On July 24, Beijing time, Chinese player Li Yuanyuan, who is playing for the Dallas Wings, was interviewed by reporters and asked some questions about Yang Hanshen. Li Yuanyuan also offered some advice to young Yang from her perspective as someone who has been through it.
The reporter asked Li Yuanyuan, "As a senior in the American professional basketball scene, do you have any advice for young Yang?"
Li Yuanyuan smiled and said, "I wouldn’t really call myself a senior, because we are all just workers striving here. I just think he has performed very well, truly excellent. In the previous few games (Summer League), I saw him showcasing a lot of comprehensive offensive skills, including on the defensive end. Also, the way the coach utilized him seems very reasonable to me. I hope he can quickly improve his synergy with his teammates and master more language communication skills. I think this is very important. If you can't communicate on your own, my first season was quite painful because I couldn't communicate. Being able to communicate on your own is a very pleasant experience."
Compared to previous seasons, many fans have remarked on Li Yuanyuan's rapid improvement in English. When asked about quick tips for improving spoken English, Li Yuanyuan said, "Just speak freely; my English is just speaking freely. On one hand, I might use some software to learn English, like learning through playing games. For everything else, I think it’s just speaking freely. I talk freely with my teammates, and they know I’m just speaking freely. They keep asking me what I’m saying, and they try to understand. They also keep providing input to me. I think it’s a process of input and output, constantly listening and speaking. Last year, I was still in a state of completely speaking freely. This year, I’m at a level where I understand a little bit, like a beginner level, while the higher levels are still just speaking freely. I feel I’ve made a bit of progress."
"I really appreciate the help from my teammates, and I hope he (Yang Hanshen) can be brave enough to speak (English)," Li Yuanyuan continued, "I think he has a great personality, so he should dare to speak freely. He just needs to keep trying to speak freely and engage in listening and speaking with others; he will definitely improve quickly. In fact, if we get into the details, it really doesn't work, because if we delve into it, my grammar or tenses are actually not very clear. A lot of times, I don’t even know how to express myself more clearly."
"I also tell my friends that if my English were particularly good, these American fans would see a much more comprehensive or interesting version of me. But right now, I can't fully express myself; I can only speak freely and let them guess. That’s the feeling I have. I hope that one day my English can be as good as Chairman Yao's (Yao Ming)."