Not long ago, the second China Danish Education Forum was held online. Li Zhenxi, co-chairman of the forum and former principal of Wuhou Experimental Middle School in Chengdu, and Acelon, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics badminton men's singles champion, conducted a cross-border dialogue. The following is the main content of the dialogue.
Acelon
"Winning the championship doesn't matter to me"
Li Zhenxi: Let's start with your favorite badminton, when did you start practicing badminton?
Arcelor: I started practicing when I was almost 6 years old. My dad used to play badminton too, our house is close to the arena, he took me into the arena and I quickly fell in love with badminton.
Li Zhenxi: Did you say that your father asked you to practice badminton? If your father didn't arrange for you to play badminton, would you fall in love with badminton?
Arcelor: My father wasn't my coach, he just took me to the arena on weekends to play. Because I like badminton, I soon trained at that club. However, my dad gave me a lot of support, I used to race a lot when I was very young, and he accompanied me to run around and go to many places in Denmark to participate in races.
Li Zhenxi: You must have gained a lot of happiness from badminton, right? What exactly does badminton bring you?
Arcelor: Yes, badminton has brought me a lot of happiness. I think it's very important to do whatever I do, with a happy mood, otherwise I wouldn't have spent a lot of time doing it and wouldn't have made progress. I was 6 years old when I first started playing badminton and didn't know much about it, but I was able to focus all my attention on the ball and I soon realized that playing badminton was one of the happiest things in my life.
Li Zhenxi: When you were a child, you practiced badminton and went to school at the same time, right?
Arcelor: Yes. It wasn't until I was 14 years old that I had the opportunity to participate in professional training at the club every morning. Before that, I had to go to school like any other kid.
Li Zhenxi: Did you play badminton in your spare time before you were 14 years old?
Arcelor: Yes. Every time I have the opportunity to go to the stadium to play badminton, I feel very happy, it is my second home. I remember when I was a kid, I once said to my parents: You let me come home later because I was happy at the club.
Li Zhenxi: You have to go to school and play ball again, are you tired?
Arcelor: I don't feel tired. I look forward to playing every day, and sometimes I feel bored in school and have badminton in my mind, so although I am a little tired, I am in a very happy mood.
Li Zhenxi: That is to say, before you won the championship, you already liked badminton, right?
Arcelor: Yes. What I like is badminton itself, not winning the championship. Winning the championship is not important to me, the important thing is that I think it is fun, and every time I play is a very fun thing. Also, I made a lot of new friends at the club and could play with them. For me, friends and happiness are the most important.
Lee Town West
"Learning Chinese is a lot of fun"
Li Zhenxi: You insist on playing badminton, and the internal driving force comes from your love for badminton. So can you share with you your experience of learning Chinese? For foreigners, learning Chinese is very difficult, what motivates you to learn Chinese?
Arcelorn: One day about 6 years ago, my coach asked me: Why don't you learn Chinese? I replied that it was too difficult to learn Chinese. But when I got home that day, I thought: I should take the time to do something other than badminton, learn Chinese really try it. As a badminton player, I often go to China to participate in competitions, I have great respect for Chinese culture and Chinese, if I learn to Chinese, I can learn a lot of things from Chinese. So I said to myself: Let's get started.
Initially, I searched the Web for how I could learn Chinese. However, I soon discovered that finding a teacher was very important. I now have a teacher in Beijing who uses WeChat to assign me some homework. One of my coaches is also Chinese, and every time we train with him, we use Chinese chat. Because there was no pressure, I found it fun to learn a new language. I remember very clearly that the first time I communicated with Chinese with Chinese, I felt so amazing! What a fun thing it was to be able to chat with someone who didn't speak English. This gave me more motivation to learn Chinese.
Li Zhenxi: Do you take time out of your day to learn Chinese?
Arcelor: For me, playing badminton is the most important thing. When I first started learning Chinese, I spent at least 2 hours a day. I train badminton for 2-3 hours in the morning, then go home for lunch, then study Chinese 2 hours, and then go to training in the afternoon. In order to seize the time to study, every time I drive or queue up at the airport, I listen to Chinese podcasts. When I eat, I also watch simple videos of Chinese.
Li Zhenxi: You have a lot of Chinese friends now, right?
Arcelor: Yes. I have a lot of Chinese friends, and I have a lot of Chinese fans, and I can have a deep relationship with them in direct dialogue and direct communication, which really makes me feel very happy.
Li Zhenxi: It is this sense of happiness that drives you to continue to learn Chinese, right?
Arcelor: Right. When I first started studying Chinese, I made it clear to myself that I would be able to be interviewed by Chinese after the game. Now I'm happy to be here to talk to you, and I want to improve my Chinese level even further.
Li Zhenxi: What is your current level of Chinese?
Acelon: There are no problems with oral communication and listening. Read and write a little and can type and chat on your phone.
Li Zhenxi: That's already great.
"The intrinsic drive of learning comes from interest and happiness"
Li Zhenxi: Whether you play badminton or learn Chinese, you get pleasure from it, and this fun is the motivation to learn. When it comes to education, I've been to Denmark twice and I feel that Danish children are relatively relaxed in learning. Can you tell us a little bit about what Danish students are doing?
Arcelorn: For many Danish children, it's very important to be relaxed, fun and stress-free. Because every child is different, for example, some children can accept greater pressure, and some children cannot. Therefore, Danish education pays attention to the different characteristics of each child, choose the learning content and learning style that suits them, so that children can learn easily and happily. I don't think it's possible if you want all kids to learn a new language, or if you want all kids to become athletes. For me, I prefer sports, so I chose to play badminton. And some of my friends love to learn, they are very good at school, and each child has their own specialty.
