4: How a High School Student Learnt Chinese with Andres Loret de Mola

Time Stamped Show Notes

• [0:46] – Andres was born and grew up in Mexico,
• [0:56] – Andres’ native language is Spanish
• [1:12] – He is currently a senior in high school, studying in Hudson, Ohio (USA)
• [1:27] – Why did Andres learn Chinese?
  • [1:30] – Andres’ father enrolled Andres and his brother in Chinese classes when Andres was 9
    • [1:43] – Andres’ father does business with many people in China and thought it would be a valuable skill
    • [1:55] – Andres enjoyed the classes and decided to stick with it
• [2:17] – Andres has been studying Chinese for about 6 of the past 9 years
• [2:34] – What’s Andres’ biggest motivation in learning Chinese?
  • [2:38] – Being able to communicate with such a large population (1/7^th of the world population)
• [3:03] – Chinese is a difficult language to learn for a native Spanish speaker because the grammar and writing style are so different
  • [3:19] – Andres has a natural talent for learning languages
• [3:51] – Andres’ love for the language, culture, and friendly people of China motivate him to keep up his studies and practice
  • [4:01] – Helps to meet and flirt with Chinese girls
• [4:20] – How did Andres learn Chinese?
  • [4:28] – Reading a lot to expand and retain vocabulary
    • [4:45] – Reads the news, and 知(zhī)乎(hū), a Chinese website similar to Reddit
  • [5:01] – Drill vocabulary a few times per week
  • [5:09] – Talking with Chinese friends (native speakers) and asking questions about the language
  • [6:04] – Reading in Chinese requires a robust vocabulary
    • [6:40] – Focus on vocab memorisation in the beginning
    • [6:53] – Andres learned new words and characters through repetition of writing and by using them in sentences
• [7:44] – How did Andres deal with Chinese tones?
  • [7:59] – Andres did find tones difficult in the beginning
  • [9:00] – Don’t skip the tones while you are building your vocabulary in the beginning
  • [9:38] – If you don’t know the correct tone, you don’t know the word
    • [9:56] – Don’t let difficulties with tones discourage you from continuing to learn
• [10:21] – Andres maintains his Chinese level mostly out of the classroom through reading and communicating with friends
• [10:45] – He drills vocabulary a couple times a week for 1.5 – 2 hours at a time
• [11:03] – Andres genuinely enjoys using Chinese in his daily life
• [12:17] – What had been Andres’ biggest challenge in learning Chinese?
  • [12:30] – Focusing on the present moment and what you are learning right now
  • [12:49] – Andres often doesn’t understand modern slang, and finds it frustrating trying to interact in a casual setting online
    • [13:49] – He embraces the challenge and is motivated to keep learning
• [14:28] – Embarrassing moment: 
  • [14:32] – While studying in Beijing 2 years ago, Andres went into a store to buy napkins （卫wèi生shēng纸zhǐ）. He made a mistake in pronunciation and accidentally asked to buy tampons（卫wèi生shēng巾jīn） instead.
  • [15:37] – The shop owner laughed, but understood what he meant
  • [15:53] – Even some native Chinese make this mistake
• [16:04] – Most rewarding moment: 
  • [16:28] – Andres took a weekend trip to Xi’an to see the Terracotta soldiers
  • [16:45] – He had a long taxi ride to his hotel, and decided to create a fake identity for himself to see if the taxi driver would believe him. He said that he was ½ Mexican and ½ Chinese, and had moved to China a couple of years prior
  • [17:41] – The taxi driver believed Andres, as this explained why his Chinese level was so good
  • [17:47] – This was a rewarding and significant moment in Andres’ Chinese language learning journey
• [18:11] – Currently Andres is studying for the 6^th level of the Chinese Language Proficiency Exam (HSK)
• [18:27] – He hopes to make use of his Chinese by working for a Chinese company
• [18:59] – Life before learning Chinese vs. life after learning Chinese
  • [19:05] – Andres’ enjoyment for learning Chinese was his first great passion in life, and gave him a purpose
  • [20:03] – Andres’ brother didn’t share his passion for language learning, and doesn’t regret the decision to stop even though Andres has had such a positive experience with it
• [21:55] – A difference between the Chinese culture and Andres’ own culture
  • [22:02] – China values the collective (the good of the community) over the individual
    • [22:37] – Chinese people are more focused on doing good for others instead of themselves, which is less self-centered than typical Western cultures
• [23:34] – Andres’ favourite city in China: Xi’an
  • [23:42] – He likes the Terracotta soldiers, old city walls, food, and architecture

Andres’ Favourite Chinese Quote

• [27:22] – 有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎 – To have friends that come from far away, isn’t that a joy?
  • 有(yǒu) – To have
  • 朋(péng) – Friend(s)
  • 自(zì) – Self / Oneself
  • 远(yuǎn)方(fāng) – Far away
  • 来(lái) – To come
  • 不(bù)亦(yì)乐(lè)乎(hū) – Isn’t that a joy? (Quote from Confucius)
  • [27:45] – This quote resonates with Andres after living and studying abroad. He enjoys the experience of reconnecting with friends that he hasn’t seen in a long time
• [28:19] – 活到老，学到老 – One is never too old to learn (idiom)
  • 活(huó) – To live, exist
  • 到(dào) – Arrive, go to
  • 老(lǎo) – Old
  • 学(xué) – To learn
  • 到(dào) – Arrive, go to
  • 老(lǎo) – Old
  • [28:25] – This quote can be more directly translated to mean: Live until you are old and study until you are old
  • [28:34] – As long as Andres is alive, he will keep learning

Andres’ Advice for Chinese Learners

• [28:55] – Just keep studying a little every day, and don’t be overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge you will need to learn to master the Chinese language
  • [29:04] – You’ll find that you can start applying what you’ve learned sooner than you might expect

Connect with Andres

• Email address: bumchala (DOT) chavo (AT) gmail (DOT) com

Resources Mentioned:

• [24:13] – Pleco – Chinese-English dictionary app
  • Includes characters and pinyin, and has an audio feature to hear the proper pronunciation of words. After downloading, you can use it offline
• [24:20] – 有道 Youdao – App that most Chinese people use for Chinese-English translations
• [24:27] – 知乎 Zhihu – A Chinese forum website which is similar to Reddit
• [24:35] – The Chairman’s Bao (iPhone App) – Chinese news website which writes articles in Chinese aimed at foreign language learners
  • [24:59] – Different articles for learners at different levels of language learning, from beginner to advanced
  • [24:14] – Andres’ has talked with the website founder and really supports the cause of making the Chinese language easier to learn for foreigners
• [26:00] – The story of the Sahara (Chinese Edition) 撒哈拉的故事 – A good first Chinese novel for learners because it uses simple language