@vagabond 48, don't be ridiculous.

i wouldn't use the word racist but i would definately use the word racial.

When i was back to Europe this summer, i had a small trip in Germany to visit a friend. Every body would say hello in german to me, and although it makes sense (i was in Germany)... i was feeling like... COME ON! I AM WHITE!! XD they should say HELLO

Maybe i have been in China for a while alredy! kar kar kar!

My mother tongue is not english and everytime they say Hello to me based on my skin i feel disrespected in a way.

I try not to make a big deal about it and i add some jokes on the way.

They say: Hello!
I say: Konitsigua! (japanese?) XD

They say: Are you from America?
I say: Are you from Russia? Korea? Japan?

they end up saying something like: hahahahhahaa zhongguo de. Haode bai bai.

It is a good way of learning the Chinese names of countries in the world.

to sum up, in my opinion, no racist but definately racial.

Since I heve been approcached repeatedly, nervously and anxiously by numerous parents and children in many locations in the general downtown, for children to recite memorized English, in the last week I feel I need to comment.

I like children so this is no relection on them. I do not like what the school or schools did. For some it is an intrusion on personal space. It could be dangerous to approach complete strangers. Some like this so called interaction with children.

Many parents I saw were stessed out or looked like the cost of the fare to be in the places foreigners hang out to be too expensive for them.

I would ask what do the Children really learn about how to actually communicate in English with these methods?I have listened to some children, talked with some and told some I did not speak English.

To these schools I would say why do you not hire foreigners to speak with the children on a regular basis so they really learn something!

We know why, you are probably to cheap and most likely in the business of making money not educating children.

We were enjoying the sun at French Cafe yeaterday and we were approached four times by parents and their kids. The first mum started taking pics of us with her phone then pushed her son towards us telling him to talk to us. I told him we were eating and to come back later. But as his mum already had our pics (needed to show the teacher) so they never came back. Later three more sets of much more polite families came to ask if their kids could talk to us.

The teacher who sets these homework tasks should really tell the kids and parents that they must ask before starting to take pics etx.

If you are an English teacher with not enough work I suggest you sit in a obvious place on Wenlin Jie and offer your services to these parents when they approach you. Turn something potentially annoying to your advantage.

Just happened to me again in French Cafe about an hour ago. Went along with it. I just cant bring myself to be mean to these kids. I think the restaurants should either ban this or designate a couple tables where kids can practice English.

Happened over in Sal's today too.

Yep think that french cafe a hotspot for these parents lol, been approached a couple of times myself when relaxing inside :o)

This is the third Sunday in a row that we get approached while eating at Sals.

Salvadors' staff should really do something about this. It start to be really annoying.

There seems to be an automatic assumption that if you're a white skinned foreigner then you must speak English. How about if everyone at French Cafe starts responding with a few words of French?

It doesn't have to be terribly painful if you don't want to talk to them. Before they can even say a word, smile, hold your hand up palm outward and say, "no thank you," while continuing to smile. Ends it right there for me every time.