User Comments - tysond

Posted on: Making Veggies for Dinner

I also noticed that some of the recent lessons the lesson review volume is very low. Riding a bike in Beijing I cannot hear them above the outside noise -- i am at full voume.

Posted on: Discussing the Ayi

Good lesson, but I don't understand John's story at the end. 

If he had to change Ayi because of her Dongbei cooking, presumably the new Ayi would cook a different style.  So why is the new Ayi not doing any cooking?  Mysterious...

Posted on: Dream Girls

Frequently in the education business this kind of information is required by law. There are all sorts of regulation around the world for selling products that target children.

Posted on: ChinesePod Jobs in New York! In Shanghai!

Can't speak for CP but as a learner I wouldn't have any issue with a non-native speaker as long as they have a near native accent (no issues understanding them as you say). A good Chinese accent is important to me, as well as enthusiasm as a learner and ability to bridge culture.

Posted on: ChinesePod Jobs in New York! In Shanghai!

Frankly I enjoy the opportunity to listen to different voices and pitches, so a mix of male/female is useful for learning.

I would also say that the last 6 language teachers I have had in real-life have all been women. I never get to choose - it just seems more ladies go into language teaching (actually now I hire people in China i notice they more frequently major in language related studies). So I am guessing CP is doing what they can to balance the voices, given a large number of great ladies already on the job. There seem to be plenty of male speakers in the dialogs though, and at the end of the day, that's the content I want to learn.

I thought KTV time and Beijing Standard Time work nicely as male-male interactions - feels like you are listening to some buddies have a chat. The effort to keep it bilingual is really great. In the past I thought some of the female foreign hosts were excellent too, Amber's warmth and enthusiasm very much kept things interesting (although I think more recent Qing Wens have improved in terms of language content).

Frankly I think the best attribute that the foreign host can have is the curiosity and questioning that leads the conversation, while the Chinese host can answer and explain. This is what a great 1:1 lesson feels like and I think John does a great job asking the exact questions and responding the same way as an enthusiastic learner - so the explanations stick in your mind as being super relevant. The next attribute I like is cultural translation - "oh we say something similar in English".

Good luck on your hiring!

Posted on: English Letters Make Chinese Words

Good stuff.  My chinese teacher baffled me for a long time with T恤 because she wrote the T as if it was some kind of Hanzi.  She was unaware that although it came from English it had not survived the move to Chinese unscathed.  Sounds more like tissue than t-shirt.

Other common ones are "IT" and "HR" for those departments at work.  And "MV" for music video.

Posted on: English Letters Make Chinese Words

Going Dutch is very well known expression in (for example) Australia and simply means splitting the bill. Young people on dates will often do this if they are on equal footing (e.g. they actually mutally like each other and have good jobs). While it may have had some origin in being economical, it's simply an expression of fairness now.

To be frank, "To Be Frank" is not an outdated expression at all. Lots of English speakers still use it on a daily basis. But, to be frank, I am sure it's more popular in some places and age groups than others.

I never heard of AA until I came to China. I still have never experienced it :-)

Posted on: A Bad Guy

Seriously? Looks like a typical scene in the office in China, Malaysia, Singapore etc where I have worked before, uncovered shoulders are no big deal. Nothing exotic about being Asian when you live in Asia.

Posted on: Chinese TV Dramas (Part 2)

Thanks for the 爱情公寓 (AiQingGongYu - ipartment) quotes.  I've been watching this a lot and it's more and more funny as you understand the context and language.

Posted on: Asking for Leave

australia - 20 days per year or more + many public holidays

singapore - 15 days per year or more + public holidays

malaysia - 15 days per year or more + lots and lots of public holidays (we get xmas, chinese new year, hari raya - islamic holidays, deepavali - indian - and more).

I notice that in asia is is more common to have to formally apply for leave (even sick leave) and to have a reason for leave is considered normal (even though you are entitled to it).