Initially taken up as way of building an English-learning atmosphere for his grandson, memorizing English words has now become a daily occupation for one senior citizen.

Sixty-something Wang Jianrong has been memorizing English words for the past year - five hours per day, seven days a week - and his vocabulary has grown to over 500 words.

In his tiny room, little tags with English words written on them are everywhere. There is even one wall covered with words.

It's difficult when you are older to study a foreign language, according to Wang Jianrong. He notes that his memory is slipping and he lives in a completely Chinese-speaking world.

Though experts doubt that it's useful to learn English just by memorizing words, Wang says he really wants to keep it up. His final goal is to pass the CET 4 English exam, which is a basic requirement for every college student in China.

(CRI December 19, 2005)