Language

On Twitter I mention every now and then that I am studying Chinese during lunch time or late at night. Because of that I sometimes get mails from people asking me advice on how to best study Chinese. I am no expert in that field, but maybe it helps some readers when I explain how I do it myself. My approach is quite digital, there are a lot of tools out there nowadays that make studying a lot more easy.

Over the past years I had a lot of tutors and even spent a semester at Beijing Foreign Studies University. Right now I spend most time studying on my own at home, but I also have a private teacher about once a week. At the moment I mainly focus on reading and on listening comprehension. A lot of that you can do without a private teacher, especially with digital tools. Because of memorizing new words and characters, I spend more time on reading than on listening.

With the increasing popularity of Shanghainese stand-up comedian Zhou Libo (周立波), Shanghai Rap has regained the fame recently. Dated back to 2005, one of the top 4 record companies in the world, Sony-BMG released a CD album called Free Speech @ Shanghai, which remarked the birth of local Shanghain rap music.

Earlier this week I received an e-mail from an American friend of mine who had recently moved from China back to the US. My friend had spent three years in the Middle Kingdom, taught English, studied Chinese, and even worked a “real” job in Shanghai for half a year, and had now been back in United States for three months. His Chinese was solid, as it should be for anybody who spends three years in China, and good enough to be used on an occupational level. In his e-mail, he explained the frustration he was experiencing trying to secure a job in the United States which could build on his experience in China.