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In numerous articles, I’ve stressed the importance of finding ways of studying Chinese that you actually enjoy. This is not some hippie-kind of encouragement or well-wishing. In fact, it’s not encouragement or well-wishing at all. It’s dead serious and it’s a warning. If you want to reach a high level in Chinese, you have to like what you’re doing. You have to enjoy the process in some way, otherwise you will never win through.
Source:sxc.hu/profile/armzak
In order to learn Chinese, you will need to spend an awful lot of time. In order to persevere and study for a long time, you need to like what you are doing. You need to have fun, otherwise you will never be able to bring yourself to spending the necessary amount of time.
This argument is connected to what I’ve written previously about talent versus effort: learning Chinese is much more about the time you send than anything else. This is a recurring theme on Hacking Chinese, because I strongly believe that the amount of time spent studying Chinese in some way is by far the most important factor that will determine your level of proficiency. The reason why most people who start studying a language don’t succeed is because they don’t spend enough time. Why?
Because spending thousand of hours doing something you hate is very hard
People are usually able to do boring things if required for their survival and comfort, but for the majority of people reading this article, studying Chinese doesn’t qualify as such an activity. It might work for immigrants needing Chinese for work or people who have family members who only speak Chinese, but those situations are exceptions rather than the norm. Some people might be able to force themselves through an education they don’t like, because they know something good awaits them at the end. Mastering Chinese takes a lot more effort than that, though, and if someone succeeds with that while thinking it’s boring, I think he ought to have his head examined, because something must be seriously wrong.
Have fun or else…
One of your main goals should be finding ways to study that you enjoy, not because they are effective or efficient, but because you feel that you can spend lots of time learning Chinese that way. This is the main reason why you should try different methods. Here are some concrete examples. If you love…
- …music, focus a lot on learning Chinese songs and study the lyrics
- …games, play games in Chinese, but pay extra attention to languages
- …travelling, read blogs about travelling in Chinese
- …manga, read the comics and watch the movies, pick a genre you like
- …sports, read articles about sports and watch broadcasts in Chinese
There are many ways to expand something you like, such as:
- Finding friends who share your interest
- Reading blogs about the topic in question
- Writing about what you like on a blog
- Talking with friends about what you like
- Read books/watch films/listen to radio programmes
The point is that you should try to integrate what you like with what you want to do, thus making them one and the same. Imagine what it would be like staying up really late studying, not because you have to because of an exam, but because you really want to know how the next episode of a series ends, or you just have to understand the lyrics of that song that has been echoing in your head the past week. Achieving such a mental state is the ultimate goal. If you can do it, you will master Chinese.
Fun/interesting/entertaining
I’ve used these three words more or less interchangeably in this article. I want to clarify that the name of the game is “whatever floats your boat”. You might find things I like utterly boring and I might not be interested in your hobbies, but we don’t need to care about that. You’re studying the language, as long as you like it it’s okay.
It can’t be fun all the time, but always try to make the best out of the situation
Before I round this off, I want to point out that I don’t mean to say you have to giggle your way through every second of studying. However, I am saying that how much you enjoy doing something is one of the most important factors for how successful you will be.
For instance, I think spaced repetition software is really good, but if you hate reviewing vocabulary this way, you should do your best to find a way of reviewing which suits you better (a viable alternative is to read and listen a lot). If you dislike something which is essential or forced on you by someone else (your teacher, most likely), make the best of the situation, try to find way that make the task suck just a little bit.
Having fun is about more than just having fun
The point is, if you start hating Chinese, you’re doomed. It’s okay to think some parts are boring, but do everything you can to nurture a positive attitude. This is not about having fun all the time, instead it’s about having as much fun as possible. How fun you actually have depends mostly on your attitude, but also on your current situation and what external factors influence your studying. Don’t forget that having fun is not only fun (duh), it’s also more efficient!
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Thank God you said this. I’ve been saying this for years, but a lot of people learning Chinese don’t want to hear this. It’s like they’re personally invested in “no pain, no gain,” which I think is for chumps. When you make it fun, the learning sustains itself.
The brain forgets pain; it’s biological. The brain remembers reward… but also other things, like shame, delicious, sexy, fun… All of those things are better motivators for language learning.
Well said, JP. :)
So this is true for everyone? I thought it was just me who was lazy and undisciplined!
No, I’m kidding. Yeah, absolutely. For how many years I’ve been at Chinese, I think my level is nothing to be proud of. This has to do with my on and off again habit of studying. Whenever I’m in ‘on’ mode, though, there’s no question that the fact that I’ve found some way of studying that is fun is a big factor.
Recently, as an intermediate to advanced learner, I’ve discovered a certain genre of Chinese non-fiction that I find fun to read; and the vocabulary is enough in my range that I can get through it without sweating too much. I actually look forward to having some free time to sit down with these couple books.
Of course it’s still competing with other demands on my schedule, though. But if it wasn’t fun, it wouldn’t even be on ‘my list.’
That’s great! May I ask what genre it is and what books you’ve found? Perhaps others will find them interesting, too.
Yes, the books generally are kind of success-oriented / life philosophy / self-improvement kind of books, written by or about some ‘successful’ Chinese person.
I’ve always liked reading self-help books, and had found years ago that this type of book translated into Chinese can be relatively easy reading. But it never sustained my interest, because I would feel a little silly reading something that I would do better just to read the original English.
But now, I’m exploring similar things written in Chinese – about entrepreneurship (based on the ideas of ‘Ma Yun’, founder of the company, ‘Ali-Baba’, for example).
The reading really is fun for me. (Though not non-stop giggles). :)
That’s great! The thing is that if we’re really, really interested, it doesn’t matter if the content is slightly too difficult for us, we will find ways of coping anyway. One good way of bridging the gap between one’s native language and Chinese would be to read the same book in both languages. That way, we know what the book is about, but we also know that we like the book so much that we’d like to read it again, only this time in Chinese. This makes it much, much easier to read, of course, but still enjoyable!
Good article Olle!
“you have to giggle your way through every second of studying” definitely made me giggle (:
I try to combine various things to maximize the fun of studying Chinese and just recently started to read 蜡笔小新, which is hilarious. I also like to listen to Chinese radio while reviewing my anki decks, as it does not distract me too much because I only understand something like 30 percent. It does, hoewever, make the reviewing more pleasent and gets me used to the “melody” of Chinese.
Hey! Crayon Shinchan!
I actually haven’t read Crayon Shinchan in any language *lowers head in shame* but I salute the use of comics books for language using. Manga for the win.
Very well written article, Olle!
I’d like to add one more point to “learning Chinese the way you enjoy”: If it’s something that you really love and care, you will actively “think” and “feel” in the language that you’re learning. That’s probably the best approach if you want to reach a higher level in the language. There’s nothing better than “your authentic interest” to bring you experience of exhilaration through reading, listening and watching in the new language you’re learning.
Great post and so very true! I have always found that finding music I like in another language always increases my interest in learning it and in turn enhances the “fun” element. I become curious as to what the lyrics mean but also become attracted to the intonations and undulations of the phonetics of the language as it is presented through the music and instantaneously becomes more attractive. For example students on Chinese courses in Beijing might want to listen to some Chinese hip hop to get them motivated.
[...] RTI, my favourite radio station Have fun learning Chinese or else… [...]
[...] The lesson we can lean from this is that motivation is something we need to consider carefully. We need to find ways of studying that we find interesting, entertaining or important in some way. [...]