{"id":7752,"date":"2016-08-24T09:10:58","date_gmt":"2016-08-24T09:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=7752"},"modified":"2016-08-24T09:10:58","modified_gmt":"2016-08-24T09:10:58","slug":"speak-mandarin-taxi-chinese-plateau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/speak-mandarin-taxi-chinese-plateau.html","title":{"rendered":"The Taxi Chinese Plateau and How To Get Over It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some days it seems as though the majority of foreigners in China speak amazingly fluent Mandarin.\u00a0 Some days it feels like no one cares about it once they are able to order a plate of xiaolongbao <\/em>and tell a taxi driver their intended intersection.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the Taxi Chinese Plateau.\u00a0 And there are a lot of reasons why it is so difficult to get over.\u00a0 For me, those boiled down to two main points: time and questioning if it actually matters.<\/p>\n

The Quick Fix: Making Time<\/h2>\n

Like going to the gym, eating right all the time, and getting enough sleep, most of the people working full time in China just don\u2019t think they have the time to learn Chinese.\u00a0 But it isn\u2019t really about the time, is it?<\/p>\n

Speaking from personal experience, it can be incredibly hard to motivate yourself to head to two hours of language classes, homework unfinished \u2013 or probably never started \u2013 at the end of a full day of meetings, projects, and deadlines.\u00a0 Language studies take a back seat, even though progressing in Mandarin undoubtedly will help you get that next promotion or next job.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s borderline crazy to try and just wake up one day and start going to class, thinking that just because you paid, you have to get your money\u2019s worth.\u00a0 After all, sunk costs shouldn\u2019t factor into decision making, right?\u00a0 And it\u2019s been a tough week, you deserve a break.\u00a0 Your couch is calling and you must answer.<\/p>\n

The best thing you can do is talk to someone about it.\u00a0 No, not your best friend over beers on a Saturday.\u00a0 Your boss.\u00a0 Let them know that this matters to you and that you want to have the freedom to pursue mastering the language of the country you live in.\u00a0 If you\u2019re up for a contract renegotiation, try and get them to cover part of the courses \u2013 that way, you both have a financial interest in keeping the classes going.\u00a0 It\u2019s easier to hit the gym when you have a buddy counting on you and it\u2019s easier to go to class when you are accountable to more than just yourself, too.<\/p>\n

\"l<\/a><\/p>\n

The Real Issue: Why Bother?<\/h2>\n

Why keep learning Chinese?\u00a0 I can get myself from Point A to Point B.\u00a0 Everyone at my favorite restaurants speaks to me in English.\u00a0 Everyone in the street speaks to me in English.\u00a0 And they all tell me my Chinese is amazing after only hearing me say \u00a0\u4f60\u597d (n\u01d0 h\u01ceo).\u00a0 Do I really need to devote myself to learning one of the hardest languages in the world (for many Romance language and English speakers) if it is almost never been useful in my daily life?\u00a0 I\u2019m not even sure how long I\u2019ll be in China, anyway!<\/p>\n

No one can answer that question for you. There are no practical tips to get over the hump, nothing as easy as \u201ctalk to your boss.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the question I struggled with for months after I finished my first round of evening classes.\u00a0 Then, I got some perspective.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how:<\/h2>\n

First, open a map online.\u00a0 Find the addresses of all your favorite spots in the city and chart them.\u00a0 Now, zoom out to see the entire city.\u00a0 If you\u2019re like many people, myself included, your daily life barely covers a fraction of the city you live in.\u00a0 One of the reasons we move overseas is to broaden our horizons.\u00a0 If your entire life is centered on two or three central districts, how much broader is that than your life would have been back home?<\/p>\n

Now, consider this: that is your comfort zone now.\u00a0 And, one of the reasons you rarely venture out of it is because navigating in a world of characters and regional dialects is daunting for even the most seasoned China Hand.<\/p>\n

But, what parts of the city could you be missing out on?\u00a0 What galleries, restaurants, parks, shops, and museums are waiting just a few metro stops out of your new comfort zone?<\/p>\n

Now, take a look at this map:<\/p>\n

\"languages-in-china\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s every major language spoken in Mainland China.\u00a0 That huge swath of blue is the area that speaking good Mandarin opens up for you to explore in a way no mere tourist ever could.\u00a0 It lets you ask questions, dig around, and find places and experiences that are unavailable to non-Mandarin speakers.<\/p>\n

And the other areas, you ask?\u00a0 There, it is so much easier to get around using the local lingua franca, Mandarin Chinese, than trying to brute force it with English.\u00a0 And exploring is why you moved here in the first place, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 You could have stayed home, saved for a bit, and spent a month touring the sites from Beijing to Xi\u2019an to Hong Kong and had a blast dipping your toe in a culture so different to your own.<\/p>\n

But, you moved here; you dove in. \u00a0You were curious.\u00a0 And your curiosity deserves to be let off its leash.\u00a0 Let it lead you somewhere you never knew existed.<\/p>\n

No one is saying you have to speak perfect Mandarin to get it done.\u00a0 But, there is a major difference between piling into a cab on your first day in a new city, armed with the cross-streets of what TripAdvisor says is the best restaurant in town, and hopping into that same cab and asking the driver where his favorite wonton spot is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some days it seems as though the majority of foreigners in China speak amazingly fluent Mandarin.\u00a0 Some days it feels like no one cares about it once they are able to order a plate of xiaolongbao and tell a taxi driver their intended intersection. That\u2019s the Taxi Chinese Plateau.\u00a0 And there are a lot of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":7755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[79,78,80,89],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-7752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-mandarin-online","tag-advanced","tag-intermediate","tag-self-study","tag-tips-and-suggestions","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\nSpeak Mandarin: The Taxi Chinese Plateau and How To Get Over It<\/title>\n <meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some days it seems as though the majority of foreigners in China speak fluent Mandarin, there are a lot of reasons why it is so difficult to get over.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=index-1798.html 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