Gold Medal Plan: Beijingers Learn English for Olympics

On a recent Saturday morning, dozens of middle-aged and older men and women gathered in an auditorium in Beijing to recite sentences in English: "Where are you going?" and "To the Forbidden City."

Since China won its bid in 2001 to host the 2008 Olympics, the volunteer spirit has spread among people trying to learn the lingua franca of the games, which will begin on Aug. 8.

As part of the effort, Beijing's Dongsi Olympic Community Office offers free lessons in English greetings, phrases and words related to the games.

Luo Yunhui, 68, has attended the lessons five times, trying to prepare for the huge crush of foreign visitors who will descend on Beijing in August.

"When we were selected as the venue of the Olympics, I was so excited that I cried for joy. I felt the Chinese dream had come true," she said. "So I decided to study English because I would like to introduce guests from different countries to Beijing as a volunteer."

Yunhui joined the English program in 2003 when the community office started offering it. It was the first time she has studied a foreign language.

"It is very difficult to learn English because my memory is not good anymore compared to when I was young," she said. "But my feeling that I want to contribute to the Olympics spurs me to continue to study."

In 2002, the officials started an Olympic community, the first of its kind in the country, and even renamed their town of 48,000 people the "Dongsi Olympic Community."

"We wanted to create an environment and provide a good service for the Olympics," said Yuan Yan Shen, Dongsi Olympic Community Office director. "If you speak a different language, you can do many things."

Volunteer teachers for the free language lessons being offered in the community are students from universities in Beijing and instructors from a private English school.

Gu Yuqian, a 22-year-old junior at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, teaches English to students who are about his grandparents' age. Gu, who started volunteering here last October, doesn't come every week because of schoolwork demands, but stops by whenever he has time.

"Being a volunteer, I can devote myself into this kind of activity and learn many things through this activity," he said in English with a Chinese accent. "I can learn how to communicate with others and experience what a teacher's life is like. I'm very glad to be here to teach them, and I like it."

With such a grassroots effort under way, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad has also been recruiting volunteers.

The volunteer department of the committee received 1,125,799 applications, reportedly the largest applicant pool in the history of the games, for both the Olympic Games --which requires about 70,000 volunteers-- nd the Paralympic Games, which will be held in Beijing in September, that needs 30,000.

Among the applicants, Jerow Ye Tao, a 25-year-old Ph.D. student at Tsinghua University, was selected.

"The Olympic Games is one of the greatest events in China. Everybody in China wants to make an effort for this. I am glad and honored to take part in these games," said Jerow who will serve at the National Aquatics Center -- dubbed the "Water Cube."

Xu Hao, 21, also a student at Tsinghua University, said he was proud to be selected as a volunteer at the games.

"Hosting the Olympic Games was the dream which Chinese people had for 100 years. Finally, we got the chance," he said. "I think contributing to the Olympics is a natural thing as a Chinese."

The quadrennial event brings solidarity among nations, and the Chinese are anxious to make a good impression on the rest of the world.

"In the history of the Olympic Games, most of the games were held in developed countries. In Asia, China is the third country, after Japan and Korea. It's the first time to be held in a developing country," said Zhang Juming, deputy director of the volunteer department of the Beijing Olympics. "So to hold such a big event, we are very excited to try to make it a very good one."