9: Make Learning Chinese Simple and Fun with Anthony Jarvis

Time Stamped Show Notes

• [1:33] – Anthony didn’t speak Chinese when he arrived in China, so he took supplementary lessons to catch up to his classmates
  • [1:55] – Anthony’s first writing teacher wouldn’t allow him to write left-handed (his natural hand) so he learned the first few hundred characters right-handed
  • [2:26] – Anthony learned that stroke order makes it much easier to write right-handed
• [3:21] – Anthony started teaching himself Chinese in 2013, but realised he needed a teacher after 3 months
• [3:58] – Anthony took a risk and went to China for the intensive 1-month course
  • [4:13] – Anthony was the only person who didn’t speak at least some Chinese
  • [4:26] – He went to a second-tier city, Wuhu 芜湖, where English wasn’t common
• [4:50] – Anthony chose the Anhui 安徽 program on the recommendation of his dad, who is connected with Anhui through his work
• [5:55] – Anthony found a Confucius Institute in London that gave him a scholarship to go back to China for six months in Beijing to study once he reached HSK-2
  • [6:34] – Anthony didn’t want to leave after the first semester, so he paid out of pocket for a second semester
• [6:48] – After returning from Beijing, Anthony was dissatisfied with his work so he went back to university to study international relations with a secondary major of Chinese
• [7:34] – Why did Anthony learn Chinese?
  • [7:49] – At first, Anthony wanted to learn Chinese as a way to gain a unique skill for career opportunities
  • [8:32] – After starting, Anthony found that he just really enjoys the language
• [9:24] – What’s is Anthony’s biggest motivation in learning Chinese?
  • [9:34] – Anthony overcomes times of demotivation by changing his study methods whenever he burns out on one method
  • [10:06] – Anthony also reminds himself of how far he has come to stay motivated to keep going
• [11:03] – How did Anthony learn Chinese?
  • [11:13] – As a beginner, Anthony struggled the most with listening comprehension
    • [11:30] – Anthony watched kid’s television shows dubbed in Chinese and listened to them for hours a day to improve his listening skills
    • [11:57] – Anthony also listened to ChinesePod, which he still uses now
  • [12:33] – Anthony’s speaking strategy was to mimic his teachers and other native speakers as closely as possible
  • [13:18] – Reading aloud and reciting/memorising phrases and short speeches
  • [14:39] – Having language partners is extremely helpful
    • [15:09] – Anthony met language partners just by approaching Chinese speakers who were interested in improving their English
    • [16:42] – Anthony sometimes has conversations where he only uses Chinese and his language partners only uses English
    • [17:26] – Another method was just dividing conversations into even time blocks, one with Chinese and one with English
  • [18:46] – Another tip for improving listening skills is watching Chinese-dubbed Disney films
  • [19:19] – Anthony learned to read and write with kid’s books
• [20:16] – What had been Anthony’s biggest challenge in learning Chinese?
  • [20:35] – After listening, the next big challenge was learning all of the characters and synonyms
    • [21:04] – Anthony overcame this with reading and flashcards
• [22:48] – How did Anthony deal with accents and dialects?
  • [22:54] – Anthony had to deal with strong southern accents in Wuhu, but didn’t struggle too much with understanding people in Beijing
• [24:32] – Embarrassing moment: Buying a laundry card
  • [24:44] – Anthony memorised a sentence to get a laundry card and the staff complimented him on his Chinese, but his Chinese wasn’t actually good enough to understand the compliment
• [25:48] – Most rewarding moment: Using his Chinese to help others
  • [25:58] – Anthony sat next to two middle aged Chinese women who didn’t speak any English, and helped them fill out the immigration forms. He then went through the non-European passport holder line to help translate for them as they came through customs, for which they were very grateful.
• [28:41] – Anthony competed in the national semifinals of the Chinese bridge competition and learned a lot about Chinese history and culture
• [29:39] – Anthony is also considering making Chinese YouTube videos to keep up his speaking while his Chinese friends are gone on holiday
• [30:14] – Life before learning Chinese vs. life after learning Chinese
  • [30:22] – Before learning Chinese, Anthony didn’t really have a direction in life
  • [30:37] – Learning Chinese opened lots of doors and career opportunities
  • [31:04] – Speaking Chinese has become a positive part of Anthony’s identity
• [31:29] – A difference between the Chinese culture and Anthony’s own culture
  • [31:37] – Anthony’s experience with all the Chinese teachers he’s ever had is that they are always willing to help, even when he is no longer their student
  • [33:25] – Victor shares a story of how he had the opposite experience in Australia, where a teacher wasn’t willing to help outside of their obligated class time
• [34:51] – Anthony’s favourite cities in China: Wuhu & Beijing
  • [34:58] – Anthony still enjoys visiting friends and walking around in Wuhu
  • [35:19] – Anthony likes the feeling that Beijing is a ‘sprawling village’
    • [36:16] – Beijing also has a great underground music scene

Anthony’s Favourite Chinese Quote

• [39:30] – 囊中羞涩 – To have nothing but embarrassment and shame in your pockets
  • 囊(náng) – bag, purse
  • 中(zhōng) – inside, central, middle
  • 羞(xiū) – shame
  • 涩(sè) – harsh
  • [39:52] – As a poor student, this is a very useful phrase for Anthony
• [40:20] – 不要急于求成，应该契而不舍 – Don’t expect fast results, slowly chip away and don’t give up
  • 不要(bú yào) – don’t
  • 急于求成(jí yú qiú chéng) – anxious for quick results (idiom)
  • 应该(yīng gāi) – should
  • 契(qì) – a contract
  • 而(ér) – and so
  • 不舍(bù shě) – reluctant to part with

Anthony’s Advice for Chinese Learners

• [40:52] – Find a passion for learning Chinese
• [40:58] – If you are interested in doing something, you’ll find it much easier and more gratifying to learn

Connect with Anthony

• Weibo: ajhowzer

Resources Mentioned:

• [37:03] – Memrise (iOS, Android)
  • [37:07] – Anthony couldn’t get through HSK-6 without Memrise
• [37:26] – ChinesePod – Podcast that teaches you Chinese dialogues.
  • [37:35] – Anthony likes the structure of these lessons
• [38:16] – Book: Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar: A Student’s Guide to Correct Structures and Common Errors
• [38:28] – Book: New Practical Chinese Reader Vol. 1 (2nd.Ed.): Textbook (W/MP3) (English and Chinese Edition)