Day 11:Just how hard is learning Chinese?

Just how hard is learning Chinese? Well let me first start by saying it is made all the much harder when one falls sick. After spending all Monday in bed with the stomach flu, it was challenging to catch the MRT to school Tuesday and 'pretend' to be well with three different teachers when all I wanted to do was run to the nearest bathroom. Whether is was something I ate or the fact I spend all Saturday walking around Yangmingshan (post to come later) without drinking much water I will never know.

It was so heartening when one of my teachers related to my being ill in a foreign country with no family or friends. That sincerely warmed my heart and made me feel a lot better. 

Now to the title of this post. Is learning Chinese difficult? I would have to say yes. Yes to the fact that it depends what level a learner wishes to take their proficiency to. Fortunately for me, I have already broken the elementary level barrier. It is very interesting to observe the myriads of new learners of the Chinese language. Even in Taiwan, it is very clear that Chinese is seen as a major asset to have. So when I go to my last class for the morning, I always observe the many different faces of students of all ages and backgrounds from the beginner adult classes. Some are clearly succeeding and others perhaps still have some way to go. Which points to one interesting observation. That success in anything depends a lot upon the individual.

I think the challenge in Chinese is once one has passed the elementary point, it is getting to the next level and beyond. To do this requires one thing and I am sorry to say there are few shortcuts (although technology certainly helps). Hard work and time spent reviewing is the only answer. It also helps to spend time in a place where one can really use the language. However, there in lies a challenge. So far, outside my daily language classes, my Chinese is reduced to shop language. To avoid this then, it is vital to find people who do not speak your language and who you can just hang out with. This daily non class contact is invaluable learning.

Technology also helps. A translator is a fantastic tool. I do not care what anyone says. When a teacher or a friend has explained a word 100 different ways in the target language and it still is not clear, just do the fastest thing and use your smartphone or whatever device is handy. That way you comprehend quicker and can move on!

The greatest challenge in Chinese, aside from its tonal nature, is of course its written form. Sadly, technology has presented me with a double edged sword. On one hand it is fast for me to type out a written piece. I do not know why but a golden rule many fail to understand is that a learner can recognize characters far quicker than they can write them. Hence technology is a fast track to literacy but it comes with a hidden demon. The more one uses this as a means of written communication, the worse one is at handwriting, in fact one can be totally unable to handwrite unless that practice is enforced. 

The final element is really not about something being difficult to learn; it is about motivation. Anything seems hard if one has little or no motivation. I have had countless moments when I am struggling to read a passage in Chinese or write a sentence and it all seems pointless. When that happens, you just want to put down the books and go do something far more enjoyable. 


Motivation to learn something, especially a language, is also highly individual. As my teacher today said to me, learning a language is not something that should be forced by others. As an educator of Chinese, she has surely witnessed over the past few years, many students come and go. It was enlightening to hear her say that, in her view, students only do well in Chinese when they are there because they choose to be. Sadly, this fact is overlooked by many.

I do think Chinese is a challenge. I learned French at university alongside with Chinese and I know it was certainly far easier to reach an advanced level in a shorter period of time. The point I wish to make is it all comes down to a few key factors; hard work, relevance (whether a learner will continue to use the target language in a key environment) and motivation. 

Which brings me to why I wrote this post. 精益求精 jing yi qiu jing ... meaning to constantly improve upon something. It came up in class yesterday and had a lot of relevance for any learning we do in life.