On learning Chinese
I recently downloaded for my Kindle Deborah Fallows' Dreaming in Chinese. Fallows is the wife of the Atlantic's James Fallows, and together they recently ended a three-year stay in China, first in Shanghai and then in Beijing. She recently published this book about her experiences living here with her Chinese language studies as the main current of the book.
I'm only about half-way through at this point, so I'm not ready to give a full review. I can already recommend it to anyone who is interested in China but whose experience with China and the Chinese language is very limited. She spends a lot of time explaining the sorts of things that are probably not that revelatory to someone who has spent any time living in China. It's well-written, and she's a good story-teller. I'd like to see what Heather thinks about it.
This brings me to a subject that has been weighing heavily on my mind for the past several months. It's been nearly two years since my last formal Chinese lesson. For Myles it has been a little longer. I knew that it would have been difficult to schedule regular lessons when Brigid was still tiny. She's almost two and it will still be a challenge, but one I should want to undertake, right?
I seem to lost some motivation for learning Chinese lately. It isn't that I think I am fluent or don't need Chinese lessons. I'm just not as driven right now. I should be ashamed to admit that, because at one time it was a very high priority for our family. And I don't want to sound un-curious.
These days, though, it seems I have the same conversations in Chinese over and over. Yes, I have two kids. Yes, I take care of them myself. Yes, she is still wearing diapers. Yes, her hair is yellow. No, there is nothing wrong with her; her hair will darken like her brother's. We live at.... My husband works at..... Thank you, but my Chinese is not very good.
It goes from there. I need to get my motivation back, to get back on track to studying with a tutor. Chinese is a difficult language, and while I could try to study on my own, a tutor helps keep my pronunciations disciplined. When I try to pick up words outside of class, I usually need to correct what I thought I heard, particularly if i heard it from someone with a distinct accent.
Whenever I tried to slip a new word past my teacher in Shenzhen, she would rarely miss it. "You sound like you're from Jiangxi," she would tease me, and then make me work on the correct way to say whatever it is I was attempting.
I haven't had a tutor yet to correct my more recently acquired Beijinghua, but I was subject to giggles from Starbucks workers in Hangzhou last month. They assured me that my Chinese was fine, but it didn't sound quite right, not like other foreign customers' Chinese. I volunteered that we were from Beijing, which was met with more giggles and a few nods. One said to me, "Oh, that's why."
And Myles is another story. His interest in learning Chinese waxes and wanes. Sometimes I want to push him, and other times, I just want to let him be. Unlike Maths and reading and writing in English, he could go back to the US and enter school without knowing much more Chinese than he already does. Like learning a musical instrument, his heart has to be in it to make any progress. And right now, he's been talking about wanting to learn Spanish instead.
Brigid is no problem right now. At her level, she uses Chinese and English almost interchangeably. It is, of course, irresistibly cute.
I really hope to get back into study, both for me and Myles. I would hate to waste the opportunity afforded us by living here to study relatively inexpensively. It's just overcoming that inertia off not studying that's the problem.
I'm only about half-way through at this point, so I'm not ready to give a full review. I can already recommend it to anyone who is interested in China but whose experience with China and the Chinese language is very limited. She spends a lot of time explaining the sorts of things that are probably not that revelatory to someone who has spent any time living in China. It's well-written, and she's a good story-teller. I'd like to see what Heather thinks about it.
This brings me to a subject that has been weighing heavily on my mind for the past several months. It's been nearly two years since my last formal Chinese lesson. For Myles it has been a little longer. I knew that it would have been difficult to schedule regular lessons when Brigid was still tiny. She's almost two and it will still be a challenge, but one I should want to undertake, right?
I seem to lost some motivation for learning Chinese lately. It isn't that I think I am fluent or don't need Chinese lessons. I'm just not as driven right now. I should be ashamed to admit that, because at one time it was a very high priority for our family. And I don't want to sound un-curious.
These days, though, it seems I have the same conversations in Chinese over and over. Yes, I have two kids. Yes, I take care of them myself. Yes, she is still wearing diapers. Yes, her hair is yellow. No, there is nothing wrong with her; her hair will darken like her brother's. We live at.... My husband works at..... Thank you, but my Chinese is not very good.
It goes from there. I need to get my motivation back, to get back on track to studying with a tutor. Chinese is a difficult language, and while I could try to study on my own, a tutor helps keep my pronunciations disciplined. When I try to pick up words outside of class, I usually need to correct what I thought I heard, particularly if i heard it from someone with a distinct accent.
Whenever I tried to slip a new word past my teacher in Shenzhen, she would rarely miss it. "You sound like you're from Jiangxi," she would tease me, and then make me work on the correct way to say whatever it is I was attempting.
I haven't had a tutor yet to correct my more recently acquired Beijinghua, but I was subject to giggles from Starbucks workers in Hangzhou last month. They assured me that my Chinese was fine, but it didn't sound quite right, not like other foreign customers' Chinese. I volunteered that we were from Beijing, which was met with more giggles and a few nods. One said to me, "Oh, that's why."
And Myles is another story. His interest in learning Chinese waxes and wanes. Sometimes I want to push him, and other times, I just want to let him be. Unlike Maths and reading and writing in English, he could go back to the US and enter school without knowing much more Chinese than he already does. Like learning a musical instrument, his heart has to be in it to make any progress. And right now, he's been talking about wanting to learn Spanish instead.
Brigid is no problem right now. At her level, she uses Chinese and English almost interchangeably. It is, of course, irresistibly cute.
I really hope to get back into study, both for me and Myles. I would hate to waste the opportunity afforded us by living here to study relatively inexpensively. It's just overcoming that inertia off not studying that's the problem.
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