How long did it take you to get to a point of speaking,

[xuechengfeng]

reading, and writing comfortably? Near-fluency if you will?

I've been learning for a year now through my university, and I feel I have a small grasp on the language, but still feel almost helpless despite getting A's in all three courses.

[Guest Yau]

I think it's almost impossible to learn a foreign language remotely. In hongkong, most students started learning english from the age of 3, but only the kids in the english teaching school or international school could manage it. Thanks to foreign maids, today some more young kids can speak fluent english, as it's the only language for them to talk with a maid.

Well, in my case, i guess i can write an understandable passage in english but you can't hear any assimilation from my english. (e.g. I get used to saying "IS THAT YOUR CUP" rather than "Izatcher cup"? ) You can only learn these tricks by living with the natives. No difference between learning english or chinese, i think.

[sfr@rcn.com]

I agree.

However.

If you are a beginner and have a native chinese speaker for a teacher, you have a long ways to go before you need to go to a Chinese-speaking area. Sure, it will take you longer in a class in a Western country, but you'll get some feeling for the spoken and written language.

Sandra

[UC_nostradamus]

My two cents...

I too have been studying Chinese for a year in University, so I can understand what you mean about feeling almost helpless despite getting A's in the courses. I remember that the last day of Chinese class this past year, our teacher, trying to encourage us, said that for us to be able to converse well in Chinese, you'd need about 3 years of study. [Reading and writing are different stories...I think he said something like 7 and 5 years, respectively? I could be wrong...]

But in response to Yau's comments, I learned French pretty fluently here in the United States. I know, French is ALOT easier to learn than Chinese, but I suppose that if I can learn French pretty well remotely, then the same might apply to Chinese, you'd just need alot more effort. What I did with French was to listen to alot of French music, news, tv shows, movies and whatnot....Talking online to people I know there helped, as it helps you get an edge on the slang and internet lingo...

I.e. Qu'est-ce que tu fais? --> Kés ke t'fous?

After a while, I got a hang of the little things that natives do, like....saying "j'suis" instead of "je suis". I think the key is to try to surround yourself in the language. Like I said, this is only from my personal experience with French- Chinese could be completely different, but who knows, it might work...

Good luck!

P.S.- This past year, I had a roommate from France who was quite surprised at the fact that my French was that good, yet I haven't studied in France (not to brag, but just to show you that it did work...)

At which university are you studying Chinese? University of Chicago here...

[shibo77]

Nostradamus... I have been wondering, what does "kikou" mean? I think it means "bienvenu"?

But I cannot find it in the dictionary. Is it just "kikou". Just slang like "cool"?

-Shibo

[Alhazred]

Kikou is actually a very informal form of coucou, which means hi.

[shibo77]

Ao thanks! Coucou to you too!

-Shibo

[Alhazred]

Forgot to add it is somewhat girlish...

[UC_nostradamus]

Alhazred- you beat me to it....

also, you can also use it as the object of a verb, such as "faire coucou" which means to give a wave or to say hi

[Alhazred]

Well, yes, my chinese really does not allow me to take part in most threads here so I jumped on this opportunity to post a little something hehe

[xuechengfeng]

You all have ADD

[shibo77]

Forgot to add it is somewhat girlish...

Now you tell me....

-Shibo

[cancer_moon]

Getting back on track...

It should not take 3, 5, or 7 years to speak fluent Chinese (though reading and writing might take longer). You must practice as much as possible. If you attend a good sized university, there are most likely some native Chinese speakers there. Make friends with them. Go to the library and check out some simple chinese books, if they're available in your area.

University study is a good start, and it's a good way to tie a language together, but it is not real. Real language is in the real world, not in the classroom. Therefore, to get good at any language, you must practice with real people in real situations, reading real advertisements and documents (no matter how simple) and having real conversations.

You must talk to yourself in the language. When you bump into someone, ask yourself, "What would i say in Chinese in this situation?"

Watch television and movies, with and without subtitles--whatever you can get your hands on. Visit Chinese websites. Find a Chinese penpal. Get his number and talk to him or her on the telephone (yes that can be expensive if they actually live overseas, but there are plenty of Chinese speakers wherever you are). Read Chinese comic books.

Find a website where you can listen to Chinese news casts. When you go to a Chinese restaurant, order in Chinese (assuming the servers speak the same dialect you're learning).

If you do that regularly, it will NOT take you three years to learn fluent spoken Chinese. And it will NOT take you seven years to learn written Chinese. Keep up the work, and you'll see results before you know it. Good luck.