School headmaster receives praise for using mahjong to teach students English

Learning a new language that's not your mother tongue can be real daunting. A school in Chengdu, China, has made national news headlines for its creative way of teaching its students English with mahjong tiles. Mahjong is a traditional Chinese card game that's similar to the Western's world rummy. It is usually played with four players and involves 144 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols. Many Chinese children pick up on how to play mahjong from their parents from a young age, simply by observing the adults playing rounds of the game.