When Ava was just three years old, she started coming home from pre-school spouting off words, phrases, even songs in Chinese, which to be honest, I thought was merely 'toddler gibberish'. That is, until we were out to dinner one night, and a friend pointed out the seemingly un-obvious, to me, “You know she’s counting to ten in Mandarin, right?” “Er, what?!” In Hong Kong, they like to start school at a young age; competition is fierce and in such a heavily populated metropolis it’s believed, education is the key to success. Born in the fragrant harbour, at the tender age of two and a half my daughter’s class had both a full time English teacher and full time Mandarin teacher. At parent-teacher interviews, the Mandarin teacher attempted to explain Ava’s progress in Mandarin. "Say what?!" I knew I had to up my game, so I enrolled myself in online Mandarin classes. (I wrote about the beginning of that journey here.) It was just as well, because within a year, we moved to the middle of China, where, unlike Hong Kong, English was rarely spoken. For someone who spoke only one language (and a handful of school French phrases), learning Mandarin (one of the world’s most complex languages) was suddenly at the top of our entire family’s ‘to do’ list, even the hoteliers! My Small Person, who was at an international school had Mandarin lessons four times a week during our two and a half years in Xi'an, and for the most part, detested them! I soon learned she was much happier getting in on my weekly tutored lessons, where our young, enthusiastic teacher 'Vera' played games and did craft with her, in Chinese. She also had a great friendship with our Chinese babysitter where the benefits were mutual. Ava would teach the babysitter English and she would teach her Mandarin. Despite my skepticism, everyone told me she really could understand Chinese. Actually in the end, we made quite a formidable team. She was far better at understanding, and I found it easier, speaking Mandarin. After seven years away, we're back in Sydney and to be honest, I’m a little surprised, despite Mandarin being the most commonly spoken language in the world (with over one billion speakers), it’s still only taught in a handful of Aussie schools. Australia might lay claim to being one of the most multicultural countries in the world, yet learning a second language is still not compulsory in many primary schools. For those schools that take it upon themselves, the language of choice is predominately French, German, Indonesian or Spanish; or in my daughter’s case, Italian (which just quietly, she loves!) Research tells us, learning any language at any age is beneficial and learning a language as a child, should almost be a rite of passage. Author of ‘Why Bilinguals Are Smarter’ says, “Evidence suggests the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called 'executive function' — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks.” Sounds impressive?! A study from Pennsylvania State University has found learning a foreign languages provides a competitive edge in career choices, enhances listening skills and memory, and improves the knowledge of one's own language. Multilingual people, especially children, are skilled at switching between two systems of speech, writing, and structure. As an added bonus, according to Macquarie University’s Senior Lecturer in Literacy in a Multicultural Society, Dr Robyn Moloney, says, “After learning a secondary language, subsequent languages are easier to learn - patterns can be recognised a lot faster.'' So no matter what language my now six year old is learning, be it Italian, French or Spanish, for now, I’m pretty happy. But, still, we’re keeping up the Mandarin. For her and for me! (The hotelier on the other hand has called it a day, and I can hardly blame him!) Some friends have asked, why we don’t we just let it go, now that we’re back on Aussie soil? Touche! “It’s a pretty tough language, isn’t it?” They query. And yes, it bloody is! Sometimes I'd rather poke sticks in my eye than have a lesson. The same word can mean four different things, depending on the tone you use! Chinese people will even admit to being confused by their own language! (Not kidding!) We definitely don’t need it the minute we step foot outside our front door anymore, or do we? In 2017, China is Australia's biggest trading partner. By 2020, Chinese visitors to Australia are expected to top the one million mark and pump as much as $13 billion a year into the national economy. Yep! One thing’s for sure, it’s the Asian Century and our Zhonguo Ren friends aren’t going away. Consider this: At the moment only eight per cent of the country’s 1.4 billion people actually own a passport. You don’t have to be a mathematician to work out what’s going