So I decided to write a blog about the recent YouTube videos of me ordering my food in Chinese! Chinese people are always surprised, obviously because I'm sure no one would expect it in the States. I have plenty of foreign friends who live in China and speak fluent Mandarin but to see someone in the States who isn't talking Chinese? Yes, that's a shocker. I figured since I am still learning Chinese myself, I would document my progress each week and film myself speaking the Language with Natives... Whether that is ordering my food, shopping in China Town, or attending Chinese events. I plan to show it all for my followers to see. This also holds me accountable for my learning.
Do I ever receive bad feedback from Chinese people when I speak to them?
I always receive positivity from them. I mostly only speak with elderly people in Chinese or mid-age if they have a strong accent.... This is how I know that they will be receptive to me speaking their language. Sometimes if you try to talk to a Chinese-American, they absolutely don't want to speak Chinese with you. So to avoid being shut down, I never talk Chinese with young people or Americanized Chinese people. Although, I do have friends who would still speak to practice their skills, I just avoid the headache.
How Do I Overcome The Fear of Talking with Natives?
I simply take a deep breath in and out before walking in the store or up to them and then I think about making their day or making them smile. That always make me just go for it. And 10 times out of 10, they enjoy our dialogue. I also like to keep my goals in mind. Which is to obtain an advance fluency level.
What Is The Hardest Part About Learning Mandarin?
Definitely the tones and writing! I've practiced the tones enough so now I'm a little good at it where natives can understand me. But I haven't necessarily learned the Chinese characters/writing system. It's extremely difficult for me.
What Is The Easiest Part About Learning Mandarin?
The grammar! It's actually more simple than Latin languages such as; Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, etc...
Check out my a few of my videos of me ordering my food below!
In the first video, I learned a few new vocab words that week which was
"Fried Fish" "Zhà yú"炸鱼
So I decided to put it to use in order to check my pronunciation. I always try to use the new vocab words so that I learn and see if the Chinese person understand my pronunciation. This is a great way to practice.
In the second video, I used a new vocab word which was "Sweet" "Tián"甜
What inspired me to change my content to do these kind of videos?
Definitely seeing other YouTubers show their experience speaking Chinese with natives. I figured... well since I actually do this all the time in real life anyway, why not film my experience too! I'm very inspired by these 3 YouTubers! Laoshu, Xiaomanyc, and JJsays! I can't wait until I can reach their level of fluency. They are awesome!
Thanks for reading and watching this blog! Do you have a Language goal for yourself this or next year? If so, what is it? Or what is a Language that you always wanted to learn but haven't started yet?
Btw, I'm Ambie. I speak a total of 5 languages and currently learning German. If this is your first time on my website, WELCOME, BIENVENIDO, BEM-VINDO!
I learn languages for a living and has made many friends around the world because of it! I found that my life has been richer because of the connections that I make daily.
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