Definitely, so.

Spring break is over. Did I use any Mandarin? Definitely, not. Well, ok...definitely not at home. I did on occasion use it with a friend of mine who is Taiwanese, but did I go with my mother's suggestion from a week ago? Nope. It wasn't so much a coincidental thing, or a matter of forgetfulness...I simply chose not to. The first day I saw my mother, she brought up speaking Mandarin. My response was very clear: no. Why? I wanted to speak Cantonese with her. I told her it was just plain hard being in Monterey...but at least I'm taking Mandarin classes, and I speak more Mandarin than I do Cantonese. The opportunity to use my mother-tongue is rather rare, unless I go to San Jose or Los Angeles. I've realized language is not just a function of culture, but also a function of comfort. There is a comforting feeling as well as a nostalgic feeling that comes with speaking and hearing a language. Familiarity provides comfort...and maybe I'm just not familiar enough to Mandarin (comparatively) as I am with Cantonese to find the same amount of ease and solace in it. With time, however? Definitely, so.

Comfort

Before going home for spring break, I had spoken to my mother about school, progress with my classes, and what I was hoping to do over break. Eventually the conversation made its way over to the subject of my Chinese classes. Of course, my mother had to give me a repeat story-telling session about her Mandarin classes growing up, and the supplemental classes she took in the states after she immigrated. I've heard this story many times...from the amount of time she'd devote to practicing characters, to her Taiwanese professors in Vietnam, to her distaste for the Beijing accent...been there, heard that. Still, I let her go on. As tiresome as it sometimes gets to hear the same story over and over, I find some sense of comfort in her repeats. I guess it's not only the familiarity, but also the relational quality. We both shared some of the same struggles, especially with the interjection of Cantonese tones and pronunciation when using Mandarin. In that sense, it's helpful to touch base with my mother on my Chinese progress and struggles...her experiences are definitely valuable to my growth. Finally, at the end of the conversation, she suggested we speak mandarin when I arrive back in Portland...we'll see...

Experience and Application

I'm definitely a fan of experience. In day to day life, experiences are fundamental to the learning (and thus growing) process. They are much like flags or beacons; experiences are reference points...they may or may not hold explicit answers, but they definitely play a critical role. This is one of my most productive and useful approaches to learning Chinese. The more I experience the language the better I do. Some people have a learning style that is more aptly catered to memorization and repetition; I, however, have a very hard time learning vocabulary that way. Words stick when I experience them. What does that mean? For me, it goes beyond hearing it or seeing the character. Experience means application: seeing the word within a context, or hearing it within the crux of a story. The environment within which the words are applied is crucial. This helps me make associations and better commit the word to memory.

What's the context?

I have a short attention span. In many of my other classes, my mind tends to wander if the topic being discussed is something I find no interest in, or even if it is, I get distracted easily. Yes, I am one of those students. It isn't that I demand extra attention, I just have a different way of learning things. If a lecture is not engaging to me, I would rather take a few brief notes and re-learn the subject matter on my own. Now, mind you, this isn't so much the case in Chinese, as my interest in the language and history has no (foreseeable) limits. In approaching Chinese, my biggest problem is retaining information, which is why learning the language itself through stories and historical anecdotes bodes well for me. I've found that I remember certain words or phrases better if they are indicators of a bigger picture. I guess you could call it application...or better yet, contextual learning. Now, to find a longer attention span...