No matter how much Zhang Fan grinded, his weakness in English language department was still exposed. He had studied hard by himself over the past two years, but there really was a difference between being self-taught and having a teacher. Back at college, he could ask the teacher if there was anything that he didn't understand. This wouldn't be possible when teaching yourself. You would have to think of answers by yourself. However, self-study did have its advantage of giving you a much deeper personal understanding.