Let’s Not Learn Chinese
I don’t like learning new languages*. I believe it is a waste of time as you can communicate in English with nearly everybody, so why waste mental energy? Or at least it was the lie I have been telling myself for many years.
The reality is that I find language learning extremely difficult. However, two weeks ago, I arrived in Hong Kong for my university studies and as I will stay here for four years I decided to challenge myself to learn Chinese. Fortunately, it is the easiest language on earth!
Know Your Enemy
Well after landing in Hong Kong, one of the first things I have learned was that there is not one Chinese. Chinese is a mother language containing dialects which are forms of it; Mandarin is spoken in mainland China and Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong. Simply, they are written the same but have different pronunciation and there are some little differences in vocabulary and grammar.
Also in written format, there is traditional and simplified Chinese. For example, according to Google Translate “test” is “測試” in traditional Chinese and “测试” in the simple form. For now, I am not sure which characters are different as I don’t know any of them.
So before learning Chinese, I needed to decide which Chinese to learn.
I decided to go with the simplified version with Mandarin tongue. Why?
- Well, it is simplified
- Mandarin is spoken by more people and it became mandatory in Hong Kong school system in the 1990s
- Duolingo offers it
How?
The hardest part was probably to motivate myself but I still need an intelligent study plan to learn Chinese easily. I get very lazy if I feel like working hard so I always try to use strategies that makes me feel like I am cheating on the way.
So, I made some research on the concept of language learning and came up to two people who seem like having valid strategies. Tim Ferriss and Benny Lewis. Tim mainly says that you can induce the language from a very little part of it. For example, he demonstrates how the grammar of any language can be understood in 12 sentences in this video. Benny also supports this view and says that you can use Pareto principal. Which basically means that 80% of spoken language uses 20% of words in that language.
Benny also mentions cognates (loanwords). Cognates are simply the words which exist in more than one language and have the same meaning. Although I first thought that cognates exist in all languages except Chinese, because of its alphabet, a simple Google search showed me that Chinese has loanwords from English.
Another thing Benny tells is that you need to use ‘spaced repetition system’ (SRS). He suggests using Anki’s flashcards with the most used words of the target language. As far as I have understood, SRS is the name of the technique of making repetitions in an intelligent way. Benny states that Anki shows you the words not in the same order but just before you forget them.
Coincidentally, I was reading Talk Like Ted by Carmine Gallo, as I planned to learn Chinese. The book contains much important information but most importantly chapter 8 is about using multi-sensory inputs in your presentation to make it more memorable. There is one paragraph about how the brain can remember information easily if multiple senses are triggered. I will also implement this to my learning journey.
Where To Start?
I am planning to focus on that 20% material to start with. The 12 sentences Tim suggest will be in my curriculum in addition to cognates. I will also make a research on the most used words in Chinese and will focus on them after the above two is completed.
Strategies
I am planning to merge SRS and Talk Like Ted’s point on multisensory experience to prepare flashcards which have an image on one side and the Chinese word on the other side (with the production below the world).** I will also think of / research an algorithm to sort these cards as I study in order to have more effective sessions.
I know Chinese has an interesting alphabet but I will not focus on the characters as this would be boring. Instead, I am hoping to deduct them as I study vocabulary.
To kickstart the grammar I will study the above mentioned 12 sentences on their own. I will also complete daily Duolingo sessions. I believe Duolingo also has an intelligent algorithm so it will aid both my grammar and vocabulary.
Last but not least, I am adding Chinese sub-titles to my YouTube and Netflix content.
It has been a while since I have learned a new language. I am actually excited. I hope I will publish monthly updates of my progress and the new strategies I will try. If you are as excited as I am and planning to start a new language learning journey please leave a comment so that we can share our experiences.
* If it is not a programming language.
** I may also develop a basic mobile application for incorprating sound into the flash cards.
