Chinese military college as a mini-UN
0 
 |
|
Foreign students in Nanjing Army Command College. [File photo] |
Wan Fuming, a middle-aged Chinese man with short black hair and shrewd eyes, is confidently interpreting basic battle theory into fluent English in front of more than 70 foreign army officers wearing the different colored uniforms of their countries.
At intervals the officers stop taking notes to make eye contact with their lecturer as the bilingual Power Point flashes on the screen at the Nanjing Army Command College in Jiangsu province.
"The classroom is like a mini-UN, and a colorful world map unfolds in my mind whenever I stand before the class," Wan told China Daily.
As an English lecturer and teacher of military arts, Wan has been training foreign military students since he graduated from the University of International Relations in Beijing in 1985.
"My first degree was English language, so military arts was a strange field for me at the beginning," he recalled.
"It took years for me to learn how to play the different roles as teacher, translator and military diplomat," he said.
"Some foreign army officials used to study in America and European countries, so winning their respect requires a Chinese teacher and interpreter who is a living dictionary of world military skills," he said.
Wan is among a special group of Chinese language specialists who serve the Chinese army and help train foreign officers in China.
Go to Forum >>0 Comments