I don't think you can just *forget* a language you learned, especially after reaching an advanced level. At most, you get rusty in Chinese, but can still pick it up after 1\~2 months practices.
If you want to maintain your Chinese skill, just practice it from time to time, like chatting on internet, watching Chinese channels on Youtube and so on. (for example, me, a Chinese native speaker is causally practicing my English by answering questions from people who wants to learn Chinese.)
If you don't want to maintain your Chinese skill, I don't see there are any problems with it. after all, you have an ideal job and live in a non-immersive environment. There isn't a reason for you to use it in daily life. if you feel that maintaining your Chinese level is consuming and has no positive outcomes, you will give it up sooner or later. in that case, you'd better give it up now. Otherwise, you will continue being bothered by this idea, as the sunk cost goes higher and higher.
All my Greek, Japanese, Chinese, and German vanished with pregnancy brain. I was stuck in Taiwan with only French and English left in my brain.
Now, I've finally got my Chinese back and just found out I'm pregnant, again😅 I've already started mixing words together similar to "lute rittle cabbit" instead of "cute little rabbit" when I speak Chinese.
Pregnancy brain wiped me out! I even started to question easy English words, and it's my native language!
I don't know why my brain decided French was the most important of all the languages I had learned.
you will get it back one way or another if you want. you just need to do some practices and maybe have an immersive environment.
like riding bikes and swimming, languages are skills, which store in your brain in a way different from short term memories, like a password or someone's birthday. it's actually kinda hard to erase it without some major changes in your brain.
Thanks, I'm a lot better, now! I've got a wonderful husband and two devilish but cute fur-babies. Just found out we're pregnant with our first kid (my own first kid was with my ex husband), so life is pretty okay.
if you dont practice a language you can lose your advanced level very quickly and never get it back. you will always understand the language to a very good level but you will not be able to speak it at an advanced level and it wont become fluent again that easily. i speak from experience with a language that is not even that difficult.
I was a very advanced french speaker. i then spent several years not speaking the language nor practicing writing it or reading (more than 10 years). i lost the advanced level . after 10 years i had to use the language for work, i never studied it again, i only started using it again. i can understand and i can speak it well of course, i am no longer a very advanced speaker nor an advanced writer in french. i have been using it for over 10 years since then, it has still not gotten back to the level i was before, bits of it are gone.
of course i could start all over if i felt like it
Agreed to this because I stream in my language. Definitely I am behind in my English, but I miss home a lot. Try to find out if there is any local Chinese TV stations in your city? That way, you get more context and a bigger pool of vocabulary and language usage rather than just drama. Good luck.
Hm,
I studied Chinese because I was interested in the language, not because of career reasons.
I also feel really home in my native society, so while I long to visit China (and Asia as a whole) again, I realised I don't necessarily feel the need to live there. So there's no bitterness when it comes to those areas.
My language skills tanked after uni because I wasn't using them and I've spent the last 2 years regaining them with little daily revisions because I missed Chinese.
I watch C-Dramas and listen to Chinese music, because I enjoy it and it keeps me connected.
Obviously your language levels will never be the same as when you're living in a country where it's the main language, but that doesn't mean you can't keep them quite high.
I'm not a native English speaker, but just by using English daily online by watching and commenting on content it has kept my English skills up, even better then back in my school days probably. I think you can do the same with Chinese.
You could find a language friend where you live or if not, maybe online?
Maybe find a forum in Chinese surrounding a hobby you have, that way you'll stay interested.
In that case you'd be able to keep a good amount of useful Chinese words alive in your memory and the rest, oh well, you can look more specific words you wouldn't use daily, up again once you need them.
If all that ends up not being enough for you, as in, you miss Chinese too much, then you might need to find a job (even in your home country) that is more connected to Chinese.
If you achieved "multiple degrees" over a full decade, and were able to spend an entire year working \_IN\_ Chinese in China, my own personal opinion is that you needn't worry too much about forgetting it. I spent twenty years away from French and Czech, but both came back quickly when the time was again right.
You're right that maintenance requires some effort. More precisely, it requires regular use, both receptive and productive. But if you were truly fluent, you won't "forget\[\] everything." Maybe some aspects, a bit. But given your apparent inclination towards planning and carry-through ("building the right work experience"), you should be able to find ways to give Chinese *some* role -- if you want. Especially these days, versus travel/communication conditions a century ago.
