I've been learning Chinese here in Kunming for about 6 month. Before I started, I made the decision not to learn how to write characters - only speaking, listening and reading. The reason behind this is that I want to get to the point where I can be conversational - as quickly as possible. Learning to write Hanzi is time-consuming, so I figure that by removing this component I can spend more time studying speaking, listening, reading. Also since I can easily write Hanzi using a computer or phone, I think not being able to write by hand is no great loss. My plan is, once I've reached a decent level of spoken Chinese, only at that point to start learning to write.
So far I think it's been a good decision as I've made good progress, but lately in my class I've started to feel that it would be very useful to be able to make notes in Hanzi rather than Pinyin. Also I can see that, since it's such a huge undertaking, you're better off learning Hanzi from day 1, even if it slows down your speaking a bit.
I'm interested to hear what other people think about this and what has been their experience. Is it really worth learning writing from the start?
Yeah I'm at KCEL too, just started my second semester, and I'm very happy with them. My teacher's really good, the class size is really small (usually around 3 people), and generally they're very friendly and helpful. And the price is reasonable. (Here's a bit of free advertising for them!).
Coming back to the original point, last semester I was in a class of westerners but now I'm with a Korean lady and a Japanese man - and I feel my progress is much better because I never speak English with them, I don't even know if they can speak it. This wouldn't be the case in a class of westerners - it just feels a bit weird speaking Chinese with, say, an American. And it's too tempting to lapse into English if you don't know how to say something.
can be useful to be in a class with less westerners because you're less tempted to speak english (can feel a bit awkward to speak chinese with fellow westerners). also, in my opinion, in a class of asians you're less likely to have non-serious students (i.e people whose main reason for being in china is to have a good time, get drunk, and have sex with exotic ladies, rather than study the language) - i think people who come here from another asian country are more likely to have come here with the express purpose of learning chinese. this has been my experience anyway. others' may differ.
on the other hand, you might end up in a class full of thais all chattering away in their own language and you will feel left out, which frankly would be a shit experience. this is exactly what happened to my friend at normal university, although he was able to change to a more mixed class.
i think ultimately the key thing to learning well is not the race of your classmates but being around people who are highly motivated to learn the language, and of course having a good teacher.
yeah i've been getting exactly the same email to my yahoo account for ages. just another african scam. goes straight to my spam folder, so i don't lose any sleep over it. it's really nothing to have a panic attack over.
yeah i knew it was chinese but i didn't know the chinese name. thanks for letting me know. actually karate originated from china too, like most of traditional Japanese culture. Although the Japanese have done a much better job of honouring and preserving this culture. Unlike what has happened in china which i think is really sad (like for example modernized Wushu).
anyway, i remember seeing a load of bonsai trees in a park somewhere near dianchi lake, but i wonder whether they are brought in from elsewhere or whether they have a place nearby where they cultivate them. i will try to find out and post back.
