Comments on: Active Chinese - Lazy Learners Welcome http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/ The no-nonsense China expat and traveller community. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:43:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Jonas http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-3527 Jonas Mon, 07 May 2007 02:41:03 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-3527 Good reply Sean. I appreciate your need to defend your point of view. Maybe we are all anal in this repect - it seems there is not so much worry on this point amongst Chinese(except maybe in the Beijing centred learning institutions?)What I did find when I engaged a teacher after working through the Activechinese stuff was that Shanghai teachers themselves (mandarin language graduates) get a little fed up with the Beijing/northern vocabulary in texts, and having to handle the retroflex 'r' added as a suffix. Personally I would prefer to learn the language spoken around me rather than aiming for a distant accent. PS - did any of you hear Deng Xiao Ping's Sichuan accent? (no need for a pure Beijing accent for the top job!) While I'm on that point - have you or any of your colleagues come across any Chinese regional dialect material available on the Internet? If you know the owners of Active Chinese, ask them to get their virtual tutor,Angelina, speaking Shanghainese! Good reply Sean. I appreciate your need to defend your point of view.
Maybe we are all anal in this repect - it seems there is not so much worry on this point amongst Chinese(except maybe in the Beijing centred learning institutions?)What I did find when I engaged a teacher after working through the Activechinese stuff was that Shanghai teachers themselves (mandarin language graduates) get a little fed up with the Beijing/northern vocabulary in texts, and having to handle the retroflex ‘r’ added as a suffix.
Personally I would prefer to learn the language spoken around me rather than aiming for a distant accent.
PS - did any of you hear Deng Xiao Ping’s Sichuan accent? (no need for a pure Beijing accent for the top job!)
While I’m on that point - have you or any of your colleagues come across any Chinese regional dialect material available on the Internet? If you know the owners of Active Chinese, ask them to get their virtual tutor,Angelina, speaking Shanghainese!

]]> By: Sean http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-3031 Sean Sun, 22 Apr 2007 10:48:30 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-3031 Jordache This is a common conversation I have with students: -I have a great teacher that would like to teach you English. -Really, who? -He is my friend from Nigeria, he lives near BLCU. -Nigeria, oh no, I would not want to learn from someone that is not a native speaker. -But Nigeria's national language is English. -I would only learn from a native speaker from the US, UK, or Australia, the rest have bad English. -But you need variety in your listening ability, only Londoners speaking English in your tapes all the time is not good. -Bu xing! And on and on. I think you get the general idea. IF people in China can constantly criticize our fluency and pronunciation, I do not see why we cannot too. After all Chinesepod is not free and is a subscription based service that is not cheap. This idea that her Chinese is not so great with the s/sh thing did not come from me. It came from Chinese that are teaching at Beijing Unis for duiwaihanyu. It seems to me that maybe you work with or for them or have some motive other than to tell me I am wrong. I feel I am entitled to my opinion about a product that is for sale. Call me misguided if you want, but it does not change my or other Chinese teachers opinions about her Chinese. Podcasts are great. but one must admit most are put together by amateurs trying to make a little money. Podcast quality is hit and miss at best with a small fraction being of any long lasting quality. Jordache This is a common conversation I have with students:

-I have a great teacher that would like to teach you English.
-Really, who?
-He is my friend from Nigeria, he lives near BLCU.
-Nigeria, oh no, I would not want to learn from someone that is not a native speaker.
-But Nigeria’s national language is English.
-I would only learn from a native speaker from the US, UK, or Australia, the rest have bad English.
-But you need variety in your listening ability, only Londoners speaking English in your tapes all the time is not good.
-Bu xing!
And on and on. I think you get the general idea.

IF people in China can constantly criticize our fluency and pronunciation, I do not see why we cannot too. After all Chinesepod is not free and is a subscription based service that is not cheap.

This idea that her Chinese is not so great with the s/sh thing did not come from me. It came from Chinese that are teaching at Beijing Unis for duiwaihanyu.

It seems to me that maybe you work with or for them or have some motive other than to tell me I am wrong.

