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How I study a foreign language.
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I treat Chinese like I treated English. I hated learning the rules of English in school (1958-1970 plus college), but as I grew older I learned I like to write. I hated studying spelling and learning the rules of grammar. So, I just wrote!
When I first started learning Chinese in Feb. 2004, I quickly decided to not study the language in the traditional way. One reason I did this is that I had no teacher. I did not know any native speakers. So I used language tapes to listen to the language and gave up on reading, grammar, and the rules of using Chinese.
Time passed. Now I can use simple Chinese sentences and sometimes read what others write to me in short sentences. I have taken an amazing leap from that point to trying to translate scientific research papers from Chinese to English.
When I was learning English and went to college, I didn't know I had a learning disability. I have dyslexia. So when I learned to read, I often reversed letters I saw in words and often complete words and phrases. My first wife hated to listen to me read. "You don't read what is written in the book," she complained. She spoke correctly. In 1970, when I started college, I could only read 100 words a minute. So it was not surprising that in 9th grade, when I took a class in typing, I could not type 150 words a minute like other students. I couldn't read that fast. I could only type 35 words a minute. I did so much reading in college that, when I finished college, I could read 400 words a minute! I didn't gain speed because I studied grammar or spelling. I gained speed because I did a lot of reading.
The same thing happened with typing. I can now talk to someone and type something else at the same time. Why? Because I'm a writer and get a lot of practice writing and typing.
I've discovered I can do the same thing with the Chinese language. If I use it every day, I will learn it.
I have one major advantage when translating scientific literature. I'm a scientist! When I started college, I tried to read a few scientific journals. I found many research papers unitelligible. Why? For two reasons. My reading skills were still poor. And I didn't know the scientific terminology.
Now, when I try to read Chinese scientific literature I have advantages I didn't have in the past. Yes, my reading skills are better and I understand the scientific terms. But I also have the internet! I can use a variety of websites to translate Chinese characters. I can break down Chinese words, like 电脑 or "electric brain." If I had to look up 电脑 in a paper dictionary, I'd be lost! Even if I could find the words 电 and 脑 I probably couldn't find 电脑 or scientific terms.
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Post comment Comment (25 replies)
- Reply bluebird
- I couldn't read or type fast, too. But I find I can improve the speed when concentrating. Practice and concentration are important indeed.
Chinese call the computer as 电脑 traditionally. Its more formal name is 计算机.
- Reply sedgehead
- bluebird: I couldn't read or type fast, too. But I find I can improve the speed when concentrating. Practice and concentration are important indeed.Interesting. I had not heard of 计算机 before. Which is used informally, like in an email or instant message or like in this note??
Chinese cal
- Reply kingcrimson
- 计算机 is the more formal and stricter term used in place of 电脑. 计算 means to compute, to calculate and 机 refers to a machine. Some may also use 微机 (literally means micro-machine) as the scientific term of computers, but this word is obsolescent to some degree.
- Reply sedgehead
- kingcrimson: 计算机 is the more formal and stricter term used in place of 电脑. 计算 means to compute, to calculate and 机 refers to a machine. Some may also useThanks! Someone told me about 计算机 the other day, but I had forgotten the term!
English: In this context say "obsolete."
- Reply sayuri
- I like read your article because there are many positive thinking. I always become more active after read your blog. You are a positive person and you can stick to your goal. I always complain my English is too poor, I think this is beacasue I don't study hard and don't find the right way to study it. I think I can success in English and you will success in Chinese. Fighting!
- Reply sedgehead
- sayuri: I like read your article because there are many positive thinking. I always become more active after read your blog. You are a positive person and you很好的英文：I think we can both succeed! Fight for it!
- Reply cynthia_yin
- language is a tricky thing,i always get lost in the process of learning
- Reply claire-m
- So many people have the same feeling that learning foreign language is a different thing. But your blog shared your learning experience and it’s very useful for me. In fact learning foreign Language just like open another door to understand the foreign culture. It’s really a interesting thing. Wish all of us can persist until success.
- Reply jinbiao
- you are great,chinese is very interesting,you will find it in the future,hopefully you can make great progress in chinese
- Reply wangxiaoqinqq
- In some degree,boy isn't good at speaking,but they just like you ,always like to think and good at looking for the method,and also you give us a good suggestion about learning English:Practice makes perfect .What's more ,you share the process of learning the chinese and give us a good totic,computer,it is really a good platform for us learn and communacation.Thank you so much.
- Reply sedgehead
- I agree. English hint: use a space after a comma or period. Chinese fonts do not require this. English fonts do.
