On learning a new lingo...

My new computer has been having issues but I'm glad at this point they are all resolved. First the DVD drive stopped working, then the CD drive, and last night the browser would not open if I begin with my blog site... I guess this is the flop side to technology. No more surprise please!

Today our class officially finished the first semester with the last final test. The oral interviews were dragging long but I could not help listening in awe to these Americans who have only learned Mandarin for 5 months. They definitely speak better than many Hong Kong Chinese! And I love them to death as they are so fun to teach but they take learning seriously at the same time.

Many people ask the secret to mastering a foreign language, through this experience of teaching with encouraging results from both "low acheivers" and "high achievers" my conclusion for effective language learning without too much of the theories from the academia includes the following factors:
~courage to take risks: mistakes are your best teachers!
~determination to work hard: you need to put in your effort to lay a foundation of knowledge to be built on.
~good rapport: working with fellow learners and teachers as friends definitely help ease the nerve and you can always swap ideas and tricks to do better.
~multiple resources: references, internet, software, media, and even background knowledge and experience just make things easier that one can relate to or associate with.
~open mindedness: just be aware of the many different ways of expressing thoughts and ideas with different languages.
~passion to learn: the more opportunity one finds to use the language, only the better will one get.
~sense to culture: I realize when I learn a new language, it opens a door to a whole new world to me. One good illustration is that I used to detest and frown on anything written in simplified Chinese. But once I get used to it, there are million more books that I can enjoy, and look where it has brought me... landing at this wonderful job. :)