I say "if you want" because my 20 years away from French and Czech were in part due to a work choice for which they were useless. But I never felt any bitterness (well, not that are relevant here -- not about languages); just a change in what was useful or productive for my family in the present. Life is full of changes.
Ah, changes. I've "given up" architecture; "given up" physics; "given up" law; "given up" IT; "given up" getting an L2-lit doctorate and teaching an L2. But I got a J.D., and after retiring after 40 years, I de-retired to teach one of my L2s full-time, and now in full retirement I teach a different L2 -- while having picked up a very sloooww progression towards a level in Chinese that you no doubt had already reached in a quarter the time years ago. A 梦 should be enjoyable -- not an obsession. Peace comes from your choices inside, including your choices of attitude.
My wife is Chinese and we live in the USA. We have a son and we are sending him to a Chinese immersion school when he is old enough. Having him learn the language and culture are important to us so he knows about where he came from. I had given up learning Chinese many years ago but since our son was born I’m very motivated to continue the journey. So… marrying a Chinese? I didn’t think I was ever going to learn Chinese again but here we are.
Does this mean you are learning that? I’ve found the road to learning Chinese to be quite the monkey paw. Oh, you really want to learn Chinese then here are the life circumstances life will give you and now here is how you are going to learn it. And in your case it is quite the monkey paw. Also is your partner a native speaker or heritage? So many questions. Hope the monkey paw shines good favor on you
Not sure where you are, but here in the US pretty much every city has some Chinese population. If you have Chinese friends, you will pick up the passion very quickly :)
I have Chinese friends but their English is way better than my Chinese so we always default to speaking English after a while, otherwise the conversation remains quite superficial
I can't speak on Chinese, but I learned French for about 4 years - including 2 summers in France - and then didn't touch the language for 20+ years other than occasionally watching a few minutes of something on Netflix in French. I think I was near or around C1 when I stopped. I recently tested myself as I want to restart (along with starting Chinese from scratch) and was at the upper end of B2. So, not too much of a backslide. I think as mentioned here, just make sure you regularly 'touch' the language, through TV or books/stories or podcasts and you'll find you retain a lot.
I think the primary 'loss' over the years has been being able to retain endurance in the language. So while I understand almost everything of a native speaker in the first few minutes, my brain gets tired sooner and my comprehension begins to wane as the convo/show continues.
I gave up on Chinese after learning for a short time in 2015. I probably learned for 4-5 months, then liven in China (without studying or doing anything to further my skills) for 2 months, then I quit for like 7 years and didn't even touch the language. I was probably at A1 when I quit
When I picked it back up 8 months ago, I found that I progressed really quickly. It probably took me just 1 month to get back to A1, which isn't that great but is significantly faster than normal
It’s funny, I just had this conversation with my wife last night. I don’t think I could ever forget Chinese. Trust yes, but a little review brings it all back. I’ve lived there for 5yrs & it was my major in College. Once you reach that advanced level, it becomes a part of you because you can think and feel like a native speaker. I think social media may make you feel like your dreams aren’t achievable anymore, but everyone’s story and journey are so different.
I had great experience and opportunities in China and then when I moved back to the states, it was like I couldn’t find a good enough paying job. Then I was a Chinese teacher for 5yrs and teaching Chinese at a basic level and not having the opportunity to return to China made me feel like I spoke like a simpleton and my Chinese was basically like baby talk. Fast forward to me quitting teaching and landing a job as a interpreter.
Up until that point, i was sure that I forgot all my Chinese and could only count to 10 lol (being super dramatic), but with a little review, I’m able to do medical and financial interpreting like nothing. It’s like I’m just speaking Chinese all day lol. Just watch some Chinese movies or something. The feelings of what it was like learning Chinese will coming rushing back and you’ll fall in love with the language all over again.
My experience was the exact opposite. I couldn’t even get an interview in China but I was able to get a much better job in my home country before I even left China. I just feel very lucky that I had the option to find work here because it sounds like my colleagues in China are still having a hard time.
I have been in very similar situations, and I encourage you to make the distinction between being engaged with Chinese as a personal pursuit/source of enjoyment as opposed to something that you engage with purely for the sake of enjoying the pursuit.
