Mei Renyi, 80, has expanded his expertise from teaching English to cross-cultural studies over the past few decades.[Photo by Zhang Wei/China Daily]

A veteran professor who teaches English as a second language and American studies to China's creme de la creme shares his secrets for mastering the foreign language and analyzing how the United States deals with other countries, write Raymond Zhou and Yang Yang.

Mei Renyi's career trajectory has taken him from language instruction and English literature to American studies and eventually to cross-cultural studies.

The turning point came in 1982, when a Fulbright scholarship enabled him to go to the United States, "to study either American literature or American history". He took up the latter.

Mei considers the study of the history of American diplomacy as the "hub" from which he extends his research to various related areas.

"When you dig deep into this subject, you'll inevitably encounter issues of American culture," he says.

"Then you'll have to come to terms with Chinese culture. The lines of academic disciplines tend to blur as you delve into each of them. You'll have to possess the ability to transcend and merge. I'm still in the process of fusing different parts."

The 80-year-old professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University is an expert who straddles all these fields.

He still teaches regularly.

His advice to youngsters in need of a direction is: Follow your heart, and let your curiosity take you to explore all the options out there.

"Even at our American Studies Center, we have very few compulsory courses. Most are electives."