Newsweek recently posted an article entitled “The Mandarin Scam: So you want to learn Chinese? Your best bet is to say at home.“
The author takes issue with the quality of Mandarin language instruction, and the teaching methods used, in China. He concludes that a student of Mandarin Chinese would be better off using online options or staying home and learning.
While I don’t doubt that there are problems with the way Mandarin is taught in China (students who study Mandarin in Taiwan have their fair share of complaints), there is one thing I am sure of: It is ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to learn to speak Mandarin fluently if you never live in China or Taiwan.
I suppose there might be a rare exception–someone who moves to an enclave of Chinese speakers abroad and learns to speak Mandarin that way, but for most, they will never achieve fluency until they live abroad in Taiwan or China and speak Mandarin all day, every day, for six months to a year.
2 Comments
August 14, 2009 at 2:52 pm
I agree. Even if you learn Mandarin in a native-speaking environment, I’ve noticed that it’s very easy to forget much of what you’ve learnt once you’re outside of the Sinosphere.
I lived in China and Taiwan for a total of 2 years but now that I’m living in Europe again, I find it extremely difficult to maintain my fluency in Mandarin. Listening to online radio, watching Chinese movies and reading as much Chinese-language material as possible can help but I think a native-speaking environment is a far better way to maintain and improve your speaking and listening skills.
September 14, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I posted about this too and totally agree with you. The article was very one sided and only criticised the teaching methods of one or two schools.
I’m sure there are lots of fine language schools in China as long as you’re critical. And the immersion in Mandarin is invaluable of course.