Comments on: Chinese Learning Goal http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/ Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:45:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.3 By: Benjamin http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/comment-page-1/#comment-155910 Benjamin Sat, 01 Oct 2011 10:29:50 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/#comment-155910 I have been studying mandarin for 1 year 1 leeson a week and i do suck, yet people say i am good.A guy i work with lived in china for 6 years and his wife is chinese, he has been speaking mandarin for about 15 years and he reckons he is 60-70% learned in mandarin, he understands every 2nd or 3rd word in conversation. I agree with the graph even though it is a joke, because he has told me he has an english friend in China that has taken 20 years to become fluent, and has commeted you could actually never become fluent but that is subjective to the amount of study you perform. I have been studying mandarin for 1 year 1 leeson a week and i do suck, yet people say i am good.A guy i work with lived in china for 6 years and his wife is chinese, he has been speaking mandarin for about 15 years and he reckons he is 60-70% learned in mandarin, he understands every 2nd or 3rd word in conversation. I agree with the graph even though it is a joke, because he has told me he has an english friend in China that has taken 20 years to become fluent, and has commeted you could actually never become fluent but that is subjective to the amount of study you perform.

]]> By: James http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/comment-page-1/#comment-43898 James Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:27:27 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/#comment-43898 Nice graph. It reminds me of learning Chinese Characters. If you learn just 100 characters (of the 30,000 or so characters in the language) you can read almost half of what you see. The next hundred gives you another 10-20% and the next hundred another 5-10% and so on. Each successive hundred gives you less and less. This is why when learning a language it's common to plateau after a year or 2 once you've learned all the high frequency stuff. You feel like your progress is slowing down but it just seems that way as you are learning low frequency language that's not so commonly used. I personally enjoy learning and using idioms and proverbs in China. Many of them are extremely useful and easy to use. The best part is when you use idioms properly it really shocks the locals and some say my Chinese is better than theirs ! So although I am by no means fluent, it's fun to study high level Chinese (ie some cultural proverbs and idioms) and use them daily. People think my Chinese is amazing when really it's just "good". How long have you been learning Jeremy ? I'm at about 6yrs now. Nice graph. It reminds me of learning Chinese Characters. If you learn just 100 characters (of the 30,000 or so characters in the language) you can read almost half of what you see. The next hundred gives you another 10-20% and the next hundred another 5-10% and so on. Each successive hundred gives you less and less. This is why when learning a language it’s common to plateau after a year or 2 once you’ve learned all the high frequency stuff. You feel like your progress is slowing down but it just seems that way as you are learning low frequency language that’s not so commonly used.

I personally enjoy learning and using idioms and proverbs in China. Many of them are extremely useful and easy to use. The best part is when you use idioms properly it really shocks the locals and some say my Chinese is better than theirs ! So although I am by no means fluent, it’s fun to study high level Chinese (ie some cultural proverbs and idioms) and use them daily. People think my Chinese is amazing when really it’s just “good”.

How long have you been learning Jeremy ? I’m at about 6yrs now.

]]> By: Jeremy http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/comment-page-1/#comment-2259 Jeremy Sun, 05 Oct 2008 08:45:30 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/#comment-2259 Joel - Definitely depends on what you're doing. If you're in full time study + immersion mode for seven or eight years you'll get just as much as if you already have a very strong base and use Chinese daily for twenty years. Most people don't have a decade to devote to daily immersive study (I don't anymore), so you're right Joel – Definitely depends on what you’re doing. If you’re in full time study + immersion mode for seven or eight years you’ll get just as much as if you already have a very strong base and use Chinese daily for twenty years.

Most people don’t have a decade to devote to daily immersive study (I don’t anymore), so you’re right

]]> By: Joel http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/comment-page-1/#comment-2258 Joel Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:52:36 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/#comment-2258 Doesn't it just depend on how you define the goals? Obviously you don't need 20 years to get grammar and a great vocabulary. But I take "fluent as the average Chinese person" to mean more than grammar, vocab, pronunciation, and chengyus. To master the idiomatic language like a native speaker, and understand cultural insider allusions and references... for that kind of stuff 20 years doesn't seem like such an overstatement. Plus, I guess it depends what you're doing for those 20 years. Doesn’t it just depend on how you define the goals? Obviously you don’t need 20 years to get grammar and a great vocabulary. But I take “fluent as the average Chinese person” to mean more than grammar, vocab, pronunciation, and chengyus. To master the idiomatic language like a native speaker, and understand cultural insider allusions and references… for that kind of stuff 20 years doesn’t seem like such an overstatement.

