#mandarin ramble

[pilatesprincesslanguages]

My Chinese class went really well today and I’m honestly feeling proud of myself. My teacher was impressed with how quickly I’ve picked up the tones and even said I speak like a native with how much work I’ve put into them.

A huge part of that progress is thanks to my fiancé who’s been patiently (and sometimes relentlessly) drilling me on tones at home. It’s made a big difference.

It feels good to be understood. Even better to feel like I’m actually getting it.

More soon, just wanted to mark this little win.

[pilatesprincesslanguages]

Today’s mandarin update

Found a language partner that actually lives in the city I’m moving to? We clicked instantly and our first session was so much fun. I’ll be helping him download some American apps soon so he can get more English exposure.

🤭 I hate to say that I learn a lot more with a cute partner—that TikTok girl was right. But keep it strictly business!! Language learning apps should not be dating apps.

[pilatesprincesslanguages]

There’s like no music outside of Taiwanese RnB and Mainland Rap that I enjoy!

And even less shows on top of that! Like traditional shows fantasy or not don’t help me vocabulary wise so I don’t watch them. Some modern shows just don’t resonate with me.

I’m like if I like Taiwanese media more maybe I should’ve learned Traditional 😭😭😭😭

[pilatesprincesslanguages]

my favorite YouTuber did a video on Chinese music and how destroying tones makes the songs indistinguishable or hard to understand

even for natives the songs can be a bit confusing…so I feel much better…hahaha

[pilatesprincesslanguages]

Masiwei if you see this I’m learning mandarin for you….i mean to practice with you….i mean to communicate with you….i mean to be with you…in the sense that-

[pilatesprincesslanguages]

Today’s Mandarin update

I started my commute with an HSK 3 or 4 vlog instead of music. My brain woke up hungry for Mandarin so I let it feast. With YouTube Premium it plays even when my phone is locked which is perfect for driving 💕

For five dollars I get access to all the teachers’ vlog transcripts so I will print them later. One version has just characters and the other has pinyin. Perfect for study breaks.

I realized that even though my fiancé is Chinese his voice cannot be the only one I learn from. As much as I dislike vlogs it is time to embrace them. Hearing different voices pitch patterns and inflections really helps. Even if mimicking them makes me feel a little unhinged I have heard that is how fluency builds.

While watching if I do not recognize a word I add it to my Pleco YouTube category. Later tonight I will review the two card sets I made from yesterday’s storytelling session and those vlog clips.

Small steps but it is adding up

[pilatesprincesslanguages]

Tonight was the first night using the TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling) method. I had a great lesson and will continue to use this.

I am first tackling survival mandarin with this method (250 top words). After about 6 weeks with this method I will be completed with “survival mandarin”. I will give a 6 week update on August 6th!

[pilatesprincesslanguages]

Was no one going to tell me it’s easier to learn mandarin when you learn vocabulary through sentences vs individual vocabulary or????