"Why do not you speak Chinese?" He asked his Chinese friend in English, causing it to slam his head against the wall. It's surprisingly easy to live in China without speaking Chinese, and the same hard time getting people to help you practice. This sometimes happens because our knowledge Mandarin are so poor that local with a certain degree of mastery of the English prefer to speak English. It also happens sometimes because the Chinese themselves want to practice their foreign language skills with you. While you could protest and try to insist everyone speaks in Chinese, there are some underhanded methods to deceive the Chinese who speak in their mother tongue ...
source: Robert Bye 1. Fabricate a exotic identity
This is the most simple and direct way to achieve your goal. Learn the Chinese word for a nationality with language less known - if you can go from being Dutch, Slavic or Scandinavian Somalia - and just tell people that you are there. This is certainly misleading, but also surprisingly effective; most, if not all, the Chinese can not identify the nationalities of non-native speakers of the way they speak Chinese.
Once you know they can not speak English with you, will change to China by necessity or completely abandon now no longer meet their language needs practice. Either way, you win! This method, of course, risk is called out by a Chinese person with incredibly niche language skills, but at the least we'll both have an entertaining story to tell. 2. Befriend the elderly
most Chinese expatriates have some horror stories dealing with ancient Chinese folk angry that seem to hate foreigners on principle. China, as elsewhere, certainly has its share of curmudgeon, but is also home to a lot of elderly people impressive. These impressive not only elderly usually can not speak a word of English, so they are perfect partners language but are also interesting people who have lived through some crazy times. They have great stories, unique ideas, time, and usually limited exposure to foreign culture that makes them really intrigued to talk to you.
The only drawback of this plan is that China's elderly tend not to speak standard Mandarin of the all good. Therefore, you will have to look for a partner oldest educated language well, unless you want to learn the local dialect and people freak out when you order noodles like a native. 3. Haggle your way to fluency
'll probably find local reluctance to talk to you in Chinese disappear once it comes to money. Generally, you will find people trying to sell you things are more willing to hold a conversation with the added advantage that will usually try to communicate as simple and efficient as possible. The easiest way to take advantage of this practice is to go to street markets, which are coincidentally general in charge of the elderly. Haggle, ask questions, insult, and supplement your way to greater savings and better Chinese.
Another good demographic is cabbies. Some are in 13-hour shifts, belief beyond exhaustion, and pray for the sweet release of death rather than listen to you butcher their language. Others, however, are really friendly, bored and eager to chat. Taxi drivers can make great partners on-the-go language, among other things because there is nowhere for them to escape. 4. Telecommunications let yourteacher
One of the easiest ways to eliminate the assumption that you do not speak Chinese is to eliminate the appearance of the equation altogether. Online forums like Weibo are great places to practice writing and reading, while other sites such as chat programs and Taobao Jingdong host for communication for those rapid fire.
A good way to practice your speaking and listening is calling people, businesses and organizations with general inquiries or problems. Speaking on the phone in a second language is a true test of your progress because it eliminates signals and body language is based solely on their listening skills and understanding of grammar. While you can probably work most things online these days or "press 2 for English" try to challenge yourself with non-urgent consultations. You could even try to collaborate with all those who call you get!
Now, I'm not going to lie, China is not famous for their service to the customer, and the poor get on the phone probably will seek every possible opportunity to hang up on you. But think of it as a fun game where you see how long you can last before frustrated and quit anger they feel. The more you do, the better you get. Worst case scenario, you will learn the wide and diverse range of swears that make China may satisfy language to talk!
Categories:
China,
Speaking
Chinese,
Exotic
Identity,
Elderly
Friends,
Haggling,
