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

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.”