Talking to Chinese strangers
November 15, 2007 – 1:20 amYesterday I had Chinese course. We were only 2 students and our teacher that day. It was very cool with such a small group, we could learn lots of things.
At the break we went to get some Coffee. We were sitting at a window with our Coffee when suddenly a delegation of about 10 Chinese persons in black suits appeared outside. So our teacher told us: Lets go and talk to them.
My heart was beating like hell. So we went over to them and we said: Nimen hao!
They replied with Nimen hao.
My next question was: 你们是中国人吗？(Are You Chinese?)
This was a great ice breaker, and we talked for a while. Very nice to talk some real Chinese here in the West.
Lessen learned: If a person looks like a Chinese person, just talk to him. Maybe You can improve Your Chinese. Speaking about improving Your Chinese. Talking and using the language is one of the top ways to load new vocab into Your brain. Hearing other people saying some words and using them out of necessity is far more powerful, than learning words by heart.
Another good way to improve Your Chinese, is by variety. Use different methods of learning to keep Yourself motivated to go on. If You want to have some ideas what can be done, look at my list of 16 Chinese learning methods.
5 Responses to “Talking to Chinese strangers”
Chinese have many dialect..
How you want to speak stranger chinese???
Wo pu chitao..
By shy guy on Nov 15, 2007
Yes, Chinese is most ready to help foreigners who want to learn Chinese. Just take courage to talk to them, and they will chat with you happily. They won’t laugh at your poor spoken Chinese. If you want to learn Chinese easier and faster, check this website http://www.hellomandarin.com/ There, You will be able to learn Chinese face to face with Beijing teachers and practice with volunteers, which makes it easier and faster to learn Chinese. I hope you make progress everyday in learn Chinese.
By Danny on Nov 15, 2007
Danny You are right. They were very helpful and use some easy vocabulary. It’s so motivating when You can say something to a person who just me You.
It’s totally different than practicing with Your teacher, because the teacher knows what words You know and which You don’t know.
By YoLearnChinese on Nov 15, 2007
What did you guys talk about?
By Albert on Feb 18, 2008
Some simple stuff. First I introduced myself, then I asked them how they like the city. Talking about the cold weather at that day.
With my upcoming half year trip to China I will have plenty of time to talk more Mandarin. I hope to manage my daily life in Mandarin. We’ll see if this is possible.
By Junjie on Feb 22, 2008