I feel I am entitled to my opinion about a product that is for sale. Call me misguided if you want, but it does not change my or other Chinese teachers opinions about her Chinese.

Podcasts are great. but one must admit most are put together by amateurs trying to make a little money. Podcast quality is hit and miss at best with a small fraction being of any long lasting quality.

]]> By: Jordache http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-3025 Jordache Sun, 22 Apr 2007 04:31:05 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-3025 Sean is misguided in his comments about the accent on ChinesePod. It has an occasional touch of the southern to it, but to say it's 'really bad' is absurd. There are 1.3 billion people in China. Only a small percentage of educated Beijingers (an a tiny percentage of the total population) speak stylized, 'perfect' Mandarin. All the rest, including the tens of millions of highly educated people across China, according to Sean, are 'really bad'? Even more importantly, ChinesePod is an effective tool. It works.Picking up on a a minor detail, like a slight variation in accent is so anal. Sean is misguided in his comments about the accent on ChinesePod. It has an occasional touch of the southern to it, but to say it’s ‘really bad’ is absurd. There are 1.3 billion people in China. Only a small percentage of educated Beijingers (an a tiny percentage of the total population) speak stylized, ‘perfect’ Mandarin. All the rest, including the tens of millions of highly educated people across China, according to Sean, are ‘really bad’? Even more importantly, ChinesePod is an effective tool. It works.Picking up on a a minor detail, like a slight variation in accent is so anal.

]]> By: Life In Suzhou China Blog | Adventures of the Humanaught » Blog Archive » Put Down The Chalk & Pick Up The Language http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-3024 Life In Suzhou China Blog | Adventures of the Humanaught » Blog Archive » Put Down The Chalk & Pick Up The Language Sun, 22 Apr 2007 03:56:57 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-3024 [...] ideas, coupled with my use of ChinesePod’s free MP3s, Active Chinese’s cool lessons and a couple of text books I’ll have to dust off… hopefully [...] [...] ideas, coupled with my use of ChinesePod’s free MP3s, Active Chinese’s cool lessons and a couple of text books I’ll have to dust off… hopefully [...]

]]> By: Ryan http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-2606 Ryan Sat, 07 Apr 2007 00:04:00 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-2606 Hey DaShan, that little tongue twister is a good one. I learned it shortly after first starting Chinese studies and haven't played much with it since. Thanks for the reminder. Hey DaShan, that little tongue twister is a good one. I learned it shortly after first starting Chinese studies and haven’t played much with it since. Thanks for the reminder.

]]> By: Da Shan http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-2605 Da Shan Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:48:15 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-2605 Hey! First, the S/sh can be a lot of fun if you relax!!! For exapmle, there is a tongtwister that is tons of fun and will get you a great response from chinese pp. Say in chinese 4 is 4, 10 is 10, 14 is 14 , and 40 is 40...! Try it, if you can say it, your tones are good! No, make fun of your si si taxi driver tell him the tongtwister but withou saying "Sh"! Then ask them from which country they are from, since they can't speak chinese very well! Point is, if you relax, you can actually enjoy the way people speak differently, make fun of them back, and most importantly, MOST CHINESE DON'T say the s/sh well, so if you are able to work with that, you can get by anywhere! Try the tongtwister... only in chinese... Hey! First, the S/sh can be a lot of fun if you relax!!! For exapmle, there is a tongtwister that is tons of fun and will get you a great response from chinese pp.

Say in chinese 4 is 4, 10 is 10, 14 is 14 , and 40 is 40…! Try it, if you can say it, your tones are good!

No, make fun of your si si taxi driver tell him

the tongtwister but withou saying “Sh”!

Then ask them from which country they are from, since they can’t speak chinese very well!

Point is, if you relax, you can actually enjoy the way people speak differently, make fun of them back, and most importantly, MOST CHINESE DON’T say the s/sh well, so if you are able to work with that, you can get by anywhere!