to happen as the growing (wealthy) middle class increases. There are still millions of Chinese who’ve never travelled outside of China. Speaking at a recent ACRI ‘in conversation’ event I went to, Colin Mackerras, Australian Professor at Griffith University, said learning about Chinese culture and the language should be regarded as an asset. “There is an emerging Middle Class in China and it’s going to have a big impact on the world, I don’t think we’ve seen anything like it in history.” Australia China Business Council president, John Brumby says, "The booming Chinese middle class is attracted to Australia for tourism and education, based in part on the clean air, orderly cities and desire of wealthy parents to provide the best for their children." Having spent two years in an often extremely polluted Xi’an, where chaos reigns supreme and education is everything, he’s on the money. There are also increasing numbers of Chinese students coming Down Under to study. According to the Australian China Relations Institute, 140,000 to be precise! This new generation is a curious bunch, keen to see what the Western world they’ve often only ever seen in movies or on television shows like ‘Friends’ (it’s one of the few western shows they’ve been able to have access to) is really all about. So, why the resistance to teaching Mandarin in schools? Even the federal government says we should “promote, protect and even privilege the learning of Chinese in our schools.” The front page of the London Times ran the headlined story ‘Ni hao! The British school where half the day is in Mandarin.’ The theme - parents are hoping to ‘future proof’ their children at a prep school that immerses pupils in Chinese. It’s well documented that we have a natural ability to learn languages more easily at a young age. Professor of second-language acquisition at the University of Maryland, Robert DeKeyser, believes the ability to absorb a new language effortlessly begins to decline by the age of six. Having studied Mandarin alongside my six year old, I know which one of us has had an easier time picking up the language! Even so, I still get howls of protest when it’s time for lessons. To make it more fun, I’ve engaged a uni student from China’s far north to come over to our place and effectively play games in Chinese, and have a chat to me in Chinese afterwards. I figure as long as she doesn't hate it, i'm on track, for now, anyway. Chinese strongly believe in the proverb: “Shou ren yi yu buru shou ren yi yu!” You’ll know it as, “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach him to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” So while my small person likes to complain about “yet another Chinese lesson”, I plan to do everything in my power to make sure she’s ‘future proofed.’ … [Read more...]
Spoken Like a True Expat: Learning Chinese!
What's the first question you ask Google madly, when you find out you're moving to another country? For me, "Do they speak my language?" is up there with the best of them! And what's the one question I get asked by friends and acquaintances who now know I've moved overseas and immersed myself in the Orient? How much Chinese can I speak? Oh yes, that old chestnut; the expat's nemesis! My answer usually involves my eyes quickly averting (shamefully) to the ground. I hear myself stammering,"umm, errrr not much I'm afraid - ok just taxi lingo - you know, Jik Hui, Lee Doe, N'goi (Go straight/Stop here, Thank you)!" Then I mutter something about not really needing to and how you can get by 'perfectly fine' in Hong Kong, without Chinese. Thank you very much! Repeat, Perfectly. Fine. Which is absolutely true! You can. (Tip: Head further north to the Mainland and you've got buckley's!) But, oh how there are those days, when I'd LOVE to know how to speak a little more of the native language rather than screeching at my seemingly impervious taxi driver, "Stop here!" (Sometimes with added expletives.) It seems the longer you live here, the LESS you try to learn and the less, it seems, you care! Expats are such a Laissez Faire bunch aren't they! When I first arrived in the frenzied financial hub of the East, I remember being mildly shocked that some friends had been living amongst the delectable Dim Sum and dazzling dancing dragons of Hong Kong for almost five years and yet knew little more Chinese than I did. Huh? But how can that be, I pondered into my Jasmine tea (embracing my new oriental environment with a naive enthusiasm). I frantically Googled where to learn Cantonese and then wondered if I should learn Mandarin instead? Or both! I won't survive here, without learning Chinese, I shuddered. But all and sundry put me off…. Understandably, there's a gentle whiff of 'negative attitude' wafting through the expat