The class begins as their beloved teacher comes in briskly, humming "I'm coming home, I've done my time. Now I've got to know what is and isn't mine..."

Wallace Oswald Hylton has brought to his students "Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree", a popular American folk song. As usual, he is applauded by the boys and girls whose school life is otherwise overshadowed by long texts and endless papers.

The students, most of whom are from peasant farmer families but have been lucky and diligent enough to attend Jianping County High School, one of the only two high schools in the needy county in the west of Liaoning province in northeast China, love Hylton for his humor, vitality and the "lively, interesting and instructive" classes he gives, as one of them has put it.

Hylton encourages them to sing, dance, play games and even chat in class. The 69-year-old man from California in the United States is always ready to dance to the music and join the youngsters in their singing. He gives tips to the students on how to think in English, and strikes up friendly little talks with them so that they will not hesitate to speak English.

"He's more like a dad and friend to us," said a boy in his class.

The Chinese students, Hylton said, should be more confident and find happiness in their learning, instead of being pushed by their parents and teachers. "They should learn to study on their own initiative and seek genuine knowledge," he said.

On the other hand, the students needed more time for leisure, he acknowledged. The traditional spoon-feeding way of teaching would easily deprive the students of their interest, enthusiasm and creativity, he added.

Hylton came to China in August at the invitation of an Australian education organization that promotes English teaching in China, and has been teaching English in the small city of Chaoyang since then.

"He's an outstanding teacher, energetic, innovative, and with a high sense of responsibility," said Wu Yanan, Hylton's Chinese colleague. "I myself have learned a lot from him."

He turned down the school authority's offer of free meals at the canteen, and often made photocopies of handouts for the students at his own expense, said Wu.

Hylton said he had been teaching for over 30 years and had spent two years in Mozambique as a volunteer English teacher before he came to China.

He claimed Arnold Schwarzenegger had been his student. "I taught him history of Western art at West Los Angeles College sometime around 1972," he said.

The newly elected governor of California and world renowned actor, Hylton recalled, was "a handsome, muscular, confident and outgoing young man" back then.

"He had precise and very detailed plans in everything he did, and knew how to reach his goal, step by step", he said. "As his former teacher, I wish him good luck."

Hylton said he was happy with his cozy life in the lovely, quiet city of Chaoyang, where he expected to stay for one year.

As a vegetarian, he said he was crazy about green vegetables, fried rice, tasty soup and Chinese beer available in the locality. Chinese food is healthy and delicious, except that some dishes are too salty, he added.

In his spare time, he goes on hikes to keep fit.

As the first snowfall heralded the holiday season, Hylton said he would probably think of his family in the US, but would never feel lonely with his new friends though far away from home. "If lucky, I might see the 'white Christmas' I've always dreamed of," he said.

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