Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Preparation: Language

I don't speak Mandarin. Obviously. So Josh and a few coworkers started a class at their office. We meet with Josh's Mandarin tutor, Janice, twice a week (ideally), for twelve weeks. 
I am not a Mandarin genius (天才). 
Josh has been practicing Mandarin for over a year. He got Rosetta Stone and started ordering phrase books. When we moved to Boulder, he found Janice, and started taking private lessons weekly. He even tried a few Skype lessons from teachers in China. He has flashcard apps on his phone and practices pretty much daily. His work ethic and dedication is impressive. 

 In high school, I did okay with Spanish and managed to navigate a trip to Italy just fine. I took American Sign Language at Aspen Camp for three years, and I could probably say I was conversational. ASL classes were so much fun. It was the perfect amount of brain exercise, linguistic curiosity, and charades. I felt quick and capable from the start. 

 Not the same here. Janice is a fast talking polyglot who throws 20-30 vocabulary words at you in a session. She asks you questions and expects you to answer. She writes stories for us about getting coffee, going to Outback Steakhouse, and the plot to Addams Family Values. 
Story Sample
I try to write down everything as quickly as possible, but that usually means I miss whatever she, or anyone else, has said. Everyone else seems to be practicing a lot more than me, the pronunciation feels impossible, and I keep distracting myself with grammar questions. 

 But the worst part of the whole experience is not that I am not a genius (which is disappointing), but that I feel... uninterested? I can't seem to get engaged in practicing or studying. And, according to educational mumbo jumbo, I probably should be. I have (1) an expert teacher, (2) an engaged and supportive peer group, (3) ability, (4) resources galore, and, most importantly, (5) real world application (i.e., actually going to China). Somehow, it just feels like doing homework. You heard it here, students. 

 As a result, I don't feel particularly confident asking where the bathroom is. Yikes. 

 But, maybe my motivation will increase when face-to-face with ... the need to go to the bathroom, or get somewhere, or order food. Maybe then everything will click. 

Educational Note

 My Mandarin class focuses on speaking and listening. The texts include Pinyin (phonetic Mandarin written in Roman characters) and simplified Chinese characters. For example, above I wrote the word genius which in Chinese characters looks like 
天才
and in Pinyin looks like 

 tiān cái 

 and is pronounced something like 

 tee-en (high pitched -en) tsa-ay (rising tone)

 [Google example.]

 (There are four tones in Mandarin, and if you say the wrong tone, you're saying the wrong word. A simple and popular example is ma where 

  • mā = mother
  • má = hemp
  • mă = horse
  • mà = scold

Saying and hearing the differences is hard.)

 I am banking on things I might have to read appearing in Pinyin, but Josh has amped up his game to practicing reading Chinese characters. 

Bibliography

 We have collected a few resources to help with language. They include
from Peng's Chinese Radicals


from Chineasy
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