Can I get an awwww? My favorite popstar at his first American movie premiere...he went from not speaking English to being able to give interviews in English very quickly...hard work! It gives me some hope about my own Mandarin abilities...it's easy to compare to people who are bilingual...but I am learning to give myself some grace and have fun, because I've only studied formally for one year, whereas your average Chinese students has studied English since they were a child.
Some things I am learning about language acquisition:
- Have fun, and relax! Don't try to prove your ability to anyone, just seek to have genuine conversation! It's ok to not express yourself perfectly, you are still learning!
- Have friends who don't speak your language, as well as those who do. People who can help you by forcing you to speak only in the language you are learning are great, but it's also useful to have friends who can explain and correct you.
- Immerse yourself in fun ways! I watch Chinese movies/tv, listen to Chinese music (and look up the lyrics), and got renren.com (Chinese facebook) to practice reading and composing sentences in a more fun way...also, having cultural things to practice with helps you learn common usage outside of a textbook. Also, when I was studying Arabic, Arab music was extremely helpful in learning pronunciation in a beautiful way, believe it or not!
- Find your motivation in learning...I have reasons for wanting to learn to communicate with people
- Learn about the cultural aspects of places where the language you are learning is spoken...it helps a lot with understanding language usage and evolution!
- It's ok to enjoy speaking in your native tongue....your mind does need a break!
