A Normal Persons Guide to becoming Fluent in Chinese

[Insectosaurus]

10 minutes ago, 杰.克 said:

"A Genius Polygot's Guide to becoming Fluent in Chinese"

 

I just want to make clear I don't think it's about being a genius (a word I rarely, if ever, use). I think it's about hours spent, and I think I've made that pretty clear by now. And I still think "it's gonna take ten years" is just as demotivating as "it's going to take 6 months" (a figure I haven't seen thrown around much here or anywhere else). Language learning takes time and effort, that's really all one neeeds to get a grip on.

[杰.克]

4 minutes ago, timseb said:

Language learning takes time and effort, that's really all one neeeds to get a grip on.

 

Finally！

[PerpetualChange]

If there's a problem with this thread and the various alternatives mentioned, it's this: there is no "normal", there is only what applies to you. Some people are studying Chinese as a full-time effort after already learning a few other languages. Some people are studying Chinese for 30 minutes per day and have no previous language experience. Some people will have the opportunity for immersion. Others will not. And so on. 

 

What is "normal" and how long you'll take to get proficient in Chinese depends entirely on who you are and what you are able to do given your current life situation and background. 

[杰.克]

On 8/31/2020 at 3:43 PM, 杰.克 said:

This is generalised. It's not my path, it probably wont be yours. There will be outliers and exceptions that do it much quicker/slower.

 

The title is intentionally misleading. There is no guide to becoming fluent in mandarin. Fluent - is such a varied and changing word. We all have our own interpretations of what this means. It's really amorphous. There are no fixed levels of fluency. There is no socially fluent, work fluent etc. It's not an achievement on xbox that you either have or don't have. The aim of this thread, is hoping people aren't so hard on themselves, and realise progress takes time. To relax and enjoy it, rather to constantly worry, I should be "fluent" by this point.

 

Agreed! Everyone has their own path! So many variables to take into account. So relax somewhat, enjoy it ?

[mandarynski]

On 9/1/2020 at 10:48 AM, Moshen said:

Sorry, but I know quite a few people who are fluent in several languages and cannot easily translate from one to another

I'm definitely one of them. It's as if, for each language, I had a different persona and a separate compartment in my brain! Of course, I can translate from one into another but to reach the standard implied, I feel, I'd need further specialised training.

[mandarynski]

On 9/2/2020 at 9:24 PM, timseb said:

I don't see why it would be impossible. Hours spent are way more interesting than years spent.

Yes, it's the hours and not years, Baby. I can confirm that, having started my Mandarin journey in 2009.

[suMMit]

Now there's a Golden Path (tm) to Instant Success (r)! By spending only ten minutes a day, you can become fluent in Mandarin in a matter of months.

 

Opening the gates to the Hippo Campus

Today, I'm proud to announce the opening of the Hippo Campus, a collaboration between 小河马 and Hacking Chinese. It will serve as the official classroom of Hacking Chinese, where students who only want the best of the best can enroll.

The Hippo Campus really offers a a Golden Path (tm) to Instant Success (r). All you need to do is sign up! By spending only ten minutes a day, you can become fluent in Mandarin in a matter of months. This might seem unrealistic to some of you, but 小河马 uses the same method to learn language that Marco Polo did when he learnt more than forty different language in South-East Asia in the 13th century! These techniques were long thought lost, but have recently been rediscovered.

 

https://www.hackingchinese.com/opening-the-gates-to-the-hippo-campus/

 

*I do enjoy reading Hacking Chinese from time to time though.

[jannesan]

*Note: This article was published on April 1st, 2021, indicating that it and the accompanying video are not entirely serious. Most of what I wrote in the article is still true, including the problems with evaluating schools, courses and teachers. Maybe there will be a Hacking Chinese Classroom one day, but it’s not today.

[suMMit]

Haha he got me!