This is the story of how I am learning Mandarin. It is not an instruction manual. Rather, I want to lean into the fact that when you consider yourself as a unique individual, a unique person learning, you will adjust your approach.
I have a younger friend who is graduating with Latin honors this year. Edmund was a college school returnee. He worked as a professional painter and BPO employee after high school, but all he ever wanted in life was to be an educator. This article is inspired by him and his ambition because, looking at his striving, I see myself. As you well know, I’m also a returnee, but instead of returning to school, I relaunched my career after a decade-long hiatus (for childcare). I admire my younger friend’s guts, perseverance, and grit. Whenever he overcame an obstacle, I applauded him because his struggles were like my struggles. And as I saw him progress, I was also goaded to progress.
But as with how all good stories begin, we need to do an intro. The backstory of my Mandarin learning began in grade school—I studied at a Chinese high school in Manila. Why? I’m Chinese-Filipino (Chinoy). My family is third generation 华侨 (overseas Chinese. In our culture, we’re expected to learn Mandarin in school. All of my Chinoy friends studied in a Chinese high school where Mandarin is part of the curriculum.
But I think the way I learned Mandarin was not optimal. I was enrolled in that school from the 80s to the 90s. At that time, the approach was ground-and-pound rote memorization. Suffice it to say I did not learn very much, even if my grades in Chinese class were high. I spit out the Mandarin words and write the 文字 Chinese characters) through sheer willpower.
And so, here I am, in my 40s and effectively illiterate in the language that’s a central part of my heritage. The lingua franca of the Chinoy is Hokkien. I can still speak Hokkien, but it is not an international language. My ignorance presented itself full frontal when I was a freelancer working for an American. He spoke better Mandarin than me. I colored pink in shame from head to foot when I heard him speak to a business partner using fluent Mandarin. And from that time on, I vowed I would relearn my lost words. After all, I love languages. I absorb new words like a sponge. Mandarin is not easy to learn, but I do have an advantage. My Chinoy friends would agree that Hokkien and Mandarin mostly share the same syntax. It’s natural for me to translate English to Hokkien and then Hokkien to Mandarin in my head when I’m in a pinch.
So, let’s get to my personalized method of learning this language, which people describe as very difficult. Complex tonal system? Insane number of non-alphabetic characters? Dramatically different grammar rules from English? Game on. Before I was known as Melany Heger, I was 蔡 純 恩. I got this.
I began slowly, feeling my way in the dark. I tried to attend online Mandarin classes but couldn’t bring myself to do it. Online classes are the most popular and convenient mode for many people, but they don’t work for me. I wanted a face-to-face experience and needed live, tactile feedback about my current state.
I looked around until I found a Mandarin tutor who would give me face-to-face classes. My tutor came to my house and taught me weekly lessons for a few months. He was great! Friendly and calm, he helped me build my confidence, guiding me through pronunciation and grammar. And after a few months, he told me I was ready to self-study.
“Practice conversation and add more words to your vocabulary, and you’re good to go! You’re doing okay; you get it already!”
By “it” I think my tutor meant I have already grasped the essential elements of Mandarin.
Admittedly, I was a bit lost when my tutor stopped his regular visits. I didn’t have the weekly check-ins or accountability partner that I was used to. But I was determined to continue learning, so I reassessed the resources that were available to me.
At this point, I need to mention something I crucially forgot: my mom is a professional Mandarin teacher. She would have been my teacher if we only lived a bit closer and if our schedules fit. But even if she can’t be my teacher, she can still be my occasional conversation partner. Every time I call her or visit her, I can sneak in a few words of Mandarin. Even though it’s not a regular thing, her expertise can still help. After all, she has been teaching Mandarin since before I was born, and she’s a treasure trove of knowledge! Whenever we converse in Mandarin, she promptly corrects my errors—it’s like having a talking dictionary, encyclopedia, and thesaurus all in one.
I credit my mom with helping me craft a tailor-made method that works best for me. She knows I learn best when I write, so she recommended the Pleco app. With this app, I can trace Chinese characters with my finger and see the dictionary entry, including example usage, audio, and pronunciation. Pleco also has a flashcard feature that helps me build my vocabulary.
Aside from Pleco, I took a hint from my American friend’s language study method. My friend uses Stephen Krashen’s comprehensible input techniques. I followed suit and found a bunch of free videos on YouTube that apply this method. In a nutshell, comprehensible input uses stories to teach a learner to be literate. I saved emotionally captivating content with HSK level 2 Mandarin on my YouTube to-watch list. I repeatedly listen to these videos, which have Chinese character subtitles, until the words and how they are pronounced are burned into my brain. Then I try to formulate sentences using Mandarin in everyday scenarios. When I visit my mom, I apply what I learned by speaking to her in Mandarin. (Immediate feedback because I get immediately autocorrected!)
When I like a video very much, I write it down in a notebook. I don’t know how to use a Chinese keyboard yet, and I’m not ready to learn. Writing Chinese characters by hand works for me because I’m a writer. I find that writing helps me learn new things, even in a different language.
After I write down the video’s contents, I review the words in my notebook throughout the day. I hear the sentence in my head irregularly, so I review the words as I go through my daily activities. It’s convenient to have a notebook with my handwriting to look at because I get a digital-free visual reference. I made it a habit to go through the notebook to look at the new words and then input them into Pleco. But sometimes, I don’t look at my notebook anymore, I just input the words into Pleco while (re)watching the video on YouTube. However it is done, the new set of words is in Pleco. I organize them into decks using the flashcard function. Every few days, I test myself if I’ve mastered the new words.
Now that I have spelled out my method for learning Mandarin, I hope to underscore the importance of adopting a learning method that works for you and only you. I bet my friend Edmund had a lot of challenges going back to school after a long period outside the academe. But like him, my re-approach to learning Mandarin is enriched with this attitude that I want to do it. It is not a curricular requirement, and no one is forcing me. Me and my friend want this for ourselves because we’re damn worth it.
I am no longer working for a Chinese electronics company, so learning Mandarin is not a ticket to career advancement. Rather, I am doing this to reconnect with my Chinoy roots—I’ve distanced myself from anything Chinoy for far too long. I’m a changed person. The childhood trauma that I’ve associated with being Chinoy is part of the past. More importantly, my relationship with myself has changed. Now, I know I am worth investing in because I am a valuable woman. I deserve this treat. It tastes better than binge-shopping grocery items.
I hope my story has inspired you to allocate time and energy to the potential you have in you. It’s not about comparing yourself with other people—heck, if that was my approach, I would be so bogged down by people who are better than me in Mandarin (like my American friend who I mentioned in this story). I am learning because I am learning because I am nurturing myself. You are worth investing in too, my friend.
