Changing the impression that "learning English is hard work" is the chief selling point of these English magazines. Take a look at their own promotional advertisements: "It turns out that opening your mouth to speak in English is really quite EZ." "Learn English in high spirits." "Take it easy, and float up to an advanced level." "Let your children be happy learning English". . . . Virtually every one of these English magazines boasts that with their help you can enter the age of "learning English without stress." "Easy does it" vs. "hard labor"
So can you actually learn English without working hard? "That depends upon your expectations," says Professor Leung, who comes from Hong Kong. If all you want is conversational English for everyday living, then people who have already mastered the basics can reach their goal just by living in an English-speaking environment for two or three months. But if you want to advance further and read newspapers or write academic papers, then you're going to have to rely on hard work.
No matter how boring you think the current methods of teaching English in the schools may be, Leung notes that for the vast majority of students, "Studying English is primarily a matter of dealing with tests." It's a reality that means-in addition to the aforementioned easy-learning style of English magazine-there is another more test-oriented sort, which puts the emphasis on the hard work of learning vocabulary lists and grappling with grammar.
The magazine Ivy League Analytical English, which has been around for more than 11 years, is known as one of the "evergreens" of the English magazine market and is also very popular in mainland China. Its founder, Peter Lai, grew up learning English the hard way.
A graduate of the Political Warfare College who did graduate work in America, Lai says that he had no inkling of what the magazine would grow into when he founded it. When he returned from graduate study in America over a decade ago, a friend invited him to host an English teaching program on the radio. Teaching the old-fashioned way, by explaining grammar and analyzing sentences, he never expected to receive such an enthusiastic response from his listening audience. One thing led to another, and he started publishing the magazine too.
"The English for tests and the English for everyday life aren't mutually exclusive," says Lai, who says natural talent had nothing to do with how he learned the language. When he was at military school, Lai would spend as many as 10 to 16 hours per day studying English. Several years later, when he was flipping through some grammar books, he discovered that all the time he had put in meant that he had now had "virtually instantaneous understanding of the grammar." He grew determined to use his own experiences and conclusions to help others in their quest to learn the language. He preaches hard work: flipping through the dictionary and having mock English conversations with yourself. "Learning English is like losing weight," he says, "Every day you've got to keep to your diet and get exercise. There are no shortcuts."
Apart from news articles, song lyrics, and other examples of actual English, Ivy League Analytical English features even more materials like practice tests, translations, grammar analysis, vocabulary and so forth. "To cope with tests, write translations and essays, I often read Ivy League Analytical English," says "Little Shih," who is in her third year of commercial college. She is typical of the readers of this kind of English magazine. This self-description is written in big letters on Ivy's cover: "Well-suited for those preparing to take the joint college entrance exams, the junior college transfer exams for university, TOEFL or other similar tests."
Yet as far as Little Shih is concerned, getting a good score isn't enough. In addition to reading Ivy League Analytical English, she also spends at least two hours every day reading Studio Classroom, the Bilingual Weekly and EZ Talk, in hopes of overcoming her fear of "opening her mouth" to speak in English.
John Marcom, president of Time Inc. Asia, and Classic Communications' Richard Huang, shake hands on their latest joint venture: Time for Students, which debuted on September 15. Over the past few years Classic Communications has spared no effort to increase its share of the English magazine market in Taiwan.