Name: [Taiwan Shenanigans] On the Bitter-sweetness of language learning
Uploaded: 2020-04-28T02:40:41.000Z
Duration: 8 min 50 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Let me know in the comments that I completely butcher it.

Let me know in the comments I'm Julian offering from doing english dot com and hello.

I've had eight terribly busy, terribly stressful day here in Taipei today.

Walking along the streets of the city, eating lovely food, having a wander around Memorial park, getting a history lesson.

Did I had two key goals, the first of which was really just to get over the jet language, having of actually quite successfully done.

All things considered, I went today at my normal time.

I woke up once in the night wondering where the hell I am, who I was.

But apart from that, I slept through till morning.

Today I haven't really felt tired at all, so I think this time I am blissfully jet lag free.

My second goal was the one I can't how to order a cup off coffee in the local coffee shop, which I now feel equipped to do.

Thanks to Needs my and gang putting together a Facebook group called The Awesome Gang, dedicated to teaching me Chinese from Muncie Asian and how to say basic things that I need to say, including boy Ayoub, a run sheet, how to order a cup of black coffee.

I have forgotten what it feels like to be totally and utterly incapable or communicating, even in the most basic of situations.

I mean, when I went to Japan, I'd already learned enough of the basics that I could do simple things, like buying something in a shop, asking if you can try something on in the changing rooms.

I've just bean to the shop, unique low Teoh by Cem Room, where because it's a bit chilly here than I expected, and I didn't bring any with me.

I mean, it feels weird going up to somebody saying the fitting rooms or the cash register in the shop saying the convenience store Andi, really no knowing what to say at all.

So going up to the woman in the fitting rooms, not knowing whether Ni Hao just kind of saying like what I believed to be the generic Hello is the right thing to do on their not being able to say things like, Could I try these on?

No, I've got two items, but having to instead just to hold the two things up.

Of course they understand what you mean and what you are doing and then them talking at you and not having a single clue what they are saying.

I knew that she was telling me how much itwas because I can see it on the cash register that everything else just yesterday I was in the convenience store and it was like and I couldn't be bothered to properly starting to the convenience store.

And I bought a cup ramen Onda um, a burger.

Andi, I assume what the guy said to me is, would you like me to heat this up?

I've been in the Family Mart convenience store 1,000,000,000 times in Tokyo, and I know that that is part of what they ask.

But I didn't actually have a clue whether that is what he said or not.

Andi, I didn't really know how to respond.

In the end, I said Shake, shake and whether that was the right thing to say.

The guy didn't speak to me again on when he was done with my stuff.

He handed him to me without words, not even looking out.

It might not of it, but it's It's a bitter, sweet experience.

On the one hand, I enjoy throwing myself into the deep end of a culture in a language, Andi just kind of having to do it in night kind of way.

But on the other hand, it makes you feel like an absolute idiot.

It reminds me of when I was in Japan when I was in Japan, one investment that had already learned enough, the basics that didn't really have a problem with things like that.

But for example, when I waas first working full time in a school, I think there's probably been some kind of administrative mistake because the school had no English speaking teachers and they had wanted a Japanese speaker, which I quite certain wasn't really at that time on.

Even after several months off, really pretty intensive study and learning, I would have to sit in meetings.

I'd either have no clue what was being said at me.

Meaning I just had no way to respond whatsoever, or I get the gist and I'd have ideas.

And I have things that I wanted to say input that I wanted to give.

But I wouldn't be able to actually express that myself.

So that really the only thing that I could ever do in those meetings, whether it understood the personal no would be to not just say yes.

I just remember feeling like an absolute idiot a long time, like what I was actually able to do was severely crippled by my communicative ability.

And the things I'm doing here a much, much more basic.

I'm probably not going to need to do anything beyond go to the convenience store, buy something, but eggs it that the barrier is very, very clear, almost tangible.

It's almost like you can reach out and touch this kind of barrier between me and the other person caused by what this just again?

I've got a couple of weeks here, and I'm going to learn as much as I can.

I had said that I was gonna learn the basics before I came here, which is what I really should wanted to do.

But I decided to prioritize my PhD thesis and get that written before I came here instead, and the whole learning Chinese thing went out off the window again.

Meaning Basically, when I arrived yesterday, the only things I could say, What shape the whole Zijin?

The tones are a barrier to me, it has to be said.

I find it hard to even hear the more make a distinction when I'm listening to people speak, let alone when I'm actually doing it myself.

Eso that, even things that I have learned things like a knee.

Quite sure you went Mark, which I know means.

Do you speak English as my very rightly said to me today I can understand you, but it sounds like shit because as an English speaking my tendency is to just flatten it.

The tones carry meaning Andi with, Unless you get those turns right.

What being understood is being understood that sounding like shit is almost also sounding like ship.

You can't come into this game with language learning thing with an ego with pride.

You you have to kind of throw that away and be happy to look like an absolute twice for a while, I think, because if you if you go into this with a sense of pride, wanting to be perfect before you actually try to do anything in the real world while you live, never do anything in the real world or you'll just have that pride trampled to death.

People kind of giving you confused looks in extreme cases, laughing, cat feel, terrible pronunciation, all the stupid things that you come out with.

Like I said, it's a bittersweet kind of fun, I think, because on the one hand it is it is enjoyable throwing yourself into the deep end.

Part two had over two during english dot com.

Of course, if you are in the Taipei, you're willing to travel that far.

We have the Gahler Ponti event on December 7th, and we have my my MASTERCLASS seminar workshop, whatever you want to call it on December 11.

If you had over two doing english dot com slash deck 11 d c.