6: Accidentally Learnt Chinese to Fluency with Klaudia Klonowska

Time Stamped Show Notes

• [0:54] – Klaudia was born in Poland
• [0:56] – Klaudia is currently an undergraduate student in Amsterdam, Netherlands
• [1:10] – In addition to Chinese, Klaudia speaks Polish (native), English, and Spanish, and is also learning French and Korean
• [2:14] – Klaudia has been studying Chinese for 7 years, beginning when she was 13
• [2:36] – Why did Klaudia learn Chinese?
  • [2:38] – Klaudia didn’t choose to learn Chinese, it happened almost by accident
    • [2:44] – Her parents wanted her younger brother to learn Chinese
    • [2:59] – Klaudia became interested in the language by participating in her brother’s Chinese lessons at her house
      • [3:51] – The lessons were not taught in a typically structured way, instead consisting of songs and learning characters through symbolism
  • [4:21] – While Klaudia grew increasingly more interested in Chinese with each lesson, her brother didn’t enjoy it as much and eventually gave up his Chinese study
• [4:48] – What’s is Klaudia’s biggest motivation in learning Chinese?
  • [4:52] – At first Klaudia was motivated simply by her interest in the language
  • [4:54] – Klaudia found the characters and different forms of expression relative to Latin languages fascinating
  • [5:12] – As time went on, Klaudia became increasingly interested in the culture
    • [5:18] – Klaudia’s dad had many Chinese friends and business acquaintances, and she was able to meet many of them when they came to Poland
    • [5:36] – Klaudia felt that learning more about China and its culture was only possible if she spoke the language
• [6:04] – How did Klaudia learn Chinese?
  • [6:11] – Klaudia was very focused on learning all of the characters
  • [6:40] – While bored during her other classes in middle school, Klaudia would repetitively write characters
  • [7:06] – It was also important to listen to a lot of Chinese audio, especially to become accustomed to distinguishing the tones
    • [7:27] – Listening to teachers, or podcasts, or watching Chinese movies
    • [7:46] – Being immersed in a Chinese environment as much as possible
  • [8:31] – At the intermediate stage, speaking was more of a focus
    • [9:02] – Klaudia improved her vocabulary through writing
  • [9:27] – She maintained a focus on audio even after the beginning stage
• [9:42] – What had been Klaudia’s biggest challenge in learning Chinese?
  • [9:51] – Remembering different phrases
    • [9:57] – There are so many 4-character-long phrases, it was difficult to keep track of them and learn how to use them
      • [10:38] – These phrases usually have stories behind them, and learning the stories helps Klaudia understand them better
      • [10:53] – She tries to use the phrases in her writing, as they are uncommon in spoken language
• [11:27] – What was Kluadia’s experience learning the tones?
  • [11:41] – Klaudia struggled to understand the accents in Shanghai when she was in between B1 and B2 levels
    • [12:17]- She usually heard locals speaking Mandarin with a strong Shanghai accent
    • [12:34] – Even when it wasn’t easy, Klaudia was still always able to communicate
• [13:08] – Embarrassing moment: 
  • [13:17] – Klaudia’s dad’s Chinese friends told her that when she was complimented on her Chinese she should respond “哪(nǎ)里(lǐ)哪(nǎ)里(lǐ)”
  • [13:52] – Klaudia thought this meant that she was being polite and modest/self-deprecating, and used it as such often in her Chinese interactions
  • [14:19] – She recently saw the response written down and realised that its true meaning was not as modest as she had thought
• [14:55] – Most rewarding moment: 
  • [15:05] – This summer, Klaudia was working with many fellow international students in Jinhua Municipality on a project to make tourism more foreigner-friendly there
    • [15:38] – They were sent to a very small rural village of only 140 families, and Klaudia was one of the only ones who spoke Chinese, so she was able to be a link between the locals who didn’t speak English and the rest of her group who didn’t speak Chinese
      • [16:28] – Klaudia and her fellow international students (through Klaudia’s translation) were able to learn so much from the locals
• [17:16] – A difference between the Chinese culture and Klaudia’s own culture
  • [17:33] – In Beijing, Klaudia witnessed how much Chinese people respect each across society, especially elders and authority figures
  • [18:35] – Klaudia sees this aspect of the culture as beneficial in having a high-functioning society
• [19:24] – Klaudia’s favourite city in China: Chengdu
  • [19:37]- Klaudia loved having the modern architecture, and the feeling of a big city, without as many foreigners like in Beijing, Shanghai, and other big coastal cities
    • [20:12] – It’s more difficult to be fully immersed in Chinese life in cities with many foreigners
  • [20:53] – The Sichuan food is really delicious
• [21:03] – Life before learning Chinese vs. life after learning Chinese
  • [21:20] – Klaudia is perceived differently because she was able to manage the enormous challenge of learning the language
  • [22:06] – Chinese people receive Klaudia very warmly now that she can express herself and communicate with them
  • [22:48] – Being able to speak Chinese opens doors
    • [23:08] – Klaudia was able to get an internship at the Polish embassy in Beijing
• [23:40] – Klaudia is currently focusing on improving her Spanish
• [23:42] – Klaudia may pursue a Master’s degree in China in a year
• [24:02] – Klaudia will always have more to learn with Chinese; her Chinese story is never-ending

Klaudia’s Favourite Chinese Quote

• [26:31] – 倾国倾城- A woman who is so devastatingly beautiful as to cause a city to fall
  • 倾(qīng) – to overturn
  • 国(guó) – nation, country
  • 倾(qīng) – to overturn
  • 城(chéng) – city, town
• [26:58] – Klaudia find it inspiring that there is a phrase to express this idea

Klaudia’s Advice for Chinese Learners

• [27:26] – Don’t give up, it is worth all of the effort
• [27:35] – While learning Chinese, find a passion for it and appreciate the beauty in the logic of it

Connect with Klaudia

• Wechat: kklon18

Resources Mentioned:

• [25:03] – 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
• [25:25] – Chinese Comic: Detective Conan Vol.1
  • [25:29] – Story originates in Japan, but has been converted in Chinese comics
  • [25:54] – Klaudia recommends this because it’s interesting and fun to read, but isn’t childish