Unlearning incorrect grammar?

[iampo0kie]

I'm an Asian-American, and for the past 17 years of my life I've given no consideration whatsoever to Mandarin, though my entire family speaks it fluently. Sure, I went to school for like seven years, and had a tutor for the couple years after that, but I didn't have any dedication. Like most of my other peers, I pretty much just cheated on tests to reach 7th grade level, but I really could only say things like "More rice" and "I need to pee". The only skill that I have a grasp on is listening, I very easily understand other people though I can't understand the news or radio well (likely due to the less common/political terminology they use).

Now, though, I'm determined to become fluent. I've got my old textbooks, my parents, flashcards... The problem is that, the day this determination set in me, I searched up some basics and realized my understanding of Chinese grammar is COMPLETELY off the mark. I've read up on a lot of language learning guides, and I'm concerned because according to them now my neural pathways have been paved in the complete opposite direction of fluency. The funny thing is that I've logged in many thousands of hours of passive learning but I've never internalized correct grammar structure. And the real problem might be that I've always felt awkward while speaking Chinese, but now when any Chinese comes out of my mouth it feels wrong. Even if it's correctly said.

In your opinion, what would be the best way to go about correcting my bad understanding of grammar?

[creamyhorror]

What makes you think your understanding of grammar is wrong? You might not be used to speaking at all, and that will take a *lot* of practice, but that doesn't mean your grammar is wrong, just that you might not be that used to forming sentences with what you know.

Understanding and production are two different aspects of language learning, after all. They're related but you need to work on both (and so far in your life it's largely been understanding that you've been doing).

[jbradfor]

What makes you think your understanding of grammar is wrong?

Based on "I searched up some basics and realized my understanding of Chinese grammar is COMPLETELY off the mark. I've read up on a lot of language learning guides".

But I think @creamyhorror has a good point. Before you worry too much, ask a native speaker (e.g. your parents, a tutor) for an honest opinion on how bad it is. From my understanding of language acquisition, since you learned Mandarin via listening to native speakers when you were young, I would be surprised if your grammar is really that bad.

[xiaotao]

It's not unusual to find born abroad Chinese or speak or write Chinese in English-like grammar. Not every Chinese parent goes out of their way to teach their kids Chinese because they feel that English is more important. Good news is, it's not too late to work on improving your Chinese and you should have a big advantage since you have a grasp of Chinese already. You should keep it mind, with so many different dialects in China, it's good that one is able to communicate even though it's in less than perfect Chinese. People sometimes criticize the mandarin spoken by other Chinese. I haven't met a person from China that speaks non accented perfect English.

[anonymoose]

I wouldn't worry about grammar too much. I mean, most native speakers of Chinese don't even realise Chinese has grammar.

I'm not sure how basic your Chinese is, but you probably have a headstart on pronunciation over most learners.

I'm not in your situation as I don't have any Chinese heritage, but my advice would be just to start learning like you would any other foreign language. Practice as much as you can, and try to apply the grammar rules consciously to get used to the feel of the proper language. I'm guessing here, but I suspect your background gives you a lot more of a foundation than you're aware of. You'll probably find that things fall into place quite quickly.

[iampo0kie]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I do have a headstart on pronunciation, but unfortunately my grammar is very "zao gao" according to Mommy dearest. Anyway, I'll be sure to emphasize grammar whilst learning.

[Hofmann]

Or maybe you speak a different dialect from what is taught in textbooks.

For example, I grew up speaking Cantonese. One day I saw a page on Wikipedia (but of course, it's Wikipedia, which has lots of BS in it) that said something about how to talk about giving things to "me" in Cantonese. If I were to say "Give me more rice," it would be "畀我多尐飯," but the editor of that page might say it's "畀多尐飯我," which I would never say.