionary movement, she said.

Many also watched the television series The Age of Awakening, which focuses on the movement and the founding of the CPC, she said.

Better understanding of the movement－a great patriotic and revolutionary campaign pioneered by young intellectuals in which people from all walks of life joined together to fight imperialism and feudalism－can inspire in students today the ambition and confidence to realize national rejuvenation, she added.