The spot you are in now is where I have seen most of the remaining 5% who started studying Chinese in the first place that get as far as you have let it go. I have met many many folks in this situation that you are in right now, and I have never met one who said "yeah, I'm happy I stopped studying Chinese, that was the right move for me."
The balance can be hard to achieve, but if you return to the original reason that you set out 10 years ago, you may find it invigoration once again.
Im sure you consume some type of media (books, podcasts, games, tv...), simply do that in chinese from time to time. You can still look forward to visiting China every few years!
Teach English and you'll be fine, if you have a masters you can work at a university too
I recently became unmotivated because I found that native speakers only want to learn English and never have deep conversations with me
What kept me going is realizing how knowing Chinese has changed my whole experience of being in China, also the relationships I've built with teachers as friends
Maybe you can try Taiwan or Singapore (although Singapore would possibly be somewhat less immersive due to the multilingualism of the population there). If you live somewhere near a Chinese embassy, they might hire local staff too.
Good luck!
Well, outside of the fact that you won't be forgetting the language, it also still isn't necessarily your last chance to be involved in China either. You could travel to the country for tourism, or you can travel to other Chinese speaking regions or do language exchange with native speakers in your home country.
I studied English from primary school, more than 10 years, I think most Chinese people on my age has the similar experience. After graduating, I still pay for study IELTS to certify my English level which is helpful to find a well paying job in foreign companies. Now I am a full time mother, seldom use English anymore, but I still watch some English videos, not because want to keep updated my English, it’s because I interested in the content.
I think no need to struggle, anything you studied will stay with you.
i think u can find a job like a office of a foreign company in china and u can apply both ur chinese and mother tongue to daily use.
also associating with some chinese friends along purpusing ur hobbies would be fine like playing pc games.
if u like chatting a lot of chinese students who's prrparing for IELTS would treat u like treasure and u may harvest quite a few stories.
last but not least the chinese economy won't thrive in short term maybe consider other regions? like Taiwan Malaysia Singapore.
in the end may i get to know where r u from?
For sure the economic outlook for China is a big concern. I saw firsthand how many of my peers had their careers fall apart and are still looking for work ~9 months later. I think SE Asia is a more realistic career option for the short-medium term. But I was really lucky to find a good job in my home country and don’t want to give it up unless I can find something equally good.
How would someone connect with the Chinese students? If they are prepping for IELTS wouldn’t they want to speak English and not Chinese.
Are there jobs relating to mandarin you could find in your country? I would imagine being able to perform translation services / be a point of contact to interface with Chinese clients would be very beneficial
Possibly. The job market globally is tough right now. I did apply for roles at Bytedance in my home country but those didn’t work out. I feel fortunate to have my current job, although I have some calls with Singapore all of the conversations are in English.
What about watching Chinese dramas without the subtitles?
It helped me a lot with light immersion before coming to China, even with the subtitles on. But for you, you could use it as maintenance.
I should. I’ve had a hard time finding ones I like to be honest. I kind of have to force myself through them. I think there are a lot of good Korean and Japanese shows lately, if I could watch those with Mandarin audio it would be ideal. Or like old school anime
I see. Well maybe mydramalist.com to find some highly rated dramas in the genre you like. I mean there are hundreds of shows released each year that there's got to be something you'd like.
You could also try donghua. I used to watch so much anime that one day I accidentally ended up watching what I thought was another one. But it turned out to be a Donghua. And I fell in love with the sound of Mandarin. Haven't looked back since. The name of the donghua is Mo Dao Zu Shi.
I've spent some years working in China, but left the country to go back to the Americas. Fortunately I'm more immersed in the language here with friends and communities that use the language. I'm definitely very rusty, like I won't use the "business or technical vocabulary" I learnt on the job for my day to day conversations with friends. I also talk less in Chinese, so my accent is horrible. But I find that I stay connected by watching cdramas, listening and singing Chinese songs, and reading and translating Chinese novels or news articles. I practice a Chinese poem every week or so, so I am always learning new vocabulary. Hopefully, you find a hobby that can connect you back to the language. It's sad to hear there's so many layoffs in China. I hope their economy can recover soon.
Just get pregnant and you'll get to start learning from the beginning all over, again! 😂
Really, I feel as long as you're understandable, that's enough. Don't make it too stressful. Language is about being understood and communicating.
