3 times my Chinese improved the most
The times when my Chinese improved the most were unexpected.
Like when I met my first friend in Taiwan who was hustling to sell fruits at the local traditional market. I asked him about his fruits and we hit it off chatting about basketball.
He invited me to play basketball and we started a bromance communicating in broken Chinglish but my Chinese improved significantly!
Or like the time shortly after arriving in Taiwan, when I went downstairs to the little restaurant under my building for dinner. That's where I met the nice auntie who works there.
Or like when I met an enthusiastic language exchange partner who loved to show me all the tasty food and cultural highlights around the city and my listening and speaking improved considerably.
What did these experiences have in common?
The best learning happens in real life.
All the times when my Chinese improved the fastest were when I applied what I learned in private to the real world.
It’s tempting to think you can learn everything from the comfort of your room by yourself. You can prepare and study all you want but the best learning comes from interacting with people, meeting new people, making new friends, and seeing where that takes you.
The reality is that languages are at their core, a tool for communication. And the best way to learn it is by using it to communicate in real life.
Not only will you learn all the nuances and intricacies and colloquialisms that you wouldn’t find in a textbook, but you also get the best part of language learning, which is making new friends and building new relationships.
Language learning happens in waves.
Language learning, like learning any other skill, is not steady and gradual. There will be times when you are learning more and faster. But there will also be times when you feel like you’re not improving much at all.
The times my Chinese improved the fastest was when I was riding a high wave.
The important is to recognize this reality and not get too down on yourself when you are in a low wave season. Because to have one of the high seasons in your learning journey, you will have to go through some low seasons.
In fact, the low seasons are just as important because they prepare you for those high seasons when they inevitably come along.
Routines and luck.
Study routines and habits are very important. They keep you consistent.
But it’s also easy to get stuck in your routines. Routines can also be a crutch when too much of your life becomes a routine. Too much routine eliminates spontaneity and randomness.
The best improvements I’ve had came from introducing randomness and breaking my routines such as talking to new people and meeting new friends, which accelerated my learning.
For example, staying up late at night because it was the only time I could chat with a new friend in Mandarin even though I would be less “productive” the next morning.
The truth is I was very lucky to have this opportunity. But I also increased my chances of being lucky by choosing to talk to strangers, not trying to be “productive” all the time, and breaking out of my routines.
Ultimately, routines and habits are tools that are supposed to enhance your life. You are the judge of that. If there is something else that is more important to you in that season of your life, seize the opportunity.
This is why the Speak Chinese Program focuses on learning from real-life content and breaking out of your routines to get conversational fast.
I'm opening a few spots for the Speak Chinese Program next week so you can get personalized support and a community to help you overcome your fears and reach conversational freedom in Mandarin.
Reply “SPEAK” and I’ll send you the details.
加油加油，
Danyo
PS Here are some other ways I can help you level up your Chinese:
Copy Paste Speaking Course: The system I used to improve my listening, and pronunciation and start having conversations in Chinese. Now $50 off. For how long I’m not sure.
Language Learner OS: The digital system I use to help organize my language studies, track vocabulary/flashcards, remember more, and learn faster! Now $20 off. I’m not sure for how long.
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Yes, immersion learning is the way to go…