Comments on: Put Down The Chalk & Pick Up The Language http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/farrago/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/ I'm a dad, designer, China expat and blogger Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:41:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jessie http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/farrago/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-14177 Jessie Sun, 06 May 2007 12:00:57 +0000 http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog/2007/04/22/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-14177 I forgot to add my email address for your contact: j560505c@gmail.com I forgot to add my email address for your contact: j560505c@gmail.com

]]> By: Jessie http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/farrago/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-14176 Jessie Sun, 06 May 2007 11:57:56 +0000 http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog/2007/04/22/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-14176 Hi, Anyone who is a native English speaker lives in Suzhou (I live in Suzhou Industrial Park) and is willing to practice oral English with me? I will pay tuition but I am afraid the fee has to meet my budget. Please feel free to contact if interested (having experience is preferred). Hi,

Anyone who is a native English speaker lives in Suzhou (I live in Suzhou Industrial Park) and is willing to practice oral English with me? I will pay tuition but I am afraid the fee has to meet my budget. Please feel free to contact if interested (having experience is preferred).

]]> By: AlexK http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/farrago/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-13287 AlexK Mon, 30 Apr 2007 03:20:09 +0000 http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog/2007/04/22/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-13287 Nice site. Regarding your visa situation: Now that you are married to a Chinese person why don't you get your visa based on that? Then there is no need to rely on schools or Workplaces for your visa. Nice site.

Regarding your visa situation: Now that you are married to a Chinese person why don’t you get your visa based on that? Then there is no need to rely on schools or Workplaces for your visa.

]]> By: Ryan http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/farrago/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12852 Ryan Thu, 26 Apr 2007 01:29:15 +0000 http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog/2007/04/22/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12852 Hey, thanks guys... all great advice. @Chris: You're one of the ones that is truly a kick in the pants to me. I remember you'd come and visit F4 and chat with the Chinese staff after only a few months in the country... I was damn impressed. I've followed your learning on your blog from then, and really enjoy the advice you have. @Xuexiansheng/Ben: The 'go Chinese' route and putting myself in Chinese-only situations is definitely a big asset. I realized this back in October when Maggie was in the hospital. I had to do a lot myself for those two weeks and it showed me that I actually can. Since then, my Chinese has increased exponentially - but it's still so far behind where it should be. I'm not going to completely eliminate fellow English speakers from my life - as I'm also in China to have a life - but pushing English to the back-burner and having more full-Chinese days around the house is soon to be instated. @Mark: It's funny, the two things that people really could use information on, and I rarely write about them - teaching ESL and learning Chinese. They're two things I'm intimately involved with every day, but just never seem to write about. I'll work on changing that. @Dan: YOU'RE POSTING AGAIN!!! Hallelujah! Hey, thanks guys… all great advice.

@Chris: You’re one of the ones that is truly a kick in the pants to me. I remember you’d come and visit F4 and chat with the Chinese staff after only a few months in the country… I was damn impressed. I’ve followed your learning on your blog from then, and really enjoy the advice you have.

@Xuexiansheng/Ben: The ‘go Chinese’ route and putting myself in Chinese-only situations is definitely a big asset. I realized this back in October when Maggie was in the hospital. I had to do a lot myself for those two weeks and it showed me that I actually can. Since then, my Chinese has increased exponentially – but it’s still so far behind where it should be. I’m not going to completely eliminate fellow English speakers from my life – as I’m also in China to have a life – but pushing English to the back-burner and having more full-Chinese days around the house is soon to be instated.

@Mark: It’s funny, the two things that people really could use information on, and I rarely write about them – teaching ESL and learning Chinese. They’re two things I’m intimately involved with every day, but just never seem to write about. I’ll work on changing that.

@Dan: YOU’RE POSTING AGAIN!!! Hallelujah!