Li Zhenxi: I think that the internal driving force of students' learning should come from interest and happiness, and this interest and happiness comes from the heart, not from other aspects.
Arcelorn: I think you're right, the intrinsic drive of learning is really a very important thing. If you don't want to do it in your heart, but just reluctantly do it, I don't think it will work very well. If I were asked to do something I didn't like, I would definitely regret spending so much time doing it when I grew up.
"Parents can't help their children choose the future"
Li Zhenxi: Do primary and secondary school students in Denmark have any learning pressure?
Acelon: I think in recent years, the pressure on Danish students has also become more and more intense.
Li Zhenxi: Where does the pressure come from?
Acetron: Around me, there are students whose parents may be lawyers or doctors, they are successful people, and they also want their children to pursue the same career as them, which requires children to put more effort into their studies. But some children do not like the jobs that their parents choose for them, so children feel a lot of pressure. I think what these parents do is not right, everyone is different, parents can't help their children choose the future. Thankfully my parents weren't like that and they supported my hobby. They often encourage me to say: No matter what you decide to do, we only have one request, you must do your best to do it, don't waste time.
Acelon with his daughter
Li Zhenxi: I heard that you had a daughter last year?
Acelon: Yeah, she's 11 months old.
Li Zhenxi: As a father, what do you expect from her?
Arcelor: I don't have any expectations, I just hope that she can do what she likes happily——— may be reading, may be painting, may be playing football, may be playing tennis, may be playing badminton... If it's badminton, I can give her some help. For us, it doesn't matter what she decides to do, the most important thing is that she is happy herself and then tries to do it.
Li Zhenxi: What do you think is a good parent?
Acetron: I think that being a responsible parent is about helping children discover where they are gifted and what they do to be happy. Keep motivating your child to move forward, not tell them what they have to do.
Li Zhenxi: You said it too well. I think there are at least two roles for parents to their children: the first point is that you just said, parents should discover their children's strengths, their strengths, and then provide him with some opportunities to choose. The meaning of parents is not to help their children decide the future, but to help them discover themselves.
Parents also have a role, that is, demonstration. For example, if you don't want your child to be a lazy person, then parents should be a hard-working person and a self-motivated person. For children, this is the best homeschooling. Now, many Chinese parents send their children to various training classes to learn the piano, learn to play ball, learn to draw, learn calligraphy, and learn to dance as soon as the weekend comes, but these are all chosen by parents to help their children, and what the children are really good at, parents may not know. In this regard, I think your parents have done a very good job. Why? Your parents created opportunities for you to play badminton, let you discover your strengths, and constantly encouraged you, eventually making you a world champion.
Acelon: I'm also really grateful to my parents.
Li Zhenxi: Do you remember your elementary and secondary school teachers now? How have they helped you grow?
Acelon: When I was in school, the teacher quickly discovered that I liked to play badminton. In Denmark, teachers pay great attention to discovering each child's strengths and helping them to develop their strengths. My teachers were very supportive of me playing badminton, at that time I often had some games in the club, and my teachers would go to see me whenever they had time and cheer me on, which was a great motivation for me.
"Everything should come from your own inner choices"
Li Zhenxi: If you don't play badminton, what do you think you are suitable for?
Acelon: I really don't know what else I can do. I really enjoy playing badminton and like to be alone on the field dealing with problems. I really enjoy sports and I like to communicate with people. Badminton is the most important thing for me.
Li Zhenxi: How many times have you been to China?
Arcelor: More than twenty times.
Li Zhenxi: What is your impression of education in China?
Arcelorn: China has so many very powerful people in all professions and fields, which shows that China's education is very good. I think the most important thing is that there is no one way of education that is suitable for everyone, so the way of education and the content of education should be more diverse. Also, Chinese children are under great pressure to learn, and although sometimes there must be pressure, there needs to be a certain balance. Danish culture is completely different from Chinese culture, maybe I have to understand Chinese culture and history first, and then I can understand Chinese education more.
Li Zhenxi: You are quite right about one point, different countries, different nationalities, different national conditions, no education model is universal, it is important to choose education that is suitable for your own country.
Arcelor: I think sometimes Danish students are too relaxed and there's no pressure. In Denmark, for example, students can attend public universities on an application, and it is free of charge. However, if there is really no pressure at all, some children may be lazy. But in China, I see that every child is so hard and hardworking, and this is where Danish education should learn.
Li Zhenxi: Chinese children work hard and have a lot of pressure to learn, which is exactly what some Danish children lack. In fact, excessive pressure will hinder growth, but if there is no pressure, people will also lose their initiative. It is precisely in this regard that Danish and Chinese children need to complement each other, right?
Arcelor: Yes.
Li Zhenxi: However, whether it is diligence or freedom, everything should come from the choice of one's own heart. For example, diligence should not be what parents force their children to do, but what children are willing to do. Just like you play badminton, you are very diligent in our eyes, but in your own eyes it is out of fun, out of love.
Arcelor: Yes. Now playing badminton is also my job, I look forward to training every day, every day is very happy, because playing badminton is my hobby. I'm happy that my job is also my hobby.
Li Zhenxi: So as long as there is an intrinsic drive, whether it is a teacher, an athlete or another job, you can get pleasure from your profession and really love your job.
This is also the highest state of study and work, that is, to take learning and work as your hobby. Because of love, it will choose, will persist, and will succeed.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Gong Danyun Text Editor: Xu Bei Title Image Source: Xinhua News Agency Photo Editor: Xiang Jianying
Source: Author: Lee Zhenxi Acelon