My new neighbors are a foreign family. The parents are both English teachers and their son, John, is a student. They asked me whether I would like to teach John some Chinese so that he can communicate (交流) with others better, and I said yes.

At first, I thought it would be a piece of cake, so I didn’t prepare for it at all. However, it is easier said than done. When I started teaching John, I came to know that there is so much culture and history in our language. Why are there four tones (音调) in Chinese? Who invented Chinese characters (文字)? How come some Chinese characters look like the things they stand for but some don’t?

I came home and was quite ashamed (羞愧的) as I didn’t know answers to those questions. I always thought as Chinese, teaching Chinese was easy, but it turned out that it was not. Chinese language is rich in culture. What we learned about Chinese in school was just a small part of it.

This “job” is really a great learning experience for me. I know that I need a deeper understanding of my own language, so that one day I’ll be able to share more about Chinese language with foreigners.

Success in relationships depends on good communication, but body language is often more important than words. Body language is the use of behavior and expressions (行为和表情) to communicate. Without words, body language can be enough to show your meaning. Sometimes only a serious look from Mom or Dad or a teacher lets you know that you are not doing things properly. No words are necessary!

Sometimes, what comes out of your mouth and what you communicate through your body language may be two different things. If you say one thing, but your body language says something else, your listener will probably feel that you’re not honest. You say “yes” while shaking your head, for example.

When you speak the same words with different kinds of body language, your words have different meanings. Compare these two scenes. Your brother hides a model snake under the covers of your bed. Smiling, you throw it at him and say, “I hate you!” In Scene Two, shaking with anger, you throw it to him and shout, “I hate you!” In these two situations, the words are identical but the body language is different. It’s easy to see from these two situations how important body language is.

Successful people know their body language and its effects (影响) on others. As a result, they learn to control their body language. Have you heard the term “poker face”? Good poker players control their expressions and other body language so others have no idea whether they have a winning hand or are just bluffing (虚张声势). By improving how you understand and use body language, you can show what you really mean, and build stronger relationships with others.