Dr. House wrote:Thank you, guys. On a side note, is it true that foreign guys who learn the language from girls have artificially higher voice?
Although I have no personal experience, I don't think that should be the case unless the foreigner purposely not only mimic the sounds but also the voice of the teacher. That is unlikely though. This also assumes the foreigner has no exposure to the language besides the teacher. Point is, it's not impossible, but not likely IMO.
Dr. House wrote:EDIT: I know the best way to learn Chinese is to go to China or Taiwan, but since I don't have that option for now, do you think it's possible to learn some substantial Mandarin at home? Maybe using Skype to check up on my errors? Or is it futility?
Of course. Learning a language is all about environment. My non-Chinese wife for example speaks Mandarin very well now after learning from me and practicing with my other family members. Yes, she has travelled to both China and Taiwan with me before but we never stayed for more than two weeks. On a related note, she does tell me that when she was in China or Taiwan, she felt like her Chinese skills increased significantly and she felt like she understood more.