Mandarin Chinese Weblog

Finally going back to China for a month in October. It’s been a year of living in the States without a proper environment. 借口, jiè kǒu， an excuse for not advancing in my 中文? Perhaps. But going back will be a great test to see if what I’ve learned thus far will stick. If it does, then I’ll know that learning the right way will take you a lot further than learning the “traditional way.” I certainly don’t remember much Spanish, and I took that for 5 years.

I often read through Chinese-Forums to see what Chinese learners are talking about. I think too much time and energy (and sometimes money, too) is spent on figuring out the 最好的/zuì hǎo de/”best” system, when in reality, all systems work if you stick to them long enough. The problem is that most people don’t have the discipline to stick to anything, save for bad habits. It’s not about which book you use, how many vocabulary words you learn in a day, or the 15 stroke characters that you can write. It’s about taking responsibility for your own learning and creating the opportunities for yourself. Use the tools that are out there and design the perfect environment for you.

Keep going, don’t quit, 加油！