China Daily – Riazat Butt
“China was also something of an unknown for Tom Pattinson, who knew nothing about the country before he went to volunteer in rural Shandong province in 1997, except for what he had seen on television. There was a massive country out there that he knew nothing about “historically, culturally and economically”…His commitment to the language and to the country has proved invaluable, as has the ability to communicate with people in their own language. Pattinson started his own media company and has done consultancy work…He also has advice for students considering Chinese as a study program. “Learn law, medicine, engineering, computer science, graphic design, video editing – something useful – with Chinese on the side, then spend a year or two in China learning the language properly. In 20 years time, everyone will speak Chinese so you won’t be special. Plus don’t forget a billion Chinese people speak better English than you will ever speak Chinese. So learn a skill, too, so you stand out from the crowd.””(more)