Last week I was reading about Steve Kaufmann, a gentleman who has learned 9 languages over the years. His approach focuses on massive amounts of input in the target language. From what I've read he does not promote pressuring a new learning to use the language until the person has heard enough to produce the language naturally. I suppose this is like taking in so much that at a certain point you just have to let it out.
I haven't read enough to have more details that that. There was quite a post going on over at the CPod blog about him though the day after I started reading about Steve. Wow, what timing! I guess the one thing I've taken away from all of it is the desire to hear more and more Mandarin. I suppose there's some note of progress from listening to all those classes, CPod podcasts, and Mainland Chinese films (Zhang Yimou- the man!). Jenn and I were watching "Infernal Affairs 3". Part of the plot involves a Hong Kong triad leader linking up with a corrupt arms dealer from Mainland China. I was shocked to discover I could tell the difference between the Cantonese dialogue and the little bits of 普通话 (putonghua) dialogue.
Ken Carroll has mentioned total physical response (TPR) in language learning but I am having a hard time finding any material at my beginner level. There have been a couple of CPod podcasts that involve listening to the lesson and following the directions on a map. I'm interested in finding some good children's DVDs. I came across "Muzzy" which sounds promising but terribly expensive. The one justification I could have for that is when we have our own child we will already have something for her to watch. The most intriguing aspect of the videos is, from what I can tell, they are completely in the target language. I also found some children's DVD's at a store in Chinatown in Atlanta, Ga. 6 DVD set for $13.95. Even if they are terrible it may be worth it at that price.
But the reason we went there in the first place was to find some children's books with no English and limited 汉字 (Hanzi). Believe it or not I couldn't find anything that was exactly what I wanted. I might have to make my own.
In the mean time I am listening the Newbie lessons from ChinesePod and digging into the premium content (especially the expansion sentences). I'm also taking some of the pressure off internally, just not worrying so much and enjoying the ride. Having started learning 汉字 has added a new dimension that keeps the experience fresh and exciting.
8 comments:
So you have watched Infernal Affairs 1 & 2 already?
You watched the original Cantonese version or the Mandarin voice-over version?
Edwin,
I had seen the first one some time ago. 2 & 3 were re-released here in the states on 2-13 and I got them both from Netflix.
So to answer your question, yes, I had already seen the others. I actually watched them in chronological order (2,1,3) this week. I highly recommend them.
And I always watch a movie in it's native language unless there's no choice. So Cantonese was it (except for the little bits in Mandarin).
In the bonus material for one of them they show Tony Leung in the studio recording a song. He was complaining that it didn't sound right in Mandarin and you see Andy Lau come over to help him out. Very interesting.
That's interesting.
I hope you don't mix up your Mandarin with Cantonese though.
On language learning:
I agree. The only good kids stuff I've found, I found in China. Its actually pretty helpful because it forces you to associate the sound of the word with a picture of its meaning rather than its English counterpart.
In that way I do think its pretty effective.
Once I've reached higher levels though, I've really benefited from straight grammar explanations.
On Infernal Affairs:
I rented if online the other day and was stoked to watch it after reading its stellar reviews on 'rottentomatoes'. I had no idea that 'The Departed' was an adaptation of that movie!
It definitely doesn't seem to be getting much recognition for it either.
Edwin,
"Meiwenti!". They seem so radically different now that I don't see that being a problem. And if the movie was made in HK it's pretty much a given that it's Cantonese.
Jason,
That's encouraging to read about the childrens material being beneficial. I am still at such a basic level that it would benefit me. Plus we plan on teaching our daughter Chinese (when we have her). Feel free to mention anything you used. We have a decent Chinese bookstore in Atlanta.
And I agree, IA is not getting the press it should. I haven't seen 'the Departed' yet but plan on it. I haven't seen too many HK action flicks but IA was exception regardless of the country of origin.
I left the one book I bought in China actually. I bought it early in my trip and passed it on because of weight issues later on.
There was a whole bunch of them at the bookstore though, so I'd imagine they'd have at least a few at a Chinese bookstore in the states.
The one I played around with was a large dictionary like book with pinyin, but no English.
At the back of the book was also a bunch of practice paper for characters.
As far as vocabulary goes, I'd say it worked fairly well. I was surprised at how effective the large characters could be. I actually still remember the picture for 河 and that was like 9 months ago.
I think maybe nailing down this learning of Chinese has to do with creating strong associations via the adrenaline response. While the more dull academic work has to be done, a little experience with "risk/reward" seems to quickly imprint things. Last weekend I was at a "xin nian kuai le" exhibition at a mall, where a really large group of Chinese was in attendance. Since Kai laoshi had just taught us the class on "mai yi fu", I grit my teeth and decided to buy a T-shirt by speaking Chinese. I very nervously practiced in my head for about 10 minutes, then finally managed to screw up the counting word for shirt, saying "jiang4" instead of "jian4". But the woman cashier knew what I was talking about and simply corrected me. The fact that she even understood me was way cool and I don't think I'll be forgetting the counting word for shirts any time soon because I have a big, fat mental image to go along with it, as well as that little urine stain on my pants.
Eric,
太好了！
I had a similar experience at the mall. I purchased a bamboo steamer from the market and said something to the cashier. I then went to the Chinese bookstore and purchased a childrens DVD. The woman explained to me it was a DVD and all in Chinese. I answered in Chinese and we exchanged a few words. I also got to say "Wo ting bu dong" which I memorized quite well!
Post a Comment