{"id":8789,"date":"2018-06-29T13:40:13","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T05:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writtenchinese.com\/?p=8789"},"modified":"2022-10-07T15:20:08","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T07:20:08","slug":"bridging-the-gap-from-chinese-classroom-to-speaking-chinese-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.writtenchinese.com\/bridging-the-gap-from-chinese-classroom-to-speaking-chinese-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging the Gap: From Chinese Classroom to Speaking Chinese in China"},"content":{"rendered":"

It will only take [est_time] to read this post!<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if you\u2019ve had Chinese lessons to prepare you for coming to China, there\u2019s one thing these classes probably didn\u2019t prepare you for: the various accents, dialects and local slang that REAL Chinese speakers use day-to-day. <\/span>But don\u2019t panic! It was always going to be different, and there are ways for you to bridge the gap between your Chinese classes back home and the Chinese spoken in China.<\/span><\/p>\n

Below are some actionable ways for you to improve your listening skills with native speakers in China:<\/span><\/p>\n

Start Listening. No, I mean REALLY listening<\/span><\/h2>\n

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The first thing you\u2019re probably going to have to do is adjust your hearing to all of these new sounds. You\u2019re going to hear lots of repetitive sounds including \u2018a\u2019s, \u2018mm\u2019s and \u2018\u90a3\u4e2a\u2018s you might have problems focusing on anything else. However, once you open your ears, you \u2018ll start to hear words and phrases that you\u2019ve learned back home.<\/span><\/p>\n

An old Chinese teacher of mine once advised me not to fixate on the small filler words I didn\u2019t know, and try and listen to the sentence as a whole. I had a terrible habit of focusing on one small word and then being unable to follow or participate in a conversation! <\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re teaching Chinese in China, listen to your students, especially if you\u2019re working in a kindergarten or primary school. This is a great opportunity to learn some basic vocabulary, including food and simple verbs. When I was teaching, I often asked my teachers what my students were talking about, and yes, it was often about weird kid stuff, but a chance to learn, nonetheless.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speak As Often As You Can \u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Speak in the grocery store. Speak in the coffee shop. Ask the person at the other table if you can take that chair. You need to step out of your comfort zone, and just speak. I know, I know, it\u2019s easier said than done. <\/span><\/p>\n

To prepare yourself, use a dictioary app on your phone to check our the word you might need. <\/span><\/p>\n

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You want to ask the assistant in the supermarket where the tomatoes are. Oh, shoot. how do you say tomatoes again\u2026? Check out the word in your dictionary before going to the assistant, listen to the audio so you know how to pronounce it, construct your sentence, then ask your question!<\/span><\/p>\n

Talk To Yourself<\/span><\/h2>\n

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I often have conversations in my head before I have to deal with something that I don\u2019t like, such as making a phone call or complaining (nooooo!). You might want to do this in the privacy of your own home, but why not speak out your sentences to practice those sentence patterns and pronunciation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Go a step further and record yourself speaking. Trust me, before <\/span>we started the podcast<\/span><\/a>, hearing my own voice was nightmare-ish, but once you do it a few times, it gets much easier. Use your own recordings in Chinese to help you correct your Chinese grammar and pronunciation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speak Like a Child<\/span><\/h2>\n

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In his book, <\/span>The Third Ear<\/span><\/a>, Chris Lonsdale recommends focusing on the words you do have to communicate, just like children do. Instead of trying to construct complex sentences, stick to what you do know to get your point across.\u00a0<\/span>Furthermore, in his <\/span>TEDx Talk<\/span><\/a>, Lonsdale states that if you know 10 nouns, 10 adjectives and 10 verbs, you can create 1000 different phrases!<\/span><\/p>\n

Wait for the Correct Word<\/span><\/h2>\n

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I found this great piece of advice from <\/span>Hacking Chinese<\/a>, that suggests you wait for the other person to provide a word that you\u2019re missing. This will not only help you fill in the missing vocabulary that you don\u2019t have or have forgotten, but it can also help build confidence. Often enough, you can jump in after the other person has spoken and repeat the word as though you meant to say it all along! <\/span><\/p>\n

Create Flashcards to Help Cement New Words<\/span><\/h2>\n

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To help you remember those new words you learn whilst you\u2019re out and about, make sure you create a flashcard straight away. If you\u2019re using a<\/span>\u00a0flashcard app, you can search for the new word and simply add to a list you\u2019re compiling. <\/span><\/p>\n

I have several lists that I use, such as \u2018Useful Words to Learn\u2019 which holds words that people have taught me. I also keep a food list and a dog list so that I can converse with my fellow dog owners on our evening meetings. <\/span><\/p>\n

Once you have time to study, listen to the audio for each word and try and create a sentence using it (yes, speak it out loud!).<\/span><\/p>\n

Create a \u2018Toolbox\u2019 of Sentence Patterns<\/span><\/h2>\n

You may have already done this whilst studying with a teacher, but compiling and referring back to sentence patterns can be extremely useful for your spoken Chinese. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here are several \u2018sentence pattern\u2019 lists to take a look at:<\/span><\/p>\n