User Comments - xiaohu

Posted on: Beijing Olympics: Opening Ceremony

Hitokiri6993:

Closing ceremony, 閉幕式.

Posted on: Language Power Struggle

Cassie,

你说得一点儿都没错！就本节课里的争自己练习外语权力的主题而言，咱恐怕仿效课里的做法是错误的。 我同意急于锻炼自己的外语，很难满足双方的需求。

我觉得人家不要太贪心的，再说不要太自私吧！互惠学习就是最好的道路。电线先非得接触才变成电路，对不对？ 你明白我的意思吗？ 是我自己创造的比喻，是互惠忍让的意思。

你看，Speedy77 说，为了的自己的突飞猛进的进步一定要至少要求对方先给你上两门课才给对方上一门课。哎，我想这种态度不太好。

好像人家都不理解像本节课里的自己说汉语，对方说英语是个特别好的学习汉语的方法，而且有进步的。

你认为呢？

Posted on: I want to buy this one

Zhonggirl, Learning an "accent" is simply just learning to pronounce words the way native speakers do. Work on your pronunciation and the "accent" will follow. Follow pronunciation guides carefully, listen to the podcasts to compare your pronunciation with Jenny an the other native speakers, be aware that in Mandarin a lot has t do with tongue positioning. If you follow very closely along to make your pronunciation and tones very clear, you won't have to worry about whether or not you'll be able to be understood, you will finf that everyone will be able understand you! :)

Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

dedsall78,

So what is the "old state" of pollution in Beijing?  I was there in 2006, a full 2 years before the Olympics and found the air quality to be pretty good, especially in comparison with Los Angeles where I live.  I could see the mountains without a problem, the sky was very blue and this was right in the heart of summer, August, the exact same time as the Olympics, basically two years ago today.  So, I'm just wondering, what do you consider to be good air quality?  What are you comparing Beijing's air quailty to?

Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Eyux,

I thank you very much for your kind words.

I want you to know that the achievements I've made in my Chinese is something that anyone with a little drive and commitment can achieve as well.

I know it sounds like a tired cliche', but if I can do it, so can you.

Along the way to learning a new language there will definitely be challenges, hard times, moments you don't feel like you want to keep going.  One of the things that has been helpful to me was finding a way to make it fun.  Entertainment often times was a great help to me.  I'd use Movies and Songs as a way to make learning stimulating.  Entertainment was a key factor in keeping me going at the times I felt frustrated by a lack of progress or those times I just wanted to quit.

I would also write letters in Chinese, which is also a great help.  Writing can really help put things together, because it forces you to use what you know, and to put words together into sentences.

I still have a lot to learn.  Chinese is a complex and deep language.  I need things like Chinesepod to keep from backsliding, because (another tired cliche') if you don't use it, you will lose it.

If you want someone to practice with, I will be more than happy to help you.  We can always e-mail, my e-mail address is: xiaohucai@gmail.com.

I wish you the greatest luck with your Chinese!

Xiao Hu

Posted on: We're going to miss the plane!

Jenny,

Your new avatar is beautiful!  You look very stoic!

Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Rash,

北方人 pride themselves on being hospitable.  北京人，沈阳人，铁岭人，天津人，长春人，哈尔滨人 等 all take great pride in being kinder and more hospitable to 客人 than the average Chinese.  I found this to be very true when I visited.  As much as I loved 成都 for it's surreal beauty and stunning landscape, I have to admit if I were to live in China, just based on the quality of the people, I would choose 中国的东北 for sure.

The people in 北京 and 沈阳 were awesome!

I found the 北京出租车的司机 to be very warm, friendly and entertaining, and one in particular had a very long conversation with me in Chinese, and was just like the cabdriver in the interview, made great conversation, and loved to laugh (I wonder if it's the same guy...hhhmmmm).

It's funny, 北京的司机都喜爱胡说八道，然后指出他们在胡说呢，他们都说同一个一句话，“就是我听别人说的！” 太有意思，可逗我啦！

AMBER/CHINESEPOD: Let's do a lot more of these real people interviews!  Hearing the language spoken at a natural speed, with a natural ebb and flow is extremely helpful. 

I remember back in the day there was an interview with Zi Heng which became one of my very favorite lessons, I listened to it over and over again, more than any other single lesson except for "Girly Talk" (that one just makes me laugh out loud every time I hear it).  John had said that you guys were planning to do more of those 张三丰的采访 but then that never sort of materialized.

I'd love to have a couple lessons per month that have these kinds of interviews, especially at the advanced level.

Xiao Hu

Posted on: Olympic Excitement

Lordstanley,

The article misspelled the Pinyin name of "Coca Cola" as "Kokou Kole" instead of "Kekou Kele", can we really take the Wall Street Journal seriously now? (LOL)

Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

By the way, when I was in China and Beijing I never ever had a problem with the Taxi drivers not knowing where they "where they go", I loved the food and in Beijing there was a helluva lot less smog than here in Los Angeles.

I heard all there horror stories about people going to China and contracting the Black Lung, but actually the air was quite clean.

The only place where the air was kind of dirty was in 沈阳 but that was kind of to be expected because 沈阳 is an industrial city, but 北京 was really clean and nice and the air not "smoky" at all.

I really don't know where these Europeans get off talking all this smack...

If they want to get around without any problems they can always spend a few weeks on Chinese Pod, and then 就没有什么沟通的问题！

Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Amber,

WOW!  This is the first time you've really ever used your Mandarin to have a full conversation.

You have some MAD MANDARIN SKILLS!

你的中文说得特棒了！