Try the tongtwister… only in chinese…

]]> By: Ryan http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-2302 Ryan Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:47:06 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-2302 Hey Jonas, thanks for stopping by. I've no hangup at all on accent. Not entirely sure what you mean. It was Sean that said he had issues with ChinesePod's Shanghai-twang. I'm not at a level that it matters much to me. You're not sure what Chinese accent you have? You have a Swedish accent mate ;-) Hey Jonas, thanks for stopping by. I’ve no hangup at all on accent. Not entirely sure what you mean.

It was Sean that said he had issues with ChinesePod’s Shanghai-twang. I’m not at a level that it matters much to me.

You’re not sure what Chinese accent you have? You have a Swedish accent mate ;-)

]]> By: Jonas http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-2252 Jonas Sun, 25 Mar 2007 05:47:05 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-2252 Ryan, Your hang-up on accent is strange. I've found this a minor obstacle in any language acquisition. I am Swedish and think I must have a southern Chinese accent. My English has a British English feel to it. Amongst nearly all Europeans and Chinese this is normal - I am not sure if this is consciously preferred or is simply a function of the excellent UK teachers around the world and the country's respected media. Ryan,
Your hang-up on accent is strange. I’ve found this a minor obstacle in any language acquisition. I am Swedish and think I must have a southern Chinese accent. My English has a British English feel to it. Amongst nearly all Europeans and Chinese this is normal - I am not sure if this is consciously preferred or is simply a function of the excellent UK teachers around the world and the country’s respected media.

]]> By: Sean http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-1719 Sean Sat, 17 Mar 2007 02:16:13 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-1719 I too lived in Dalian, not a great level of Mandarin up there. Can you imagine learning English with Snoop Dogg or Ali G? I guess it is my having been in Beijing too long. I have started to think that for language learning kouyin is important. having said that, I long southern Chinese speaking Mandarin. I especially like Guangdongers accent. I too lived in Dalian, not a great level of Mandarin up there.

Can you imagine learning English with Snoop Dogg or Ali G? I guess it is my having been in Beijing too long. I have started to think that for language learning kouyin is important.

having said that, I long southern Chinese speaking Mandarin. I especially like Guangdongers accent.

]]> By: Ryan http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-1712 Ryan Sat, 17 Mar 2007 00:59:46 +0000 http://www.lostlaowai.com/commentary/blog/2007/03/12/active-chinese-lazy-learners-welcome/#comment-1712 你竟敢说朱小姐的坏话! Actually, I've not met a Chinese person yet that says the 'h', in any combination, with distinction. It was particularly bad when I lived in Jinzhou (near Dalian). In my seminal days in China, still struggling with "你好" I often had the following exchange: Them: ni si na guo ren? Me: Huh? Oh... wo sHi jia na da ren. Ni ne? Them: Hahaha... wo si zong guo ren. hahaha. Ni qu nali? Me: Qu huoche zhen. Them: huoche zan. hao. Me: What? nono hOOOwrCHer j-EN. Them: Dui. Huoche zan. Me: Duo qian? Them: sisi kuai Me: Huh? umm... never mind, I'll walk. A similar problem often presents itself in the reverse when Chinese are learning English and after exchanges like the one above, I do understand why they insist on standard 'American' English (like us Canucks speak). 你竟敢说朱小姐的坏话!

Actually, I’ve not met a Chinese person yet that says the ‘h’, in any combination, with distinction.

It was particularly bad when I lived in Jinzhou (near Dalian). In my seminal days in China, still struggling with “你好” I often had the following exchange:

Them: ni si na guo ren?
Me: Huh? Oh… wo sHi jia na da ren. Ni ne?
Them: Hahaha… wo si zong guo ren. hahaha. Ni qu nali?
Me: Qu huoche zhen.
Them: huoche zan. hao.
Me: What? nono hOOOwrCHer j-EN.
Them: Dui. Huoche zan.
Me: Duo qian?
Them: sisi kuai
Me: Huh? umm… never mind, I’ll walk.

A similar problem often presents itself in the reverse when Chinese are learning English and after exchanges like the one above, I do understand why they insist on standard ‘American’ English (like us Canucks speak).

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