Is learning Mandarin under these circumstances a good idea?

Moderator:OldBoring

User avatar
Skai
Posts:3
Joined:2012-03-25, 0:19
Real Name:Taylor Allred
Gender:male
Location:Bristol
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Is learning Mandarin under these circumstances a good idea?

Postby Skai » 2012-03-25, 0:52

Hello Unilang,
I have been studying Japanese for the past few years and I recently got the chance to work with a group of Japanese exchange students which for me was very much like an immersion. After that I really believe I got a truly great understanding of Japanese conversation and I was able to speak quite fluently. I am still studying though. This summer I'm heading to Beijing for two weeks and I really want to take some time to get a good understanding of the language before I go, mostly because I have some experience with it and the language really does intrigue me. Would it be smart to throw in another language into my head so soon or do I have a chance at retaining the information of both languages and be able to file them properly. Also, if there are any good materials for learning Mandarin out there that you know know of I would really like something to study with, I like to focus on grammar and conversation primarily.
Thank you.
Last edited by Skai on 2012-03-25, 18:49, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Pangu
Posts:429
Joined:2010-05-05, 11:23
Gender:male
Country:USUnited States (United States)

Re: Is learning Mandarin under these circumstances a good idea?

Postby Pangu » 2012-03-25, 2:00

Skai wrote:Would it be smart to through in another language into my head so soon or do I have a chance at retaining the information of both languages and be able to file them properly.

That depends mostly on you. Some people are able to speak multiple languages fluently while others may only able to speak one. So if you feel like you are more linguistically gifted then I say go for it as that's the only way to expand yourself instead of sticking to whatever language(s) you are used to/comfortable with.

Skai wrote:Also, if there are any good materials for learning Mandarin out there that you know know of I would really like something to study with, I like to focus on grammar and conversation primarily.
Thank you.

There are plenty of Mandarin learning resources both online and offline. It's hard to pin one (or even just a few) down and say "don't even bother with others". It also depends on how you learn best too. Depending on where you live, you may not have trouble finding native Mandarin speakers.

zhouhaochen
Posts:8
Joined:2012-06-05, 4:26
Gender:male
Location:Beijing

Re: Is learning Mandarin under these circumstances a good idea?

Postby zhouhaochen » 2012-06-06, 3:46

I would say it is definitely worth learning Mandarin - but then if you never want to come again, then you should approache the subject very differently.
If you want to achieve fluency, you should at the beginning focus a lot on your tones and pronunciation, which will slow you down for learning how to speak.
If you however just want to come on holiday and be able to communicate a bit, then focus on sentence structures (My name is, how much is this etc.).
There are loads of resources out there on the web to learn, if you let us know what exactely you are looking for I think people could provide some more assitance.
An interesting article in a British newspaper about full immersion is http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/artsa ... engde.html


Return to “Chinese (中文)”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests