Adventures in Mandarin Pt 2 - The Search for a School

So having made this monumental decision to throw myself into the study of Mandarin, I needed to find a school. A pool, if you will, to throw myself into. It was not as easy as I first thought it would be.

In the area of Northern NJ, there are numerous Chinese associations that have Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) classes, but they were CSL for kids, a class where Chinese born parents would take their kids to learn to speak Mandarin. This generally happens on the weekend, and I can't help but imagine that the kids go to this class with all the enthusiasm of being marched off to prison. But whether or not that is the case, this did not seem like the appropriate class for me. I couldn't bear the thought of getting blown away academically by some kids.

My Alma Mater, County College of Morris, sent me a catalog in the mail, and lo and behold, there was Chinese as a Second Language. I was excited. Here was an accredited course by a respected two year college. My excitement was about as short lived as the course. It was cancelled due to a lack of enrollments. This was not to be an isolated incident. At least two other classes I found were cancelled for the same reason.

Late last spring, my colleague, Wayne, approached me about the Northern NJ Chinese Association which he is involved in. He knew that I had a keen interest to study the language, and the NNJCA was putting together a CSL for Adults class for the fall. I signed up before they could change their mind.

My first day at class was a bit intimidating. All the room assignments were written in Chinese. But I found a familiar face, and found out where my class was being held. That was two months ago, and I am still loving it, and I look forward to going every week. I enjoy learning new words and phrases, and the little bits of culture that come with it. For those of you who know me an my wise cracking ways, you know that my teacher, Debbie Yao, is next in line for sainthood for putting up with me and my unique sense of humor. But I do fancy that I am missed when I am absent.

Any telling of my quest to learn Mandarin would be incomplete without giving credit to two other sources beside the formal class I am taking. The first, and most important to me for a great many reasons, are my friends. I have a few Mandarin speaking friends who have patiently listened to me mangle their language, and patiently corrected me. Without them, learning would not be quite so much fun.

The second is a site that I heard of while at school called ChinesePod. It is a great website with a number of great tools, and audio lessons that you can podcast to your iPod. The site is not just about the language but also the culture of China. The "Dear Amber" weekly podcast always gives good perspective. But my favorites are the audio lessons with Ken Carroll and Jenny Zhu. They are the Burns and Allen of ChinesePod (if only Ken would close the lesson with, "Say goodnight, Jenny"). They are so entertaining that you want to listen to the lesson any number of times, and forget that you are learning. There are multiple levels of lessons (Newbie, Elementary, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, and Advanced), and the lessons themselves are structured so that you think about what is being said and can sort of understand what is happening even before Ken and Jenny lay it out for your in their own unique way. And Jenny also maintains her own blog that gives you more cultural insights and reflections on China. If you are interested in expanding your perspective, I encourage you to check it out.

Well, for now it is "Wan An". Until next time...