I Can Speak Chinese

This week, I met my two new language exchange partners. One is a 21-year-old business student. She says her Cantonese is better than her English just because she watched so many Hong Kong movies as a kid. And her English is pretty good!

The other is a teacher in his mid-thirties. And, bless his heart, he brought both his wife and another female friend to our first meeting just so I wouldn't mistake him for a creep. His dream is to one day do doctoral studies in the U.S.

With both partners we spent about half the time talking in Chinese and half the time talking in English. It's really encouraging just to know I can spend that much time talking in Chinese. I think these exchanges are going to be really helpful.

My partners are proof you don't have to go abroad to learn a language: They're both basically fluent in English, and neither has ever left Taiwan.

But what going abroad does do is - out of necessity - make you realize you don't have to be fluent in order to speak a language.

I'm nowhere near fluent: I can't understand the news, and I'm not watching movies in Chinese (although I did rewatch Tropic Thunder and caught a Chinese joke I couldn't have before).

Am I conversant? Mmmm... only if the conversation stays broad and simple. Say for instance, you are my cab driver and you tell me how rude and miserable people are on the mainland. I'll get that. But probably because Taiwanese people - on both sides of the political spectrum - are quite proud of their superior warmth and courtesy.

Fluent, conversant - maybe not. But I can speak Chinese. I can make my way around and I can get to where I want in a taxi. And if I'm talking to someone (like my LE partners) and I use enough words and take enough time, they'll probably understand what I'm getting at. Likewise, if they say it slow enough and repeat it a couple times - I'll probably figure it out.

And that's already way more than I could ever say for my Spanish.

So if you're learning a language, or thinking about learning a language, for your own sake FIND SOMEONE TO SPEAK IT TO! And speak often! That's the single most important thing to do.