]]> By: Dan http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/farrago/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12809 Dan Wed, 25 Apr 2007 10:52:02 +0000 http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog/2007/04/22/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12809 Hey Ryan, good to hear you're going to be studying full-time, you'll have a great time. I went to Shanghai JiaoTong University for a year and it was fantastic. Had a bit of a break since I got back home, but I'm getting into it again now. See if there's anything on my blog which might be of use. Hey Ryan, good to hear you’re going to be studying full-time, you’ll have a great time. I went to Shanghai JiaoTong University for a year and it was fantastic. Had a bit of a break since I got back home, but I’m getting into it again now. See if there’s anything on my blog which might be of use.

]]> By: Mark http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/farrago/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12751 Mark Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:02:36 +0000 http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog/2007/04/22/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12751 Ryan, from my own selfish point of view, this will be <i>awesome</i> for your blog. I love reading about people's language learning stories. Ryan, from my own selfish point of view, this will be awesome for your blog. I love reading about people’s language learning stories.

]]> By: kim http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/farrago/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12723 kim Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:47:26 +0000 http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog/2007/04/22/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12723 Hey Ryan, My first Chinese lesson is tomorrow. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and all that stuff. Looking forward to reading your Chinese blog in a couple of years ;) Hey Ryan, My first Chinese lesson is tomorrow. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and all that stuff. Looking forward to reading your Chinese blog in a couple of years ;)

]]> By: Ben http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/farrago/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12696 Ben Tue, 24 Apr 2007 07:30:17 +0000 http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog/2007/04/22/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12696 Ryan- I know exactly what you mean about the wife not being any help. I have been with my Chinese girlfrien for almost three years, and (again, no offense to her intended) my Chinese would be a lot better had we been single. The problem is that since when we first met, I spoke no Chinese, and she already could speak English, our relationship has always been based in English. Speaking to her in Chinese seems almost as unnatural as speaking to my parents in Chinese. On the contrary, having a girlfriend/wife who could not speak English would seem to do wonders for one's Chinese. The advantage being that if you can't say something, you really need to force out a way to convey your meaning. This is, what I have found to be the best way to improve Chinese. When I have travelled by myself in China, there have been many times I was forced to speak Chinese. If I don't know how to say "When do I get my deposit back?" I have to say "When do I get the money I gave you to prevent my from stealing your TV back." Usually this elicits the correct word, and I learn how to say deposit. Whether this happens or not, the extra explaining is a Chinese workout in and of itself. When I try to speak to my girlfriend in Chinese and get stuck, we just shift to English. Good luck in your studies at SuDa! Ryan-
I know exactly what you mean about the wife not being any help. I have been with my Chinese girlfrien for almost three years, and (again, no offense to her intended) my Chinese would be a lot better had we been single. The problem is that since when we first met, I spoke no Chinese, and she already could speak English, our relationship has always been based in English. Speaking to her in Chinese seems almost as unnatural as speaking to my parents in Chinese. On the contrary, having a girlfriend/wife who could not speak English would seem to do wonders for one’s Chinese. The advantage being that if you can’t say something, you really need to force out a way to convey your meaning. This is, what I have found to be the best way to improve Chinese. When I have travelled by myself in China, there have been many times I was forced to speak Chinese. If I don’t know how to say “When do I get my deposit back?” I have to say “When do I get the money I gave you to prevent my from stealing your TV back.” Usually this elicits the correct word, and I learn how to say deposit. Whether this happens or not, the extra explaining is a Chinese workout in and of itself. When I try to speak to my girlfriend in Chinese and get stuck, we just shift to English. Good luck in your studies at SuDa!