- Reply sedgehead
- jinbiao: you are great,chinese is very interesting,you will find it in the future,hopefully you can make great progress in chineseSimple suggestions for English: End a sentence with a period. Use a space after a comma or period. Capitalize proper nouns like Chinese.
- Reply sedgehead
- I agree. Learning a language is easy. That is, each step is easy. People think it is hard only because they are not persistent at learning. To learn a language you have to repeat many easy things many times. Persistence is hard, learning is easy.
- Reply Jealousy
- I belive many people can learn something from your experience.You support a way that learning start listening.Usually I make the same mistakes like "电脑 or "electric brain." Difference is I break dnow Chinses words because I don't know what spell this scientific terms in English.So I only break dnow it to translate one to one.
- Reply J-Yinlein
- its gonna to be a little bit hard if u learn Chinese urself and u want to achieve sm high level without any chinese friends, any teacher !! when u said u r trying to read sm chinese article !! i would saying, if u can handle it, it's gd for u to try, however if u dn't hv any chinese base stuff, i mean if u r totally a new learner, i suggest u dn't do that, coz u cn't read the words. Chinese writing and reading is damn hard for u guys, if u cn't write the words, how u gonna to read them while they in the articles. anyway, speaking is far more easy, tho u maybe got really strong accent, that's ok, try to watch the video and follow the speaker !!
- Reply sedgehead
- J-Yinlein: its gonna to be a little bit hard if u learn Chinese urself and u want to achieve sm high level without any chinese friends, any teacher !! when u sai我从2004年开始学习汉语。我听 recordings and language tapes 了。第一我不 try to read. 然后 2010 I joined QQ and started writing and reading Chinese.
- Reply J-Yinlein
- seems u were focus on how to write, cool !! yeah, that's a good way for u to write chinese via qq, tho !!
- Reply Sharer
- Oh~sedgehead! I really get moved by your spirit of non-stop learning. which makes feel so ashamed of myself. and I am learning other language too. but little pregress made for each day. I always make excuses for it. Actually I know I am falling behind. now you are my role model. I'd like draw up a new plan for the study so that I can catch up with u. Hah, Anyway. For the dream of speaking 4 different languages, I need to act at once. Let's move together!
- Reply sedgehead
- Sharer: Oh~sedgehead! I really get moved by your spirit of non-stop learning. which makes feel so ashamed of myself. and I am learning other language too. butYour plan sounds good! I studied German in college, but do not know it very much at all. I later taught myself a little Spanish and can read some and speak some. So, Chinese is my fourth language, but is becoming my best non-English language.
One thing I learned in college is that I never study if I don't keep track of how much time I study. This forces me to do two things! First, if I record the time, it is easy for me to see when I fail to study. Second, if I record the time, it is easy to see if I am studying for 15 minutes or two hours! When I was in college, and I first started recording the time spent studying, I quickly learned I was never studying for more than 10-15 minutes at a time~~~!!!!! I knew right away that I had to change that if I wanted to stay in college.
As for me and learning Chinese, my current goal is to make a little progress each day. This has worked very well for me. I do not record the time I spend studying, but I try to use the language some 天天。 This assures me that I'm improving, even if my progress is slow.
Here's a challenge for you. I read a book recently that tells a similar story. The book was written by a writer of fiction (books of fictional stories). He said, "If you want to learn to write, make sure you write something each day. Some people will say, 'But I don't have time or I can't think of anything to write about.'"
This author had a cure for that! He said, "If you can't think of what to write about, then write 250 words on why you cannot think of anything to write or why you do not have time to write. If you do this, you will quickly decide you can think of things to write."
What is my challenge to you? Simple make a mark on your calender each day when you have completed some studying. If you do not study, leave that day blank (without a mark). This will force you to at least think about studying English (or another language). It will challenge you to make real progress.
If you want to go even further, record how much time you study. When I did this, I recorded only 15 minutes or more. If I studied 25 minutes, I recorded 15 minutes. If I studied 35 minutes, I recorded 30. This forces you to do two things. First, you will be more truthful to yourself. If you don't study, you will know it and want to change it. Second, you will find you decide to keep studying longer. After 25 minutes you will say to yourself, "I need to keep studying for five more minutes so I get credit for 30 minutes. If you keep studying and don't watch the clock, you may forget the time. You may look at the clock and say, "Wow, I not only studied 30 minutes, I studied for 35. If I keep going another ten minutes, I will have studied 45 minutes today!"
These little tricks may not seem like much! But if you do one of them, you will be surprised how much more you study and how much more progress you make.
