Language Barrier

[yuan fen]

undefinedThis is not intended to be an advertisement, but...I worked at a school in Zhuhai that taught English and Mandarin. A possible option would be for both partner's to study at the same time.

 

Good comment. I agree.

 

I feel it is not a one-way street. Exposure can be one of the greatest learning tools.

 

Also, for Jie and I, talking on the phone has only accelerated our progress.

 

Plus, hearing her laugh at my attempts is worth millions .A laugh is common in any language. It is very powerful.

[RLS]

undefinedThis is not intended to be an advertisement, but...I worked at a school in Zhuhai that taught English and Mandarin. A possible option would be for both partner's to study at the same time.

 

Good comment. I agree.

 

I feel it is not a one-way street. Exposure can be one of the greatest learning tools.

 

Also, for Jie and I, talking on the phone has only accelerated our progress.

 

Plus, hearing her laugh at my attempts is worth millions .A laugh is common in any language. It is very powerful.

191446[/snapback]

How true. I worked out a whole sentence in Mandarin. I thought I had it nailed. I called my SO and tried it. She didn't understand a word I said. We laughed until it got silly. Oh well, back to the books.

[Rakkasan]

My wife's teacher can either give information on his classes or recommend some near her. Call Mr. Liang at 0771-2806199. Referred by Weihua.

191206[/snapback]

Can you give us an idea of the cost of these classes?

[Guest pushbrk]

My wife's teacher can either give information on his classes or recommend some near her. Call Mr. Liang at 0771-2806199. Referred by Weihua.

191206[/snapback]

Can you give us an idea of the cost of these classes?

192327[/snapback]

I think she pays 40RMB a week for two classes a week but I'm not sure. You can find out with a single phone call.

[winger696969]

Ron

My SO is going to English classes in Nanning and it has improved her English and it was 200 dollars for the classes. She goes from Mon-Fri. from 7pm to 9pm. Hopefully in April she will be here but she will continue until them. I think it was money well spent for our better communication and i have purchased some cd's to try to learn some Chinese. It seems very hard to learn but i am trying to learn some so that our communication is good as a good relationship is based on good communication.

[FuManChu]

Ron,

 

You should give studying Mandarin a try. I self taught myself Mandarin through the pin yin system. Although, I wouldn't say that my pronunciation is perfect, I am able to communicate when I am in China. Communication should be a two way street. Expecting your SO to do all the work isn't too fair Show her that you are willing to give it a try too!

 

Josh

[SheLikesME?]

My wife buys CDs from street vendors that are alwasy at the same place, incase it is bad they will exchange. She also has software that she uses on any written phrase or word that will pronounce it in American or British English. There is translation software I am sure she can buy, as well. She simply studies every night on her computer.

 

Don't know about your SO but mine has a lot of time at work where she can study English on her PC there. A lot of jobs in CHina are not as productive as in America so maybe your SO can practice there.

 

Perhaps her company will give her time off to study English and maybe even pay for the lessons. She could ask. May take awhile for aproval but so what.

 

I started taking Chinese at a local college but my wife wants me to improve my grammer, as she has learned her English in a more text book perfect way. Sometimes that is a problem for us, so now she found software for me to brush up on my english before I study Manderin.

[jemmyell]

undefinedThis is not intended to be an advertisement, but...I worked at a school in Zhuhai that taught English and Mandarin. A possible option would be for both partner's to study at the same time.

 

Good comment. I agree.

 

I feel it is not a one-way street. Exposure can be one of the greatest learning tools.

 

Also, for Jie and I, talking on the phone has only accelerated our progress.

 

Plus, hearing her laugh at my attempts is worth millions .A laugh is common in any language. It is very powerful.

191446[/snapback]

How true. I worked out a whole sentence in Mandarin. I thought I had it nailed. I called my SO and tried it. She didn't understand a word I said. We laughed until it got silly. Oh well, back to the books.

192247[/snapback]

Hi Ron,

 

Mandarin is a tonal language (4 tones) with modifiers for rising and falling tones also!

 

It CAN NOT be learned from books! There are websites that will give examples of spoken Mandarin, but there is also a 4 CD Intro from Pimsleur that you can put in your car and work with while you ride around.

 

-James

[dstarsboy]

undefinedThis is not intended to be an advertisement, but...I worked at a school in Zhuhai that taught English and Mandarin. A possible option would be for both partner's to study at the same time.

 

Good comment. I agree.

 

I feel it is not a one-way street. Exposure can be one of the greatest learning tools.

 

Also, for Jie and I, talking on the phone has only accelerated our progress.

 

Plus, hearing her laugh at my attempts is worth millions .A laugh is common in any language. It is very powerful.

191446[/snapback]

How true. I worked out a whole sentence in Mandarin. I thought I had it nailed. I called my SO and tried it. She didn't understand a word I said. We laughed until it got silly. Oh well, back to the books.

