Learning a language can go one of
three ways: you work hard and learn the language well, you work on it once in a
while and know the language to a limited extent, or you completely forget how
to say hello in that language.
I found that the best way to learn
a language was to ask myself: “Why do I want to learn this language?” To
impress others? To improve business or political relationships? A hobby or
passion? Just like anything else in life, we must find a passion to learn
something. I believe that we should not just learn a language, but rather learn
it well. Once we reach that point, not only do we acquire a new skill, we can
look back and feel satisfied at all the heart and determination it took to
accomplish this daunting task.
A few years ago, I was trying to learn Mandarin. For those who have tried to learn Mandarin, you must understand the difficult in trying to listen to all those tones. I could not distinguish a second tone from a first tone. When someone says something to me in Mandarin, I shake nervously because I could not understand a single sound they made. You know what kept me going? It was my hatred for those tones that kept me going. I was not going to stop until I could hear those tones. I would rather die trying to learn those tones than to give up.
A few years ago, I was trying to learn Mandarin. For those who have tried to learn Mandarin, you must understand the difficult in trying to listen to all those tones. I could not distinguish a second tone from a first tone. When someone says something to me in Mandarin, I shake nervously because I could not understand a single sound they made. You know what kept me going? It was my hatred for those tones that kept me going. I was not going to stop until I could hear those tones. I would rather die trying to learn those tones than to give up.
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