Comments on: Don’t be a tourist if you want to learn Chinese

By: Professionals and cons with travelling to be taught a language - marcelalovesafrica

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 11:22:04 +0000

[…] Briefly, vacationers don’t be taught a lot when travelling, so don’t be a vacationer if bettering your Chinese language is the rationale you journey. […]

By: Pros and cons with travelling to learn a language | Hacking Chinese

Pros and cons with travelling to learn a language | Hacking Chinese — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 19:37:18 +0000

[…] In short, tourists don’t learn much when travelling, so don’t be a tourist if improving your Chinese is the reason you travel. […]

By: Olle Linge

Olle Linge — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 06:47:28 +0000

In reply to Paul. Sounds like very good rules!

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 19:32:00 +0000

When I travel to China I always give myself two rules:

1) Chinese only (except with my wife)
2) Nothing American (food, Starbucks, shopping, etc.)

The “nothing American” rule really helps push me to try new things and avoid the tourist mentality. The “Chinese only” rule is partially about practicing the language, but it also makes me feel more integrated with the country and less like an outsider. My Chinese is only low-intermediate, so I definitely struggle a lot, but it’s definitely worth it.

By: Olle Linge

Olle Linge — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:26:16 +0000

In reply to Sara K.. That depends on what you consider to be the destination. I would say "as immersed as you feel comfortable with" is a good one and that is achievable. I mean, the goal of immersion isn't necessarily to forget your life prior to arriving in Taiwan and never speak with your family and friends again. :)

By: Sara K.

Sara K. — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 06:43:10 +0000

Well, while I suppose I am taking baby steps in the general direction of integration into Taiwanese society, I have no intention of ever arriving at that destination 😉

By: Olle Linge

Olle Linge — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:45:14 +0000

I realise that most people can’t or won’t simply throw themselves into a new society with no lifeline at all. I’m actually a rather cautious and shy person myself, even though I went to Taiwan on my own and didn’t know anyone when I arrived. It was quite tough at times, but I still managed. Once my Chinese started improving, things became a lot easier (just like you say).

In short, I understand why people are tourists and if that’s a deliberate decision, that’s fine. I’m not telling people what to do, but I am saying that tourists will learn less Chinese. This is still a matter of balancing what you can cope with with what you want to achieve, which might be tricky. As I say in the article towards the end, I think “baby steps to more integration” is the way to go. If you take small steps for a long time, you will still come a long way.

By: Sara K.

Sara K. — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:04:21 +0000

My mother has often noted that much of the population of San Francisco consists of long-term tourists (they live in San Francisco for a few years and then return to their home town or go to wherever they will settle down).

I consider myself to be a long-term tourist in Taiwan – I know I will return to the United States, so I don’t want to put my roots down too deeply here. But I am also learning Chinese (which is why I am reading this blog). And learning Chinese is definitely one of the reasons I moved out of Taipei – I am learning much more quickly now that I am in a location where, in order to get basic daily stuff done, I have to use Chinese, and I have a lot less support from the expat community (I found the expat community essential when I first arrived, but now I do not need that support as much). Of course, my spoken Chinese is now good enough that I can meet my daily needs, so as far as speaking skills I am treading water rather than advancing. However, I am now focused on my listening and reading skills, so I OK with the fact that I am not progressing in speaking skills right now. Once I have attained my goals vis-a-vis listening and reading, I will go back to working on my speaking skills.