問我anything with Adam_CLO

[oceancalligraphy]

We're continuing our 問我anything series with Adam, from www.chineselearnonline.com and readtypechinese.com. 

 

Here are a couple of questions to start:

 

Do you have a favorite Chinese song? If so, what is it?

 

What was the first (or latest) non-academic Chinese book you purchased? As in a book you bought for fun, not a dictionary of textbook.

[Adam_CLO]

Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this!

 

Favorite Chinese song? I actually like stuff by Jay Chou (周傑倫) - he's tried a few different styles, and I like the innovation he's brought to Taiwanese pop music.

 

Regarding Chinese books, I'm not really at the stage where I can read Chinese books for fun (unless kids' books count!)

[oceancalligraphy]

Kid's books definitely count - basically anything that wasn't on a class syllabus.  

[roddy]

You've been running quite some time - how has CLO grown over time? Was it an instant success or were there points at which you thought it might not last? 

[Adam_CLO]

I like bilingual content where I can compare the English content and see how it's translated into Chinese. For kids, I have a fairy tale book (童話親子樂園) with content like this:

 

 

For adult content, there is a local bilingual magazine with articles like this that I can compare:

 

[Adam_CLO]

 

 

You've been running quite some time - how has CLO grown over time? Was it an instant success or were there points at which you thought it might not last? 

 

I wouldn't say "instant success" but there was enough traction in the beginning to give me motivation to continue, as there were only a couple of other podcasts teaching Mandarin, back in 2006 when I first launched. Things would be very different if I was to have launched now, as there is so much more competition these days.

 

Growth would probably be much better if I was a better marketer. The people who use the product seem to really like it, but most people out there haven't heard of it, so there's still a lot of work to be done.

[roddy]

Ha ha, that sounds similar to myself - we got started in 2003. I wouldn't want to try and create a site like this again today without a full-time employee or two and a chunky budget. Similarly on marketing - I don't do any. Imagine if we teamed up and went 50-50 on a marketing professional, we'd be unstoppable!

[Adam_CLO]

Let's do it! 

[Shelley]

What do you in your spare time not connected with Chinese?

 

If you are not yet reading Chinese books for fun, what books in English do you read for fun?

 

Do you take part in the podcasts or are you are a "behind the scenes" guy? (sorry not listened to the podcasts, this is my introduction to your podcasts)

 

What motivated you to take part in this Q&A?

[Adam_CLO]

What do you in your spare time not connected with Chinese?

 

I'm a father of two young kids, so that keeps me pretty busy these days. No more time for hobbies. 

 

If you are not yet reading Chinese books for fun, what books in English do you read for fun?

 

When I had time to do so, I liked books from Dan Brown and James Rollins. Books that combined fictional storytelling with technology or some sense of truth.

 

Do you take part in the podcasts or are you are a "behind the scenes" guy? (sorry not listened to the podcasts, this is my introduction to your podcasts)

 

 

 

I do all the English parts, leaving the Chinese parts to the native speakers. I wrote most of the dialogs myself though, and just got them edited by native speakers. Interestingly, I would sometimes put in jokes that I found funny but that native Chinese speakers didn't - perhaps western humor or sarcasm that they didn't get. Since my audience is mainly western, I left them in there, just to keep the content interesting.

 

The idea behind the course is that it's progressive - so later lessons reuse Chinese that was taught earlier. This way you're constantly reviewing older material, while it gets harder. I'd learn something in class, or in the streets, then teach it in the course. 

 

As we got to more advanced lessons, I'd sometimes stop one of the speakers in the recording studio, if she used a word I didn't know, since that meant we hadn't taught in the course before.

 

What motivated you to take part in this Q&A?  

 

I thought it would be a good way to reveal some of the behind the scenes info about the course. Many people find it odd that I'm teaching Chinese, rather than English, since I'm not a native Chinese speaker. Personally I think that's one of the strengths of the course, since I can focus on the parts that English speakers would find difficult about learning Chinese.

[OneEye]

Many people find it odd that I'm teaching Chinese, rather than English, since I'm not a native Chinese speaker.

 

I hear you there. I get this question all the time, even from good friends who should know better: "So, you're making a dictionary. To teach English, right?" Yes, I moved to Taiwan and studied my butt off taking graduate courses in the Chinese department so I could...teach English? In what universe does that make sense?

 

What's it like raising kids in Taiwan?

[roddy]

And has all your Chinese experience been in Taiwan? Any time spent on the mainland, or interest in doing so? Always good to hear people's views of the contrast (and perhaps in this case, business environment). 

[Adam_CLO]

 

 

What's it like raising kids in Taiwan?

 

That's a great question. There's obviously a big difference in culture here, versus out west. There's a lot more pressure on academics here, with most kids enrolled in cram schools on evenings and weekends. However I found a different kind of pressure in Canada (when I went there this summer), with most of my friends' toddlers there already enrolled in sports, music instruction or other formal extra curricular activity at such an early age. Somewhere in there is a proper balance that I'll need to decide.

 

 

 

And has all your Chinese experience been in Taiwan? Any time spent on the mainland, or interest in doing so? 

 

So far, yes (outside of a few trips to Hong Kong). Since I now have family here, we'll always have some presence here. However I certainly expect to make trips into the mainland at some point.

[roddy]

What about your (parental, etc) family - have they been out to Taiwan? Is there any pressure or hope that you'll move back home?