How to teach yourself a language

My opinion about learning foreign languages is that it is most efficient to study the language in a classroom environment for 1-3 years and then take off for a country where they speak the language. Going to a country with no knowledge of the language makes it extremely difficult to learn because no one wants to explain to you all of the very basic vocab over and over, but once you have a little background, people for the most part are willing to speak slowly for you. On the opposite end, taking classes for many years without spending much time with native speakers is also ineffective. Textbooks and artificial speaking environments are crucial at first but they become less and less helpful as you get better at the language.

The bottom line though is that the only way of acquiring a foreign is exposure, exposure, exposure… and since travel is expensive, one of the easiest ways to do this is using media… watching foreign TV, listening to online radio, podcasts, or one of my favorites… listening to foreign pop songs. And thanks to YouTube, this is incredibly easy. One of my favorite Chinese pop songs is called “Tong Hua” (Fairy Tales). It's about a girl who dies from love and a guy who expresses his love for her through music. It's the most popular song in Taiwan right now.


Tong Hua by Guang Liang

Music has been proven by psychologists to be a more effective method of remembering things, which is why we sing the ABCs when we are young to remember the alphabet. Singing is fun and with the internet it’s incredibly easy to find translations for foreign songs. One great site for translations is called “Learn Chinese Through Music” (http://www.learn-chinese-through-music.com/)

Let me know if you have any more suggestions for good Chinese songs or websites.