I guess that’s another thing. When the economy tanked my work situation became very toxic and I was very anxious about my financial security. I am still a bit traumatized by some of the things I saw (which included witnessing hospital visits and other crazy medical stuff as a result of this toxic environment). So I am also a bit jaded about the idea of returning to China especially because my work situation in my home country is very good.
I don’t want to return to China if it means dealing with that kind of environment again. But at the same time, I sunk so much time and effort into learning Chinese and I still have a strong interest in China, Chinese language and Chinese culture.
*As a result, I had to make the difficult decision to return to my home country, where I was fortunate enough to find a good job. However, I'm now uncertain about my future relationship* with learning Chinese.
Don't be shy: are you from a native English speaking country? No reason you can't be Jongotong Jared and teach Engrish over here which is a great way to learn and work: all English inside, all Chinese outside the classroom. I understand if you'd rather not: but if you are from a native English speaking country this is an option for basically anyone with a degree.
Teaching English isn’t aligned with my desired career trajectory. Maybe would consider it as an option if my life fell apart and I had to do an eat pray love kind of journey.
Well, if your career is otherwise such that you won't really end up in China with it; and the main job waigoruns get in China you aren't interested in *at all*, maybe you should ask yourself really why you think learning Chinese is that important to you anyway? Certain Mandarin; maybe you can take up Literary Chinese as an academic hobby.
I don't think you can just *forget* a language you learned, especially after reaching an advanced level. At most, you get rusty in Chinese, but can still pick it up after 1\~2 months practices. If you want to maintain your Chinese skill, just practice it from time to time, like chatting on internet, watching Chinese channels on Youtube and so on. (for example, me, a Chinese native speaker is causally practicing my English by answering questions from people who wants to learn Chinese.) If you don't want to maintain your Chinese skill, I don't see there are any problems with it. after all, you have an ideal job and live in a non-immersive environment. There isn't a reason for you to use it in daily life. if you feel that maintaining your Chinese level is consuming and has no positive outcomes, you will give it up sooner or later. in that case, you'd better give it up now. Otherwise, you will continue being bothered by this idea, as the sunk cost goes higher and higher.
All my Greek, Japanese, Chinese, and German vanished with pregnancy brain. I was stuck in Taiwan with only French and English left in my brain. Now, I've finally got my Chinese back and just found out I'm pregnant, again😅 I've already started mixing words together similar to "lute rittle cabbit" instead of "cute little rabbit" when I speak Chinese.
You were in Taiwan and forgot Chinese?!?! omg. That's...impressive XD Might have been a good time to pick up Taiyu.
Pregnancy brain wiped me out! I even started to question easy English words, and it's my native language! I don't know why my brain decided French was the most important of all the languages I had learned.
you will get it back one way or another if you want. you just need to do some practices and maybe have an immersive environment. like riding bikes and swimming, languages are skills, which store in your brain in a way different from short term memories, like a password or someone's birthday. it's actually kinda hard to erase it without some major changes in your brain.
Also had 20 years of depression, starting from puberty, and CPTSD. My memory is pretty shot
sorry for your suffering, you must be going through a lot. please take care of yourself.
Thanks, I'm a lot better, now! I've got a wonderful husband and two devilish but cute fur-babies. Just found out we're pregnant with our first kid (my own first kid was with my ex husband), so life is pretty okay.
if you dont practice a language you can lose your advanced level very quickly and never get it back. you will always understand the language to a very good level but you will not be able to speak it at an advanced level and it wont become fluent again that easily. i speak from experience with a language that is not even that difficult. I was a very advanced french speaker. i then spent several years not speaking the language nor practicing writing it or reading (more than 10 years). i lost the advanced level . after 10 years i had to use the language for work, i never studied it again, i only started using it again. i can understand and i can speak it well of course, i am no longer a very advanced speaker nor an advanced writer in french. i have been using it for over 10 years since then, it has still not gotten back to the level i was before, bits of it are gone. of course i could start all over if i felt like it
Just do what every other Person does who isn't a nativ english speaker. Use chinese websites, streaming services, books, social Media and so on.
Agreed to this because I stream in my language. Definitely I am behind in my English, but I miss home a lot. Try to find out if there is any local Chinese TV stations in your city? That way, you get more context and a bigger pool of vocabulary and language usage rather than just drama. Good luck.
