You're never too old to learn English

An elderly student introduced herself to her class in fluent English: "My name is Peng Shengwu. I am 80 years old. I like singing, playing the piano and learning English. Welcome to Changsha and my university." 

After years of study, Peng has mastered conversational English in Changsha, Hunan province. She can even understand some English news broadcasts. 

"Learning makes me happy. And besides," she said with a mischievous grin, "I don't want to get senile dementia." 

Peng was a math teacher at a middle school in Yueyang, Hunan, before retirement. She knew little about English. She began to learn for her grandson Tang Kaifeng, who is now 26. His hearing had been badly damaged by a fever at age 3, and she worked to memorize sentences for him.

When the boy was 5, the family put him in an English training course to learn dialogue. Peng accompanied him in class.

"I learned from some psychological books that there is a golden period for children who have hearing impairments to learn to speak. I wanted to help him acquire language ability before it was too late," she said.

At first, Tang was too shy to speak. To encourage him, the grandmother would often make simple English conversation at home — asking questions such as "Where is Tang Kaifeng?" and "I'm here."

Gradually, the boy built confidence and skill. He would ask politely, "May I come in?" at the door to Peng's room.