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Every Picture Tells a StoryYou are in: Humber > Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Humberside > Steve Redgrave's Late Show > Every Picture Tells a Story > Shu-Mei Li Shu-Mei LiLeaving Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan was a big step for language tutor Shu-Mei who's now hoping to bring Mandarin Chinese to those in Hull willing to learn.  With China's economic boom underway and still feeling flushed with success after staging the Olympic and Paralympic games in Beijing this year, interest in the far east has been riding at an all time high. Mandarin Chinese speakers number in their billions and being able to communicate in their own language increases understanding of the culture and what it means to be Chinese or Taiwanese. This is why the Hull Centre for Lifelong Learning is supporting a new series of beginners' courses in Mandarin Chinese. The tutor for the courses is Shu-Mei Li from Taipei City in Taiwan. Shu-Mei came to Hull as an international student at the University five years ago. She never imagined she would come to make the city her home and generally found people here friendly and approachable.  Taipei 101 tower Life is very different in Hull compared to her home city. She says the pace of life is much less busy than the 24/7 activity that takes place on the streets of Taipei. With its landmark skyscraper, Taipei 101 (the number of floors the structure has) dominating the skyline, it overlooks a hive of activity encompassing a busy lifestyle centred on street markets and street vendors cooking food for the city's inhabitants. Shu-Mei says the variety of fresh produce on offer far exceeds the choice found in British supermarkets. People don't have large freezers, the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables is so widespread there's no need. Street cooking is extremely popular and Shu-Mei's main picture shows some chefs hard at work preparing food for office workers finishing their working day.  Fireworks at the Taipei Tower Taipei is the economic capital of a country whose inhabitants live mainly around the coasts, as much of the country is mountainous, Land is at premium and only wealthy residents can afford a house. Most people including Shu-Mei grew up in apartments. Her home in Taipei is just a short distance from Taipei 101 which is how she's been able to get such good views of the tower which has been the scene of some spectacular firework displays in the past. Shu-Mei has settled well into Hull life and is now helping to give people a grounding in the language of Mandarin Chinese. It's Taiwan's main language and the country has strong cultural links with China.  Busy street in Taipei Her new course will take people with no knowledge of the language to a level where they could reasonably expect to converse with Mandarin Chinese speakers in day-to-day situations. She says although the language may sound complicated, in reality there are fewer words to learn. Often the same word is used for many things but is said in a different way. Pupils do not have to worry about verbs and tenses as the language doesn't have them.  Taipei street Let's Speak Chinese! is an interactive course designed for people without any previous knowledge of Chinese language and culture. The emphasis is on instant communication skills. It begins 1st October and runs for ten weeks from 7.00pm-9.00pm at the Hull University Centre for Lifelong Learning. For more information call (01482) 465666. last updated: 25/09/2008 at 13:58 You are in: Humber > Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Humberside > Steve Redgrave's Late Show > Every Picture Tells a Story > Shu-Mei Li  |
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