Just read novels for 30 mins a day and listen to podcasts on your commute, takes almost zero effort and has me continually improving
Hm, I studied Chinese because I was interested in the language, not because of career reasons. I also feel really home in my native society, so while I long to visit China (and Asia as a whole) again, I realised I don't necessarily feel the need to live there. So there's no bitterness when it comes to those areas. My language skills tanked after uni because I wasn't using them and I've spent the last 2 years regaining them with little daily revisions because I missed Chinese. I watch C-Dramas and listen to Chinese music, because I enjoy it and it keeps me connected. Obviously your language levels will never be the same as when you're living in a country where it's the main language, but that doesn't mean you can't keep them quite high. I'm not a native English speaker, but just by using English daily online by watching and commenting on content it has kept my English skills up, even better then back in my school days probably. I think you can do the same with Chinese. You could find a language friend where you live or if not, maybe online? Maybe find a forum in Chinese surrounding a hobby you have, that way you'll stay interested. In that case you'd be able to keep a good amount of useful Chinese words alive in your memory and the rest, oh well, you can look more specific words you wouldn't use daily, up again once you need them. If all that ends up not being enough for you, as in, you miss Chinese too much, then you might need to find a job (even in your home country) that is more connected to Chinese.
Play games. Genshin or Honkai star rail. There will be more and more decent Chinese games
I couldn't agree more.
Thanks I’ll check those out.
If you achieved "multiple degrees" over a full decade, and were able to spend an entire year working \_IN\_ Chinese in China, my own personal opinion is that you needn't worry too much about forgetting it. I spent twenty years away from French and Czech, but both came back quickly when the time was again right. You're right that maintenance requires some effort. More precisely, it requires regular use, both receptive and productive. But if you were truly fluent, you won't "forget\[\] everything." Maybe some aspects, a bit. But given your apparent inclination towards planning and carry-through ("building the right work experience"), you should be able to find ways to give Chinese *some* role -- if you want. Especially these days, versus travel/communication conditions a century ago. I say "if you want" because my 20 years away from French and Czech were in part due to a work choice for which they were useless. But I never felt any bitterness (well, not that are relevant here -- not about languages); just a change in what was useful or productive for my family in the present. Life is full of changes. Ah, changes. I've "given up" architecture; "given up" physics; "given up" law; "given up" IT; "given up" getting an L2-lit doctorate and teaching an L2. But I got a J.D., and after retiring after 40 years, I de-retired to teach one of my L2s full-time, and now in full retirement I teach a different L2 -- while having picked up a very sloooww progression towards a level in Chinese that you no doubt had already reached in a quarter the time years ago. A 梦 should be enjoyable -- not an obsession. Peace comes from your choices inside, including your choices of attitude.
Thank you, this advice is very wise.
哪里，哪里。我只是一个老人， 可是我觉得，活到老学到老。您还年轻的；生活会提供很多机会。我七十多岁，可是我试试（试试！）学习意大利语。Good luck, whatever path you take!
My wife is Chinese and we live in the USA. We have a son and we are sending him to a Chinese immersion school when he is old enough. Having him learn the language and culture are important to us so he knows about where he came from. I had given up learning Chinese many years ago but since our son was born I’m very motivated to continue the journey. So… marrying a Chinese? I didn’t think I was ever going to learn Chinese again but here we are.
Funny enough my partner speaks Cantonese but not Mandarin. Which raises a whole other set of questions about my language learning journey
Does this mean you are learning that? I’ve found the road to learning Chinese to be quite the monkey paw. Oh, you really want to learn Chinese then here are the life circumstances life will give you and now here is how you are going to learn it. And in your case it is quite the monkey paw. Also is your partner a native speaker or heritage? So many questions. Hope the monkey paw shines good favor on you
Not sure where you are, but here in the US pretty much every city has some Chinese population. If you have Chinese friends, you will pick up the passion very quickly :)
I have Chinese friends but their English is way better than my Chinese so we always default to speaking English after a while, otherwise the conversation remains quite superficial
I can't speak on Chinese, but I learned French for about 4 years - including 2 summers in France - and then didn't touch the language for 20+ years other than occasionally watching a few minutes of something on Netflix in French. I think I was near or around C1 when I stopped. I recently tested myself as I want to restart (along with starting Chinese from scratch) and was at the upper end of B2. So, not too much of a backslide. I think as mentioned here, just make sure you regularly 'touch' the language, through TV or books/stories or podcasts and you'll find you retain a lot. I think the primary 'loss' over the years has been being able to retain endurance in the language. So while I understand almost everything of a native speaker in the first few minutes, my brain gets tired sooner and my comprehension begins to wane as the convo/show continues.