]]> By: Peter http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/farrago/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12589 Peter Mon, 23 Apr 2007 09:20:41 +0000 http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog/2007/04/22/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12589 Good luck. I want to learn Chinese too, but fear I'll end up in the same situation like you having a Chinese wife too. Also I'm in Denmark, which complicates matters further I guess ;-) Good luck. I want to learn Chinese too, but fear I’ll end up in the same situation like you having a Chinese wife too. Also I’m in Denmark, which complicates matters further I guess ;-)

]]> By: Xuexiansheng http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/farrago/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12542 Xuexiansheng Sun, 22 Apr 2007 18:09:27 +0000 http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog/2007/04/22/put-down-the-chalk-pick-up-the-language/#comment-12542 Best of luck on the studies! It really is the only way to 'learn' Chinese. Hanging out will only get you to pick up a superficial understanding of the language. A few words of advice, try to get into a 2nd year or better class. I think my Chinese was worse than yours (my impression from reading your blog and watching your vblogs) when I came to China to study for a year. I had had one year in the states and could have gone into newbie class, but pushed myself to a 2nd year. After barely keeping up for 6 months I finally broke thru and managed to make some real progress and was very happy I didn't start in a newbie class. As for the wife, since her English is much better than your Chinese, I'm sure your default language is English. However, she could be your greatest learning resource if you can find a way to change the default language to Chinese. My gf in China didn't speak much English at all, our default language was Chinese. My Chinese was pretty lame when we met and there was some difficulty in the beginning, but she was the best teacher I ever had! Even though it didn't work out in the end :( Last bit of advice is 'go Chinese'. This may sound weird since you live in China, but try to ban English from your world, read Chinese books (I read a few kids books), magazines, newspapers (even though I know your not a fan of the writing), get a radio a listen to it at breakfast, watch CCTV (I know that's bad, too) watch more Chinese movies (personal favorites are the 70-80's Shaw Brothers movies, they have been re-releasing them digitally remastered) and if you do watch English-speaking movies, make sure those subtitles are on in Chinese! Of course you need a break some times for your sanity. I remember coming home from especially difficult days in class and wanted nothing more than to put on some western music, call up some ex-pat friends and speak as much English as I could. But if your studying hard and surrounding yourself in the language your need for those 'English breaks' will mean your on the right track. Have fun, the student days are always the best, I'm sure you'll do well! And if you haven't read it already, John at Sinoplice has a great post on the levels of learning Chinese. http://www.sinosplice.com/lang/stages-to-learning-chinese/ Best of luck on the studies! It really is the only way to ‘learn’ Chinese. Hanging out will only get you to pick up a superficial understanding of the language. A few words of advice, try to get into a 2nd year or better class. I think my Chinese was worse than yours (my impression from reading your blog and watching your vblogs) when I came to China to study for a year. I had had one year in the states and could have gone into newbie class, but pushed myself to a 2nd year. After barely keeping up for 6 months I finally broke thru and managed to make some real progress and was very happy I didn’t start in a newbie class. As for the wife, since her English is much better than your Chinese, I’m sure your default language is English. However, she could be your greatest learning resource if you can find a way to change the default language to Chinese. My gf in China didn’t speak much English at all, our default language was Chinese. My Chinese was pretty lame when we met and there was some difficulty in the beginning, but she was the best teacher I ever had! Even though it didn’t work out in the end :( Last bit of advice is ‘go Chinese’. This may sound weird since you live in China, but try to ban English from your world, read Chinese books (I read a few kids books), magazines, newspapers (even though I know your not a fan of the writing), get a radio a listen to it at breakfast, watch CCTV (I know that’s bad, too) watch more Chinese movies (personal favorites are the 70-80′s Shaw Brothers movies, they have been re-releasing them digitally remastered) and if you do watch English-speaking movies, make sure those subtitles are on in Chinese! Of course you need a break some times for your sanity. I remember coming home from especially difficult days in class and wanted nothing more than to put on some western music, call up some ex-pat friends and speak as much English as I could. But if your studying hard and surrounding yourself in the language your need for those ‘English breaks’ will mean your on the right track. Have fun, the student days are always the best, I’m sure you’ll do well!

And if you haven’t read it already, John at Sinoplice has a great post on the levels of learning Chinese.

http://www.sinosplice.com/lang/stages-to-learning-chinese/

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