Will I ever learn Chinese

Send a text In this final episode of ‘Will I ever learn Chinese’ I discuss how I would approach learning a new language in future, outlining the techniques, materials and approaches for different languages of the world. Then, I reflect back on my own learning of Chinese and what I would do differently. How would I advise other people to learn Chinese, based on my experience? How does a linguist le...

Send a text We’re coming to the end of the first series of ‘Will I ever learn Chinese’. In these last two episodes, I am looking at language learning techniques and summarise my process of learning Chinese. In this episode, I’m looking at different approaches to teaching and learning languages and how these have changed over time. I’m looking at learner profiles and the different reasons for langu...

Send a text I love puzzles, be it crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles or the puzzle that is learning or analysing another language. My PhD thesis, for example, is a grammatical description of the small Amazonian indigenous language Mosetén. I was working with speakers of the language to record and then analyse the language and its structures. During that process, I learnt to speak Mosetén as well. I...

Send a text I’m always amazed by how similar the languages of the world are when I’m learning a new language. Languages are able to express the same concepts, often in strikingly similar ways. The apparent differences in lexicon, grammar, sound and so on, that are so obvious, are often far less stark below the surface. Yet, those subtle differences between languages are not to be underestimated, b...

Send a text In this episode I’m talking about traveling to China for the first time and using my newly acquired language in the real world. Wherever I travel, I like to be able to speak at least a little bit of the local language and communicate with locals and to make my own arrangements. Being able to speak more than rudimentary Chinese was key to many of my wonderful experiences. Also, I starte...

Send a text Learning Chinese gave me a new understanding of language acquisition, and a new direction for my research. By going through the process myself, I experienced the mechanisms of language learning subjectively, with my own feelings and experiences. I found topics I wanted to study in more detail, objectively and using robust research methodologies. By pairing my own experiences with my re...

Send a text In this episode I reflect on my immersive learning approach, surrounding myself by the language and using the language in a lot of different environments. Immersion made a big difference to my learning, it helped me ‘see’ myself as a part of the language community, partaking in everyday life in Chinese, without being in China. What types of immersion are there, and does immersion ultim...

Send a text When looking at language acquisition and learning, we rarely consider the other side of the coin: language attrition. This means a language is disappearing, the speaker can’t speak it as well as before. The speech becomes slow and less complex. Attrition happens, and when a language, even a first language, is spoken less, there are small sign of attrition right from the start. It’s fru...

Send a text During the first few months of learning Chinese, I wanted to turn my learning into an experiment: how much Chinese would I be able to learn in a year? This motivated me greatly, but of course I did not stop after a year. But where was I, a year into studying Chinese in a highly immersed way? I was able to speak quite a lot, more than I initially thought I would, but there were also man...

Send a text A hot topic in second language learning and teaching circles, artificial intelligence proved to be a game-changer for my learning of Chinese. I suddenly had that ‘friend’ who would happily correct my writing. The results were not always perfect, but usually passable. Then, I realised that I could ask questions about expressions I had only half understood and AI would usually give me go...

Send a text In this episode I’m looking at accent and dialect. Many learners have a distinct foreign accent. Is that inevitable, or are their ways to work on your accent (and if so, is it necessary)? I’m talking about various techniques, such as shadowing and working on individual sounds, as well as how sounds that initially seem familiar may be the ‘problem areas’ where an accent persists, just b...

Send a text My spoken Chinese was getting more and more ‘fluent’, in that I could have uninterrupted conversations in real life, using my online conversation lessons with teachers to iron out any issues in my pronunciation and expression. All of a sudden, Chinese just ‘clicked’. I could watch a video and would suddenly understand everything that was said. My approach to learning changed, and I exp...

Send a text This episode is about me, finally, finding teachers to Chinese. At first I was learning in a vacuum at home, building confidence in understanding the language, but now that I had taken the plunge and had started to speak to others, I wanted to work on my conversation skills, because… well, they needed quite a lot of work. Working with online Chinese teachers really helped to boost my c...

Send a text In this episode I’m finally taking the plunge, looking for more speakers of Chinese to talk to. I’m considering tandem language exchange programmes and finding Chinese friends, eventually finding a group dedicated to learners and speakers of Chinese in my town. Joining the group was fun, especially just relaxing and chatting away in my improving Chinese. Not yet great, but good enough...

Send a text Would I ever be able to speak Chinese fluently, and what would that mean? I had reached a stage where I was starting to speak more coherently, but on some days it felt like I was not able to speak at all. Crucially, my speaking lagged well behind my understanding and I would often have to stop to search for words when speaking. What level was I at now? Could I use descriptors for langu...

Send a text In this episode I explain how I initially learnt and revised vocabulary, and how I prepared for the next stage of my learning journey: speaking for real. Well, I had a number of attempts at trying to speak for real and not really succeeding at first. Eventually, I decided to speak Chinese to my ever-so-patient cat and tried out AI programmes. But then, finally, I got to speak Chinese t...

Send a text In this episode I explore how I honed my different Chinese language skills: understanding, speaking, reading and writing. I look at all those wonderful tools, most of which are free, that are available to the intermediate learner. In my own learning, Chinese podcasts for learners, as well as Chinese television dramas started to play in increasingly important role. This was time well sp...

Send a text In this episode I'm looking at language tests and certificates. Would that be a goal for me, and which test should I aim for? Would preparing for a test really motivate me? I try to find ways to make my language learning at the intermediate stage fun and greatly motivating. Looking at implicit and explicit learning, I investigate the role of memory in language learning. How does o...

Send a text How do you even write Chinese text messages when you don't have a keyboard with 5000 or more characters? In this episode I look at ways in which Chinese is used today, and at some of the changes to the written language within the last 100 years. Is the traditional Chinese writing system really more beautiful than the simplified system? What if you have to look up an uncommon chara...

Send a text In this episode I'm looking at the history of the Chinese writing system and why it is so successful that it is still used today. In my own learning, once I knew enough characters and had built up a basic understanding of how the system worked, I was suddenly able to decipher the words (and characters) I came across for the first time. Support the show

Send a text Chinese has many homophones: words that sound the same. And when you are only just entering the intermediate stage and are still not very confident when it comes to the different 'tones', there are even more such homophones. What can the learner do to make sense of the chaos? And, what even is a word in Chinese? Support the show

Send a text In this episode I describe how learning Chinese became my treasured escape from reality. I wanted to tell everyone about my new language and also start speaking Chinese with real people, but I was still not very proficient, despite my efforts. Also, I was reluctant to use the language in a professional setting, reflecting on my experience as an exchange student in Denmark when I was le...

Send a text When I realised that learning to read and write Chinese characters would help me in my learning, I started to add a writing app to my repertoire of learning methods. Suddenly the characters started to make sense and I saw a pattern behind the apparent randomness. Aside from writing, I also started to hone my listening and speaking skills, starting to get the hang of the language. Suppo...

Send a text Do people really have different learning preferences, and how do you go about finding yours? In this episode I reflect on my language learning back at school, which, mildly put, was a disaster. Not only did my English teacher state that I had no 'talent' for languages, but languages were also my least favourite subject, which was reflected in my marks. How come I became a lin...

Send a text I look at how Chinese is different from the other languages I speak, and how I was dealing with this difficulty. Also, after the first few weeks of learning Chinese, I noticed that I was missing something and that I was getting quite confused at times. Would I be able to keep up my motivation for learning? What would it take? Support the show