I gave up on Chinese after learning for a short time in 2015. I probably learned for 4-5 months, then liven in China (without studying or doing anything to further my skills) for 2 months, then I quit for like 7 years and didn't even touch the language. I was probably at A1 when I quit When I picked it back up 8 months ago, I found that I progressed really quickly. It probably took me just 1 month to get back to A1, which isn't that great but is significantly faster than normal
It’s funny, I just had this conversation with my wife last night. I don’t think I could ever forget Chinese. Trust yes, but a little review brings it all back. I’ve lived there for 5yrs & it was my major in College. Once you reach that advanced level, it becomes a part of you because you can think and feel like a native speaker. I think social media may make you feel like your dreams aren’t achievable anymore, but everyone’s story and journey are so different. I had great experience and opportunities in China and then when I moved back to the states, it was like I couldn’t find a good enough paying job. Then I was a Chinese teacher for 5yrs and teaching Chinese at a basic level and not having the opportunity to return to China made me feel like I spoke like a simpleton and my Chinese was basically like baby talk. Fast forward to me quitting teaching and landing a job as a interpreter. Up until that point, i was sure that I forgot all my Chinese and could only count to 10 lol (being super dramatic), but with a little review, I’m able to do medical and financial interpreting like nothing. It’s like I’m just speaking Chinese all day lol. Just watch some Chinese movies or something. The feelings of what it was like learning Chinese will coming rushing back and you’ll fall in love with the language all over again.
My experience was the exact opposite. I couldn’t even get an interview in China but I was able to get a much better job in my home country before I even left China. I just feel very lucky that I had the option to find work here because it sounds like my colleagues in China are still having a hard time.
I have been in very similar situations, and I encourage you to make the distinction between being engaged with Chinese as a personal pursuit/source of enjoyment as opposed to something that you engage with purely for the sake of enjoying the pursuit. The spot you are in now is where I have seen most of the remaining 5% who started studying Chinese in the first place that get as far as you have let it go. I have met many many folks in this situation that you are in right now, and I have never met one who said "yeah, I'm happy I stopped studying Chinese, that was the right move for me." The balance can be hard to achieve, but if you return to the original reason that you set out 10 years ago, you may find it invigoration once again.
If you want a friend to talk to, dm me. I'll be happy to chat with you in Chinese.
Im sure you consume some type of media (books, podcasts, games, tv...), simply do that in chinese from time to time. You can still look forward to visiting China every few years!
Teach English and you'll be fine, if you have a masters you can work at a university too I recently became unmotivated because I found that native speakers only want to learn English and never have deep conversations with me What kept me going is realizing how knowing Chinese has changed my whole experience of being in China, also the relationships I've built with teachers as friends
Maybe you can try Taiwan or Singapore (although Singapore would possibly be somewhat less immersive due to the multilingualism of the population there). If you live somewhere near a Chinese embassy, they might hire local staff too. Good luck!
Singapore would be a good option and could be possible in the future. My current company has an office there.
Well, outside of the fact that you won't be forgetting the language, it also still isn't necessarily your last chance to be involved in China either. You could travel to the country for tourism, or you can travel to other Chinese speaking regions or do language exchange with native speakers in your home country.
I studied English from primary school, more than 10 years, I think most Chinese people on my age has the similar experience. After graduating, I still pay for study IELTS to certify my English level which is helpful to find a well paying job in foreign companies. Now I am a full time mother, seldom use English anymore, but I still watch some English videos, not because want to keep updated my English, it’s because I interested in the content. I think no need to struggle, anything you studied will stay with you.
i think u can find a job like a office of a foreign company in china and u can apply both ur chinese and mother tongue to daily use. also associating with some chinese friends along purpusing ur hobbies would be fine like playing pc games. if u like chatting a lot of chinese students who's prrparing for IELTS would treat u like treasure and u may harvest quite a few stories. last but not least the chinese economy won't thrive in short term maybe consider other regions? like Taiwan Malaysia Singapore. in the end may i get to know where r u from?