Plus, I guess it depends what you’re doing for those 20 years.

]]> By: Jeremy http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/comment-page-1/#comment-2265 Jeremy Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:06:07 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/#comment-2265 20 years was a joke, it can't really be that bad. Or maybe it can? =) 20 years was a joke, it can’t really be that bad. Or maybe it can? =)

]]> By: Joel http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/comment-page-1/#comment-2267 Joel Sat, 04 Oct 2008 05:02:43 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/#comment-2267 That 20 year number seems reasonable. Especially when we're talking about adult language learners, and when I picture the immigrants I grew up around in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. This scale more or less matches the expectations laid out by the guy who wrote the text books we started with: <a href="http://chinahopelive.net/2007/06/19/learning-mandarin-realistic-expectations" rel="nofollow"><strong>Learning Mandarin: Realistic Expectations</strong></a> We're in our fourth semester now. <abbr><em>Joels last blog post..<a href="http://chinahopelive.net/2008/10/01/skyping-from-china" rel="nofollow">Skyping from China?</a></em></abbr> That 20 year number seems reasonable. Especially when we’re talking about adult language learners, and when I picture the immigrants I grew up around in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

This scale more or less matches the expectations laid out by the guy who wrote the text books we started with:
Learning Mandarin: Realistic Expectations

We’re in our fourth semester now.

Joels last blog post..Skyping from China?

]]> By: The China Expat » 5 Reasons Why Learning Chinese Could Be a Waste of Your Time http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/comment-page-1/#comment-2266 The China Expat » 5 Reasons Why Learning Chinese Could Be a Waste of Your Time Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:44:19 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/#comment-2266 [...] Opportunity Cost - To really learn Chinese well, including reading and writing, you need to spend years studying intensively. These are years in which you could learn several romance languages or another skill set or perhaps [...] [...] Opportunity Cost – To really learn Chinese well, including reading and writing, you need to spend years studying intensively. These are years in which you could learn several romance languages or another skill set or perhaps [...]

]]> By: Jeremy http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/comment-page-1/#comment-2264 Jeremy Mon, 23 Jul 2007 15:34:47 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/#comment-2264 <p>Hey Mike,</p> <p>It's hard for sure - the only question is how you define the average 'Chinese' person - if you include everyone in the country it would take many less than 60 years (like 5) - if you include only those who live in major cities or above a certain education level than it might actually be approaching that... heh</p> Hey Mike,

It’s hard for sure – the only question is how you define the average ‘Chinese’ person – if you include everyone in the country it would take many less than 60 years (like 5) – if you include only those who live in major cities or above a certain education level than it might actually be approaching that… heh

]]> By: Mike http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/comment-page-1/#comment-2263 Mike Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:23:47 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/#comment-2263 I have been learning chinese since 2003. So 4 years now. I have 2 lessons a week and I practice a lot with my chinese friends. Believe it or not, I still think I suck. I do believe the graph, and the fact that you could spend 60 years learning without even knowing more than the chinese. This language is so challenging, but its a never-ending story. Zaijian! I have been learning chinese since 2003. So 4 years now. I have 2 lessons a week and I practice a lot with my chinese friends. Believe it or not, I still think I suck. I do believe the graph, and the fact that you could spend 60 years learning without even knowing more than the chinese.
This language is so challenging, but its a never-ending story.
Zaijian!

]]> By: Jeremy http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/comment-page-1/#comment-2257 Jeremy Wed, 04 Jul 2007 04:03:44 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/chinese-learning-goal/#comment-2257 Hey Mark, Not sure, although he might be the exception. The above graph is basically a joke. If you absolutely committed yourself to learning Chinese it would not take 60 years to learn Mandarin better than the average Chinese person. Hey Mark,

Not sure, although he might be the exception.

The above graph is basically a joke. If you absolutely committed yourself to learning Chinese it would not take 60 years to learn Mandarin better than the average Chinese person.

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