Shenzhen couriers study English to serve int'l customers for APEC

The APEC CEO Summit will be held in Shenzhen in November. Food delivery riders and couriers are stepping up their English learning to ensure they can communicate well with their potential customers.

At 11 a.m. sharp, Ah Jiang, a food delivery rider, clocks in with a face scan. He keeps refreshing the delivery platform app, hoping to secure a high-paying order.

He delivers about 30 orders a day, for which he earns around 200 yuan. His left hand is glued to one phone scrolling for orders, while his right hand holds another phone learning English vocabulary. After confirming an order, he picks up the food, and takes it to the destination.

Every step is a race against time.

But even in the elevator, he doesn't stop learning.

Ah Jiang says that speaking better English does not help with taking orders, but will give customers a surprise. He recalled how he took three tourists from Spain to an old temple in Shenzhen and served as their tour guide.

Ah Jiang has been self-studying English for about three years. He hopes to improve himself and expand his career options.

He explains that there are many delivery riders in Shenzhen but not many orders, so everyone is working extra hard.

Many of them find learning English difficult, but he thinks it depends on the learner's attitude.

He admits that change is definitely painful, and requires him to leave his comfort zone.

After a busy lunch hour, Ah Jiang comes to a free English class set up specifically for food delivery riders and couriers. The lunchtime delivery peak is around 11 to 12:30.

So Ah Jiang says he usually participates in classes at around 2pm, to avoid missing too many orders.

The volunteer teacher says that with the APEC meeting being held in November, it is especially important for Shenzhen citizens to learn English well.

Ivy, Volunteer teacher: "Listening to them improving and speaking so confidently, I was just over the moon. I am in Shenzhen for more than two years now, there are a lot of international students and businessmen, a lot of people especially APEC is coming."

Ah Jiang's classmate, courier Xu Zhonghua, finds the newly learnt phrases helpful in work situations. In his work he sometimes encounters foreigners asking for directions.

With better English, he believes he can be more helpful to them.