Learning the Language
For many people, learning Mandarin can be a difficult and intimidating process. However, living in Shanghai provides a wonderful opportunity to study, no matter how selective your optimum learning method or hectic your schedule. TALK recently sat down with John Pasden who is best known as the foreign male voice of the popular ChinesePod podcast. Pasden, an expert in learning Chinese as a second language, holds an MA in Applied Linguistics from East China Normal University, and shared with us his thoughts on the various options available to people wanting to study the language.
Schools
University courses are usually highly structured and lecture-focused, which provides good listening practice, but few speaking opportunities. You attend daily with little to no scheduling flexibility; students are expected to make up for the lack of speaking within the classroom by interacting with local students in their free time. Universities are good for people with a low proficiency level as they provide initial exposure to the language and grammatical structure. Shanghai is home to several top level universities that provide language programs for students from a diverse range of nationalities. Sarah Howard, a current Jiaotong University student, enjoys the Chinese-only lectures and the helpfulness of the teaching staff. As a bonus, she says, “They have clubs you can sign up for, including calligraphy, painting, business Chinese and tai-chi.”
East China Normal University. Web: http://lxs.ecnu.edu.cn/english
Fudan University. Web: www.fso.fudan.edu.cn/en/index.htm
Jiaotong University. Web: www.sjtu.edu.cn/english/index/index.htm
Tongji University. Web: www.tongji.edu.cn/english/inc/index.asp
Private schools offer more flexibility and smaller class sizes, but are often more expensive than a university course. Curriculum is balanced across speaking, listening and reading, with little to no English used within the classroom. Current Miracle Mandarin student Tim Gibbs believes, “Learning a language is all about building confidence and a good balance of skills. Students can be muted and diluted in larger university classes, whereas private schools give you a better chance to use what you learn in a more friendly and relaxed environment. It’s well worth the difference in price to go private.”
iMandarin. Web: www.imandarin.net
Miracle Mandarin. Web: www.miraclemandarin.com
Immersion programs are the most intensive language school option. Students often sign a no-native-language pledge, agreeing only to speak Chinese throughout the entirety of the course. Speaking, listening, reading, writing and cultural understanding are all greatly enhanced. If done correctly, immersion can vastly improve language skills in a relatively short period of time. Emily Elliot, alum of Middlebury Language School, says, “Immersion programs help you learn to think creatively in Chinese and quickly master sentence structure since you have no option of resorting to English. The programs also help you learn more practical Chinese because you’re forced to learn words as situations come up in daily life.”
CET Academic Programs. Web: www.cetacademicprograms.com
Pasden says:
Schools are best suited for people still in a student mindset, either current students or recent graduates; they can be frustrating for professionals. Unfortunately, university programs are often too character-driven and focus on the HSK test. The materials are frequently out-dated and dry, but with their low cost and high number of classroom hours, they do provide needed listening practice. Many private schools, on the other hand, are operated by business people, not educators, who focus on making money through marketing, sometimes at the expense of a useful course. Immersion is usually the most effective method, but it is a serious investment of time and money.
Date or Make Friends with a Local
Forcing oneself to speak is critical to learning any language. By dating or making friends with Chinese people, speaking and listening skills can be dramatically improved over a short period of time. However, a decent base of Chinese proficiency may be required, otherwise a lot of hand signals and frustrations will result. Jon Peng, an educational administrator, says, “At first looking for friends can seem kind of awkward. Once you get past that and start making friends, even at first solely for the language benefit, you often realise you’ve made yourself a good friend. This benefits not only language ability but also cultural understanding, which is extremely important for your Chinese end game.”
Pasden says:
Most people cannot pick up Chinese simply by dating or hanging out with Chinese friends. This method is very hit or miss, so you have to be lucky. Often it depends on personalities and motivations. If your Chinese friends want to learn English, it will be very tough and a classic language power struggle may result. Even if they have no desire to learn English, your Chinese friends won’t usually give you the feedback you need to progress in your studies. Yes, dating and making local friends can provide much-needed practice, but it’s not the same as having a teacher’s guidance.
Comments
Rocket Chinese
Can't say too much about it yet as I've just started, but Rocket Chinese seems to present language learning in a funny and engaging way so far. I'll try to pair that with Skritter for learning to write as I go, and see how that works out.
writing characters
Surprised there is no mention of Popup Chinese (http://popupchinese.com) in this piece. They also do podcasts which are quite good, but their killer tool is their free iPhone app for learning to write characters
http://itunes.apple.com/app/chinese-writer/id374152537?mt=8
Much better and cheaper than the alternatives suggested in this article. There is too much emphasis in the Chinese learning space on marketing and little on actual learning. Learning Chinese doesn't require expensive learning consultancies. It takes time and hard work. That said, I agree that Anki is great.