I went to school and earned 1 Chinese point.

I think I am going to change my learning style for a while and get a private tutor, perhaps in a reciprocal Chinese/English tuition arrangement. I’m starting to realise that learning Mandarin Chinese is something that takes several years, not just a couple or a few, but several, and that all learners will experiment with different media and resources as they continue on this long, long journey. I do know that I need a change of scene.

I’m also going to use ChinesePod, having read a number of reviews of various online Chinese language programmes. A big criticism of the hugely popular Rosetta Stone programme is that while it may be great for English speakers who want to learn French or Spanish or another Western language, the content does not translate well into Chinese. As one reviewer put it, you will find yourself in a parallel universe where the language is Chinese but all the cultural content is Western, so you will find yourself engaged in dialogues where you’re trying to buy a cowboy hat and some foods that don’t exist in China from someone called Sally Smith. That is really not going to cut it for me. I’ve got a Chinese-English children’s dictionary that is like that, and it is really annoying. I already know what Western homes and foods look like. It’s a shame because I can see that the Rosetta Stone interface is really slick and nice to use.

So anyway, that’s my plan. I like Chinese characters, or hanzi, and I’m a very visual learner. Given the chance, I could be good at reading and writing Chinese, so I am going to enjoy some multimedia online content and find a Chinese speaking buddy who can help me achieve the things I want and help me read and write in Chinese about the subjects that I find interesting. I need a change from sitting in the classroom learning how to exchange money at the bank. I want to learn how Chinese culture and language addresses topics such as psychology and emotions, society and social change, politics, art, the internet. Just writing that makes me feel excited about Chinese again. Maybe it’s like what they tell you at the gym about how you should swap your preferred exercise method for something new every so often, to wake up your body or in this case your brain.

A couple of nice links that I just discovered, I haven’t read them yet, I’m just noting them for myself here.

Peckish Laowai

Hey readers, we know what Laowai means, right? It is ‘foreigner’, remember? When we were enjoying Gangnam Style? And we watched that video of the Chinese-speaking American guy who’d done a cover version, dà gē shì Lǎowài Style.

The World of Chinese