Turning the corner on lively discussion

Updated: 2014-03-16 08:09

(China Daily)

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Meet the Canadian expat who became the talk of the town through organizing languange exchanges

David Selent works as vice-president at a mining equipment company during the week, but on Sundays he wears another hat, as a foreigner host at a local English corner in Beijing. He has no contract and receives no pay. For the past seven years, Selent has clocked in at 2:30 pm almost every Sunday afternoon for this volunteer job, and enjoys "the very interesting discussions" with Chinese participants.

The English corner is set in the cafeteria of the administrative building in the Tuanjiehu Park, Chaoyang district.

From Ukraine's turmoil to the Tesla Model S automobile, from green energy to healthy lifestyles, the topics flow in every direction. Every weekend, the 50-something Canadian will lead a lively discussion about almost everything with a dozen local residents who wish to better their spoken English.

"It's interesting because we talk about one topic and it will bring up some interesting English phrases, and it will take us to another topic," Selent says. "It's a wide-ranging discussion."

It's not like the typical English corners in China where a bunch of Chinese practice small talk with each other. The discussions usually go deep into the topic, such as the life-cycle analysis of green energy, or sometimes it turns into a debate at a philosophical level, such as nature vs nurture and skill vs luck.

"The English level is very high for some of the people here. They are fluent and knowledgeable," Selent says about the attendees.

Among the regular participants, there are teachers, lawyers, doctors and even college professors. Many come from the other end of the city for the weekly discussion.

"He is erudite," Zhao Xinrong, a retired English teacher who has attended the activity for years, says of Selent. "We all call him a walking encyclopedia."

Selent studied mining and mineral process engineering in Vancouver. He used to work as an engineer in the first mining joint venture in China in the late 1980s in Shanxi province and left in 1991.

But it was not until 2007, when Selent come to China the second time, that he learned about the English corner.

"I was just here for a few months and then my young cousin came on a cultural exchange," Selent remembers of his first encounter with the English corner. "I went to see him in the Chaoyang Cultural Center, and as I was sitting in a McDonald's next to the center waiting, a gentleman came up to me and asked me if I was going to the English corner."

Curious to discover the meaning of an "English corner", Selent made his way to the English corner at Chaoyang Cultural Center, and later some people invited him to the one at Tuanjiehu Park.

At that time, the host was an American businessman named Edward Ohlin, and when he left six years ago, Selent took over the responsibility of leading the discussion.

"Edward still sends a quiz every week," says Selent. "He is a dedicated man."

The English corner used to have other foreigners, but people have come and gone, and Selent was the one who stuck around.

Sometimes, on his return to Beijing from business trips, Selent comes directly from the airport to the cafeteria without even stopping to drop his luggage off at home.

When asked about what makes him keep doing the volunteer work despite his tight schedule, Selent always answers in Chinese: "For the four modernizations and world peace."

"I add some humor in it," says, Selent winking. "But actually that phrase was popular when I was in China the last time.

"I've never thought about giving it up. Every Sunday afternoon, I just come here and talk with people. It's very interesting.

"Sometimes we would ask people 'What's your dream?' and this is always an interesting topic. People always have their own ideas on it."

"David was shy at first," says Li Jianjun, secretary of the Tuanjiehu Foreign Languages Association, who was among the first to get to know Selent. "He opened up gradually with us, but he is still very humble and doesn't want to be high-profile."

"Whenever we ask David will he come to the English corner next week, he always says, 'As long as I am in Beijing, I will come'," says Zhou Jingji, the English corner monitor.

"I am a big believer that people should do good things," Selent says. "If you do good things, it may inspire others to do good things.

"World peace is a very big thing and maybe it's an impossible dream. But if you can do little things and encourage people to do good things, that's possible to achieve one day."

Xing Yi contributed to this story

Contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

 Turning the corner on lively discussion

David Selent leads debates that cover almost everything, from Ukraine's turmoil to the Tesla Model S automobile, from green energy to healthy lifestyles. Provided to China Daily

(China Daily 03/16/2014 page5)