Taking another dip into the language pool—再次学中文

As the new year starts, I find myselfengaged once again in the study of Mandarin.

I had abandoned the project about a yearago after feeling an overwhelming sense of frustration. I had been at it fornearly three years but still didn't feel capable of having much of a conversationbeyond a little chit-chat about the weather and my job.

It felt like a Catch-22: I wasn’t confidentenough to talk to people, but I would never advance if I didn’t.

I know I’m not alone. My wife, who teachesEnglish in Beijing, says some students are adept at reading and writing buthave trouble speaking.

I do not blame my teachers -- in fact, I havehad very good teachers who were dedicated and creative.

I definitely needed to work harder, but Ialso needed to incorporate Chinese into my daily life. Since I use English atwork and at home, doing that consistently is not always so easy.

I do remember words that I use frequently, likewhen I ask for su liao dai (塑料袋), a plastic bag, at the checkoutcounter. Every time I go to my gym, which is in a shopping plaza, I pass a signthat directs me to the guang chang (广场), or plaza, so I’ve added that to my vocabulary.

This also can be applied by more advancedstudents, who may plateau and feel frustrated. The local people I know here whohave gone on to become fluent in English surrounded themselves with thelanguage, watching movies, listening to the radio or podcasts and reading – alot.

While I’m not at that stage, I’ve gone backto a conversation-based program on my computer that makes Chinese lessintimidating.

I also have been lucky to find anotherdedicated, competent teacher. Several times during the week, outside of class, sheengages me in some simple conversation in Chinese on WeChat. She alsoencourages me to use the voice recorder that comes with the app so she cancheck my pronunciation. It’s a great combination of personal instruction andtechnology.

One of my teachers once told me it’s OK totake a break from studies, but not to give up. While it was kind of a drag togo back and review very basic lessons, I needed to do that to get the memoryflowing. I still need to work on tones.

Now I feel a new sense of excitement aboutmy Chinese studies, as I recall words and phrases I previously learned. It’snice to know that my teachers’ efforts have not been in vain.

Now the challenge is to be patient andpersistent, and not veer back into frustration.

I need to observe the Chinese saying hao hao xuexi, tian tian xiang shang (好好学习天天向上). The literaltranslation would be, “Good good study, day day up,” but the meaning is “Studyhard and make progress every day.”