air when it comes to embracing the native lingo. "You'll never be able to learn it unless you're forced to speak it," they implored. "You don't need it." "It's REALLY difficult." "Did you know there are tones. Four in Mandarin and NINE for Cantonese. Impossible!" And, "Have you seen those Chinese characters? Talk about complex." (FYI there are around 80,000 characters and to get through a Chinese newspaper, you need to know about 3000! Woaahhh..) Copyright: simlik / 123RF Stock Photo One-fifth of the world's population, speak some form of Chinese as their first language. Cantonese is primarily spoken in Hong Kong, but Mandarin (or Putonghua) is spoken on a more global level. In those early days not speaking the local language mattered to me. Sitting in a hair salon not being able to communicate exactly how I wanted my hair (first world problems) or ask the hairdresser where he lives (no I wasn't trying to stalk him, though he is cute). Getting my nails done while the 'girls' bantered in Chinese all around me (probably about the Gweilo and her insatiable demands) was frustrating! Catching a taxi, heading in the wrong direction, unable to tell the driver where I wanted to go was often torturous! The very idea of catching a cab with a new baby, alone, would have me sweating pools of water for days in advance! While, many, many Hong Kongese speak English and speak it exceptionally well, for a lot of locals, it's limited to basic conversation level. If you want to get any deeper, you'll go round and round in circles and usually end up smiling politely, both parties none the wiser for your efforts. I've given up trying to explain to my ever so lovely hairdresser, "I'd like a less 'gold' slightly more 'ash' tone through my hair and if you could just blow dry it without so much of the 'Bold and the Beautiful' volume, that'd be bonza mate!" Our conversation is mostly limited to "Hi and how are you?" (Big toothy smiles.) "Are you busy?" With the odd (throw caution to the wind) chat about going on holidays (and more often than not, in the end realizing we are talking about two completely different places! What it's Yantian not Vietnam! Oh). As for the taxis, I now know enough about the geography to gesture madly or simply get out and walk…. and I know there are places to catch taxis and places to avoid! As for the constant stream of Chinese conversations going on around me… these days as a more often than not brain dead sleep-deprived mother, I've come to appreciate it as a great opportunity to, quite frankly, tune out. Thankfully, interpreting those incomprehensible characters is generally not required with most signs in Hong Kong in both English and Chinese, making for an incredibly easy city to navigate, sans the native language. But…(there is always a but) whilst I'd long given up hope of learning anything remotely oriental to dazzle you with, my 3.5 year old daughter - who is now in nursery class at school - has two teachers, one who is solely mandarin speaking! She's started coming home spouting off words, phrases and songs, supposedly in Chinese. Well, to be honest, it was that or gibberish and telling the difference for me, was nigh impossible! In fact, out to dinner one night, a friend pointed out to me, "You know she's counting to ten in Mandarin?" "Say what!!?" At the parent-teacher interview (yes they do those for three year olds here) the Mandarin teacher was trying to explain Ava's progress IN Mandarin. Shoot! And so…it began. The Gods heard and clearly realized an intervention on my Chinglish was required. I ironically had some inquiries about collaborating on this very site with some local language schools and before I knew it, I was logging-in 'online' for my first ever lesson in Mandarin. I know, I'm just as baffled. SO…my original thoughts were to put myself through the paces, mainly in the name of #blog research (naturally with my curiosity levels piqued at just how hard it would be). I'd do a few lessons in a few different formats to gauge the best learning tools and environments out there and regale you all with the best options for YOU. Honestly, I was a little anxious about the online classes, very skeptical about how well it could actually work. I didn't even really 'get' how it could. Some sort of course you loosely navigate your way through between bouts of lazy procrastination? With Beijing Mandarin it was a case of being sent an email to join the class about ten minutes before. Being technically challenged I wasn't sure how I'd get myself in to the class (it's amazing what happens when you follow the instructions). Voila! I was in and there LIVE (just like Skype) was the sweet smiling Michelle - ready for action! We jumped straight into the Wo Shi Nicole and Ni Hao Ma?