starting to learn Chinese
Nobody comes to China intending to not learn Chinese. Regardless of this, a huge number
of people manage to achieve it. This section introduces some very basic facts about the Chinese
language and some ideas to help you learn Chinese.
Most importantly, Chinese is not the terrifying monster the
written language makes it look. The
spoken language is surprisingly simple, and progress can be made
quickly. There are a number of decent textbooks available and
an increasing amount of information, courses and resources can be found on the
internet.
how did you learn Chinese?
The first thing I should probably say is that I have still got a very long way to go before I can say 'Learn Chinese? Done that'. However, I find the Chinese language a fascinating and charming thing, and am lucky enough to enjoy learning it, perhaps because of the way I was introduced to it.
My first teaching job involved teaching 'oral english' to classes of 30 kids aged 5-9. No textbook, no back-up from Chinese teachers, and absolutely no clue what to do on my part. This was a horrible way to teach, but turned out to be an absolutely fantastic way to learn Chinese. With 2-4 hours forced practice every day, I quickly progressed from 'quiet' to 'if you aren't quiet, I'll tell your teacher'; from 'put down the chair' to 'didn't your mother teach you how to sit?'; from 'do this' to 'you can choose to do this or not do this, but I cannot be responsible for the consequences if you choose not to.', and on one occasion which I am not proud of 'I hate you and I'm not coming back'.
I would never put myself in that teaching situation again, and I don't recommend you do either, no matter how badly you want to learn Chinese. However, I had a real and urgent need to learn Chinese, and every word or phrase I learnt went into repeated use within hours. This positive feedback made studying Chinese a worthwhile and essential part of my life in China
It probably didn't hurt that I had the free time to study, an office full of Chinese teachers always ready to listen to the monkey grunt, and lived in a provincial city with very few English speakers - a pretty much ideal situation in which to learn Chinese.
I don't agree with the idea of some people being 'natural language learners', I think attitude and attention are much more important than any natural ability. If you put the time in, you will get the rewards back - and the feeling of being able to do today something you couldn't do tomorrow, even if it is something as simple as taking a taxi home, or getting what you want in a restaurant, is quite some reward. New arrivals in China often complain of feeling like children, incompetent and unable to do things for themselves. Step one of growing up - learn to talk - and in China, that means you need to learn Chinese
how to learn chinese
There are obviously and to my continued disappointment no magic pills. There are some things that will help learn Chinese though. I think one of the most useful things to have is simply a willingness to talk and interact with people - rather than feel annoyed by the old guy on the bus staring at you, go sit next to him and say hello. Test yourself - when you buy something in a shop, don't point at it. Remain open to the language, and the people who use it.
I said above that I don't think there is any such person as the 'natural language learner'. That doesn't mean that there aren't some people who tend to learn Chinese more quickly as they are more inclined to put themselves in situations where they have to talk to people. Being one of these people will help.
Originally, this paragraph recommended that people who really want to learn Chinese should not choose to live in Beijing, due to the greater number of English speakers and the fact that as foreigners are less of a novelty here you tend to get people speaking to you a lot less. Of all the information, statements and advice I give on the website, this was probably the one that attracted most feedback - normally from people disagreeing. I've therefore changed my mind (who says I'm not responsive?). It is as possible to learn Chinese in Beijing as it is anywhere else. However, ask yourself if you are the kind of person who will seek out opportunities to use Chinese, or the kind of who will wait for the opportunities to seek them - because in Beijing, the opportunities will seek you a lot less often.