language learning

[dichroic]

I'm am American, just about to leave the Netherlands after a year here to move to Taiwan for two years. I've very much enjoyed living here, but there are definitely some annoyances, like the very short shopping hours and having no freezer in our flat. I know those things will be much better in Taiwan - in fact, from what I've heard, most American

Comments

[homasse]

Yeah, that makes it a LOT harder--there are very, very few words in common. One thing that helps me with Japanese, ironically enough, is the characters. It's easy to put a character with a meaning to remember them, and in Chinese, most of the characters have a phonetic component. It's a bit roundabout, but it gives you an extra visual clue to help with things.

The other advice I can give you is to not try and connect things to English--it might sound counterintuitive, but it helps a lot for compartmentalizing the language in your head. Instead of thinking "'dog'='gou3'," work on looking at a dog and saying "gou3" over and over in your head. It takes more effort in the short term, but it pays off a lot in the end. Chinese and English are so different that trying to shoehorn similarities on can be something of an impediment at times.

Definitely pick up a Mandarin CD and textbook (if you learn best by listening, I highly recommend the Pimsleur series, which are all listen-repeat based) and start working a bit before you go--it'll safe you a lot of "OMGWTFBBQ?!" that you might first have if you go to Taiwan cold. I was very, very glad when I first came to Japan and I already had the basics.

[dichroic]

Since I leave tonight, that won't quite work! We do have a listen and repeat book, but it hasn't been that easy to follow. (Cheap one I bought in an airport.) And we will be starting classes as soon as possible.

[homasse]

lol, yeah, that DOES make it difficult. XD If you get a chance, download the Pimsleur stuff (*cough cough mininova cough cough*) until you get a chance to buy it or start up lessons--I tried it for a while, and it's really easy to understand.

And good luck in Taiwan! I've heard it's a really great place, and warm all the time. (And I admit, I'm mildly jealous--my favorite singer is Taiwanese [and a really big star over there], and buying his CDs at import prices in Japan kills me. You'll be getting there right before his newest CD is released, so I daresay you'll be seeing Jay Chou/Zhou Jie Lun's face, well, everywhere. XD */fangirl*)