…. I thought it would be awkward, stilted and difficult to understand. Michelle had headphones on and suggested I get some too but reassuringly I've found it perfectly clear and easy to understand, without. (Don't want to ruin the hair-do, do we!) The classes are 45 minutes and I'll admit, they are intense. After my first one, my head was threatening to spin off my stiff and strained neck, in fact I needed a stiff drink! I don't think my brain had worked that hard since French in high school (no wait, French was my best subject, this was more like economics)! But I was also elated. By the end of it I could say, "Hello, How are you? I'm very good thank you." The basic greetings and name all of my family members. (Even you Poppy!) Of course, I'm not going to be able to sit down and rattle away, fluently in Chinese about the ins and outs of the current political climate; like any language I imagine, unless you are immersing yourself in the middle of said country, it's not going to be a sure thing …. but baby steps, are currently walking the talk. I've even practiced Chinese with my girl AND mysteries have been unravelled! I finally realized the song she sings constantly around the house is the Chinese version of her end of the day "goodbye" song. Huzzah! Progress! High fives all round sister! Mind you, she did get a little over excited at practicing with mummy and started peppering her Wo Hen Hao's with "mintmochamusings dot com!" (Have I really brainwashed her to say that!?) But in all seriousness, it's a win win - hopefully it helps refresh the little bits she's learning at school in her mind too. I even found myself chiming in smugly, saying "good bye" in Mandarin to the teacher! Check me out, sista!! (Struts out of the classroom!) I also went to a group lesson. Ok, so definitely not feeling as smug out in the big wide world!! Live it China is an umbrella platform for all sorts of Chinese learning opportunities. They embrace many schools, including Beijing Mandarin and another called Celebrity Mandarin (you know how much I love a Hollywood theme) which is where I ended up one Thursday evening in downtown Central - oh yes, in the midst of a Mandarin Challenge!! (I registered the words "for the super ambitious" and clearly got a little carried away, imagining myself at this superior level!) Oh yes! They were beginners alright, but with quite a few more lessons tucked neatly under their celebrity belts, than I. We were talking tones, the time and full on 'round the table' fast and furious conversations. Did somebody say, "I'll have a round of cocktails please!" There is the small but persistent issue in Chinese of one word having many meanings, depending on the tone. They say it helps if you are musical. Unfortunately musical ability and I are about as compatible as chocolate and fruit. I was so obviously in another league, but with a clever and fantastically patient teacher and two capable and easy going class mates we battled through and I let my head inhale as much of the Chinese mother tongue as I could. I emerged totally overwhelmed, but the adrenalin was pumping! This challenge is three months of intensive 'one on one' lessons, group lessons and weekend catch ups with language partners. If you need to learn Chinese and learn it fast, this is the place for you! They are fun, friendly and first rate. As much as I'd like it to be the place for me, sadly at the moment, it's not….BUT with six lessons under my belt plus this liberating group lesson, I've realized it's not quite as daunting as I'd always anticipated. It's also (surprise surprise) rather enjoyable! The best part is there are a limited number of sounds in Chinese. To give you an example, there are around 1200 syllables, where as in English there are over 8000! Chinese grammar also appears pretty straightforward. (Yep! You read that right.) Plus there's an amazing little thing called the Pinyin which converts the word into a phonetic spelling! Winning!! So guess what? I have decided to continue with my lessons, albeit at a slightly slower, more measured pace, for now. (In future, I may hook up with a Language Partner to help with the progression and if I'm game, go back to a group lesson or three.) Whatever stage you're at, it's possible. Dare I say it, I am feeling empowered! (Just call me powerful Chinese dragon woman!) Stay tuned….I promise to keep you "posted" in all senses of the word (and characters...and tones).... Pssst....if you see me on the street, promise you won't start conversing in Chinese. ;) If you're interested in stepping off the plank and learning Chinese with me, here are a few great places to start. LIVE IT CHINA http://www.liveitchina.com/ BEIJING MANDARIN http://www.beijingmandarin.com/ CELEBRITY MANDARIN http://www.celebritymandarin.com/ FLUENT U … [Read more...]