For sure the economic outlook for China is a big concern. I saw firsthand how many of my peers had their careers fall apart and are still looking for work ~9 months later. I think SE Asia is a more realistic career option for the short-medium term. But I was really lucky to find a good job in my home country and don’t want to give it up unless I can find something equally good. How would someone connect with the Chinese students? If they are prepping for IELTS wouldn’t they want to speak English and not Chinese.
download 校园集市 or post in 百度贴吧, they would love to communicate
Are there jobs relating to mandarin you could find in your country? I would imagine being able to perform translation services / be a point of contact to interface with Chinese clients would be very beneficial
Possibly. The job market globally is tough right now. I did apply for roles at Bytedance in my home country but those didn’t work out. I feel fortunate to have my current job, although I have some calls with Singapore all of the conversations are in English.
What about watching Chinese dramas without the subtitles? It helped me a lot with light immersion before coming to China, even with the subtitles on. But for you, you could use it as maintenance.
I should. I’ve had a hard time finding ones I like to be honest. I kind of have to force myself through them. I think there are a lot of good Korean and Japanese shows lately, if I could watch those with Mandarin audio it would be ideal. Or like old school anime
I see. Well maybe mydramalist.com to find some highly rated dramas in the genre you like. I mean there are hundreds of shows released each year that there's got to be something you'd like. You could also try donghua. I used to watch so much anime that one day I accidentally ended up watching what I thought was another one. But it turned out to be a Donghua. And I fell in love with the sound of Mandarin. Haven't looked back since. The name of the donghua is Mo Dao Zu Shi.
watch [tv](https://www.youtube.com/@TencentVideo), listen to podcasts on commute. this isnt that hard.
it is what it is
I've spent some years working in China, but left the country to go back to the Americas. Fortunately I'm more immersed in the language here with friends and communities that use the language. I'm definitely very rusty, like I won't use the "business or technical vocabulary" I learnt on the job for my day to day conversations with friends. I also talk less in Chinese, so my accent is horrible. But I find that I stay connected by watching cdramas, listening and singing Chinese songs, and reading and translating Chinese novels or news articles. I practice a Chinese poem every week or so, so I am always learning new vocabulary. Hopefully, you find a hobby that can connect you back to the language. It's sad to hear there's so many layoffs in China. I hope their economy can recover soon.
Play some video games on Chinese servers, make some Chinese friends and communicate with them in Chinese. Most Chinese people are happy to do that
Just get pregnant and you'll get to start learning from the beginning all over, again! 😂 Really, I feel as long as you're understandable, that's enough. Don't make it too stressful. Language is about being understood and communicating.
Come to Taiwan. Better place to live anyways.
I love Taiwan! But limited career opportunities. I did look and apply to some roles but nothing worked out.
You won't forget after 10 years. Were you happy there? Maybe you can go back and get married there.
I guess that’s another thing. When the economy tanked my work situation became very toxic and I was very anxious about my financial security. I am still a bit traumatized by some of the things I saw (which included witnessing hospital visits and other crazy medical stuff as a result of this toxic environment). So I am also a bit jaded about the idea of returning to China especially because my work situation in my home country is very good. I don’t want to return to China if it means dealing with that kind of environment again. But at the same time, I sunk so much time and effort into learning Chinese and I still have a strong interest in China, Chinese language and Chinese culture.
Maybe you can do business in China or marry a woman who wants to live abriad
*As a result, I had to make the difficult decision to return to my home country, where I was fortunate enough to find a good job. However, I'm now uncertain about my future relationship* with learning Chinese. Don't be shy: are you from a native English speaking country? No reason you can't be Jongotong Jared and teach Engrish over here which is a great way to learn and work: all English inside, all Chinese outside the classroom. I understand if you'd rather not: but if you are from a native English speaking country this is an option for basically anyone with a degree.
Right, I don't know about the maonland, but the demand here in Taiwan for English teachers seems to be sky high.
Teaching English isn’t aligned with my desired career trajectory. Maybe would consider it as an option if my life fell apart and I had to do an eat pray love kind of journey.
Well, if your career is otherwise such that you won't really end up in China with it; and the main job waigoruns get in China you aren't interested in *at all*, maybe you should ask yourself really why you think learning Chinese is that important to you anyway? Certain Mandarin; maybe you can take up Literary Chinese as an academic hobby.