"nan ren" or "nu ren"?

I'm going to switch perspectives for a moment and talk about what it's like to be a language learner. This blog is dedicated to being a language teacher, but part of being a teacher is remember what it's like to learn a new language. I've been taught this from many different people... professors at U of M, faculty leaders from the elementary language program I was a part of during my college years, and most recently the curriculum consultant for the school where I currently work. I've learned lots of languages from these people... French, German, and Thai. I loved learning those languages but since it was only about one or two 10-minute lessons, I really can't recall anything I learned. That's why we want to teach our students as frequently as possible. I believe that 15 minutes every day is better than 30 minutes twice a week. Yes, you can't do as many in-depth projects because of set-up time; but having that language exposure every day is really what helps the new language to sink in.


Back to talking about being a language learner... I am one! I just ripped off my brother's Rosetta Stone to learn Mandarin Chinese. My brother is learning the language because his work will take him overseas within the next two years. I am learning it (and should have learned it already) because my husband is Chinese and the only people in his family to speak English are him and his parents. That means when I visited his family in China 3 years ago, we mostly just sat and stared at each other, waiting for my husband to translate. We are going to visit his family again this summer, and I am determined to say more than please and thank you. I started the lessons last night and have a goal of about 30 min/day, at least 5 days a week. So far... not bad! I have gotten a 93%, 89%, 94%, and 100% on the first four lessons, respectively. My lowest score was pronunciation and my highest was vocabulary. Not surprising really. I can memorize words by sight and match them to the picture but saying them is a whole different story.


I'll talk more about the teaching style of Rosetta stone later as I discover more about it, but so far so far, I like it. There is no English translation... all Chinese to pictures which takes out the extra step in your brain that makes it more difficult to become fluent. That's what I try to do with the students in my classroom. As little English as possible, no matter how frustrating it may be. I admit, I am not doing a very good job of that right now, but we're allowed to have an off day (read: off week) every now and then, right? I promise, Helena (consultant) and Maria (professor), I am returning to 90% or more Spanish in my teaching tomorrow! For now... good-bye, adios, and zai jian. 


P.S. I do not approve as Rosetta Stone as a language program in schools... because nothing beats that teacher-student interaction. However, as an adult looking to learn a new language or a school that can't afford a language teacher, this is certainly better than nothing!