192247[/snapback]

Hi Ron,

 

Mandarin is a tonal language (4 tones) with modifiers for rising and falling tones also!

 

It CAN NOT be learned from books! There are websites that will give examples of spoken Mandarin, but there is also a 4 CD Intro from Pimsleur that you can put in your car and work with while you ride around.

 

-James

195934[/snapback]

Yeah, the intro Pimsleur CD is great to learn a few easy phrases and its cheap too. However, I suggest having some form of written dictionary to work through the CD with. Some things the speaker says you can't be certain about, such as:

 

Did he just say, "mi" or "ni"?

 

Did he say "gong" or "cong"?

 

I had a hard time with "guan" and "quan" myself, been saying it wrong for months until I looked it up.

 

Also, if you're serious about learning Mandarin (and swimming in money), I would suggest doing the full 3 lesson packages from Pimsleur, they're about 200 bucks a pop. Hours and hours and hours of material in there that you can handle in your car. In the end you'll know enough to carry on a semi-decent conversation in Mandarin.

[jemmyell]

undefinedThis is not intended to be an advertisement, but...I worked at a school in Zhuhai that taught English and Mandarin. A possible option would be for both partner's to study at the same time.

 

Good comment. I agree.

 

I feel it is not a one-way street. Exposure can be one of the greatest learning tools.

 

Also, for Jie and I, talking on the phone has only accelerated our progress.

 

Plus, hearing her laugh at my attempts is worth millions .A laugh is common in any language. It is very powerful.

191446[/snapback]

How true. I worked out a whole sentence in Mandarin. I thought I had it nailed. I called my SO and tried it. She didn't understand a word I said. We laughed until it got silly. Oh well, back to the books.

192247[/snapback]

Hi Ron,

 

Mandarin is a tonal language (4 tones) with modifiers for rising and falling tones also!

 

It CAN NOT be learned from books! There are websites that will give examples of spoken Mandarin, but there is also a 4 CD Intro from Pimsleur that you can put in your car and work with while you ride around.

 

-James

195934[/snapback]

Yeah, the intro Pimsleur CD is great to learn a few easy phrases and its cheap too. However, I suggest having some form of written dictionary to work through the CD with. Some things the speaker says you can't be certain about, such as:

 

Did he just say, "mi" or "ni"?

 

Did he say "gong" or "cong"?

 

I had a hard time with "guan" and "quan" myself, been saying it wrong for months until I looked it up.

 

Also, if you're serious about learning Mandarin (and swimming in money), I would suggest doing the full 3 lesson packages from Pimsleur, they're about 200 bucks a pop. Hours and hours and hours of material in there that you can handle in your car. In the end you'll know enough to carry on a semi-decent conversation in Mandarin.

195939[/snapback]

Yes,

 

Can you recommend a dictionary? The Pimsleur comprehensive is really the way to go, but the intro is good to see if you will actually be able to remember any of it ( I'm a LITTLE older than you ).. I would like to see the phrases in PinYin.

 

-James

[fangkelei]

Hi,

 

I'm new to the forum. My SO and I have not yet started our Visa journey but hope to in the coming months. I've read most of the posts on the site and have to say it is indeed very helpful.

 

From a language perspective, it is absolutely best that both of you try to learn as much of each others native language as possible. Understanding the language will bring you increased intimacy and a better appreciation for each others perspective. Also, rule 3 don't be afraid to say you don't understand is critical. In mandarin, this is "wo ting bu dong" or "wo bu ming bai".

 

My situation is a little different in that I met my SO while I lived in China. She was my Chinese language teacher and speaks English well enough she can talk on the phone to my mother. We are fortunate that we communicate very well in both English and Mandarin. However, we each have to go to our native language when the topic is very complex or emotional. So, we basically speak in mandarin but sometimes I have to go to English when it's a very complex or emotional topic.

 

However, for all of you "waiguoren" (foreigners) an excellent web dictionary is

 

http://www.zhongwen.com

 

But, if you and your SO are using IM, webcams, and the phone to communicate, I highly recommend the KingSoft PowerWord 2005 dictionary. It has some errors but has audible pronunciations, pop-ups over english and chinese (hanzi) words. You can use it for much faster translation. Just have your SO type in the hanzi for what she's trying to say. The biggest downfall is that you cannot type in pinyin to get a translation. However, do English to pinyin translation.

 

Many Chinese use this to learn and study English but it works the other way around too. In China it costs about 50RMB for a legitimate copy. You can buy on-line in the US for about $50. Here is one link to use:

 

http://www.asiazest.com/kipov5.html

 

BTW, I'm not affiliated with any of these companies. I'm just a very satisfied user.

 

Best wishes,

FangKeLei (aka Claude)

[chrisnhong]

If you're looking to learn mandarin, I can recommend ChinesePod but learning the language is tough. I have read of it being called a five year lesson in humility. At the end of five years, your chinese is really shitty, but you understand humility really well.